Tag Archives: social media

What does a snow day mean for your NOVA Online courses?

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With winter here it is important to be aware of NOVA’s inclement weather policy and know what that means for your NOVA Online courses.  Staying informed will allow you to plan accordingly and stay safe! NOVA makes it easy for you to stay up-to-date in the event of an emergency closing or delay. snow dayIf the College is closed or delayed due to an emergency or inclement weather, a text alert will be sent to cell phones registered on NOVA Alert, a notice will be posted on the home page of the College’s website, and a message will appear on our cable television station as well as several local radio and television stations. The College also uses several media sources to announce delays and closings. The Emergency Preparedness website provides more information as you are planning ahead.

What does this mean for your NOVA Online class?

All in-person class sessions, and in-person labs will be canceled or delayed based on NOVA’s announcements. If you are planning to take an exam at the campus testing center, you will want to note that any closings or delays will affect campus testing center hours. Campus closing and delays will affect all campus offices, tutoring centers, and libraries.

Keep in mind, even when the college is closed, you can still log into Blackboard to access your NOVA Online courses.  A snow day is the perfect time to work on assignments and get ahead. If you have a live, virtual session scheduled, that meeting may still take place. Be sure to check your student email and blackboard announcement section to find out if the closing or delay will affect your NOVA Online course or if due dates have been changed due to the weather.

If you have not already, sign up for NOVA Alert today!

This week at NOVA Online!

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Tomorrow, Monday, February 23rd is the start date for the 3rd 8-week courses. Do you have courses starting tomorrow? You might not see your course open until tomorrow. Any Blackboard questions? Check out Blackboard tutorial tips to learn more.

Do you have any questions for us? Call, email or chat with us!

Tuesday, February 24 from 12:00 – 2:00 pm & 6:00 – 8:00 pm – Participate in a Ask the Transfer Representative webinar. Do you have questions about transferring? Chat online with transfer representatives from any of the institutions listed below each session date. Registration is required.

Are you Ready for Online Learning? Interested in enrolling in an online class, but not sure if it is right for you? Starting a class this week and want to make sure you know and understand your strengths and challenges? Take the Smarter Measure assessment to help gage your readiness for online classes. Contact NOVA Online Success Coach, Jennifer Reed at jereed@nvcc.edu for a username and password.

Northern Virginia Community College has contracted with Tuition Management Services (TMS) to process electronic financial aid disbursements to students who are entitled to excess financial aid after all institutional charges for tuition, fees, and books have been paid. You have the ability to receive excess financial aid disbursements in as little as one to two business days, depending on your choice.

ToBeMe@NOVA: First Generation College Students

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For the month of February 2015, we will be highlighting NOVA’s First-Generation College Students. Many of NOVA’s students are the first person in their family or household to ever go to college and with that role comes a very unique experience. This distinguished student group, like the many we serve at NOVA, has unparalleled strengths and character that deserves to be celebrated.

We are asking our First Generation Students to share what it’s like to be a First Generation Student at NOVA. Over the next two weeks, we want to know how handle the expectations of others,  how you balance your coursework with all your other responsibilities, what it feels like to hold this position in your family, and anything more about your experience you think others need to know.

Please respond to this post with your comments and experiences. You may also post your response on NOVA Online’s Facebook and NOVA Online’s Twitter pages with the #ToBeMe@NOVA after your comment.

***Please make sure all comments are appropriate for an academic setting. Please refrain from posting obscenities, profanity, and otherwise offensive remarks***

Be on the look out for First Generation College Student resources for students, faculty, and staff on the next ToBeMe@NOVA posting on Feb. 27, 2015!

