ENGLISH LAB

      Miramar College English Lab is a valuable resource. The lab is funded by a grant, which is great because it shows that the college really cares to use the grant to help the students. When going into the lab the student must first sign into a log book and then enter a code into the computer for the electronic sign-in. The tutorial code you see posted on the lab’s computer is TR3320131; at least that’s what I saw when I last entered the lab, but if it is different than the code will still be posted on the front of the computer. The lab is open to all of our English 43 students. Although, it is not open 24/7; the English Lab is open Mondays from 8am-12:30pm/3pm-6:15pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays it is closed, and Wednesdays 8am-11am/3pm-6:15pm. The English Lab is helpful to anyone who enters. Our group asked a few students how they feel about the English Lab, and the results are below:

Junie- major in Child Development: "I really like the English lab. The tutors here are very helpful and understanding."

Elise- major in Child Development: "The English lab is a great for us students to receive tutoring in English. I think everyone taking an English class should visit the lab at least once a week. It helps."

Alex- major undecided: " I come to to the English Lab because the tutoring is helpful and free."

Neko- major in Chemistry: "The Lab offers a good service to students, like me, who are not that good at English. I come here because I need the help and the tutors are dedicated to helping us."

Seth- major in Accounting: “It has been proven that English grades improve, I feel as though I have improved as well."

The English Lab holds a total of 20 computers that are accessible to students. The computer is already logged on; there is no need to type in any password or username, just click sign in. When entering the internet on the computer the Lab’s website automatically pops up with all the important resources students need for their assignments and other work. Miramar English Lab also has a Facebook which is helpful because they post some updates about the Lab and other information. On the Lab’s website under Important documents/newsletters, a student could find out that Carme Garces started the ESOL 40 Lab. In the Lab there are any boards, one of which is the bulletin board with information. The information on the bulletin board are workshops that are available. Workshops are very helpful towards extra credit. In the end, the English lab is very important to students, and I would suggest students take advantage of it. The 16 tutors that are in the Lab are there to assist. If a student has any questions, then they are sure to help to the best of their ability. I have personally been in the English Lab, and I will utilize it whenever I have time outside of work. Just check it out; who knows, a student could walk out with a future A+ paper just by spending 20 minutes in the Lab.

Miramar College Counseling Department, Do you really take advantage of what they have to offer?

Recently my group and I meet with Miramar counselor Marc Hollman, who has been working for the counseling department for the past nine years. We asked him, "What resources are available to students from the counseling department?"  He mentioned students should know about the importance of the counseling department in offering students help with their educational plans as well as transfer program information.  The counseling department is a roadmap for success for all students throughout their college career. As well as offering the above, Mr. Hollman also stated the counseling department helps with referrals for marriage and family counseling as well as time management assistance.

The counseling office is located in C-302 and hours of operation are Monday through Thursday 8am-6pm as well as Friday 8am-12pm. The counseling department has day an evening walk-in appointments for ten to twenty minutes or you can call and schedule an appointment. There number for counseling appointments or for any questions you might have is 858-536-7840 or 619-388-7840.

We asked several students on Miramar campus what their favorite resources were that the counseling department offers, this is what the stated.

Dakota Castaneda
age 20
Majoring in Nursing
I like the counseling center because they help you pick out classes that you need to transfer.

Anthony Malevich
age 28
Majoring in Hotel Management
My favorite reason why I like the counseling department is meeting with the counselors because they help you stay on track with your academic career.

Brett Holland
Age 23
Majoring in  Child Development
I think the counselors are great because they are understanding and offer good advice.

Jameka Reied
Age 21
Majoring in Computer Science
I like the counseling department because you have someone to talk to with you with your classes.

One last key point we would like you to know about the Miramar Counseling department is that they offer extensive help and assistance to military and veteran students. Here's a link which talks about the academic counseling for students such as these.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHi1p6bfFxk

Miramar College Library

Our school library is one great place on campus to quietly study and find resources. The library, which is located in building L-200, offers different things like a place to study, do homework, use computers, print items out, read, and much more. The hours of operation for the Library are Monday-Thursday: 8:00am-8:00pm, and Friday: 8:00am-12:00pm. Here is just a short list of resources that the library offers, and why you should take advantage of them.

One resource the library has to offer is the printers and copiers. There are 3 photocopiers located inside the copy center. The machines accept dollar bills, quarters, dimes, and nickels. The cost for each copy depends on exactly what you are copying. All 8 1/2x 11 and 11x17 are 10 cents each. In order to use the copier and printer, you will go into a small room and swipe your I.D card. You will then insert your coins and it will load to your student I.D card. You then go back to the computer and push print. A box will appear and will ask for your I.D number. It will then print off your page and automatically take the money out for you. There is one black and white copy printer located in the library. It costs 10 cents per page, but you must have an I.D card to print pages. This is an easy and convenient way to print things if a printer is not available for you at home. 

