Written by Olivia Oborne

As I settle into my new normal of working from home, I find myself looking for different projects to do around the house. Three weeks ago, I was craving a homemade margherita pizza when it dawned on me: what if I try to grow my own herbs? 

As someone who would classify themselves as an ultra-beginner in gardening, I knew I would be lost if I started without doing some research. 

Countertop Gardens: Easily Grow Kitchen Edibles Indoors for Year-Round Enjoyment

by Shelly Levis

This is a great eBook that I found in the RRC Library collection. It explains how to grow different herbs and vegetables in your home! It also has some easy recipes, as well as gorgeous countertop growing devices! So far, I’ve started with basil, and plan to grow mint and rosemary soon! Who knows, I might even try growing potatoes in my house because this book introduced me to cute decorative burlap grow bags. Check them out on page 91. 

For More Experienced Gardeners

For those who are more advanced in the world of gardening, the RRC Library has eBooks for you as well! Below are a few of them. You can find descriptions and links to these eBooks under their cover images.

Want to find more? Try entering gardening keywords in OneSearch (Tip: To limit to e-resources, click the Available online filter on the left side).

101 Organic Gardening Hacks: Eco-Friendly Solutions to Improve any Garden

by Shawna Coronado

Top tips, tricks, and solutions to save time, upcycle items in your garden, and more. 

How to Grow Perennial Vegetables: Low-Maintenance, Low-Impact Vegetable Gardening

by Martin Crawford

Advice for growing and maintaining all kinds of perennials. 

Have a question? Ask Us!

While the Library’s physical doors are closed, the online service desk is still running and is ready to serve you. Staff are online during the following hours:

Monday – Thursday  7:30am – 8:00pm
Friday  7:30am – 4:30pm
Saturday  8:30am – 4:00pm

During this time, a staff member is available to chat or answer your email. To chat online, visit library.rrc.ca and click on the Ask Us button or send an email to library@rrc.ca.

The Baking Revolution

Have you joined the baking revolution? Recently I looked over a collection of recipes from my Grandmother and Great-Great Aunt. Some are labeled “we used to make this during the depression.” I don’t plan to replicate these, but one or two of the others are new favourites. 

The recipes, clipped from magazines and newspapers plus handwritten entries, are pasted in notebooks. Before the internet this is how you organized your new recipes. Now you can search online for instructions on how to bake almost anything. For inspiration, expand your search by checking out the electronic resources RRC Library has to offer.

Below are just a few of the books and journals available online from the Library. Want to find more? Try entering baking keywords in OneSearch (Tip: To limit to e-resources, click the Available online filter on the left side).

Books

Find descriptions and links to these e-books below the cover images.

Baking Artisan Bread with Natural Starters, by Mark Friend – Clear instructions on how to make a variety of sourdough breads including the starters.

From No-knead to Sourdough: A Simpler Approach to Handmade Bread, by Victoria Redhed Miller – An indepth but easy to understand look at breads, how fermentation works and instructions to make your own sourdough bread and starter.

Creative Baking: Macaron Basics by Phay Shing Tan – Simple illustrated instructions on how to make macarons.

The Everyday Baker : Essential Techniques and Recipes for Foolproof Baking,by Abigail Johnson Dodge – Covers all the baking standards including cookies, cakes, pies, puddings, and bread with clear illustrated steps for each recipe.

Where people feast an indigenous people’s cookbook, by Dolly Watts & Annie Watts – See the section on Baked Goods and Desserts.

The joy of vegan baking : more than 150 traditional treats & sinful sweets, by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

Journals

Find descriptions and links to these e-journals below the cover images.

Bakers journal – Check the Recipe section on the website.

Bake – Written for bakeries but includes interesting articles on food trends (check out the January 2020 edition to find out about sourdough). Includes a few recipes.

General Interest

Find descriptions and links to these e-books below the cover images.

Baking as biography a life story in recipes, by Diane Tye – Find out what recipe collections can say about a person’s life. After reading through recipes from my own family I am looking forward to reading this book.

Baking powder wars : the cutthroat food fight that revolutionized cooking, by Linda Civitello – For a fascinating history of baking powder, baking and cultural history. Who knew baking power was so interesting.

