Spanish 3 MTDA Course Information Instructor: Mrs./Sra. Heidi Emerson Email: heidi.emerson@montanadigitalacademy.

org Phone: Daytime (406) 962-6121 (Google Voice) Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday 2:45 3:45 How do I contact my teacher? You may call or e-mail me at any time using the contact information above. I will return your call or e-mail within 24 hours Monday-Thursday. You may call or e-mail Friday or during the weekend, however, my availability is limited and I may not be able to get back to you until office hours on Monday. If you call or e-mail during office hours I will be available to answer questions more promptly. Other modes of communication are available upon request: Skype, g-chat, etc. How do I know my teacher is real? This is a very valid question. Let me reassure you that I am realI am a certified Spanish teacher residing in the beautiful state of Montana with my husband and 3 cats. In addition to teaching Spanish levels 1 & 3 with the MTDA, I also teach full-time in a public high school in the Flathead Valley. In the near future, I will post a video or two introducing myself. You will know that I am real. Furthermore, the best way to make sure I am real is to communicate with me. The best communication opportunities are when you have a question or when you receive a message from me. You will get feed-back from me via email, phone calls, or through PowerSpeak. You are required to respond, even if you just say Thank You or Okay I got it now. The following demonstrate 2 ways that we converse: You submit an assignment. I grade it and give you feed-back. You take the feed-back and apply it. You show me that you applied it by sending a message or re-doing the assignment. There will be times when you wont get specific feed-back. When this occurs, there is no need to communicate (unless you have a question). OR You ask me a question and request help. I respond to you and we begin a conversation. I will (within reason) always respond to your emails within 24 hours (most of the time it will be quicker than that). I will (within reason) have your quizzes and other assignments graded within one week of you submitting them. I will be available for live question and answer sessions (my office hours) Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 2:45-3:45. What are the course materials? The majority of your course materials are located online within the PowerSpeak program. However, I highly recommend that you keep a 3-ring binder to print out and keep notes, vocabulary lists, a zipper pouch for a highlighter and flashcards. For your flashcards, use 3 x 5 index cards, cut in half or thirds to conserve paper. Just like in face to face foreign language classes, in order to build your proficiency, retain your language skills long term and really excel, it is necessary for most students to spend time memorizing, practicing, and gaining extra exposure time to the language outside of class. Where do I find a list of my assignments? There are 3 places to find your assignments: Calendar, Assignments List, Grade book. I recommend using the Calendar. Click on the Calendar icon at the top left of your page. You can view just the current month or the entire year. This will give you a list of ALL activities. The day on the calendar in which they are listed is the day they are due. Assignments List will give you a list of assignments for the entire semester. Click on the Assignments List tab at the top left when viewing the calendar.

Your grade book shows all assignments that you will be graded on and the possible points. Click on the apple icon with the A+ on it. How do I know when my assignments are due? The date on the calendar in which the assignment is listed is the date it is due. The assignment list and grade book will show

You are required to complete an entire lesson before moving on to the next lesson in the course material. All assignments will be
the due date on the same line as the assignment listed.

locked one week after their due date.

Once an assignment is locked, this means that the assignment will no longer

be available to you. I do this so that if you have an absence, for example, you have plenty of time to make it up before it is locked HOWEVER, keeping up on a daily basis is critical to your success in this course and the one week rule is only to be used for an occasional absence, school sponsored activity, etc. If you make a habit of continually operating a week behind, it will catch up to you especially on evaluations, the final exams and ultimately your grade(s). If you have any specific concerns regarding assignment, test or quiz deadlines, PLEASE CONTACT ME PRIOR TO THE DEADLINE. Can I complete my assignments after the one week lock date? NO! Assignments will be locked one week following the date they are assigned. Students may make prior arrangements with me if they need an extension. I will not unlock past due assignments unless there is a VERY valid reason. I forgot or my computer didnt work are not valid reasons. I broke my leg and was at the hospital is a valid reason. Can I take my final exam early since my school ends before the MTDA calendar? NO! Since MTDA works with so many different schools, we have to stick to just one calendar. Your exams and lessons will be available during MTDA scheduled dates. Do I have to work on my MTDA course even when my school is on vacation? YES! If your school has a planned vacation, do your MTDA assignments ahead of time. You will not be granted an extension and must follow the MTDA calendar. How many points is each assignment worth? You can see how many points an assignment is worth in the grade book or at the top left of the page while completing each assignment/quiz. How do I turn in assignments? Each activity/assignment will prompt you to either continue or save your work. It will then automatically submit it to me, enter it in the grade book or save your progress in the calendar. You will never have to snail mail anything to me. Where and when can I see my grades? PowerSpeak. Powerspeak is the actual classroom where your lessons are located. You can see your grade book at any time! Multiple choice and writing practices are graded instantly. The computer will show your grade once you are finished. Multiple choice quizzes are graded automatically also. You can instantly see your grade and can also check the grade book by clicking on the apple with an A+ icon. Verbal (or Speaking) and Written quizzes will be graded by me. I will have assignments graded within a week of the due date (unless there are extenuating circumstances). Once it is graded, you will see it in your grade book. Many times I leave written and/or verbal feedback attached to your graded assignments, quizzes and tests so you will know what you did incorrectly or need to do to improveplease check back after items have been graded to see if there is feedback. Can I re-take a quiz or exam? You may not re-take a mid-term or semester final. If you encounter an emergency, please contact me prior to the exam and we will discuss alternatives.

