Message from the TA, Becky Hillyer

TA: Becky Hillyer  

Email: becky.idsb10@gmail.com 

Skype: becky.hillyer 

Skype Office Hours: Monday, 7pm-8pm or by appointment 

Hello Everyone! 

Sorry I couldn't make it to the live session today, but I thought I would quickly introduce myself, nonetheless. 

I just graduated from the International Development Studies Co-op program at UTSC in June 2012, and am now working full-time at the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance as an Operations Coordinator. My interest in being a TA for the IDSB10 course is two-fold: Firstly, I was actually a student in the course, last year. Secondly, I think that both the course content and the way that the course is taught is interesting, engaging and at times, a bit challenging. 

In fact, to succeed in this course, you really need to think of yourself as a "learning entrepreneur." That is to say - unlike live lectures and tutorials where you can attend class and then check-off your student duties for the day, no one is going to hold you accountable to watch the online lectures, complete the readings, or actively participate in the online activities. These are all things that you need to discipline yourself to do (and I am speaking from student experience here - it's not always easy!) Nonetheless, as cliche as it sounds, you really will get out of this course what you put into it. If you have an idea that you think might be interesting for the class, please feel free to let Leslie or me know about it. We both LOVE to have students actively engaging in their own learning processes! After all - you are the ones that pay tuition, right? Therefore, you SHOULD be getting what you want out of your education. 

If anyone would like to talk with me at any point during the semester, I will be available via skype, mainly. Please feel free to add me as a contact - my skype name is becky.hillyer. For now, my online office hours will be Monday evenings from 7 - 8pm or by appointment. You may also contact me by email at becky.idsb10@gmail.com. Please allow up to 24 hours for an email response! 

Thanks everyone - looking forward to getting to know all of you this semester! Feel free to let me know if you have any questions or concerns about any of the course concepts, assignments or technical stuff. : ) 

-Becky