#DigitalCivility

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"Duty Calls" comic by http://xkcd.com
  -"Duty Calls" by Randall Munroe
             Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 Generic License

We regularly hear about the harassment and bullying that occurs within social media. In fact, a Pew research study has found that “60% of internet users said they had witnessed someone being called offensive names.”  So what can you do to make the internet a safer place?

image of Civility in the Digital Age: How Companies and People Can Triumph over Haters, Trolls, Bullies and Other Jerks by Andrea Weckerle e-book cover

from safaribooksonline.com

The book “Civility in the Digital Age: How Companies and People can Triumph Over Haters, Trolls, Bullies, and Other Jerks” by Andrea Weckerle offers great advice for handling conflict over the web.

The author offers a “30-Day Action Plan for restoring civility to your corner of the digital world.”1 Here’s some of what you will learn:

    • “Master the foundational skills you need to resolve and prevent conflict online
    • Stay cool and effectively manage conflict in even the highest-pressure online environments
    • Differentiate between what people say and what they really want
    • Create a positive online footprint—or start cleaning up a negative image
    • Recognize online troublemakers and strategize ways to handle them
    • Manage your own anger—and, when necessary, express it online safely and productively
    • Strategically manage others’ online hostility and frustration”1

Interested in learning more? Visit NOVA library’s website (http://www.nvcc.edu/academics/library) to read this e-book and to find other resources on the topic. As always, if you need assistance please contact the NOVA Online library at NOVA Online-Library@nvcc.edu.

#DigitalCivility

 1. Excerpted from safaribooksonline.com

This week at NOVA Online!

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Today, Monday, February 2nd is the start date for the 2nd 8-week courses. Do you have courses starting today? Do you have access to your course in Blackboard? Any Blackboard questions? Check out Blackboard tutorial tips here.516356269

Monday, February 2 from 12:15-1:15pm – Participate in an NOVA Online Orientation Webinar – This one hour webinar will focus on getting started in your courses, navigating your Blackboard course site, and identifying tips for success and student support services. The NOVA Online Orientation is highly recommended for students who are new to online learning. Register or request a recording here.

Wednesday, February 4 from 12:15 – 1:00 pm – Participate in an Focus on Your Career Planning Webinar – This 30 minute webinar will introduce students to FOCUS 2 an online, interactive, self-guided career and education planning system.  The system can help students select a program/major based on their interests and aspirations, discover occupations matching their personal preferences and attributes, map out their career plans – present and future, and make informed career decisions. Register here.

While enrolled in courses, you may want to register for NOVA Alert to get emergency related messages, including closures due to inclement weather. Campus closures will affect all campus offices, including the testing centers, tutoring centers, and campus libraries.

February’s focus on the blog is Effective Communication Skills. Throughout the month we will post topics and have guest bloggers related to improving and fine-tuning your written communication. To kick off the topic, we recommend the Effectively Communicating Online Student Lingo video. What are challenges you face with communicating in your online courses?

This week at NOVA Online

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To celebrate National Career Development Month (NCDM), we are posting quotes on Twitter throughout the month. What is your favorite quotes? Leave a comment and let us know!

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. -Confucius

Conducting a Job Search Webinar: This 45 minute webinar will focus on basic strategies for conducting a job search. Topics covered will include creating a plan, identifying sources of job leads, and resume, cover letter, and interview basics.

Preparing for Finals Webinars – Are you ready for Finals Week? NOVA Online can help you prepare! The How to Prepare for Finals webinar will focus on topics and strategies to help ease anxiety and help you study smart such as: Early preparation, planning your approach and taking the exam.

Spring Registration is underway! If you have any questions about enrolling in the correct classes for the spring semester, contact the NOVA Online Counselors at 703.323.2425 or elicounselors@nvcc.edu.

Managing the Demands of School through Meditation

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College students have a lot on their plates. Students’ have to maintain their jobs outside of school, fulfill the obligations of their personal relationships, and stay on top of the workload of each course! With these demands often conflicting with one another, the need for finding the balance between them is pressing. But how can it be done?

So often people fervently search for peace of mind as if it is the medal you win after making it through the maze of life. But what if the answer to finding balance is already within you and all it takes is for you to retreat within yourself to find it?

