Extended Hours for Gbctechtraining Student Support Centre

George Brown College is pleased to announce we have extended the Gbctechtraining Student Support Centre office hours to include Saturdays.

The Gbctechtraining Student Support Centre office hours are:

Monday – Friday: 9:00 am to 10:00 pm, EST
Saturday: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, EST.

"As our programs continue to grow, we've noticed that our students have been sending us an increasing number of emails, phone messages, support requests and exam submissions over the weekends. We remain committed to ,and focused on, providing the best possible learning experience we can for our students," said Colin Simpson, Dean, Centre for Continuous Learning. "To improve our service to you , our staff will now be on hand on Saturdays to take phone calls and emails on any topic related to our online technical training programs, including general inquiries, registration, or technical and tutorial support."

General and registration inquires should call 1-888-553-5333 or email info@gbctechtraining.com. Students needing technical and tutorial support inquiries should call 1-866-279-1457 or email support@gbctechtraining.com.

About these GBC Programs
The Electronics, Electromechanical, Robotics and PLC programs are offered using a self-paced, distance learning approach, allowing students to register into a program immediately, to progress through course work at their own pace, on their own time, remotely from their home or work. The GBC Student Support Centre provides administrative, technical and tutorial support by phone, email and internet-based forums. Module final exams are taken online using computer-based testing. For more information, please visit www.gbctechtraining.com.

About George Brown College
With nine out of 10 graduates getting jobs within six months of graduation, Toronto's George Brown College has established a reputation for equipping students with the skills, industry experience and credentials to pursue the careers of their choice. From its three main campuses located across Toronto's downtown core, George Brown offers more than 150 programs across a wide variety of professions. Students can earn diplomas, post-graduate certificates, industry accreditations, apprenticeships and four-year bachelor degrees. More than 20,000 students attend the College (full-time equivalent) with about 65,000 registered with the George Brown College Centre for Continuous Learning. For more information, please visit www.georgebrown.ca.

George Brown College announces a LinkedIn Alumni group for Online Technical Training Programs

George Brown College is pleased to announce a new component of the Electronic, Electromechanical, Robotics and PLC Technician Certificate programs; the GBCTechTraining LinkedIn Alumni Group. This group is intended to help our program graduates develop new contacts and career opportunities in their program areas.

At George Brown College we understand that our students want to grow in their career. The goal of the LinkedIn Group is to provide our graduates with a place to network professionally and to develop opportunities to further their technical careers. Along with discussions, this group will provide related job postings that are appropriate for our members.

"These programs provide our students with new and expanded technical skills; making them more employable", says Colin Simpson, Dean, Centre for Continuous Learning. "The GBCTechTraining LinkedIn Alumni group is another way to help our student's network and take a proactive approach to their career development. Along with hopefully some very interesting discussions, this group will provide job postings that we encounter that are appropriate for our members."

Membership in this group is open to all graduates of the online GBCTechTraining Electronics, Electromechanical, PLC and Robotics Technician Certificate programs. All program graduates are automatically invited and accepted into the LinkedIn group.

Guide to Setting Up and Taking Online Exams

This comprehensive guide for setting up and taking online exams has been developed for all new and existing students. This detailed manual will guide you through all the detailed steps required to access and complete online exams. Everything from logging into the Resource Center to setting up email applications, to testing your email connection is reviewed in detail. This guide will help simplify and answer most questions relating to the process of writing an online exam. Download the Guide

Interactive Discussion Forums

We are very pleased to announce that we've just activated three new interactive discussion forums for registered students. The forums are accessed from within the online Student Support Center. The Programmable Logic Controllers Technical Training program now has its own private discussion forum, where students can share their comments, questions and experiences about the program with other enrolled students. The second forum is strictly a tutorial forum, where you can direct specific questions about course content to one of our online tutors. The last forum is a Program News Forum that we will use to keep you up-to-date on the latest news and important announcements from the program administrator. Check it out and join your fellow students online!

New 3rd edition of PLC textbook is now available

A new 3rd edition of our supplementary PLC textbook is now available. This edition includes new material that corresponds closely to content introduced into the revised CD-ROM curriculum, in September 2006. Highlights of the 3rd edition include:

The Data Communications chapter has been significantly expanded to include more in-depth and detailed coverage of communications technology including Internet, LANs and WANs.
Increased special emphasis on installation and maintenance of PLCs, process control and industrial applications of PLCs, and input and output stages of PLC operations.
New module 18 on Advanced Programming Languages includes Sequential Function Charts, Function Block Diagrams, Structured Text, Instruction List, and RSLogix 5000 PLC simulation software.
New module 19 on Robotics includes robot classifications, components, characteristics, payload, repeatability, accuracy, sensors, safety and applications. Also robot programming and Artificial Intelligence.

Purchasing this textbook is not required to complete the program but many PLC students find that it is a very helpful learning resource particularly if they are new to using computer-based learning materials.

The Textbook is available for $170.

To Order the Textbook now call a Program Advisor toll-free at 1-888-553-5333 (ref: ).

George Brown College Distance Education Programs Approved for Certification Training by the ETA

George Brown College is pleased to announce that three of its distance education based technology training programs – Electronics Technician Certificate, Electromechanical Technician Certificate and PLC Technician Certificate - are now approved by the Electronics Technician Association International (ETA) for the purposes of training leading towards their certification as an Electronics Technician Associate.

The Electronics Technician Certificate program is approved for use in training towards certification as their Associated Certified Electronics Technician and Student Electronics Technician designations, as well as for use in their Electronics Module 5. The Electromechanical and Programmable Logic Controllers Technician Certificate programs are approved for use in training towards certification as a Certified Electronics Technician – Industrial.

About the ETA
The ETA, founded in 1978 by electronics technicians, is a not‐for‐profit trade association that supports the academic, social and professional needs of the electronics professional. With the assistance of ETA partner schools and administrators, ETA offers a unique certification process to recognize those individuals with the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in their fields.

About these GBC Programs
The Electronics, Electromechanical and PLC programs are offered using a self-paced, distance learning approach, allowing students to register into a program immediately, to progress through course work at their own pace, on their own time, remotely from their home or work. The GBC Student Support Centre provides administrative, technical and tutorial support by phone, email and internet-based forums. Module final exams are taken online using computer-based testing. For more information, please visit www.gbctechtraining.com or call the Student Support Centre at 1-888-553-5333.