Have a question? Ask Us!

While the Library’s physical doors are closed, the online service desk is still running and ready to serve you. Staff are online during the following hours:

Monday – Thursday  7:30am – 8:00pm
Friday  7:30am – 4:30pm
Saturday  8:30am – 4:00pm

During this time, a staff member is available to chat or answer your email. To chat online, visit library.rrc.ca and click on the Ask Us button or send an email to library@rrc.ca.

In these uncertain times when many of us are unexpectedly isolated in work and study, RRC Library wants you to know that we care and are still here to assist you.

The past five weeks have been an absolute whirlwind with transitioning from the in-class learning environment to online. As a student, the sudden change meant having to figure out how to learn in a virtual environment, how to facilitate presentations through new tools, figure out a way to stay focused on school work, and manage the stress of a being a student during a global pandemic. It’s no easy feat adapting to this amount of change.

So, like any challenge, I think it’s important to celebrate the victories when they come. Here are some of the things that helped me stay focused during this trying time.

Create a Work Space

The first week that we started classes online, I felt displaced and couldn’t quite figure out a way to stay focused on my studies. I recognized that I was struggling to balance my study time with my home time and as a result, I felt quite restless. By the second week, I recognized that bringing my laptop with me as I moved around my home wasn’t working, so I decided to set up a work station. I cleared my computer desk of all things not school related and set up a second monitor to attach to my laptop, which created a dynamic work space with two screens.

“Setting up a work station created a dedicated space for me to focus on my work, and the result has made a drastic difference.”

Meagan’s work station

Setting up a work station created a dedicated space for me to focus on my work, and the result has made a drastic difference. When I am done my online classes for the day and I’m no longer working on homework, I can turn off my computer and step away from my work station. This gave me the balance I needed to separate my time spent on schoolwork and my downtime.

Build a Schedule

In the second week of online classes, I was fortunate enough to have my husband start working from home too. I decided that setting up a schedule was my next step in staying focused, and since I was waking up to his alarm anyways, I started mimicking his work schedule for my classwork. Luckily, his schedule fit perfectly with my class times and forced me to take proper lunch breaks. I have found that since working with a dedicated schedule, I can set clear goals for what I want to accomplish in my day, and I’m more productive because I set these parameters.

“…with a dedicated schedule, I can set clear goals for what I want to accomplish in my day, and I’m more productive because I set these parameters.”

These are only two small steps that made a significant impact on my learning from home. If you are looking for ways to keep focused while studying at home, check out the Working from Home – Students guide.

It’s also important to recognize that everyone learns differently, so if you want to share what has helped you study in the COVID-19 pandemic, we’d love to hear from you on Twitter or chat with a library staff member using our online service desk.

Online Service Desk Hours

While the Library’s physical doors are closed, the online service desk is still running and ready to serve you. Staff are online during the following hours:

• Monday – Thursday  7:30am – 8:00pm
• Friday  7:30am – 4:30pm
• Saturday  8:30am – 4:00pm

During this time, a staff member is available to chat or answer your email. Simply visit library.rrc.ca and click on the Ask Us button or send an email to library@rrc.ca.

Written by: Meagan Acquisto, Library Information and Technology program

What is National Canadian Film Day?

National Canadian Film Day (NCFD), held on April 22, was started by REEL Canada, a charitable organization that celebrates Canada through film. NCFD is a massive one-day, coast-to-coast-to-coast celebration of Canadian cinema. Why did they start it? Because “film – more than any other medium – has the power to capture the soul of a nation, and when we only watch movies from somewhere else, we lose a part of ourselves… there’s no substitute for the connection you can feel when you watch something from your own backyard” (Source: About NCFD). With that mission in mind, NCFD was born.

Honouring Indigenous Themes Through Canadian Film

We delved into the Library’s online video collection and found a number of Canadian productions based on Indigenous themes. Here is a selection of streaming titles that you can enjoy at home (log in may be required).

