New diploma/cert III students 2014 - study group?

[Lalasmooch]

Hello, first time poster here. I am starting the new diploma of early childhood in March through Tafe open learning. Just looking for other members starting online in 2014 that would be interested in joining a study group, where we can chat and help/support each other throughout the course. Studying online from home is convenient but you do miss out on the classmate factor, so I figured this is a great alternative! If anyone is keen let me know here, if we get enough interest I'll create a group
Any provider is fine and since the new diploma is the cert 3/diploma clusters combined those studying a cert 3 are welcome too. Good luck to everyone in 2014

[tracyck1]

hi I just my new diploma this year and I'm doing through work
But u can count me in

Thank
Tracy

[Lalasmooch]

Hey Tracey, thanks! Great to hear.
Hopefully some other students stumble across this thread and are interested

[Misse84]

Hi !

I am studying for mine through OTEN. Happy to add people on facebook or email.

[tracyck1]

hi
you can add me if you want mate

Tracie

[florecita]

Hi
I am new here, too. I think the study group is a great idea.
I' ll enroll soon and would like to join.
Thanks

[Shantel82]

Hi all.
I am currently doing my Diploma through Tafe Open Learning. I finished my cert 3 at the end of last year.
It would be good to be able to talk to others!

Shantel

[missydonald]

Hi, I am doing diploma through tafe as well started this year. So count me in.

Missy

[Lalasmooch]

Hey everyone,
Thanks for replying, I'm glad there's so much interest I'm going to create a Facebook group tomorrow and post the link here so you all can join, and we'll go from there.
Good luck with your studies guys

[cookie83]

Hi I'm doing my Diploma through TBM, but doing correspondence, I'd love to join your study group too please?
Lisa

[sadiajmal]

Wonderful idea would love to join too! BTW how will you organize it??
Sia

[kel24]

Hi there
I have just started studying my diploma through my work place, and would be interested in joining a study group
Thanks Kellie

[Lorina]

Hi Students,

Great to hear that so many of you want to start a study group and support one another! Since you are all members of this site I think that you should start the study group here on this site itself rather than on Facebook. Since you will also receive study support on this site through assignment support and you can also find a lot of resources already it will make it most beneficial and others who haven't been invited can easily join as well when it stays on this site.

We also have a "My Wall" feature similar to Facebook which allows you to chat amongst yourselves if you want to create your own group. This is available in My Network (link on the top right hand side). I will be more than happy to assist you all in setting this up on this site.

Let me know,

,
L.A

[hawksgirl91]

I have been doing the Diploma over the last year but now that they are bringing in a new one i have just got package to start that so would be great to join this study group as only have a chance to see my teacher when she come visits which isn't as often as would like so by having support through other people on here would be great!

[moomilker]

HI EVERYONE,
first time poster.....
I have just started my diploma too and think this is a great idea so we can help each other.

im working on CHCECE016 just got a couple questions to finish off

michelle

[brionyhowell]

Hey guys I am half way through my placement for my cert 3 and doing my placement for my cert 3 in education support. I started my diploma about a month ago through Kirana online. Enrolled via the up skilled website. Nearly finished my first 2 units. Just stuck on the last couple of questions. I would love to join your study group

[bridgetcmurray]

I'm currently about to start my diploma at Box Hill tafe, we've started off with some Certificate 3 subjects. I'd love to join the study group on facebook??

[Lorina]

Hi Students,

It is interesting to see the number of students who have posted on this topic and wants to join a study group. I am happy to see our students eager / interested on this. Although I dont quite understand on how and what you are expecting out of a "study group" that you cant already achieve from our forum features. So here is my question to you:

What would you all like to achieve from the study group? Most probably you want help and support with assignments and support from one another during your studies. So that's one of the main reasons for starting a study group, isnt that right?

I just wanted to point out that all students can use our forum on this website basically like a study group itself. Our Forum provides the features you need to support one another during your course. If you are studying your Diploma, Cert 3, etc.., you can post up your topic in our forum to get support from the community and fellow students. Right now, I noticed that a lot of students ask support for assignments they are having trouble with. Similarly most of them are not participating helping out other fellow students on other topics. My suggestion is you can all start assisting one another on each others questions and work together. This will make it easier for all of you to get through your course and learn a lot from it. This will develop the community and also develop your own skills when you read other people's questions and respond to them. Sharing your own responses on topics or units you are completing (or even yet to complete) will help you gain confidence and increase your own skills, knowledge and understandings. This is the biggest benefit of participating in forum discussions. Really speaking, this is what a study group in my opinion should be. So why dont you start making use of the feature that is already available on this website, start participating in discussions and start supporting one-another since that is the whole purpose of having the Student Forums here.

