How Will You Learn?
This course is designed to be practical. We have developed stories which encourage you to think and act within an employment relations context.
The course content is introduced to solve the problems in the stories. We call this 'just-in-time' learning.
The short training modules are visual and audio representations of the concepts, with plain text alternatives.
In each module, video scenarios introduce you to Naturally Baking Limited, a small company specialising in the distribution of organic baking materials. We then invite you to do a quiz to test your knowledge. The video scenarios and quizzes help you analyse the workplace and identify issues for your key tasks.
In real life, people look for help to solve their employment problems. One place they might look is in their office. We have presented much of the course content as a virtual office. Research and analysis is a core part of this course, and the resources in your office provide important background theory and concepts for you to research. This will help to you offer solutions that meet the needs of Naturally Baking and its staff. We recommend you complete all these activities.
Each module ends with a group task to complete in your virtual teams. How the teams work is explained below. The team tasks and forums will reinforce your learning and prepare you for your assessments. When each group task is submitted, your tutor will give you feedback.
There is a lot to learn about employment relations. We hope that this introduction will inspire you to find out more. There are many wonderful books, magazines, and internet resources to help you gain in-depth knowledge of employment relations.
The course overview gives you information about the course, an introduction to your tutor, and access to any assistance you may need. Read it carefully, as it contains important information you will need to complete the tasks.
Reproduction or redistribution of material
You can use the text content in printed format if you prefer. All text versions of resources can be printed easily from your browser. To print, use the print icon, shortcut keys, or the file menu. If you have a slow internet connection that makes it difficult to download media resources, ask your tutor to reproduce the media objects on CD-ROM.
Why are we doing this in groups?
In real life, you do not build successful employment relationships on your own. Employment relations is about creative problem solving, good communication skills, and being well informed. Discussing the approaches you think will be best in particular cases will help you to develop these skills.
Learning through online group work helps you build essential skills for the world of work today. We think it’s important that you get a feel for what it means to ‘talk’ to people you may never meet, to agree (or disagree) with a group and find a solution without any visual clues, and to negotiate online. Global business is increasingly done virtually and online communication skills are crucial.
How will we make virtual teams work?
We have divided the larger group of learners into smaller teams. Each team must decide on a different facilitator and reporter for each task:
Facilitator:
The facilitator initiates the discussions and keeps the work on track.
Reporter:
The reporter makes sure the deliverable – based on the team members’ contributions – is submitted to the discussion forum on time. A few days before the deadline, the reporter should post a draft for further input by the team to ensure the deliverable is the product of a joint team effort.
In each team, you work together towards a solution to the task by using the discussion forums. You don’t all need to be online at the same time. Post your contributions when you are online and others in your team will read them when they log on. As a team, you will have to complete the tasks before the deadlines so it’s important that you contribute regularly and that you all move through the course at the same pace. This is the only way we can make collaborative learning work.
A chat room is set up for each team to support your work with real-time communication.
Don’t forget you have an introductory session before you get down to the 'real' work. We’d like you all to do the icebreaker activity and then introduce yourselves. It will help you a great deal in communicating within groups when you know a bit more about each other.
Enjoy!
