School holidays, your student visa and you!

Most of you will be undergoing your final exams for the study period this week and a lucky few will have finished already (phew!) so its an appropriate time for you to think about how your student visa conditions will affect you over the summer holiday period.

Some of you will be jetting off home to spend the break with your families so we wish you the best of luck for your holdiays and new year. Student visa's are multiple entry so you can leave the country and come back on the same visa if you will still be studying in your course in 2009 but it is important to be aware that if you are completing your final period of study this month and will be applying for a further substantive visa your student visa may cease on the date your application is received by DIAC and an interim "Bridging Visa A" applied. This is fine if you wish to remain in Australia until a decision is made on your new visa application but if you wish to leave the country after you have applied for your new visa you may need to apply for a "Bridging Visa B" which allows you to travel overseas and return at a later date. If you do not apply for a "Bridging Visa B" and you are currently on a "Bridging Visa A", if you leave the country you will not be able to re-enter as the Bridging Visa A is strictly one way, once you leave thats it. So its important to know exactly which visa you are currently holding and its conditions at any one time.

For those of you who will remain in Australia and intend to work over the summer holiday break the standard student visa limitation of no more than 20 hours work per week remains in effect for the entire duration of the study period which for students who started courses in SP5 is between 28th July and 29th November 2008. Even if you have finished all your exams the work limitation will remain in place until the end of semester. The good news is that the limitation only remains in effect during periods of study and from 30th November 2008 student visa holders can work unlimited hours right up until they commence their next period of study.

As always, be aware of the current visa you are holding and its conditions.

And have a great summer holidays!

Exam success - it's all about preparation

Thank you Clip Art!

Well, it's that time of the study period again - exam time! It comes around quickly, doesn't it?

As usual, dear reader, we are posting some goodies for you to maximise your preparation and performance.

Really (strictly speaking) the preparation for final exams starts in week 1 - doesn't it? Keeping track of your notes and topic materials; revising lecture notes on a weekly basis; clarifying any difficult concepts with your lecturer or the computer or maths help desks and keeping up-to-date with readings happens every week - right? Well for some, maybe. The reality is that we are all busy people and there just might be some slippage along the way.

Anyway, there is much you can do right now to polish your performance in your exams.

Firstly, make sure you start sorting your notes RIGHT NOW. Clear up anything you are having difficulty with through your own revision; in collaboration with another student or by consulting with your lecturer.

Secondly, make a study plan using a 16 or 24 hour planner to help you map your time productively.

Thirdly, decide on a repertoire of exam study strategies. This great resource How to remember what you've learned was developed by our colleague Monica Behrend. It demonstrates how we can use a range of techniques which employ different parts of our brain - thereby creating a 'deep' learning experience. In other words, helping the learning to 'sink in' to the memory.

Finally, talk! One of the best ways of remembering what you've learned is to talk about your learning in a study group. In addition, you can post study tips and techniques to the comments below or to Talking about exams - a bubbly little community for students who take exams.

We will talk more about preparation and performance and are keen to hear your ideas, too.

The learning advisers and counsellors

Andrea, Helen and Helen

What are my student visa conditions?

Every international student studying at UniSA will have specific conditions applied to their student visa. Did you know that there are nine “Mandatory Conditions” which are applied to ALL student visa holders and another seven “Discretionary Conditions” which may or may not be applied to you?

Many student visa holders will have a visa label stuck into their passport which will list your visa conditions on the right hand side such as “8101-No Work”. It is important to note that these conditions are those that applied to you at the time your visa was granted and that if that was some time ago your visa conditions may have changed. An example of this is if your visa was granted before 26th April 2008 and you have applied for Permission to Work since your commencement of study and it has been granted, the 8101 condition will have been removed and replaced with “8105-Work Limitation” which allows students to work up to 20 hours a week during periods of study.

If you were granted an “e-Visa” your visa conditions should be listed in the documentation you received when your visa was granted. There is no difference between student visa conditions between e-Visa and Visa label applicants. Each student visa is assessed individually and conditions applied on a case by case basis.

If you do not comply with one or more of the conditions of your student visa Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) will consider you to be in “breach” and your visa may be jeopardised. The best way to avoid being in breach is to know what visa conditions apply to you.

A list of all student visa conditions are available at the DIAC website.

If you are unsure and would like to know which visa conditions apply to you than you should contact DIAC directly on 131 881 (Mon - Fri 0900-1600 AEST)

What are my workplace rights?

An article published in "The Weekend Australian" on Saturday raised the issue of employers taking advantage of students in the workplace with regards to pay and conditions. An example in the article was of an international student who worked 18 hours cleaning serviced apartments in Sydney and was paid only $10 for his efforts. The student was also told that when he completed his training period he would be paid only $16 per apartment he cleaned and not an hourly rate.