Here are some ways you can make use of our Forum like a Study Group:

1) Subscribe to Forums for Notification: You can subscribe to the Diploma forums, Cert III or Bachelor degree forums so you can get an email notification when a new topic / posts gets posted in these forums. This way you know whats going on in our Forums. It could be related the a question you might be currently stuck on or maybe you had just completed them. Either ways, you can benefit from it by participating on that topic discussion. Here are the steps on how you can subscribe to forums so you can get notifications.

• How to Subscribe to Forums: To subscribe to forums to receive notifications on new topics or posts in that forum, just go to the Forum category page (the page that lists all the topics in that forum), scroll down that page and click on "Subscribe Forum" link at the bottom. This will be located above the Facebook share options at the bottom of the page.
  
  Here are the links to our Students forums so you can subscribe today for email notifications:
  
  1) Certificate 3 & Certificate 4 - General Discussions
  2) Certificate 3 in Children’s Services - Assignments Support
  3) Diploma & Advanced Diploma - General Discussions
  4) Diploma of Children’s Services - Assignments Support
  5) Bachelor Degree - General Discussions
  6) Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies - Assignments Support

You can always change the subscription settings in your User Control Panel in the future.

2) Support Each Other: When you see a question posted by another student, do take a quick moment to try and add your response or comments to that topic. Even a couple of minutes on that will help hugely to other students. Even if you dont know the answer, try and discuss on how you can maybe answer that. Participating in discussions will help you understand others views on that topic that can also help you with your studies. Similarly, this will develop the community and more students will join in the conversation and be willing to help you out on your questions too in return.

3) Share your tips: If you have any tips that worked for you, then do share them with others. You dont always need to have a question in order to create a new topic in our forum. Sometimes, you can even share tips on the time table or daily routine that helps you manage your studies, what worked for you in completing your studies, etc.. etc.. It can be anything.

4) Ask your questions: If you are stuck on anything, ask your questions to the community. When asking questions, remember to follow the guidelines mentioned in our Forum Rules.

5) Use our Forums instead of Facebook: I know a lot of people prefer using Facebook for anything and everything. Although facebook might be easier for you, it stays more private and doesnt really help out others with the knowledge and resources it can offer. People who are reading these conversations in the future will also learn a lot from it so these are always helpful. Have you ever tried searching for an answer in Facebook? Its virtually impossible to locate an answer if you are going to visit a page after a few days or weeks. They are always hidden at the bottom, they cannot be searched by google and only the last 3 comments will be visible. So if a new student searching for a question that might have already been answered in a facebook page before, there is no way of them knowing about it. Thats why a lot of times the same questions are being asked again and again in FB. On the other hand, anything you share in our Forums are indexed by google. Which means these are "Resourceful Information" for everyone who may be looking or searching for these information in the future. This is the biggest benefit of these forums since it helps the community overall.

Remember: The main purpose of Study Group is not to only ask questions just when you need help. Its about supporting one another. You will learn a lot more when you read other students questions when you try and help them with your views. This will improve your skills, your confidence, your knowledge and also your studies. So dont hold back. Make use of this feature and the purpose of this website.

I am always going to be here to support you through your course. However I just hope that the students who post here participate more on other's topics and be more supportive to one another. Nothing makes me more happier than seeing our students joining in the discussions and our community participation growing. Looking forward to see your participation.....

Cheers ,
L.A

[catchmeifucan]

Good point Lorina! All very valid! When I was doing my Diploma I contributed in almost all topics asked by other students whenever I can. This kept me motivated and also helped me with my studies.

@ Students: Lorina is right. You need to participate more in these forums to learn more. Study Group is not equal to Sharing Answers. You need to be more involved if you want support from one another and not just wait for someone to answer your assignment questions. What is stopping you from using these forums in this site efficiently?

[Shantel82]

That is all very valid.
I think why people tend to want a study group is not so they can just get answers and not learn but more so in having people from the same tafe/area/course. Getting know people more than on a forum. Where you can feel like you can give an answer. Personally I would reply on peoples' posts but I worry I'm leading them down the wrong path. I'm just a parent and student, not a childcare professional.
I love this forum and thought that the page was being set up for the group. Not being able to pm each other can be a problem for some people because you can't get to know each other as well as you want on a public forum.
I understand not wanting people to leave the forum for a study group on facebook. You want and need your traffic here, where everyone can get a hand.
I've run websites before so I understand where you are coming from. I actually wondered how long it would be before the idea was shot down for that reason.
It's not just about posting a question and getting an answer it really is the personal touch you get from a community.
I like this site and won't leave but they are my thoughts on why people would probably like a study group.