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Back to the books

Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Thursday, September 13, 2007

Deh Cho - It's only their first day of classes but Crystal Gaule and her eight classmates already know what the inner workings of a computer look like.

Gaule is one of the adult students taking the Computers in the Workplace program offered at Aurora College in Fort Simpson this semester.

NNSL photo

Orville Zaste, right, shows Leanna Cazon, foreground left, and Crystal Gaule how to make a master hard drive into a slave unit during the Computers in the Workplace program offered at Aurora College in Fort Simpson. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

"It's pretty interesting and very hands on," said Gaule on Sept. 10.

By taking the course, Gaule said she hopes to gain experience to use in future office work.

The course helps remove the mystique around computers, said instructor Orville Zaste.

"It's really simple. It's not a complicated device," said Zaste about computers.

Computers aren't the only thing that students at Aurora College are learning about. Approximately 57 people are registered for courses this semester at the three Aurora College locations across the Deh Cho.

In Fort Simpson students started on Sept. 4 with orientation and student assessments, said Barb Tsetso, an adult educator. Students also participated in a workshop about visualizing and goal setting led by Marion Storm and Candy Brown, career development officers from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment.

"The students seemed to enjoy that, there was a lot of laughter," Tsetso said.

For this semester, which ends on Dec. 14, there are 18 people enrolled in courses including Computers in the Workplace, Construction Trade Access and Developmental Studies.

This semester the college is also trying something new. Thirteen students scattered across Fort Liard, Fort Providence, Fort Simpson, Wrigley and Trout Lake are taking Introduction to Early Childhood Education through distance education using teleconferencing.

Although the teleconferencing option has been offered across the NWT for a number of years, the Deh Cho has always chosen to bring the students together for week-long class sessions. The classes, however, were disruptive for students who worked so this year teleconferencing is being tested.

"We'll see how successful that is," Tsetso said.

Plans for future courses are still in the works. A five-week Environmental Monitoring Training Program might start in October. For the second semester there's a possibility of offering the Office Administration course and another developmental studies or a Trades Access course.

"It depends where the interest is," said Tsetso.

Students have also started their studies at the two Aurora College Community Learning Centres in the Deh Cho.

In Fort Providence 10 people are taking Bridging Employment Skills training while nine students are more than halfway finished a 15-day Introduction to Guiding program.

In Fort Liard three students are finishing the last requirements for the Office Administration certification program. The successful students will be ready to graduate by the end of the semester. Four students are also enrolled in the Developmental Studies program and more are still joining.

If there's enough interest a Bridging Employment Skills training program will be held starting in November, said Tsetso.