Everybody working in Australia, either part or full time, be they a citizen, permanent resident or student has rights protected by Commonwealth Workplace Law. This law sets down conditions of employment such as minimum hourly wage, hours and conditions of work. By not paying the student in the article the minimum hourly rate for 18 hours of work, the employer broke the law and is liable for prosecution.

The government body which investigates and prosecutes breaches of Workplace Law is the Workplace Ombudsman. Currently there is a campaign underway by the Ombudsman to raise student awareness of their workplace rights.

The Ombudsman has produced a very useful pamphlet specifically for international students.

Depending on the industry in which an employee is working, they may also be covered by an "Award" which sets out further conditions of employment and protections for an employee.

If you believe you may have been underpaid or have any questions about your conditions of employment you should contact the Workplace Ombudsman Help Line on 1300 724 200 or speak to a Unilife Student Advocate.

All work and no play...

Makes Jack a dull boy...

That saying suggests that someone who concentrates on work (or study) all the time, risks becoming a very boring person; and a very bored person.

There are plenty of things going on in the community that are worth checking out. Bring a bit of variety into your life, meet new people, and maybe learn something different.

Here are some current possibilities:

• If you’re interested in shipwrecks, there’s a display at the South Australian Maritime Museum. There are lots of other things to see there as well and it’s just up the new expressway at Port Adelaide.
• For those with skills in art or photography and an interest in the environment,there’s the Wetland Care National Art competition. There are wetlands just up the road at St Kilda, so get out your camera or your sketchpad and head up there.
  
• The Skeptics National Convention is being held at the Norwood Town Hall 11-12 October. This will be a gathering of people who think critically about the claims people make and challenge many of those claims.
  
  
• If you haven’t yet visited the Clare Valley, north of Adelaide, this weekend might be a good time to do it, with the Valley of the Vines Festival on 12 October.
  
  
• It’s also Sleep Disorder Week, so you may choose to do a little more sleeping this week!
  
  

For information about future events and places to go, you might like to bookmark the SA Tourism Commission site and the South Australia Events site.

Mental Health

Did you know this week was mental health week?

Mental health is a serious issue in our community with one in five people likely to experience a mental health problem at some point in their life.

For this reason, the Counselling and Disability teams at each UniSA Campus are proud to support Mental Health Week by providing information and activities between 6 – 10 October.

Please look at the Mental Health Week website for information about mental health and how we can promote it.

Mawson Lakes kicked off the celebrations on Tuesday 7 October with a very successful and tasty BBQ provided by UniLife and Aroma Café. Thanks to all the students who came along and enjoyed the food and drink.

You may also have noticed the Mental Health Week display in the Library foyer which will be running between 6 – 10 October. Please feel free to come and take whatever information you feel is relevant to you or a loved one.

There is information on anxiety and depression including reducing stress, coping with loss and grief, useful contacts, and living with and caring for a person with depression.

Mental health influences everything we do:

• How we think, feel and behave

• The way we relate to other people

• The way we respond to the challenges of life

• How we cope with events such as changing jobs, moving home and missing loved ones, having a baby, retirement, loss of a loved one and physical illness

You are not alone:

• Get help if you feel mentally or physically stressed

• Get involved in your community

• Look out for your family and friends

If you would like to speak to a Counsellor at UniSA about any issues that may be causing you stress please contact Learning Connection at Mawson Lakes on 8302 5006 or pop into the office in the C building (Library).

Further information:

Mental Health Coalition of South Australia

Beyondblue (the national depression initiative)

SANE Australia

Multicultural Mental Health Australia

Auseinet Australian Network for Promotion

Carolyn Donlan
Disability Advisor

Engineering Careers

Careers in Engineering First Year Networking Event

You have enrolled and are nearly through your first year – so what is in store for your graduate engineering career?

Come and find out! Join your engineering teaching staff, our contacts from the profession and Career Services for an information and networking event.

Friday October 17th 12.00 – 2.00pm Mawson Centre

Presentions on Careers in – Mechanical Engineering Civil Engineering Electrical Engineering

Your chance to meet industry professionals and ask alumni about studying and working in engineering. What is the best part of the job? How do you research where you want to work? What can you do while studying to graduate already employed?

Registration is a must at MyCareerPlan – “Events” NB create a registration with your UniSA username and password if you haven’t already.

Reviewing peer reviewing

Some computer science students were recently asked to review each others' work. The work was an article review or annotated bibliography. That was hard enough, but then they were asked to give feedback on the experience; to review the reviewing. Here are some of the things they had to say:


What were the challenges?

