Frequently asked questions

1. Prior to the start date of your course, you need to ensure that you have activated your Western Identity through Western's Identity Manager at https://idm.uwo.ca/uwo/activate/activateAccountController.jsp as you will need a Western user ID and password to log into your course. Instructions were sent to you in a confirmation email when you registered for the course. If you did not receive this email, email conted@uwo.ca

2. All Western AQ online courses are offered in the new Western Learning Management System - OWL (powered by Sakai). Click here to log into OWL.

3. Log into OWL on the course start date.  Your course will appear as a tab across the top with the course code on it. Click on the tab to enter your course area. The page you land on will be your HOME screen which includes the name of your course and a Navigation screen explaining the menu on the left hand side. Click on the various links to investigate and become familiar with the course set-up. Examples of these links are as follows.

• HOME:  The home page of your course will have a welcome statement from your instructor and some introductory information about your course.
• SCHEDULE:  Shows due dates and Module start and end dates.
• COURSE CONTENT: Review the course content to become familiar with the learning that will be covered in the course, assignments, readings and course expectations.
• ANNOUNCEMENTS: Instructors will post announcements pertinent to the course.
• ASSIGNMENTS: This is where you will submit your assignments.
• FORUMS: Links you to the discussion forum where you will be spending the majority of your time in the course. Your instructor will have posted a welcome message and will ask that each member of the class introduce themselves. This is where you will be interacting with your instructor and your classmates in the online forum, responding to the Instructor's questions and commenting on your colleagues’ responses. You will also be participating in Educational Rounds in the Discussion area.
• MESSAGES: You can email your instructor or classmates privately.

TIME COMMITMENT:  Each course consists of 125 hours, as required by the Ontario College of Teachers. This time allotment includes ongoing and active participation in the online discussion area, participation in Educational Rounds, and the completion of readings and assignments.

• The expectation is that you are online participating in the course regularly and consistently. For a 10 week online course in the Fall or Winter, this translates to approximately 12.5 hours per week for Educational Rounds, discussion, readings and assignments. In the 7 week Intersession/Summer online session it is approximately 18 hours per week, and in the 4 week Summer online session it is approximately 25 hours per week.
• While one of the benefits of online learning is the flexibility it provides for you as a participant, the time commitment remains. Discussion is a key aspect of all our online courses. As such, your hours of online access should be spread out throughout each module and throughout the duration of the course. Absence from the online discussions cannot be “made up”; therefore, consistent and regular participation is required. The discussion is not "live" so you can be online at any time of the day or night.
  
  For further information see Course Navigation on the side bar.
  
  Good luck and if you have questions or concerns, email conted@uwo.ca or use the messages tool in your course to ask the instructor.
   

All courses include a 24-hour online Educational Rounds Component. Participating in Educational Rounds with your colleagues is an opportunity for you to pursue an area of inquiry that meets your own personal interests and professional development needs, as they link to course readings, content and related teaching and learning experiences in the subject area and/or at the grade level of your Additional Qualifications (AQ) course.

Within the course, teachers work together in small groups, with guidance from the instructor, around difficult cases/issues or topics from their classroom practice, and engage in professional dialogue with others in the field in ways that inform and extend the understanding of all involved. Within your ER group, you may;

• Raise questions that are ‘nagging’ you;
  
• Seek clarification of issues;
• Debate the advantages or disadvantages of various strategies, approaches, practices;
• Analyse the degree of success that a particular teaching strategy or approach has had for you;
• Decide on next steps for instructional strategies to ensure student learning after considering alternative options;
• Decide on what needs to be done for a student.
   

To obtain a login for your online course you need to activate your Western Identity. Your Western Identity is your key to central services at Western and consists of your User ID and Password. Your User ID is a unique name that identifies you as a member of the Western community.  The User ID cannot be changed.

Instructions on activating your Western Identity are provided in a confirmation email when you register for a course and are repeated below.

