It's frustrating when you need help and feel alone. But rest assured, we are here for you! Provided that you maintain close contact with me throughout the course, I'll do my best to use my experience to support you. I will strive to anticipate when and where you will need my help and provide meaningful feedback in a timely manner. Your peers are here to support you as well. We are all entering this course with different experiences with computers and college classes. Keeping that in mind, as your facilitator I will be creating an equity-minded, inclusive, participant-centered learning environment that will honor and respect where each of us is starting and the journey each of us will take to achieve the learning outcomes for this course.
If you have a fast question, your best bet may be to reach out to the whole class in Discord. I and the rest of our class community can respond. :)
You can also contact me via direct message in Discord. This is the quickest and easiest way to get me a quick a message!
If you have a question about the course, send me a Canvas Inbox message. I will respond within 36 hours (I am faster on weekdays). FYI: Sunday is my typical day off. :)
In this course, you are going to be asked to work with technology, and, well, technology doesn't always work the way we think it should! To stay sane, and keep your friends, family, and colleagues sane, you will need to develop a balanced approach to technology frustration. The keyword is balanced. Here is the two-pronged approach to balancing technical woes:
Have grit. Google it, watch YouTube videos, get to know all of the content provided by AWS, and review the Canvas Guides. I have made sure to provide lots of extra resources in Canvas. Learning how to find and use tech resources will save you so much time and frustration. Solving a problem on your own is empowering and it also establishes confidence that you can draw upon the next time you encounter a problem.
Ask for help. Don't try so hard to figure it out yourself that you end up incredibly frustrated. When you feel your blood pressure rise or notice you have started yelling at your computer, that means it's time to take a deep breath and contact someone:
a classmate in Discord
Canvas Help (left-side menu in Canvas or call 916-278-2450)
and/or me.
As your course facilitator/instructor, I am your contact if you need help in this course. Remember, all of my contact info is on the homepage of this Syllabus site. If you're having difficulty, it's OK. We are all in this together!
Please feel free to message me if you find one of those pesky broken links. I want to make sure this experience is amazing for us all!
You may be able to complete all of your assignments on a personal computer if you have reliable internet access and all of the free software mentioned in Canvas on the Technology Requirements page. If you find this while reading the syllabus, submit in Canvas a picture of a cup of tea for a bonus.
Computers fail! (often at the worst possible moment) Be prepared with a backup plan.
The library is a great place to use a computer, meet up for a study group, or find a quiet nook. The staff are very helpful. Here are the Sierra College libraries' hours.
Click the link above for all of the student tech support resources including live Chat! You can also email studenttechsupport@sierracollege.edu
We are making more technology free and available for students if they need it! If you need a laptop, WiFi hotspot, webcam, and/or earbuds with mic, you are encouraged to fill out a Request Form available on the Student Tech Support page.
Please take care of yourself and ask for support when you need it. We are here to help you succeed! You will do great things.
Check out the Student Services page on the Sierra college website, including this cool support programs filter!
There are so many resources on campus it is hard to keep track of them all. So, I would like to make sure you have Connie Raynor's contact info. She is the Student Support Specialist for the Applied Technologies Interest Area. She is a wonderful woman who wants to help and can "get you an in" to the best resources for your situation. Her office is in the Student Success Center (4th floor of the Rocklin Library) and her contact info is craynor@sierracollege.edu and (916) 660-7456.
For technical difficulties with Canvas, you can call the Canvas Student Support Hotline at (844) 303-0350 (from our Canvas course, this number can be accessed by selecting "Help" in the Canvas global navigation menu on the left).
The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Hungry to Learn web page highlights the story of five students who describe their struggles attending college while hungry and/or homeless. Their stories are not unusual. Check out the free food that we currently have available for Sierra College students who may be experiencing food insecurity.
Aunt Bertha is a one-stop-shop resource website. The website provides contact information, maps, and directions for resources/services like food pantries, housing, health, legal, and much more.
Continue on to the next page!