• We hadn't done anything like this before
• It's difficult to criticise your classmates
• It's hard to know what the standard should be
• It's hard to judge when you haven't seen the article
  

What did you learn?

• There are different ways of viewing the same information
• How to be fair while being critical
• What the article was about; what someone else thought of it
• How to improve my own work
• How to give feedback
  

What are some phrases you found helpful in reviewing the work?

• Can you justify this?
• I don't understand this point
• You need to be more specific
• Your summary was good because...
• I recommend that...
• You are good at...but there are some limitations in...

How did you feel about reviewing/being reviewed by your classmates?

• nervous
• excited
• comfortable
• fearful
• confident
• confused
• challenged

This Wikipedia entry shows the process of peer review in the culture of journal writing.

Colorado State University has useful advice on writing review comments.

Remember, peer review should not be an intimidating process for reviewer or student. It is a 'safe' process where each participant has an equal opportunity to learn and grow.

The Learning Advisers at Mawson Lakes

Your gold passport to higher marks

Academic writing is a great journey. We don't cross the campus tarmac and suddenly find our pockets full of high distinctions.

For some (like this learning adviser) the journey - especially in undergraduate study - is painstaking and it can take until the final years until the marks are solid and the academic achievement high.

For other students, some aspects of the journey are smooth sailing but others are mountainous terrain. For example, the structure might be there, but the referencing not.

In any case, there are a few gold passport stamps which can certainly make the journey shorter and (somewhat less painful). Here are some of the main ones:

• Make sure you understand the task you are undertaking. Is it an essay? Is it a report? Is it a literature review? Is it a research proposal? Each assessment task will be very different.

• Use excellent STRUCTURE. Remember 'firstly' and 'secondly' (I first learned to become good at this working with engineering students - who are the experts!) A really great resource is Linking Words. I give this one out almost on a daily basis.
  

• Show BREADTH of reading. A 2000 word paper with only three references is very thin. Do you realise, that the reference list is one of the first places a lecturer will look when he or she marks your work? A 2000 word paper should have at least eight references (unless your lecturer says otherwise).
  

• Show QUALITY references. Not Wikipedia. Not your lecture notes or your lecturer's PowerPoint slides. Scholarly references - books from the library, databases (such as Academic Search Premier or Web of Science or IEEE Explore). You must use your recommended readings as well as extended reading.
  

• Use an ACADEMIC tone in your writing. Here's a very simple formula to get you thinking about the rhythm of the writing. Note how others write - this sometimes helps.
  

They say that 'getting there is half the fun' but the journey to academic excellence is long. These are but a few passport stamps to collect on the way through to perfection.

In reality, nobody ever really achieves 'perfection' as we are all on a path to continuous improvement - lecturer, learning adviser or student.

If you need help with navigation...do post a question (click on comments and select anonymous, Google blogger or name).




Still travelling...

Andrea






Passport Image from: www.immigrationphotos.us

News Digest

Hi students

Here are a few snippets which might be of interest.

Expressions of Interest

• Do you have a passion for Mawson Lakes?
• Would you like a part-time job with flexibility?
• Do you enjoy interacting with other members of the community?

Then this could be the job for you!

As you know the Mawson Lakes Community Website is a unique online community resource that provides a comprehensive range of information, resources and online tools.

Due to recent expansion, the position of Community Website Administrator, responsible for the day to day operation of the site, is now available.

The position is a two year contract to continue the growth of the Website and its sustainability in the Mawson Lakes community. Mawson Lakes Development takes pride in the commitment we make to our employees and whilst it is a part-time role we can be flexible on working hours and arrangements with the right candidate.

For further information, please contact Megan O’Brien on 8260 3333.

*****

Writing in the Sciences

Register now for Kicking goals with Referencing to be held this Friday, 12.00pm - 1.00pm in G2-31.

Writing in the Sciences blog has a feature on The 7 Cs of successful oral presentations

******

Letters Home Competition

Study Adelaide invites you to submit text, photo and video entries to it's Letters Home competition. You can win up to $500.00. Entries close September 17.


The Learning Connection @ Mawson Lakes team

UniSA Changed My Life

Vandana and Dr Ruth Geer: graduation photo, August 14th, 2008

Vandana commenced the Masters of Teaching degree at Mawson Lakes mid-year in 2006.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank UniSA for making a difference in my life. I studied Masters of Teaching course from UniSA at Mawson Lakes Campus. I came to Australia and did a two year program which helped me to become a teacher. The support and encouragement I got from my teachers and Learning Connection was just unbelievable. I am currently working as a Home Economics Teacher at Findon High School for a semester. This course really changed my life and helped me to explore myself as a person. The course is well designed for International student to adapt their teaching skills to cater for the demands of Australian schools.