PASS SYSTEM (Toronto : V Tape, 2015)

Pass system

The Pass System illuminates Canada’s hidden history of racial segregation. For over 60 years, the Canadian government often denied Indigenous peoples the basic freedom to leave their reserves without a pass. Cree, Saulteaux, Dene, Ojibwe and Blackfoot elders of the prairie land where this took place tell their stories of living under and resisting the system, and link their experiences to today.

STOLEN SISTERS (Toronto : V Tape, 2015)

Stolen sisters

Stolen Sisters takes viewers inside the contentious issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women, from the rolling farmland of Saskatchewan to the haunting depths of the dark alleys in Vancouver’s dangerous Hastings district. You will hear the stories of the missing and witness one family’s desperate search for their loved one.

WE WERE CHILDREN (Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2012)

We were children

In this emotional film, the profound impact of the Canadian government’s residential school system is conveyed unflinchingly through the eyes of two children who were forced to face hardships beyond their years. We Were Children gives voice to a national tragedy and demonstrates the incredible resilience of the human spirit.

DANCING AROUND THE TABLE (Ottawa : National Film Board of Canada, 2013)

Dancing around the table (Part one and two)

Part One provides a fascinating look at the crucial role Indigenous people played in shaping the Canadian Constitution. Part Two charts the battle to enshrine Indigenous rights in the Canadian Constitution, capturing a key moment in Canada’s history from the perspective of Indigenous negotiators.

HISTORY OF TREATIES IN CANADA (Pembroke, ON : LeMay Media, 2016)

History of treaties in Canada

From the Royal Proclamation of 1763 to the implementation on of the modern-day Algonquin land claim, The History of Treaties in Canada explores the history, application on and legacy of these foundational legal documents and how they continue to shape and define the often strained relationships between First Nations and the Crown in Canada.

NO TURNING BACK (Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2013)

No turning back

For two-and-a-half years, Edmonton director Greg Coyes, worked with teams of Native filmmakers, following the Commission on its journey from coast to coast. The video weaves the passionate and articulate voices of Indian, Inuit, and Metis people with the history of Canada’s relationship with its First Nations peoples.

BEHIND THE MASKS (Ottawa : National Film Board of Canada, 2013)

Behind the masks

A fascinating look at the meaning behind the masks of Indian tribes of the North Pacific coast. Expositor and lecturer is Professor Levi-Strauss of Paris, world-renowned anthropologist and authority on the structural analysis of myth.

KEEPERS OF THE FIRE (Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2007)

Keepers of the fire

Mohawk and Haida, Maliseet and Ojibwe these are the voices of ‘warrior women’ — those who have been on the front lines of some of the most important struggles Aboriginal people have faced in the latter part of the 20th century.

FOR ANGELA (Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2013)

For Angela

A dramatic story of racism and empowerment, inspired by the experience of Rhonda Gordon and her daughter Angela. A bus ride changed their lives in a way no one could have foreseen. When three boys harass Rhonda and Angela, Rhonda finds the courage and determination to take a unique and powerful stand against ignorance and prejudice.

PATRICK’S STORY (Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2013)

Patrick’s story

Patrick Bird was “a casualty of colonialism,” having walked a dark boyhood journey of sexual abuse, neglect, foster homes, detention centres, loss, abadonment, drugs, alcohol, and self-mutilation. With the help of friends and his loving adoptive mother, Patrick begins the search for his identity and spirituality as a Cree man, while discovering his talents in music and acting.

MISSING AND MURDERED ABORIGINAL WOMEN IN CANADA (Orangeville, ON : McIntyre Media, 2016)

Missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada

Violence against women is also a serious issue in Canada, unfortunately. One particular group of Canadian women merit special attention: Indigenous women and girls in Canada experience a scale and severity of violence that constitutes a national human rights crisis. The issue of violence against Aboriginal women and girls is a systematic one with deep roots in sexism, poverty and racism.

SACRED SUNDANCE (Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2008)

Sacred Sundance

Under a sweltering July sky, participants in the sacred Sundance ceremony go four days without food or water. At the end of the gruelling experience they will pierce the flesh of their chests in an offering to the Creator. The Sundance is a ritual long misunderstood, and once banned – but one that is now helping to bring personal and social healing to East Coast Aboriginal communities.

