IV. Implementation

Facilitator Duties and Responsibilities - Back

Here are some guidelines to help you have a successful school year.

1. Communicate! Keep me apprised of successes and problems by telephone, fax, or e-mail. Students are primarily responsible for staying on task, but occasionally circumstances occur, which can affect their work. Together we can resolve difficulties, clarify issues, and rejoice with student successes.
2. Check syllabus: Students may need to be reminded of project dates, connecting with KET or the Vroma site.
3. Check student portfolios: Students should keep a hard copy of all activities finished on the Internet.
4. Maintain the integrity of graded activities: students should not work together on graded activities unless specifically directed to do so. A student may clarify some portion of the test instructions for another student, but should never help with answers. Giving or receiving information about answers on a test or quiz invalidates the grade of the entire work for both the giver and receiver. Call me promptly should problems arise. All graded activities need supervision.
5. Maintain the integrity of passwords. Your facilitator password should never be shared. If there is any doubt as to whether a student has discovered the facilitator password, call immediately for a new password. It is vital that students complete their own work, and not share their passwords with other students.
6. Maintain an up-to-date grade book: There is a grade book program on the Internet, which is explained in "Using the Grading Program," found under Site Information on the KET distance learning home page (www.dl.ket.org). Each graded activity will be automatically entered in the grading program when a student submits it. Any short answer questions will appear on my computer to view and add commentary, as well as grade. If a student disagrees with the grade in the grading program, he (she) should contact me.
7. Download materials as needed from the Internet: Each student should maintain his (her) own course materials book.
8. When mailing documents to KET, please send a photocopy rather than the original. Students should keep the original copy in their course materials notebooks.
9. Here are some things you need to do as soon as possible:
   • Call KET for facilitator ID and password for Internet access (800.333.9764).
   • Enter the names of students and their data on the Internet. Choose "Roster" under Facilitator Login. For help, refer to "Using the Grading Program" found under Site Information on the KET distance learning home page. Call KET for the student passwords.
   • Enter your school's calendar on the Internet. Choose "Calendar" under Facilitator Login. Choose "Edit your school's calendar". Using the drop down menus, enter the starting and ending dates of your school calendar. (If taking a class on a block basis, just include the dates of the appropriate semester rather that the whole year.) Click the "Submit" button. Next mark your school holidays, in-service days, or days your school will not be in session. Click the "Submit" button. Next enter the ending dates of your grading periods, and click the "Submit" button. Finally generate your school's calendar. This completes the calendar entry and sets up the "Previous work" schedule, as well as the "milestone progress goals" for your school.
     
     If you are enrolled in more than one KET course, the school calendar must be entered for each course.
     
     If you are unable to complete the calendar entry, please fax your school calendar, indicating starting and ending dates, all holidays, and end of grading period dates. We will enter the information for you.
   • Get to know your equipment, find the Internet resources, visit the different areas of the AP^® Latin Literature front page.
   • Have your students complete their Photo and Information Forms and send to me as soon as possible. (See Forms.)
   • Assemble a guide for the substitute. The students are self-directed and can work independently for a time. School rules usually require the presence of an adult. A long absence by the facilitator would require that the KET 800#, the syllabus and names of students be available to a substitute who can administer graded materials. Please leave the facilitator ID and password with a responsible adult who can share it with the substitute should the need arise.
   • Read the Student Guide with your students. It has additional information that will be important to you and outlines the students' responsibilities and duties. Encourage them to take the guides home to show their parents.

IV. Implementation

Motivation - Back

Success in a distance learning class depends upon the students being self-motivated and determined. It is easy for them to get discouraged when a teacher is not present to respond immediately to questions. Some become intimidated at the prospect of calling KET. Some are alone in their classes. Here are but a few suggestions for helping your students succeed. Not all of them fit all situations.

