Learning Services

One of the first things to do is to prioritise your tasks. This will help to make planning more manageable. Start by considering your long-term, medium and short-term goals.

Long-term

The long-term time frame is your current year or term of study. 

Use a wall planner or calendar to enter major events for the year. Add major course events such as due dates for assignments, exam times, and work experience. It is also helpful to add in other fixed dates relating to  family or work and social events, friends' birthdays and holidays, major sport fixtures and weddings, parties, anything!

Try to avoid bottlenecks when setting deadlines. Hang your wall planner where you can see and check and update it regularly.

Medium-term

Medium-term is a typical week on your course. 

Make yourself a weekly timetable that shows all the activities for a normal week. Include class and tutorial times, work periods, home responsibilities such as shopping, child-minding, and meal times and any weekly social events such as sports practices. Decide when you are going to do your self-directed study. Remember to allow time for reading over lecture notes, preparing for tests and exams, research for assignments and writing and editing reports and assignments. It is also helpful to keep a list of things you want to achieve or work towards for that week. E.g. "Read Chapters 6, 7 & 11 of Management Accounting".  

Short-term

The short-term time frame is just a typical day.

Make a checklist each evening of things you need to do the next day. Prioritise these using numbers e.g. one for most important to three for least important. Use a diary or a sheet of paper and cross them off as you do them. Remember for an urgent task (priority one), it may be best to stick at this until it is completed.

While you study at WelTec we will support the development of  your literacy and numeracy skills so that you are prepared for further study or work.

We are here to help students at all programme levels with the literacy and numeracy components of their course. If you are a student studying in Level 1-3 programmes, your literacy and numeracy skills will be measured at the start of your course so that we can identify your learning needs. Students enrolled on Level 4-7 programmes who wish to develop their skills can also contact the Learning Commons team and arrange an appointment to discuss your specific learning needs.

Your tutors and the Learning Advisors team will help you to identify your literacy and numeracy learning goals and create an individual learning plan to help you achieve them. You will be linked to a dedicated and supportive team of people who will help to ensure that your specific needs are met.

For more information, please contact the Learning Commons Helpdesk:

Phone:  0800 141121  
Email: learningcommons@weltec.ac.nz

The process of doing a research assignment is valuable. It provides you with opportunities to develop abilities such as:

• Applying knowledge to solve problems
  
• Thinking critically
  
• Learning to communicate clearly 
  

These are capabilities that are required in the workplace. In the case of primary research, the findings could also be of real value to industry.

Step One: Understand the question 

Before you can begin to seek out information, you must have a clear understanding of your assignment question or the problem that needs to be solved in your research. 

For instructions on how to decode your assignment question, visit the Getting Started – Your First Assignment page.

Step Two: Gather Information

When you are sure you understand the question you must answer, you can begin to gather information. Information comes in many forms for many different audiences. You should always consider what types of information you need.

Types of Information

Do you need a book? Journal? Webpage? Newspaper? Your information needs depend on what you are being asked to do. Look carefully at your assignment description, and ask your tutor if you need more information about appropriate sources for research.

The University of West England has detailed information about the different types of sources you may decide use for your research. Click here to read more.

WelTec Library 

Visit the WelTec Library page or come in and talk to a librarian to learn more about WelTec's online and print resources.

As a WelTec student you have access to a lot of helpful online information in the form of databases. These can be helpful resources when conducting academic research. Follow the link for guides to using the EBSCOHost Database and the E-Book Library 

Evaluating Websites

The Internet provides access to an endless number of articles on any subject. Unlike library resources that have been carefully selected by professionals, the information that you find on the internet may not be suitable for academic purposes. This means that you need to critically evaluate what you find before you use it. 

Before you cite a website in your research, ask yourself Could this be a BAD URL? 

B = Bias

Bias is a slant towards a particular point of view. Check the page for evidence of bias, such as language that tries to sway your opinion. Think about what motivated the author to create the page. Are they trying to inform and explain; or are they trying to rant, rave, sell, persuade, or entice? Is the author connected to an organisation that might influence their treatment of the topic? Are alternative views considered? Has anything been deliberately left out? A good site will be fair, balanced, and objective.