Written by Linda Fox–Library Technician, Program Support and Promotion

Earth Day Goes Digital

For the first time in history, Earth Day is going digital. With a theme of CLIMATE ACTION and voices stronger than ever, people across the globe will be rallying on behalf of the planet from their computers. The cries need to be heard for a reason: according to earthday.org, “climate change represents the biggest challenge to the future of humanity and the life-support systems that make our world habitable.” Would you like to be a part of Earth Day Live? To participate in online events, tune into Earth Day Live on Wednesday, April 22.

Sustainability at Red River College

On this Earth Day, we encourage you to read about the inspiring impact the Sustainability department has made at the College. Check it out in their Earth Day blog post.

Explore Environmental Topics From Our Online Library

Explore environmental topics from the comfort of home with our online collection of e-books and streaming videos. Below are some suggestions, but you may want to try entering a keyword in the Library’s OneSearch and see what it brings you. While our physical items are currently unavailable, please remember to use the filter on the sidebar to limit your search results to “Available online.”

E-BOOKS (log in may be required)

Lyme : The First Epidemic of Climate Change

Kirkus Lyme disease is spreading rapidly around the globe as ticks move into places they could not survive before. The first epidemic to emerge in the era of climate change, the disease infects half a million people in the US and Europe each year, and untold multitudes in Canada, China, Russia, and Australia. Mary Beth Pfeiffer shows how we have contributed to this growing menace, and how modern medicine has underestimated its danger. She tells the heart-rending stories of families destroyed by a single tick bite, of children disabled, and of one woman’s tragic choice after an exhaustive search for a cure. Pfeiffer also warns of the emergence of other tick-borne illnesses that make Lyme more difficult to treat and pose their own grave risks. Lyme is an impeccably researched account of an enigmatic disease, making a powerful case for action to fight ticks, heal patients, and recognize humanity’s role in a modern scourge.

Being the Change : Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution

Life on 1/10th the fossil fuels turns out to be awesome. We all want to be happy. Yet as we consume ever more in a frantic bid for happiness, global warming worsens. Alarmed by drastic changes now occurring in the Earth’s climate systems, the author, a climate scientist and suburban father of two, embarked on a journey to change his life and the world. He began by bicycling, growing food, meditating, and making other simple, fulfilling changes. Ultimately, he slashed his climate impact to under a tenth of the US average and became happier in the process. Being the Change explores the connections between our individual daily actions and our collective predicament. It merges science, spirituality, and practical action to develop a satisfying and appropriate response to global warming.

To Master the Boundless Sea : The U.S. Navy, the Marine Environment, and the Cartography of Empire

Beginning in the early nineteenth century and concluding in the first years of the twentieth, Jason W. Smith tells the story of the rise of the U.S. Navy and the emergence of American ocean empire through its struggle to control nature. In vividly told sketches of exploration, naval officers, war, and, most significantly, the ocean environment, Smith draws together insights from environmental, maritime, military, and naval history, and the history of science and cartography, placing the U.S. Navy’s scientific efforts within a broader cultural context. By recasting and deepening our understanding of the U.S. Navy and the United States at sea, Smith brings to the fore the overlooked work of naval hydrographers, surveyors, and cartographers. In the nautical chart’s soundings, names, symbols, and embedded narratives, Smith recounts the largely untold story of a young nation looking to extend its power over the boundless sea.

Coping with the Climate Crisis : Mitigation Policies and Global Coordination

Reducing carbon emissions is the most complex political and economic problem humanity has ever confronted. Coping with the Climate Crisis brings together leading experts from academia and policy circles to explore issues related to the implementation of the COP21 Paris Agreement and the challenges of accelerating the transition toward sustainable development. The book synthesizes the key insights that emerge from the latest research in climate-change economics in an accessible and useful guide for policy makers and researchers. Contributors consider a wide range of issues, including the economic implications and realities of shifting away from fossil fuels, the role of financial markets in incentivizing development and construction of sustainable infrastructure, the challenges of evaluating the well-being of future generations, the risk associated with uncertainty surrounding the pace of climate change, and how to make climate agreements enforceable.