You may re-take only 2 quizzes per semester with permission from me based on a valid reason. You may only re-take a quiz within 2 weeks of the original quiz due date. Can I call or g-chat my instructor just to practice speaking Spanish? YES! Sure, why not, please do! S, claro, por supuesto, Por qu no?. Can I work ahead? Yes, you can. All assignments will be available 1 week before their due dates (except exams). This allows you to work ahead in preparation for a planned absence. It also allows you to work at your own rate. However, there are very few situations where you should be able to work ahead easily. It takes times to learn the vocabulary and grammar and if you move over the material too fast, you probably arent learning it as well as you should. My recommendation is that if things are too easy for you and you feel like you want to work ahead, you should back-track and review. Check your memorization of the vocabulary lists or understanding of the grammar concepts. Unless you are a native Spanish speaker, you shouldnt get more than 2 or 3 days ahead. Can I use dictionaries, notes, native speakers or online resources for quizzes or exams? NO! You may not use any dictionaries, notes, or on line resources (translators) for any quizzes or exams . Therefore, it is essential that you keep up with practicing and memorizing grammar concepts and vocabulary lists throughout the course. Obvious use of outside resources on quizzes or exams will lead to a 0 on the exam! Remember, show me evidence that you can use the concepts and vocabulary presented in this coursedont try to say or write things that you havent learned how to do yet. Should I use dictionaries, notes, native speakers or o line resources to do my daily lessons? NO! Use what you know instead. The PowerSpeak program is well designed to provide a sequence of concepts and vocabulary that best supports language learning. It is essential that you stay on track and use what is expected by the course. Why are online, electronic and/or human translators not allowed in this course? The goal of this course is for you to show mastery of intermediate level Spanish. The assignments, quizzes, and tests want to see evidence that you can use the vocabulary, verbs and concepts presented in this course to respond to questions and prompts, etc. It is important for you to understand that you will not be able, nor are you expected, to say or write answers in Spanish the way you would write them in Englishbasic, short, simple responses are just fine as long as you have a subject and a verb (thats conjugated when appropriate) when youre asked to use complete sentences. When you use an online/electronic translator, it doesnt show me evidence of you showing mastery of material from this course. Furthermore, most of the time, electronic/online translators arent able to detect context and other subtleties of language and usually result in a lot of grammatical and other language errors. In summary, you dont yet have the knowledge base or skills to use a translator correctly and as soon as I see or hear you using vocabulary, verbs and concepts that we havent learned or that havent been presented in this course, I will know youve used a translator and you will not be able to earn points on that assignment and/or evaluation. What if the directions say that I can use a dictionary to complete an assignment or evaluation? Using a Spanish/English dictionary to look up occasional individual words is differentthe point is to make sure you show evidence of using words, vocabulary, verbs, concepts, etc. that we have learned and dont try to say something in Spanish if we havent learned how to say it yet. Instead, substitute a word or vocabulary in that we have learned how to say so that you get as many points as possible! What can I do to improve my grade? Create some study tools for yourself: vocabulary lists, flashcards, visual organizers or verb charts with endings. Ask a family member or classmate to quiz you with your list or flashcards. Learning vocabulary is perhaps the biggest key to success in this course since you have to know vocabulary since thats the basis of where sentences and questions come from. If youre not studying vocabulary outside of class, you probably arent learning it well enough to remember it for current quizzes and tests, not to mention quizzes and tests in the future that will expect you to know current and past vocabulary. Remember, learning a language is cumulativeit builds week by week on your prior knowledge so that you become more and more proficient/fluent with time. Communicate with me sooner rather than later that youre having difficulty understanding a concept and specify what your difficulty isfor example, using the verb gustar correctly in a sentence, conjugating verbs with the right endings, what the subject

pronouns are, what are the question words, how to use nouns and adjectives together in a sentence, etc. Dont wait until you do poorly on an evaluation to get helpI want to know before you submit a quiz or test that you need help. Other things to do to expose yourself to more language and build your skills: Take advantage of online websites like www.studyspanish.com or www.quizlet.com to practice verb drills or create or complete online vocabulary flashcard activities and games. Watch dvd movies that your own or rent by changing the language to Spanish. Listen to music that you like in Spanishbuy some cds, download it to your ipod, MP3 player, listen to online radio, etc. If you have cable internet, many times you can get Spanish channels and/or Spanish music stations. Search online for Spanish TV series that you can watch. Acquire online and/or print magazines, newspapers, childrens books, etc. in the target language.

When are final exams & what is the procedure for taking these exams? Semester final exams are completed during the last week of the semester and may not be taken early. The final exam is usually worth around 200 points and consists of multiple choice, speaking, and writing sections. Your final exam(s) will be proctored or supervised by a site facilitator or their designee; you will need a password provided to the site facilitators in order to access your final exam(s). You are not allowed to use any notes, dictionaries, etc. on the final exams. What if I am not able to take the final exam during the assigned week of final exams? If you have a legitimate reason for not being able to take the exam (for example, a doctor-confirmed illness, hospitalization, etc.), please contact Mrs. Emerson prior to the last day of final exam week so arrangements can be made for you to complete the course.