Welcome to City Lit

This video welcomes students to the City Lit community.   Tutors can put it on  Google Classroom (use the you tube link) or play it in the first session.  

There are two versions.  One has  captions and limited background sound designed for deaf students and those with hearing loss. 

First Sessions

It is important in the first session to orient learners to City Lit, the course, the building (if face-to-face) and each other. Include the following:

• Introductions:  a brief welcome and introduction from you - your name, and your experience in the subject 

• Welcome to the City Lit community  (video below) - you can play this or put it on your google classroom

• Housekeeping:  Face-to-face: where the toilets are; the cafe; learning centre (and what it offers); breaks and fire evacuation procedures.  Online:  features of Zoom; muting microphone; how to signal you want to speak

• What to expect:  discussion of the course outcomes and course programme and times of breaks

• Icebreaker:  an activity to enable people to engage with each other quickly, and learn each others’ names  -  'Why are you here?  What do you hope for? are useful questions.

• Ground rules: agree rules on how the group will work together, and any health and safety requirements for use of equipment or other rules.  For online classes, include netiquette.  (Video is on the Help Centre here.)

• How to use Google Classroom and what you will include there. 

• City Lit policy -  Our duty of care, and what students need to do if they feel unsafe or have concerns about someone else at the college.  City Lit's commitment to Equality and Diversity  (both outlined in the video above)

• Reminder about our Access, Inclusion and Support Service (outlined in the video above) , or invite people to talk to you confidentially if they have an access need. 

• Initial assessment activities - completion of the individual record of learning and other ways of informally checking learners’ starting points.

Finally, although a big list, don’t let the above take up too much time – make sure you provide an interesting and lively start to your course content, so learners feel they are learning what they came for.  If necessary you can sprinkle the above through the first and second session.