A = Authority 

Who created the page? Look for names of people with authority in the subject, not just organisations. What makes the author an expert? What else have they written? Are they affiliated with a university, business, or organisation? Check the associated site to confirm their status. Do they provide any contact details? Look them up in a library database or Google Scholar to see what else they have written and if others have cited them

D = Date

Are you looking for current information? There should be a date on the page (date created, published, modified, updated, or revised). If you can’t find a date, be wary!

To check when a page was last modified, type: javascript:alert(document.lastModified) in the web browser address bar. Some search engines tell you when a page was published or modified. When using Chrome and Firefox you'll need to manually type this command in.

U = URL 

The URL can tell you a lot about a site. Who published the site which could give an indication as to their motivation. A person’s name or a tilde (~) symbol in the URL indicates a personal site. Look at the domain name (the first part of the URL between http:// and the next /). What does it end with?

Academic or educational sites are more likely to be reliable for academic research. However, depending on your assignment and type of research, material from other domains may be acceptable. 

Wikipedia is usually not a reliable source of information for academic research. You may use Wikipedia as a way of gaining general knowledge on a topic, but it is not an acceptable source for academic research.

R = Relevance

Is the site actually relevant to your research topic? Consider the level of information required. Who is the site is aimed at (children, consumers, the general public, students, academics, experts)? Oversimplified or generalised information may not be appropriate if you are writing for an expert or academic audience.

L = Links 

Do all of the links work? Dead links indicate a poorly maintained site. Links to poor quality sites weaken the pages credibility. Look for links to reliable supporting evidence and quality sources. Do other reputable sites provide links to the site that you are evaluating?

Step Three: Select Information

Once you have gathered material, you must select the important information from each source. Doing this requires you to practice your reading strategies, particularly skimming, scanning, and reading in detail. Click here to visit the Reading Skills page for more information on each of these strategies.

Research is an ongoing process. You may find that you have gathered and selected information, and then need to go back to the beginning to revise your research question and start again! 

This work includes Creative Commons material from the following sources: 

What is the difference between formal and informal writing?

Informal writing

Informal writing is the style you use when writing a letter, an email or a text to friends; when writing a blog or in a diary; or when taking notes from readings or lectures. Common features of informal language are: use of the first person (I, me), colloquialisms (informal language), contractions (two words combined into one), abbreviated language (shortened forms of words), feelings and opinions.

Formal writing

Formal writing is the style you use when writing academic essays, reports, and job applications. It has much stricter guidelines, which you need to follow in order to demonstrate that you have the ability to support your argument in a clear and concise way, and can present it in a professional manner.

Using an academic writing style

The ability to write well is important if you want to succeed in your studies and do well in your chosen field. You need to be able to express yourself clearly and accurately. This requires a formal writing style, a logical structure and language that is clear and precise.

Things you will need to avoid:

• Using first and second person pronouns (unless you are writing a reflective journal)
• Using colloquialisms (informal language)
• Using contractions (shortened forms of combined words)\
• Using sexist language (gender specific language)

Colloquialisms

Colloquialisms are words and expressions used in everyday language such as reckon instead of suppose, gonna instead of going to, and how come instead of why. Idioms (common expressions that mean something other than their literal meaning) such as I’m over the moon and It came from out of the blue are also colloquialisms. This type of language is used more commonly when you’re with friends or people you know well.  In academic writing a more formal style needs to be used in order to ensure that your argument or opinion is completely clear to anyone reading it.

Run on expressions such as etc and and so on should also be avoided.

Contractions

Another type of colloquialism is the contraction, which is when two words are combined, leaving out certain letters and replacing them with an apostrophe. For example, don’t (instead of do not), can’t (instead of cannot) and haven’t (instead of have not). In academic writing, you should use the full form instead of a contraction.

While you study at WelTec we will support you in the development of your mathematical skills so that you are prepared to apply them in future courses. 