Another resource the library has to offer is the books and textbooks. You are able to check any book out at the library as long as you are currently enrolled at Miramar College. You must also obtain an I.D card for Miramar. Although you can check out textbooks and reading books, you cannot remove the books from the libraries. The library also has a list of books that you can access online to see if it is available to you. The library also has over 30K E-books and just as many check out books. In case you need help with any of the books, you can use the reference book to find information out.

A final resource the library has to offer is the 8 Group Study Rooms. There are private rooms available for groups of 2 or more for those people in need of quiet study. There are also white boards in each one of the individual study rooms in order to draw things out if needed. The rooms are on a first come, first serve basis. No reservations are expected in advance. The amount of time for each room is an hour, or more, if no groups are waiting. In order to check out one of the study rooms, you must show a current I.D card for Miramar College. In order to help with the private room studies, there is a Reserves area behind the circulation desk. Check the desk for materials available to specific class names and numbers. Reserve materials are available upon first come, first serve cases. No holds on books is accepted. 

When coming up with resources for the Library, we came up with a question to ask a few students on campus at Miramar College. We simply asked “With the many benefits the library has to offer, Do you feel anything can be improved?” These were the responses we received:

Sam, 19, Business Major- “For me the library is about perfect because it so much to offer. I do think though that the only thing that can change is possibly how you check out books.”

David, 20, Business Major- “I haven’t been to the library real often but the one time I did go they were strict on taking books home. So that’s the only thing I can think of I guess.”

Adrian, 18, Undeclared - “No, the library pretty much has everything to offer so I don’t feel there is.”

Alexia, 22, Psychology Major- “Taking books home is probably what most people would agree with, so yeah that can be better.”

For a great place to study and get access to free Wi-fi and very cheap printing, go check out the Library at Miramar College. It is located in building L-200, and has so many wonderful resources to help you be a successful student!

Miramar's Library

Miramar’s Library

Our library is a great place to study, do homework, use the computers, read, and much more. The library is located in building L-200. It is open 5 days a week, the hours of the library are: Monday-Thursday 8:00 am - 8:00 pm and Friday 8:00 am - 12:00 pm. Here are some different resources and reasons why you should attend the library.

The first resource of using the library is that there are plenty of computers to use for free if you don’t have Internet at home. Free WIFI available for all students to use. There is also a printer to use if you are doing homework and need to print something for class. Each page you print consists of .10 cents. Some of you may be thinking who do I pay to use the printer. Well actually you don’t pay anyone. Every student should have a student ID card, so if you desire to print something out you will need to go into this small room (right next to the computers) and there will be what looks like a coin machine. What you will need to do is swipe your student ID card then put coins or dollars into the machine. Once you are done, the money will automatically go onto your card. Then you will go back to your computer and once you are finished typing you press print and a box will pop up asking you for your student ID number and what you would like the file name to be. You then will go back to that small room and there will be a printer. Swipe your student ID card again and your papers should show up right away. Then it will tell you how much you need to pay and then you click print and out will come your papers. Along with the printer there are also four copy machines. You may copy anything you like and the cost still stands at .10 cents a page.

A second resource the library offers is books and texbooks. If you like to read or need a book for class you may check one out. But if you check one out it can only be used in the library, you may not take it home or even step outside with it. If you are at home and you need a certain book or textbook for class, instead of driving all the way to campus, you can just go onto the Miramar College website go to the library page and you can search the catalog to see if they actually have that book you need.

A final resource is if you need room to lay out textbooks, papers, binders, pens, pencils, highlighters, or anything in order to study or do homework the library has more than enough tables. Each table has at least room for four people to sit and work on their work. If you want something a little more private so that you don’t get distracted they have rooms in the very back of the library that you can use for study groups or even just go in there because it makes studying quite.

So we asked five students, what benefits you the most when you use the library? Here’s what some students said.

1. James Lee, 19, majoring in Biology “The study room benefits me because I get to meet my classmates for group projects and also computers and printers.”

2. Hanh Pham, 20, majoring in Mechanical Engineering “Using the computer and printers to do my homework.”

3. Erick Nguyen, 20, majoring in Business Administration “Meeting with classmates in the study room to discuss group assignments.”

4. Al-Hakam Jameel, 21, majoring in Biochemistry “The study room because it’s quite and can meet with classmates.”

5. Kellie Beck, 18, majoring in General Education “Being able to use the computers, printers, and also because there are tables where you can do homework and it’s quite.”

Please go and check out the library because it has a lot of great and different resources that will help you throughout your semester's of college!