Department of Computing
Casual Academic Staff
Induction Booklet
July 2008
Schedule
& University Calendar weeks
Practical/Tutorial
Arrangements
Access
and Use of the Tea Room E6A302
Louella
Almeida’s Availability
Foundations
in eLearning and Teaching Course
Getting
Started in Teaching Booklet
6.
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)
Your
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Responsibilities
We
trust you enjoy your teaching experience with the Department of Computing this
semester. To help with this process, the following information has been
prepared as a general guide to requirements for casual academic staff. This
information should be read in conjunction with the material relating to your
appointment and personnel matters.
Read
the Study Guide regularly for the unit you are involved with – it contains
information you and the students are expected to know.
http://www.comp.mq.edu.au/undergrad/info/units/index.htm
Check
the unit homepage’s “What’s on this Week/What’s New” before attending your
first practical or tutorial class each week.
Staff
Unit
convenors and lecturers for all computing units may be found at:
http://www.comp.mq.edu.au/undergrad/people/teachinglist.htm
Some
units have classes that start in Week 1, others in Week 2. Please check the
“When do classes start” page on the Computing web-site to determine the week
classes start for each unit: http://www.comp.mq.edu.au/undergrad/info/unitstart.htm
Not
all units have classes in every teaching week. Please check the Study Guide on
the web-site to determine whether or not Tutorials and/or Practicals are
running each week. If in doubt please contact the Unit Convenor.
Please
note that the numbering of the weeks in a semester is as per the university academic
calendar which can be found at http://senate.mq.edu.au/dates.html
Sylvian Chow keeps a library of textbooks. Please contact her
if you need to borrow a copy of one of the current textbooks. Note that while
we make every effort to secure extra copies of the textbooks, it may not be
possible for all casual staff to receive an individual copy. Please refer to
your unit convenor for additional resources. All textbooks must be returned to Sylvian
at the end of each semester.
Please contact Sylvian if you require a folder with a class
list. The folders will provide
information from the current lecturer about the current practical/tutorial and
a class list. At times the class list will include the marks the student has
received to date. If you note a problem with the marks listed, please let Sylvian
know (via email, giving the unit code, your name and details of the particular
problem).
Please collect your folder(s) from the mailbox in the E6A
tearoom before your first class each week. Please return them via the marked
assignment box on Level 1 of E6A. The box is marked “Class Folder Return”.
Remember to collect your folder sufficiently in advance to be
able to digest the contents before the start of your class.
You will receive unit information via your ...@ics email
account. Please check your account regularly.
In some units, particularly at 100-level, assignment marking
will be undertaken in the practical sessions (see the relevant Study Guide for
details regarding assignment arrangements).
Where you are marking in a practical, please ensure you mark
the sheets in a pen colour other than black – this will make it easier for Sylvian
to see the details!
Staff will need to work quickly to ensure that as far as
possible all students who have assignments to be marked are in fact attended
to. Encourage students to add their name to a list on the whiteboard when they
are ready for marking so that they can be kept in an orderly queue.
If you are selected to do assignment marking of paper
submissions, you are required to return them to us within a fortnight, unless
otherwise specified by the Unit Convenor. These assignments should be handed
back to Sylvian Chow sorted in alphabetic order. Once the marks have been data
entered by Sylvian, the assignments will be ready for collection by the
students, from the Computing Dept - E6A360.
Even if students do not DIRECTLY ask for help, try to tease
out any problems they may be having (shyness or poor English may cause some
students to be hesitant in approaching prac supervisors), so try to be friendly
as well as firm.
For staff allocated to tutorials, you are required to provide
an hour of 'associated working time' for each paid tutorial hour. This
generally involves providing student consultations.
To help manage this in the Department, we have arranged for a
Help Desk separately for each level, in the labs. These are:
Help-101 in lab E6A 110 for consultations on 100-level units
Help-201 in lab E6A 121 for consultations on 200-level units
Help-301 in lab E6A 119 for consultations on 300-level units
As soon as you
have accepted the offer of employment, please note your consultation hours on
the schedules we have pasted onto the Counter outside the Department Office
E6A360. If you are an external applicant please email Sylvian Chow to let her know the timing of your consultation hours.