Now, the golden question, why should I even try it? I’m so glad you asked! Tons of research has been done on the efficacy of meditation and the benefits are numerous, in particular for the unique population of college students. Studies show that:

  • 30 minutes of meditation 7 days a week increases creativity and elevates mood (you can do this on your lunch break!)
  • Meditation reduced distractive and ruminating thoughts in distressed college students
  • Incorporating meditation into everyday life has shown to increase positive emotions in students
  • Meditation improved academic performance and school behavior, reduced anxiety, heightened self-compassion, and decreased notions of perfectionism and self-criticism in college students (Simply by sitting quietly for 15-20 minutes a day!)

Meditation doesn’t have to be this elaborate process that can only be done when you’re looking out of your third eye while standing on your head on top of a mountain. There are many activities that elicit a meditative, mindful, and relaxed state that you can do every day. Below are some suggestions; just find a quiet spot and try them.

  • Transcendental Meditation: Sit comfortably, breathe deeply, repeat a mantra internally to focus your energy, observe your thoughts and emotions rather than react to them
  • Guided Imagery Meditation: Picture a soothing scene, engage all your senses to make the image as real as possible (do you smell flowers? is there are breeze on your face?), let your mind get lost in the scene
  • Movement Meditation, i.e. walking, yoga, tai chi (and it’s great exercise)
  • Reading/quiet time: creates a great break from the mundane.

***Omvana is a great iPhone/iPad mediation app and it’s FREE!***

Starting your mornings off with a meditation exercise will ready you for the demands that lay ahead throughout your day by giving you a clear head and a more positive disposition. Taking a moment to recharge at work when you feel overwhelmed, doing a focused meditation on a specific topic, i.e. eliminating self-doubt, etc. can make all the difference in increasing productivity in all areas of your life. Remember that peace already resides in you and it is refocusing on that internal happiness that will better equip you to deal with whatever obstacle that comes your way. Namaste!

–Jennifer Reed, Student Success Coach, NOVA Online

Contact me for the list of research articles used to write this post or for more meditation suggestions.

See other related blogs:

A Little Meditation Exercise to Refresh Your Brain

Getting a Good Start to Your Morning

NOVA Online Leadership Common Experience: Week 5 cont..

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Social Media Netiquette

Computer Cloud real image

Earlier this week we stressed the importance of understanding proper “Netiquette” and creating a positive online presence when you are an online student. Have you thought about how you can continue to keep that positive positive presence  outside of that online classroom? That’s right, were talking about Social Media! Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube and many other sources that you can use to virtually be “social” with other people.

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With so many people using these forms of media, we want to share with you some helpful tips and reminders to maintain that positive presence in the digital social world. Learn more about Social Media Netiquette now.

 

Resources:

http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social-media-statistics-2014_b57746

http://www.learnthenet.com/learn-about/social-netiquette/index.php

http://www.digitalsherpa.com/blog/how-social-media-has-changed-in-the-last-few-years/

This week at NOVA Online!

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Throughout week 5 of the Leadership Common Experience, we will discuss Netiquette- Creating a Positive Online Presence.

Have you created a Google+ account with your VCCS Student Email address? Learn how to create the account, and join or leadership google community.

Leadership Webinar Series – Looking for motivation to develop your personal leadership skills? Participate in a leadership webinar in conjunction with NOVA Online’s Leadership Common Experience! Join us on Thursday, September 25 from 6:00-7:00, for a NOVA Alumni speaker, Omnia Elgoodah. Omina will share her success story and talk about her leadership experience as a NOVA student. Find out more information and register here.  

Thank You!

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We have reached a milestone of 500 likes on our NOVA Online Facebook page! Thank you to all our followers! Are you connected with us on social media?  We post a lot of tips and announcements throughout the semester to help you in your course. We also have trivia and other opportunities to win NOVA Online prizes! Join us on Facebook and Twitter!

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