Go to this link: Western Identity Manager and follow the steps to enter your Western Student Number and Access Code (PIN). A user name and one-time use password will be generated for your account and displayed on the screen for 60 seconds. NOTE: The one-time use password will not allow access to your course and MUST be changed. Click the Login button on the screen to do so.
IMPORTANT: Your user ID and password are secure and should be kept safe as Continuing Teacher Education cannot provide them to you should they be misplaced. The user ID and password will be the same used to log into future courses at Western, as well as other secured university sites to later view final grades, order transcripts, and access tax receipts.

If you are a returning student, your Western Identity will become active in 1-3 hours and in approximately 48 hours for new students to Western.  For a video tutorial on account activation go to this link: Western Identity Manager.

For AQ/ABQ requiring prior university courses for admission, the Continuing Teacher Education Office recommends that you have your qualifications assessed prior to registering for a course with us. Email a copy of your transcripts to conted@uwo.ca or fax to 519-850-2526 and include a note indicating the course you are interested in, your OCT number and a return email address. We will respond by email with the evaluation results. 

Note: If you are approved to take the course, we will require an official sealed transcript sent directly from the issuing institution. The Continuing Teacher Education address is found the Contact Us menu in the bottom right hand side of this site.

A combined Honour Specialist is the completion of TWO Honour Specialist courses (you must register and pay for both courses). The courses can be taken concurrently or during different sessions but we cannot send a report to the Ontario College of Teachers for either specialist until both have been successfully completed. For admission requirements for a combined Honour Specialist, please click here.

For teachers employed by a board of education, a supervisory officer may be a superintendent or assistant superintendent of the board. A principal is not deemed to be a supervisory officer. For teachers employed by a private school, the official appointed by the Ministry to provide supervisory services for the school will be deemed to be the supervisory officer. One school year of teaching experience is the same as 194 teaching days if you are a supply teacher.

If you wish to withdraw from a course, notify the CTE office in writing: Send an email to conted@uwo.ca with your request and Western student number. Note that non-participation in the course does not presume formal withdrawal. Withdrawals prior to the course start date result in a refund of the course fee less a $100 non-refundable deposit. After the start date, withdrawal refunds are issued in accordance with the university refund schedule. At the mid-point of the course, withdrawal constitutes a failing grade and no refund of tuition.

Admission to the French as a Second Language Part 1 course requires 5 full-year university courses in French OR 1 year of university taken in French OR evidence of successful completion of an oral and written French equivalency test from another Faculty of Education.  If you do not meet any of these requirements, you will be required to take Western's French proficiency test.

Testing dates for 2013 are Saturdays May 4, June 22, September 22, January 12 (on-site written and oral at the Faculty of Education). Proctored testing is available upon request for those living at a distance. The fee for the test is $75 (cheque, cash or money order only), payable on the day of the test or prior to the test being proctored.  Contact conted@uwo.ca for details.  Note: In order to be considered for French testing, you must first register and pay for the course.

Final grades will be available approximately four weeks after the course and can be viewed by logging into the Student Centre with your Western user ID and password. At that time, the Continuing Teacher Education office will be sending your course recommendation to the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) for certification. Once processed by the OCT, the qualification will be added to your teaching certificate.

If a receipt is required for refunding of tuition payment, i.e. school board, you can print a Statement of Account from the Registrar's website. In order to see your fee information, you will need to log into Student Center and under Finances click on 'Detailed Statement of Account'.

The detailed statement of account will provide you with your account information including tuition due dates, charges, payments, bursaries and current balance. In the upper right hand corner you can also click on the printer friendly link to generate a HTML printout of your tuition statement should you require a paper copy.

If you have questions or require assistance, please email contact@uwo.ca or call the Helpline at 519-661-2100.

Tax receipts will be available the following February on the last business day of the month. Log into the Student Centre at that time to access and print the official T2202A receipt.

To order a Western transcript, go to the Registrar's Office. Under Student Records, click on Transcripts. You will need your student number to order a transcript. You can order by fax or online - to order a transcript online, please check to ensure that your grade is available first as the Transcripts office will not hold for grades.  It is up to you to report course completion to QECO or OSSTF for salary category change.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact conted@uwo.ca