Course Expectations

EXPECTATIONS/PROCEDURES

Pacing: Pace yourself! It is incredibly important for you to stay on pace. To find out how many lessons you need to do per day to finish on time, take the number of lessons in your course and divide it by the number of days left in your course (you can adjust this number if you do not want to work on the weekends/holiday breaks!). Make a schedule for yourself for when you plan to work on this class each week and stick to it!

Assessments: Assessments include quizzes, tests, and exams. Take notes, study and ask questions to make sure that you are prepared for the assessments. If you feel you need extra help, please book an appointment with me before beginning your assignment. You are encouraged to use your personal notes (grammar/vocabulary) on quizzes and other graded assignments. You may not use notes for tests or exams.

Time: On your profile, I can see things such as time spent on an assignment, the total amount of time per week you are working, and the last day you worked. While you may not work every day, to be successful, it is essential that you put in at least five hours per week into this course (this number could double if you are completing a full year course in one semester – please ask me if you have questions about this). Own it! Work hard! Be successful! You got this!

Availability: My availability to meet in our virtual classroom is listed on my appointment booking site (see link on home page). In the virtual classroom, we have the ability to talk, type, use the electronic white board, share screens, and use other tools to review the material you have questions about. This is an awesome tool! Please take advantage of our virtual classroom!

Communication: Please allow 24 hours for a response to any messages you may send. I am able to respond more quickly to messages sent to my email at andrea.kierstead@edgenuity.com, or text 864-406-6380. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have! I am here to help you succeed this year! Please remember to use appropriate netiquette when speaking with me or any one else involved in your online course.

Online translator use/website use: Although it may be tempting to copy and paste a translation straight from Google translate, another online translator, or a website, it is VERY obvious when this is used and it is considered cheating. A grade of zero may be entered for your assignment. I want to see what you know, not what the computer knows. Use your gained knowledge from the week involving the vocabulary and grammar concepts. If you are using advanced grammar/vocabulary that we have not covered, your work will not be accepted.

Grading: You can expect your assignments to be graded 24-72 business hours after they are submitted. Make sure you review your feedback after each assignment to see where you are improving and what areas need work.

Extra Credit: Extra credit opportunities may be made available throughout the course. Please check the SIS or Mrs. V.’s Google Site to take advantage of these opportunities when they arise.

ASSESSMENT POLICY

Due to the nature of language learning, students should complete all assessments (tests and exams) without reference aids of any kind. The only exception would be writing assessments, in cases where the prompt explicitly authorizes use of a dictionary. The dictionary can be physical or virtual, but should be an actual dictionary and not a translation application or program.

Types of Cheating

Cheating can include any of the following:

• Obtaining help or answers from another person (including students, onsite teachers, or parents)

• Sharing answers, assignment questions, or work, either in-person or online

• Using translation software of any kind at any time

• Using text-to-voice technology or someone else’s voice on speaking assignments

• Copying reference material from text or online sources without citing the source

• Use of wiki answer sites (either sharing assessment questions or looking up answers)

• Using reference aids of any kind on an assessment, except as outlined above for dictionaries

RETAKES

Every now and again, you might have one of those days where you just need a re-do. Well, you're in luck! In your Spanish course, you may retake assignments one time. You do not need to request to retake an assignment or quiz as your course offers you one retake automatically.

• Your second grade on the assignment/quiz will replace your first grade (unless it is lower, then your first grade will be your final grade for the assignment)

• I do encourage you to meet with me one on one via our virtual classroom before retaking a quiz/assignment to make sure you've got the material down

• You may not retake unit tests, midterms, or final exams