COVID 19 & Virtual Classes FAQS

Yes.  The school is open during all class hours as usual. Student services, teachers and administration staff are available to help you.  You are welcome at the school, but you cannot gather with groups of students.  We are all also available online.  Please use Facebook to send messages, as it will be checked continually throughout the day.  During school hours, there is also a LiveChat on our website.  You can make inquiries and we will get back to you as quickly as possible.  You can also reach us at our email info@times.edu.au.

The school will be open from 8am to 6pm daily, unless the government decides that we must shut down.

Please see the government websites for what to do:

https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert

Or call the COVID19 hotline

1800 020 080

Please see the website and you call the hotline

Any type of computer with audio and visual will work.  You can also use a tablet with the ZOOM app or your phone (however, phones are more difficult to use).

Unfortunately, our campus is closed until July 5, 2021. It will not be possible to come to the school and use the school computer laboratory.

If you have the financial means to do so, you can also rent laptops and computers.  Here are some suggested rental websites, but they are not endorsed by Times Academy.  Times has not worked with these companies and it is up to you to find the best deal for you.

https://www.abacusrentit.com.au/

https://www.hire-intelligence.com.au/

https://www.macrent.com.au/

The English students will use ZOOM and the VET Students will use Moodle (their student portal) and Microsoft Team.  Please see the student online portal on your first day of class for full instructions of what to download and use for your class.

All of these programs are free for students.

Your material fee for this term is being used towards more interactive software and platforms that will be integrated into your teaching and learning.  We will use interactive and interesting sites, resources and learning platforms to help you learn and absorb the class content.

Unfortunately, our campus is closed until July 5, 2021, so it will not be possible to come to the school for any reason.

Definitely.  You must maintain 80% attendance.  It is a requirement of your student visa that you go to class and Times Academy will be checking your attendance.  You can still monitor your own attendance online through the student portal.  You are also required to continue with academic progress.  If you do not progress with your academics in this time of Virtual classes, you can and will be reported to immigration.  This is a condition of your student visa.

You can also get help online from our website live chat or in our Facebook Messenger.  Feel free to call or email the school as well.  We are here to help.

Please contact the school if you are trying to return to your home country to make arrangements for suspension or cancellation of course.

Yes.  Assessments, assignments and tests will occur online.  You will be informed as to what is a formal or informal assessment.  Reassessment fees apply as usual if you do not successfully complete for VET training.  English students can still be promoted to the next level based on their achievement and attendance.

The teachers and trainers will be online continually to support and help you.  If you feel your teacher or trainer is not helping you as required, please be sure to send an email to info@times.edu.au and tell us what you would like.  We are here to help and support your learning.

Let us know!  We will try to improve and adjust the Virtual Classroom to meet our student needs.  Please email us at info@times.edu.au with your suggestions and comments.

See your GP and visit the government website for more information.

https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert

Be sure to take your Overseas Student Health Coverage Card with you to the doctor or hospital.

You can call the school to talk about counselling options.

See your GP and visit the government website for more information.

https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert

Be sure to take your Overseas Student Health Coverage Card with you to the doctor or hospital.

You can call or contact us on social media or via email.  We also have an online chat function on the website.  The school is here to help you in this difficult time.

It’s student’s responsibility to remain satisfactory financial status at all times. We understand it is a difficult time for some of our students and we’ll support you where we can. Please consult our friendly finance staff for any extraordinary arrangements. These will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Please provide any supporting documentation that may assist your case. Please send a message to info@times.edu.au and ask for financial consideration.

Currently, online learning will be ongoing until July 2nd 2021. We will notify you if there are any changes to this.

Please make sure we have an up-to-date email address.   Also, keep an eye on social media and our school website.  We will release information as soon as we can to keep you informed and safe.

COVID-19 is a serious problem and the Directors of Times Academy take your health very seriously.  As Times Academy has young children AND adults, we have a unique mix of students and ages.  Therefore, we have decided that it is no advisable for students to interact daily in large groups.

You should receive an email about how to complete your online orientation.  You will do a test if you are an English student which also needs to be completed.  If you have not received an email, it might be because we do not have an accurate email address.  Please write to us at info@times.edu.au and tell them your full name, email address and your start date so they can make sure you get your orientation information.

No.  You still have scheduled class times where you need to be live online and interacting with the trainers and teachers.  Attendance is taken and we expect you to be available, online and participating during class times.

We will send a copy of e-orientation package with clear guidance for the enrolment process to you and your education agent.  Please make sure the school has a good email address for you.  If you are not sure, please contact the school at info@times.edu.au

Following the advice from Australian Government authorities, we will deliver online study for all our enrolled students at this stage so there is minimal need for deferments. The standard deferment policy stated in the student handbook applies for a deferment request. We’ll keep you notified for in case of any possible changes.

To apply for your certificate or re-enrol, please contact the school at info@times.edu.au.  Then it will follow the usual procedure.  We can post certificates to those students who prefer not to pick up in-person with student to incur postage costs.

The link will be posted on Moodle in your selected course. Select the Blue icon to join our class

We provide the function of sharing audio, video, and screen. You should be able to use Google Chrome or the newest version of Microsoft Edge (based on Chromium). Other browsers will show errors. You don’t need to install any plugin or download any additional binary to share your screen.

Only a trainer can share screen, unless you are a presenter. if you want to share your screen, you have to ask trainers permission

If you’re using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, make sure you give the browser permission by clicking ‘Allow’ at the top right hand corner of the screen (in most cases).

The audio controls are at the bottom. You can click the mute/unmute button to mute or unmute yourself at any time.

If others in the voice conference don’t hear you when you speak, it’s likely that the browser has picked the wrong microphone on your computer. You can click the phone icon twice – once to leave and a second time to rejoin – to try joining the audio again. When you see the echo test, if you can’t hear yourself, click “no” and select a different microphone.

We use the built-in acoustic echo cancellation, so in most cases, you should not hear any echo from remote users.

In any event, we always recommend that you use a headset with microphone. This will ensure the best audio in a session.

We suggest you to Use Chrome or Microsoft Edge (The new version)

Both these browsers support web real-time communications audio.

Videos will be available on Moodle inside the virtual class item created by your trainer.

Yes, you can write down your questions in group chat or setup a status.

The students will only have the “Upload presentation” if they have been granted the permission to do that. If they want to become the presenter, they have to ask the trainer to assign it to them.

If your internet connection slows down during class, try turning off your video camera so you can still see the class, but the teacher and other people in class can’t see you. This helps decrease the load on your wifi connection.

We will attempt to provide minimal technical assistance. We won’t be able to stop class to help you if you are having trouble. If you have technical issues, you can chat and write questions by our LIVE CHAT function on our Website (https://www.times.edu.au)