Students
may want to change their tutorial or practical class, or won’t be able to turn
up for assignment marking etc. To ensure fairness and equity in your dealings
with students, please note and implement the following:
• For in-class
marking, students must attend their scheduled practical class. You will know
who is meant to be in each practical class by the class list in the folder
prepared by Sylvian.
• If a student
wants to change their practical or tutorial class: all Undergraduate coursework
students are able to change classes via the Web enrolment system. The
Department (be it a practical supervisor, Sylvian or the Unit Convenor) is not
involved with student requests for class changes.
• For 100-level
students, it is essential for students to officially change their practical
class, as this may be the only one in which they will be able to have their
assignments marked.
• To be eligible
to temporarily attend a different practical (generally for one week),
students will
need to contact Sylvian
Chow
• Towards the end
of the semester, some students may seek extra assistance in the way of private
tuition. It is imperative that you deal with these requests to ensure you are
in no way compromising the integrity of the University teaching available to
the student. Clearly there could be a conflict of interest if you seek payment
from a student that is in your class or who you will mark at some later stage.
Standard departmental policy is to discourage tutors / practical demonstrators
from involving themselves in this activity, except for units for which they are
not involved in giving formal tuition.
At
the time practical supervisors and tutors are arranged, students are still
changing their enrolment. This means classes sizes are not normally stable
until after Week 2 (at the earliest). Once class sizes have stabilised, it is
sometimes necessary to rationalise offerings (for example, to move all students
to one lab, rather than have them split into two rooms etc). This will
obviously affect the number of practical supervisors and tutors employed. In
rationalising classes in order to ensure the efficient use of department
resources, equity and fairness are paramount. This is highlighted here to
emphasise that such a process does not reflect on the quality of the supervision provided, but
rather on the number of students enrolled in a particular class.
You will not be required to teach on public holidays as there
will be no classes. There are no public holidays during the teaching weeks in
semester 2. Friday 19 September 2008 is
Conception Day at
Sylvian
Chow is the Undergraduate Administrator and is responsible for administration
matters. Sylvian is available to assist students and casual academics daily
i.e. Monday to Friday from 9.30 am to 4 pm. Sylvian’s office is E6A 360.
You
will need a key to access the E6A tea room. If you do not have access to this
room, please contact the Computing Dept E6A360 Monday to Friday between 9.30
am. - 4.00 pm. to request a key. Please note that this is a staff room and
is used by many people. Please ensure you keep the door closed and do not loan
your key to anyone else. Milk is provided but you will need to bring your own
tea/coffee. You will need to return this key to Sylvian Chow at the end of the
semester.
During
Semester – Mondays to Fridays
The
main entry to Level 1 is open from 7 am to 9 pm this includes the doors and
sliding doors.
Entry
to the southern end of the building (used to access the labs) is open from 7 am
to 1 am.
The
lift and the fire stairs near the lift are open 7 am to 7 pm, after which an
access card is needed to use the lift.
During
Semester – weekends and public holidays
Access
to Level 2 and 3 are closed except for those with access cards.
During
the break – All days
The
main entry to Level 1 is open from 7 am to 7 pm this includes the doors, lift
and sliding doors.
Entry
to the southern end of the building (used to access the labs) is open till 1
am, till the date of the Supplementary Exam and is closed thereafter.
Access
to Level 2 and 3 are closed except for those with access cards.
Please
note: As the second and third floors
of Building E6A are closed from 7.00 pm – 7.00 am each weekday and all hours of
the weekend (and Public Holidays), you need to take this into account if you
are teaching in the Electronics lab on level 2 ie E6A 265.
Should you require stationery (e.g. whiteboard pens etc)
please ask for this at the Computing Dept E6A360 Monday to Friday between 9.30
am. to 4.00 pm.