Why Are We Waiting? : The Logic, Urgency, and Promise of Tackling Climate Change

An urgent case for climate change action that forcefully sets out, in economic, ethical, and political terms, the dangers of delay and the benefits of action. The risks of climate change are potentially immense. The benefits of taking action are also clear: we can see that economic development, reduced emissions, and creative adaptation go hand in hand. A committed and strong low-carbon transition could trigger a new wave of economic and technological transformation and investment, a new era of global and sustainable prosperity. Why, then, are we waiting? In this book, Nicholas Stern explains why, notwithstanding the great attractions of a new path, it has been so difficult to tackle climate change effectively. He makes a compelling case for climate action now and sets out the forms that action should take. Stern argues that the risks and costs of climate change are worse than estimated in the landmark Stern Review in 2006—and far worse than implied by standard economic models. He reminds us that we have a choice.

Climate Shock : The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet

If you had a 10 percent chance of having a fatal car accident, you’d take necessary precautions. If your finances had a 10 percent chance of suffering a severe loss, you’d reevaluate your assets. So if we know the world is warming and there’s a 10 percent chance this might eventually lead to a catastrophe beyond anything we could imagine, why aren’t we doing more about climate change right now? We insure our lives against an uncertain future–why not our planet? In Climate Shock, Gernot Wagner and Martin Weitzman explore in lively, clear terms the likely repercussions of a hotter planet, drawing on and expanding from work previously unavailable to general audiences. They show that the longer we wait to act, the more likely an extreme event will happen. A city might go underwater. A rogue nation might shoot particles into the Earth’s atmosphere, geoengineering cooler temperatures. Zeroing in on the unknown extreme risks that may yet dwarf all else, the authors look at how economic forces that make sensible climate policies difficult to enact, make radical would-be fixes like geoengineering all the more probable.

Tweeting the Environment #Brexit

The level of politicisation of the environment has been low in the UK. Economic concerns outweigh environmental ones in political debates, public policies and political agendas. Can the rise of social media communication change this situation? Tweeting the Environment #Brexit argues that, although limited by the dynamics of the British context, the technological affordances of Twitter enabled social actors such as the Green Party, ENGOs, and their associates to advance their political and green claims in order to mobilise voters before the 2016 EU referendum and to express their concerns in order to change environmental politics in the aftermath. The interdisciplinary research employed a combination of big data applications such as ElasticSearch and Kibana and desktop applications such as Gephi and SPSS in analysing large-scale social data. Adopting an inductive and data-driven approach, this book shows the importance of mixed methods and the necessity of narrowing down’big’to’small’data in large-scale social media research.

STREAMING VIDEOS (log in may be required)

An Inconvenient Truth

Former Vice President Al Gore explains the facts of global warming, presents arguments that the dangers of global warning have reached the level of crisis, and addresses the efforts of certain interests to discredit the anti-global warming cause. Between lecture segments, Gore discusses his personal commitment to the environment, sharing anecdotes from his experiences.

We are All Related Here

The story of the Yup’ik people, an Indigenous community of Newtok, Alaska, who are being forced to relocate their village due to the erosion and flooding they are experiencing as a result of global warming. We meet some of the people who are being called America’s first ‘climate refugees,’ and learn about the history and culture of the Yup’ik people of Newtok, who are being forced to relocate their village due to the erosion and flooding they are experiencing as a result of global warming.

Hole Story

In this feature documentary, Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie continue in the same provocative vein as their earlier Forest Alert, this time turning their lens on Canada’s mining industry. Using striking images, rare archival footage and interviews, The Hole Story analyzes company profits and the impact of mining on the environment and workers’ health.

Into the Fire (Nature of Things)

Nature created it. Humans harnessed it. And now, as climate change helps light a flame to our forests, scientists are desperately trying to understand fire. In the summer of 2017, more than one million hectares of the B.C. landscape went up in smoke. In 2016, the Fort McMurray wildfire — known as “the Beast” — forced the evacuation of nearly 90,000 residents. This compelling documentary travels from Alberta to Australia to follow researchers and firefighters as they race to learn from a new generation of massive fires.

