Study+guide+11

Q1. What does the acronym STAR stand for? Is a technique future employees use to present information about the skills they have aquied in the past to their prosepctive employer. Also it is a technique employees us to present information about the skills, attributes and the situation employees were in.

S - Situation ( Set the scene by describing the situation you are in) T - Task (describe what is needed to be done and the individuals responsibilities) A - Action ( Details of specific actions the person undertook to make an impact on the situation) R - Results ( The outcome of the individual's actions in the task)

Yeneo

Q2. Do OCL students acquire different skills than on-campus students? I do not think so as all students in some way shape of form go through the process of interpreting information, analysing and reporting upon it.

Yeneo

Denis: My answer to this question is more based on the experiences of my four children, all of whom attended university. I think one of the most important aspects of uni life is the social aspect. Not quite, but almost like puppy socialisation. Uni takes place for most in those very difficult late teen, early 20's years where intellectual, social and physical skills are all challenged. It can be a time of great friendships and bonding and therefore important in the societal skills development area. I don't know that OCL students have this, but then OCLs may be older and more set in their social patterns anyway.

I think if anyone had the answer to this question Dr Lush it might be you who have all of these experiences and are able to observe firsthand. I would be interested in your input. Certainly I can say that all our four enjoyed their uni life and lifestyle.

Denis

I think that what students get out of on-campus life differs greatly between courses and also their capacity to take advantage of what is on offer. I agree about the formation of friendships, they are easier to form if people are there in person than if they are on-line. This brings an issue to my mind. I have tried to send bulk emails as bcc - my understanding being that I am not supoosed to broadcast emails. But this does make it harder for you to develop contacts with other OCL students. Maybe I should check the policy on this and send in a way that means you can see each others email addresses. Its a bit hypothetical actually, because I usually slip up at some stage and send a bulk 'cc' or a 'to'. I do think that OCL students are more disciplined that the average on-campus student and more prepared to hunt around for things themselves. Of course it may be that the reason you are doing OCL is that you are this sort of person to start with. Someone with a good result in OCL has, I think, demonstrated a capacity for independent work that may not be present to the same extent in an on-campus student with the same mark.

Sadly it's called the Privacy Act, Dr Lush. My best uni experience was the 2 week intensive at UOW doing MARE357 "Advances in Molluscan Biology". There were 19 students of varying ages and states of progress including one who got an email during the 2 weeks confirming that his PhD thesis had been accepted. There was one person doing the extended version for her Masters. So it was a mixed bag. But I had a great time and it part it was the student to student contact in the lab sessions and field trips. It was a bit of a taste and the subject matter was fascinating.

As for matters of communication, I did an off campus unit via Swinburne were we did an interactive online chat session or two - all typed in. It was a subject similar to SCI 2010 and was called "A cultural perspective on science & techonolgy". It was done via OUA of which Monash is a partner uni. The technology is there to do video across the net with systems like Skype. I find that, strangely unis are slow at techonolgy uptake. It may be the cost. However I have no doubt that in the future OCL will be internet and video based live lecture streams with interaction between lecturer and student possible. We do "live" PD training now with transmission over the net and the ability to type questions to the presenter. Even with Chemistry they send you home do it yourself kits for OCL. I'm waiting for the DIY cloning kit - the cook reckons she needs to be three people sometimes - I might be able to use science to solve her dilemma.

Please do persist with the wiki it's a part of the solution, it's easy to use and excellent for review purposes.

Denis