When I reflect back at my uni days, I think that I have come a long way. When I started my studies in July, 2006 I struggled to learn about the very basic things like accessing books through the catalogue or making assignments but Learning Connection helped me to make my way. I ended up getting 3 distinctions in a row in my first semester. Moreover, my Program Director Dr. Ruth Geer is a charasmatic person and the way she understands and support International students make a big difference. I am really proud to be a part of UniSA and will always remain grateful that it provided me a platform to explore my abilities and to establish myself as a good teacher like my role model 'Ruth'. I think that I have miles to go ....

How’s it going?

• 
  
  If you’ve been relaxing and taking it easy, it’s time to focus on what you signed up for. It’s week three already. It’s so easy to lose track of time when you're having fun. A few timely questions:
  
  Are you attending all classes?
  

This is an important question because there is a clear link between attendance and results. Your success is likely to depend on you knowing what is emphasized in your lectures and other classes, your support networks: the people you know .

What else? You might need to get organised.

• Have you mapped out all your assessment tasks on a study planner?
• Have you compared assignments to see where the weighting is in terms of workload and marks?
• Have you thought about how you’re going to manage study and your job in those very busy weeks? Do you need to speak to your boss now?
• Have you put the due dates into your diary?
• If you are doing group assignments have you scheduled your planning meetings?
• If you have major exams, are you already organising your notes, readings etc into themes/topics that will be easy to revise?

There’s a lot to do and good people around you to do it with. But if organisation and networking aren'treally your thing, explore the links to resources. You might find one or two useful hints that will help you make it all more fun and more successful.

All the best,

Helen

Name that footwear!

Warm greetings to all students! And welcome to my first post on Learning Connection @ Mawson Lakes.

My name is Damien and I have just joined the team at Mawson Lakes Campus as an International Student Officer, located in the Learning Connection offices just inside the Sir Eric Neill Library (C Building on your maps).

I am here to support international students throughout their study and I can assist with student visa issues; work permissions; tax file numbers; letters for banks or Department of Immigration, applications for leave of absence or deferral.

If you have a question and you are not sure who can help you then come by and see me and I will do my best to assist you or refer you to one of our Learning Advisers or Counsellors.

I know that some of you have come from warmer climes and are currently experiencing an Adelaide winter for the first time so I would like to take the opportunity to introduce you to a humble Australian innovation known as the “Ugg” boot.

Ugg boots are made from genuine or synthetic sheepskin wool and are a type of cold weather footwear popular in New Zealand and Australia, you may well have seen someone wearing ugg boots already and thought to yourself “what are they?”.

The origin of the Ugg boot goes back to the early days of aviation when pilots in exposed cockpits required footwear that would prevent frostbitten feet and toes. It doesn’t get quite that cold in Adelaide I assure you but it can be quite chilly catching the bus to Uni in the morning or in the evenings studying and some of you may wish to invest in a pair of “uggies”.

Ugg boots are available from a number of retailers including large retail stores such as K-Mart, Big-W and also at nearby Junction Markets in Kilburn. You can even purchase a pair on-line! Genuine sheepskin ugg boots can be quite expensive, usually at least AUD$100, but they are prized for their comfort and warmth. Cheaper synthetic ugg boots usually cost around AUD$10-30 and are a cheaper but still warm and “comfy” alternative.

All the best
Damien

Picture of 'Uggies' from Fashionspot.wordpress.com

Bollywood Festival

The Learning Connection Team

Muditha on Studying at UniSA - Part 3

The Library at Mawson Lakes

In the first half of 2008 Muditha began the Masters of Teaching (LMTC), a two year PG Masters by coursework degree. She is planning to teach SOSE and English. See earlier posts.

Study here is different. As a class we share problems.

I soon found the lectures were very good. They were different from my experience in Sri Lanka because they are done as a presentation not in a lecture form. It’s all about sharing information, arranging discussions with groups, talking with individual students. Lecturers give handouts that are very good. I’ve really enjoyed my studies in all my courses. Even the readings are good: they back me up. My favourite course was Introduction to Australian Education by David Williams. His teaching is very interesting. Earlier I had no idea about the Australian education system. We also got help from Gretchen, a former International graduate student who comes to the lectures and helps with assignments. She is very good.