VIDEO DATABASES – SUBJECT LISTINGS (log in may be required)

Subject Listing: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE on CBC Curio

Subject Listing: CLIMATE AND WEATHER on NFB Campus

Have a question? Ask Us!

While the Library’s physical doors are closed, the online service desk is still running and ready to serve you. Staff are online during the following hours:

Monday – Thursday  7:30am – 8:00pm
Friday  7:30am – 4:30pm
Saturday  8:30am – 4:00pm

During this time, a staff member is available to chat or answer your email. Simply visit library.rrc.ca and click on the Ask Us button or send an email to library@rrc.ca.

In these uncertain times when many of us are unexpectedly isolated in work and study, RRC Library wants you to know that we care and are still here to assist you.

The past four weeks have been a learning experience like no other. At different times, I have felt disoriented from my loss of structure, frustrated with technological problems, and distracted by the uncertainty of the future. On the other hand, I have also forced myself to work on the art of time management, been proud of my organization skills, and felt tremendous support from my classmates. Here are some of those triumphs from the past few weeks.

Connected Classroom

My class is made up of very few people. As a result, we have grown quite close over the past two years. When it was decided that RRC would be shifting to online learning due to the COVID-19 outbreak, I was scared about what that would mean for our classroom dynamic.

What I have found is that we are staying connected and closer than ever. With frequent questions, library memes, and positive words flowing through our WhatsApp group chat, we are able to maintain the support system that we created in the classroom. Looking for ways to connect with your peers? Check the Working from Home Guide for Students for some tools you can use!

Future Preparedness 

I was thinking this past week about the positives that could come from this uncertain time. Specifically, in regard to the many of us who are going to be finished our programs and heading out into the working world: a scary thing to do even without a global pandemic. What came to mind is that though this situation is oftentimes overwhelming, it has allowed us to learn skills that we may never have otherwise discovered.

For example, we may have learned how quickly and effectively we can adapt to new situations and circumstances. More than that, we may have learned new ways to present information. Above all, we learned that we can efficiently work and finish projects in a time of crisis. These are all skills that we can attest to in future job interviews when they come.

Want to share your learning triumphs in the COVID-19 pandemic? Reach out to us on Twitter or chat with a library staff member using our online service desk.

Online Service Desk Hours

While the Library’s physical doors are closed, the online service desk is still running and ready to serve you. Staff are online during the following hours:

• Monday – Thursday  7:30am – 8:00pm
• Friday  7:30am – 4:30pm
• Saturday  8:30am – 4:00pm

During this time, a staff member is available to chat or answer your email. Simply visit library.rrc.ca and click on the Ask Us button or send an email to library@rrc.ca.

Written by: Olivia Oborne, Library Information and Technology student

A Mine of Demographic and Statistical Information

Developed in consultation with RRC Nursing instructors, the Nursing Community Assessment Guide is a valuable aid for nursing students completing the Community Health Assessment paper. As you gather information about communities to analyze health issues and health needs from a population perspective, it will give you a starting point to help focus your research.

While created specifically for Nursing students, this guide addresses a variety of community perspectives and is useful for anyone looking for demographic or statistical information about Winnipeg. This guide will help you identify and write about the following topics related to a community health assessment:

• Purpose, target group and location
• Community history and perception
• Population
• Physical environments
• Socioeconomic environments
• Education and healthy child development
• Culture and religion
• Health regions and social services
• Transportation
• Government and politics

We Are Here For You

While the Library’s physical doors are closed, the online service desk is still running and ready to serve you. Staff are online during the following hours (day-by-day Library hours are available at library.rrc.ca):

Monday – Thursday  7:30am – 8:00pm
Friday  7:30am – 4:30pm
Saturday  8:30am – 4:00pm

During this time, a staff member is available to chat or answer your email. Simply visit library.rrc.ca and click on the Ask Us bubble or send an email to library@rrc.ca.

Related guides >>

• UpToDate
• CINAHL
• Family Nursing
• Nursing
• Indigenous Health & Well-Being

The Challenges of Changing your Study Habits 

We all know that change can be difficult, especially during a time of so many unknowns. 