Two mailboxes have been set up in the Staff Tea Room. The
CASUAL ACADEMIC STAFF PICK-UP mailbox – this should be checked periodically for
any mail that we might have left for you. The mail will be in individual covers
addressed to you by name.
The CASUAL ACADEMIC STAFF TIMESHEETS mailbox is for you to
drop off your timesheets. Do not wait for the last day to drop off your
timesheets, but please do so as and when you have completed work for the
fortnight. This helps the processing workload at our end.
We will generally contact you via
email. Please make sure you read your email account regularly.
You will be issued with an Identity Card which must be worn
in a clearly visible place, while you are on duty that is when taking a class.
Please collect your card from the Computing Dept E6A360 Monday to Friday
between 9.30 am. to 4.00 pm. Identity cards must be returned to us at the end
of the semester.
The University
no longer issues paper pay slips. Your pay details are available at HR Online.
If you have not received your password for HR online please contact Philip Dartnell
at HR by email: philip.dartnell@pers.mq.edu.au
Please include your staff number in
your request. This is found on your contract if you are a casual or on previous
pay slips. If you are new HR will tell you your staff number.
Should you move house or have
made any changes to your personal details, eg change in name, visa status or
qualifications; you will need to fill out the ‘Changes to Personal Details’
Form8.11a http://www.pers.mq.edu.au/forms/8/811a.pdf
Timesheet Due Dates
Please check the website for
the Timesheet Due Date in 2008. http://www.comp.mq.edu.au/casual_academics/TimesheetDueDates_2008.htm
Delivery point for
timesheets:
Timesheets should be dropped
off into the Casual Academic Staff Timesheets mailbox, in the Staff Tea Room in
E6A Level 3.
You will receive a computer
account on the relevant server(s). This will enable you to access unit
material. If you have any difficulty accessing material, please contact the
Computer Technical Services (CTS) Section via help@ics.mq.edu.au remembering
to state who you are and what your problem is. CTS staff can be found in E6A355
or ext 9553 (9.00 – 6.00 Mon to Fri).
You
must NOT use your named staff account for anything other than work directly
associated with your employment with the Department of Computing. This is
particularly important for casual academic staff who are also Macquarie
University students – using your staff account for non-work related purposes is
a breach of the laboratory usage rules and could result in suspension from
employment and/or your studies.
You
will receive an ICS email account. Casual staff who are also students must use
their student account while other staff will receive a named @ics.mq.edu.au
account. Unit convenors will use your ...@ics.mq.edu.au address to contact
you. Please make sure you check it regularly. If you prefer to use a
non-ics email address, please ensure you have your ...@ics emails forwarded
appropriately. Note that we would not recommend using non-ics accounts, as we
have experienced difficulties contacting staff whose accounts are full or no
longer in existence.
Email
aliases have been set up to facilitate contact between staff:
Practical
supervisors: <unitcode>-prac@ics.mq.edu.au
Tutors:
<unitcode>-tut@ics.mq.edu.au
All
staff: <unitcode>-allstaff@ics.mq.edu.au
For example, to contact all COMP115 practical supervisors’
use:
comp115-prac@ics.mq.edu.au
All emails sent to these aliases will use your
...@ics.mq.edu.au email address.
The Department of Computing provides a range of computing
facilities to enable students to undertake the practical components of its
teaching program. To ensure fair and equitable access to these facilities,
laboratory usage rules have been established.
http://www.comp.mq.edu.au/undergrad/policies/lab_usage.htm
Please
ensure you are familiar with these rules.
As
the staff member in charge of a laboratory, you are responsible for ensuring
due and proper conduct of the class. This may mean asking all non-practical
students to leave the room. Note that students do not have a right to use a
computer if there is a scheduled class running, unless they are registered for
that particular class (and laboratory).
No
eating or drinking is permitted in the Laboratories. Should you notice this
happening, please ask students politely but firmly to refrain from doing so. If
they do not take heed, please ask the Security (Dial 7112) to remove them from
the class.
Do
not send any students to the Computer Technical Services (CTS) during Week 1.