We are here to help students at all programme levels with the mathematical components of their course. If you are a student studying in Level 1-3 programmes, your numeracy skills will be measured at the start of your course so that we can identify your learning needs. If you are enrolled on Level 4-7 programmes and you wish to develop your mathematical skills, you can also contact the Learning Commons team and arrange an appointment to discuss your specific learning needs.

Specialist Maths and Finance Learning Advisors

Mervyn Protheroe is very skilled at assisting engineering and IT students with calculations relevant to their courses of study. He has a doctorate in maths and enjoys assisting students to solve a wide range of questions. You can meet Mervyn individually, in a group or you can attend one of the Learning Commons Maths study circles - see the workshops section of Moodle for more information. 

To make an appointment with either of these advisors, please contact the Learning Commons Customer Service Officers by phone on 0800 141 121 or by email at learningcommons@weltec.ac.nz.

The Learning Commons at WelTec is a social learning space where you can access drop-in computers, library resources, meeting and study rooms and other assistance. The staff of the Learning Commons are your first point of contact for information and help with: 

• IT or login issues
• Assistance with accessing and using online learning
• Where to find places and people on campus
• Help for distance students
• Help to access and use WelTec services and resources
• Making appointments for support staff

WelTec provides students with access to four Learning Commons, at Petone, in Auckland, the Wellington Church Street Campus and the Wellington Cuba Street Campus, with the appropriate resources and subject collections required to support study in those locations.

Petone Learning Commons is located on Level 2 of Tower Block.

Church St Learning Commons is located on Level 3 of the Church St Campus. 

Cuba St Learning Commons is on Level 2 at the Cuba St campus. 

Learning Commons Manager

	Lin Ayo As the manager of the Learning Commons,  Lin brings a wide range of experience in providing high quality support services to students and staff. She has worked in tertiary institutions in New Zealand and the Middle East.

Learning Advisors

	Fiona Breen Team Leader Fiona has over five years experience as a Learning Advisor at WelTec. She has a background in hospitality and  business. Fiona is based at Petone on Mondays, Tuesdays,  Thursday and Fridays and at Cuba St on Wednesdays.		Mervyn Protheroe Maths Mervyn has over fifteen years’ experience as a Learning Advisor at WelTec. Mervyn helps students at all levels with most aspects of their study, but specialises in mathematics in areas such as Engineering, Information Technology, Business Studies and in any of the trades.
	Andrea Trueman Specific Learning Difficulties Andrea has recently moved to New Zealand from the UK. She has extensive experience working in learning support and is pleased to support the learning needs of all students at WelTec.		Solomon Daniel Pasifika Solomon has worked in a variety of roles at WelTec and recently joined the Learning Commons after working as a foundation skills tutor. Solomon is New Zealand-born Samoan.
	Jane Taylor Auckland Jane’s area of specialty is teaching and learning that is culturally engaging, recognizing that we are part of a community of learners and diversity is our strength. She has worked extensively in international education, teacher training, inquiry pedagogy and student-centered practice.		Manaini Cama Literacy and Numeracy Originally from Fiji, Manaini is WelTec's numeracy and literacy expert. She is also a graduate of WelTec's Bachelor of Information Technology and Graduate Diploma of Management.
	Marie Richardson International/ESOL Marie is a qualified English language teacher who has previously taught in Australia, Brazil and Vietnam. Now back in her native New Zealand Marie is keen to help WelTec's international students make the most of their study.		Rachael Leafe Māori Rachael has considerable experience as a Learning Advisor and tutor at the tertiary level.  She is of Te Atiawa, Ngati Mutunga and Samoan descent and enjoys working with students to achieve their goals.

Helpdesk and Events Team

	Therese Keil Helpdesk Officer See Therese to find out the answers to any questions  you might have about study support at WelTec.		Johanna Moeller Helpdesk Officer Jo is one of the friendliest people you will meet at WelTec. She enjoys making sure that  all students at WelTec feel  welcome.
	Carmaritta Marshall Student Liaison Officer Cam is the mastermind  behind many of the events run around WelTec. Speak  to her today if you would  like to be involved.