As Red River College shifts to an online course environment, that means we need to change our study habits and change the way we access resources. 

Helpful Tips

In response to the changes to Red River College’s learning environment, the Academic Success Centre and the Library have created an Adjusting Study Habits During COVID-19 document with tips to help students adapt the way they study.

The tips in the document include how to:

• Stay Organized
• Avoid Multitasking
• Make the Most of Video Lectures
• Set a Schedule 
• Develop New Strategies
• Do Remote Team and Group Work
• Stay Connected to Others

As we are all adjusting to an online course environment, our advice is to be patient and to take care of your wellbeing first, then try out the suggested tips.

We Are Here For You

While the Library’s physical doors are closed, the online service desk is still running and ready to serve you. Staff are online during the following hours:

Monday – Thursday  7:30am – 8:00pm
Friday  7:30am – 4:30pm
Saturday  8:30am – 4:00pm

During this time, a staff member is available to chat or answer your email. Simply visit library.rrc.ca and click on the Ask Us button or send an email to library@rrc.ca.

Related links >>

• Working from Home Guide for RRC Students
• Online Tutoring and Academic Support
• Library Services Online Options

The Challenges of Learning and Studying from Home

Many people find learning and studying from home a challenge, and this is magnified by the stresses associated with COVID-19. If you are not accustomed to learning and studying at home, you may be coping with some of the following difficulties:

• Loneliness and isolation
• Time management
• Disruption of plans and goals (graduation, work placements, etc.)
• Lack of structure
• Fear and uncertainty
• Technological problems
• Distractions

A Timely Guide for Students

In response to the stress placed upon RRC students at this time, the Library has developed the Working from Home – Students guide. This compilation features refreshing ideas, tips, resources, supports, services and links to help ease the stress of learning and studying from home. We also hope to save you time and energy by providing information you urgently need right now.

Online Service Desk Hours

While the Library’s physical doors are closed, the online service desk is still running and ready to serve you. Staff are online during the following hours:

Monday – Thursday  7:30am – 8:00pm
Friday  7:30am – 4:30pm
Saturday  8:30am – 4:00pm

During this time, a staff member is available to chat or answer your email. Simply visit library.rrc.ca and click on the Ask Us button or send an email to library@rrc.ca.

Academic Success Centre (ASC) has joined the rest of the College community in its commitment to providing the same level of support through alternate delivery methods, in response to COVID-19.

WebEx review workshop with Chani Singh

With 12 weekly review sessions offered in courses such as Business Math (MATH-1051) and Managerial Accounting (ACCT-2005), our ASC Staff Tutor Chani Singh didn’t miss a beat. 

Chani launched his first Group Review Workshop for Math and Accounting students on March 17th – well before our students’ return. 

Adopting new technology and new tutoring methods overnight, Chani has engaged with up to 55 students synchronously in his WebEx content review workshops. 

In the meantime, our EAL team has been working closely with program partners to move all language and communication supports from in-person to online delivery. One success story from the first two weeks of this transition is our partnership with the International Business team.

Online Diversity Training in progress

Integrating new workshop and class delivery methods has been viewed as an exciting challenge, and EAL Tutor Rebecca Hiebert has delivered four synchronous workshops and several individualized support sessions to over 60 students in the International Business program.

Rebecca facilitated workshops on topics ranging from APA formatting, gender and sexual diversity awareness, constructive feedback, pronunciation practice, and how to maximize WebEx in order to work effectively with teams. 

The International Business faculty has been working closely with the EAL team through WebEx and email to discuss students’ support needs, stay up-to-date on course content and students’ challenges, observe and moderate in one another’s WebEx classes, and creatively collaborate on ways to support students through online delivery. 

Despite the many challenges we face due to COVID-19, we are proud to continue with our ongoing partnerships with RRC programs. As always, we remain committed to collaborate with faculty and staff to advance student support.

ASC has created a website devoted to keeping staff, faculty and students updated to our transition online. Please visit this site regularly, as our service availability is increasing daily: https://rrclibrary.libguides.com/ASC_Online_Academic_Supports