I was worried about understanding and speaking English: I thought I would not be able to understand the language here. But after coming to class I thought 'I can get it'. The lecturers always give handouts on the topics. I also find that lecturers speak slowly and clearly. Other Australians, in schools and restaurants, speak very quickly. And they speak slang which is not spoken by the lecturers. Here we get lots of encouragement to develop our English and learn local sayings so we can understand other people.

Muditha’s important tips for new students:Make lots of friends in different groups: do not limit yourself only to the people from your own country. Australian friends will help you get an understanding of Australian culture. It’s so interesting: everything is different: eating, talking, everything.

My top 3 tips for new students are:

1. don’t be anxious about asking for help



2. give priority to your studies at first. It is easy to lose that focus if you have a job.



3. be positive about everything that is happening

Muditha

Reading and Writing - Natural born friends?

Reading and writing go together naturally – or do they? Understanding the various readings set for study and then explaining those ideas in your own words is a challenge for many students.

We find that it doesn’t matter what level of study you’re doing there are always new demands.
If you’re studying in Oz for the first time or starting Uni from school, you are sure to find some things are different. Students are confronted by:

• The amount of required reading
  
• The emphasis on using academic sources
  
• Understanding the nature and purpose of some of the reading
  
• The complexity of some texts –so many new terms
  
• Keeping track of ideas – theirs and yours
  
• Critically analysing texts as well as understanding them
  
• Using sources without plagiarizing accidentally – such a big issue!

How can you build on your existing reading strategies? Check out these Learning Connection resources for great suggestions:

Notemaking from reading

Reading Log

Critical and analytical reading

Best of luck

Helen

We would like to hear from you! Now that we are in Week 1 of SP5 do you have any questions? Post a comment below.

Finding a Home Muditha's story... Part 2

In the first half of 2008 Muditha began the Masters of Teaching (LMTC), a two year PG coursework degree. She is planning to teach SOSE and English. Here are some of her early impressions of moving to and studying in Adelaide.

The main problem was finding a room. The motel was very expensive. Because we came during the Fringe Festival it was hard to find accommodation: it took one week to find us a room in a shared house.

We got addresses from the website then we had to catch the bus to go to look at places. One bus driver was very kind. We were setting out late to look at a house. He said he could drop us off nearby but there’d be no buses after 7pm and it was not a nice area. He called other drivers from his bus and confirmed there were no other busses. He arranged for another driver to collect us to drive us back to the main road. This showed us if you ask for help you meet good people. People will not try to cheat you or mislead you. We have found bus drivers here very helpful.

After a week we found a furnished house close to the campus and we share this with other students from the UK, India and China. We like sharing with different nationalities: it’s interesting. We help each other and we all speak in English. This is good for our English. The Indian guy in the house said he’d help find a job for my husband. This was good as we had to pay a deposit for our room and the rent was always high: $170 per week. The landlord wasn’t nice. But it was ok and good to be with students. To be continued...

Muditha

The wonderful world of wikis

Once you get the hang of them, wikis are great for group work and projects. They also take a bit of learning.

Here is a quick video which gives you a snapshot of the function of the wiki in plain English (produced by Common Craft). Highly recommended - especially for first year engineers!

Muditha's words of wisdom for commencing International students..Part 1

In the first half of 2008 Muditha began the Masters of Teaching (LMTC), a two year PG coursework degree. She is planning to teach SOSE and English. Here are some of her early impressions of moving to and studying in Adelaide.

Day 1
When I first arrived in Australia from Sri Lanka it was very strange, very. I was totally confused and didn’t know what to do. I arrived with my husband and we were just married. When we came into the airport after we landed it was very different: people moving about, talking in English, very busy, not smiling at all. We felt that we are strangers. Having come with him was the only relief because I could talk to him in my own language. My husband had travelled before but not me. Yet it was strange for him too.

We went to the motel that was booked for us: it was ok but although it was on the main road it was lifeless. There were not many people in the motel. We were missing the family, missing friends, everything. We felt very alone; we do not have anybody here.

We wanted to tell our parents we had arrived so we went in search of a phone box. We didn’t know about phone cards or anything. We couldn’t find a phone. A taxi driver, an Indian man, stopped and asked if we had just arrived. We said we had and were looking for a phone to call our parents. He gave us his phone and told us to phone our parents. He was very kind and helpful. He told us it was good in Australia but you have to ask for help. Ask people and they will help you. We were lucky to meet this helpful person the first day. He really encouraged us and gave us good advice. And he showed us the bus stop and told us about buying the ticket and how to come to the university. He gave us his number and said we could contact him for more help. He also said we should aim for jobs in the field we are experienced in.

It’s different here. If people go to my country, many people will talk to you. Here they won’t talk to you unless you ask them. But then they will be very helpful.

Muditha