Students who are unable to log on should be asked to sit with another student
and complete the practical class together. The student should then be
encouraged to try and logon before the start of their next practical class. If
there are a large number of students unable to logon after Week 1, send one
student to CTS (E6A355) to ask for a CTS officer to attend the laboratory to
deal with the problem.
Each
student receives a cumulative printing allocation each week. Details are
available at: http://www.comp.mq.edu.au/undergrad/labs/
Contact
CTS for assistance to simple technical problems. (extn. 9553)
Three labs have been fitted out
with data projectors - E6A112, E6A119 and E6A121. Access to using these
projectors will be via a swipe card. If you are scheduled to have classes in
any of these labs please contact Sylvian Chow to obtain a swipe card or if you
already have a card, to then have it upgraded to include this access. It is our
aim to have all seven computing labs fitted out with data projectors shortly.
Students have a right to expect
professionalism from their teachers. You have undertaken a commitment for the
full semester.
If you are
unable to attend a class, it is your responsibility to contact one of your
colleagues to try and arrange a swap. Use the email aliases noted above to
arrange a replacement. You must also inform Louella Almeida of such temporary changes to your class
allocation.
To find a replacement for a
tutorial please contact only staff currently doing tutorials in that
unit.
If you wish to resign from this
position, please contact Louella Almeida as soon as possible and she will
arrange a replacement.
Louella
is available from 9.30 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday. Drop by at any time to see
her. However to avoid disappointment, should Louella be away, please make an
appointment to see her prior.
You
will need to work the hours that you have agreed to in our offer of employment and
the tutor consultation times that you have committed to. We would expect
you to conduct yourself in a professional manner by turning up for work on time
and making yourself available for the entire duration of the allocated
class/consultation time.
Please
report any sharp drop in class attendance, i.e. less than 5 students, to
Louella Almeida and the Unit Convenor as soon as possible.
The Centre for Professional
Development (CPD) at
The
CPD “Getting Started in Teaching Booklet” is meant to support Casual Teaching
Staff. Section 3 which focuses on teaching and learning is particularly
important and is recommended reading. It will provide you with guidance and
helpful techniques.
Please also visit the CPD
webpage on “Teaching and Learning and the Macquarie Context” http://www.cpd.mq.edu.au/induction/tl.htm
The Department conducts unit
evaluations on all units each semester (via the Centre for Professional
Development) – http://www.cpd.mq.edu.au/evaluation/index.htm
For
a more individual assessment of your teaching, you are strongly encouraged to
contact CPD to arrange a teaching assessment (called TEDS – Teaching Evaluation
Development Service). Note that CPD requires at least ten (10) working days to
process requests. Please make sure you contact them in good time if you wish to
avail yourself of this opportunity.
The
Department has a monthly research seminar program featuring talks of general
interest. These are usually held on the first Friday of every month and are
advertised on the website at: http://www.comp.mq.edu.au/news/seminars/
There are also more specialised seminars organised by
individual research groups. If you are interested in any of these seminars
please contact the Director of Research (for the department seminars) or the
appropriate coordinator in the relevant research group (for the group
seminars).
You are responsible for your
own safety and that of students in any class you are supervising. To ensure you
are trained for this you are required to complete a number of online safety
modules within the first four weeks of employment. To complete them you will
need your staff (employee) number which will be on the contract copy when
returned to you. The modules can be found at the Division OHS website at
http://www.ics.mq.edu.au/ohs/induction/index.htm
The above training is for new
staff only and not for those that completed or attended an OHS training at
A
First Aid box has been set up in the Tea room E6A 302. The name and contact
details of the current First Aid Officer is on the front of this box. If you
require first aid and are unable to contact an ICS Division first aid officer,
please call Security on extension 7112. All Security staff are trained senior
first aid officers.
If
you are the person in charge of a class, you will assume the role of Floor or
Area Warden. When you hear the siren, bell or an instruction, please make your
way to the assembly point guiding your students there:
- Walk, do not
run, to the nearest safe EXIT
- Do NOT use the
lifts
- Proceed to the
assembly point (refer to placards in the building);