Orientation Period: Start Your Online Studies Prepared

Orientation period is a unique opportunity to visit Turku UAS campuses and get to know your teachers and classmates. During this three to four-day period, the students get a firsthand look into the world of studying online. During the orientation week, there is also an optional Fall Kickoff Event for the whole UAS where all the interest students gather together to spend an evening performing different funny tasks around the city of Turku. It’s a great way to connect with other students of Turku UAS as well as get a glimpse of the student life in general.*

So, what happens during the Orientation? The new students will get answers to questions such as:

• How to use the online environments?
• How to install the programs needed to start studying?
• How to register to the school’s online study platforms and systems?

 

What happens at the orientation?

The school staff makes sure that everyone understands and is able to successfully perform the necessary tasks during the online studies. The students also get a chance to get to know each other via playful games and breaks between the lectures. The orientation period is an excellent chance to connect with the fellow students and to gain confidence to continue individually after the orientation week ends.

During the span of the week, the teachers guide the students through all the necessary matters. The students will hear testimonials and stories from former IB Online students as well as are able to ask questions from the second/third year IB Online students. Naturally, the teachers are also answering all the questions and concerns the students might possess regarding online studies. Among the teachers are also two teacher tutors who will be in more frequent contact with the students and thus become closer to them.

How to install the programs needed to start studying and to register to the school’s online study platforms and systems?

The teachers will show step by step instructions how to gain access to the software provided. The students will have access to full Office 365 license including 2TB of OneDrive storage. The teachers will also show how to register to the school’s online course platform ItsLearning as well as to the study records’ platform Peppi, school library Finna and so on. Mr Taneli Ahtiainen is the host of the course Toolbox for Online Learner and is there to make sure everything is covered, and troubleshooting is offered in case some students face problems with the installation or registration processes.

 

Want to know more about lives of IB Online students? Read other student stories and posts on our IB Online blog!

Authors: Antti Kettunen & Ronnie Frisk, IB Online students

 

*Note: Due to Covid-19, the orientation week may be organized online / partly online, more information regarding the implementation of the orientation week coming later.