1. When more than one student is in the class, encourage a cooperative environment. Students may help one another (except on graded quizzes and tests), although they are to submit their own work and not merely copy from another student. Some students have met at one anothers' homes to study and discuss passages.
2. If students have different schedules, try to arrange a time when they can meet to discuss each other's progress, difficulties, successes, etc.
3. Check that students call the KET teacher as required, or whenever they have questions.
4. Encourage students to e-mail lengthy questions if a phone call is not convenient for them.
5. Encourage students to stay in touch with the KET teacher, just to talk and become acquainted. Calls made to 800.333.9764 prior to 8:30 a.m. and after 4:30 p.m. will need to enter the 4-digit extension 7133 in order to reach Ann Denny. If I am not available, stay on the line and leave a voice mail.
6. Notify me when students receive awards or do something notable. I will recognize their achievements on the Internet.
7. Encourage students to join JCL, enter foreign language competitions, take the National Latin Exam in March, and the AP^® exam in May.
8. Encourage students to participate in any foreign language activities at your school. If they need help planning events or projects, encourage them to call me.
9. Encourage students to promote their program by writing articles for the school or local paper send holiday cards in Latin to staff members at the school, and display their work or projects when appropriate.
10. Call me if you there is a morale problem, or one seems to be developing. One unhappy person can be a catalyst which can bring down an entire group. Often personal contact can help.

IV. Implementation

Student Duties and Responsibilities - Back

• Be interactive: Language learning is a two-way process, and you must involve yourself in the process to become skilled. Participate with me via phone and e-mail; participate with other Ap^® Latin Literature students throughout the country via the Forum.
• Make up missed work quickly when you are absent. If possible, have an Internet connection at home, to stay on task should you be absent for a length of time.
• Bring books, notebooks, notecards to class every day.
• Always do your homework with care and thoroughness. A few extra minutes can save a lot of time later. Homework reinforces a lesson and the grammar and vocabulary you are continuing to increase.
• Keep note cards of additional vocabulary; work with them regularly.
• Be positive and enthusiastic about your work.
• Call me if you don't understand or remember something. There is nothing too trivial. We all forget at times and need reassurance.
• Two things to do RIGHT NOW:
  1. Complete the Student Photo and Information Form in the Student Guide and return it to your facilitator. Include a wallet-sized photo that can be scanned into our Internet page.
  2. Get a three-ring binder, index cards, and a box in which to store them.

How to Get Help

Your questions and problems are important to me. Here's how you can get help:

1. Call me for assistance during the day.
2. E-mail questions during evening or before 8 a.m.
3. Work with classmates to build from one another's expertise.
4. Check the Internet for extra explanations and exercises. There are many ungraded activities to help you reinforce your vocabulary and grammar skills. Use them often.

IV. Implementation

Virtual Yearbook - Back

With your agreement and consent, KET will feature your Latin class on the Internet. This helps to establish a sense of community in our virtual classroom. In order to accomplish this, we will need information about you, your students, school, and community that other members of the class might find interesting.

For this feature, the facilitator and the students should consider sending print material or photos of school realia (caps, picture of mascot, T-shirts, etc.), students participating in activities, community events, local geography, etc. The students might also consider recording a short interview about their school and community for potential use on the Internet.

IV. Implementation

How to Use the Web Site - Back

WHY?

• Announcements
• Explanations - you definitely don't want to miss these. Whenever I get interesting questions from students that I feel have general importance, I will detail the data.
• Breaking news about the world of the Classics such as new archeological finds.
• Seasonal greetings and suggestions about how to enjoy the various holidays with a Latin flavor.
• Student showcase - see what your classmates are doing.
• Tests
• Quizzes
• Ungraded practice activities
• Grade Book is a program that allows students to follow their progress and check their grades.

WHEN?

• At the end of class
• When there is free time in class
• Anytime you have access to an Internet connected computer - ok, maybe that is a bit excessive but do try to access the site regularly.

HOW?

• http://www.dl.ket.org/latinlit/
• The scroll and arch appear together with a navigator bar on the side

On the scroll

On the arch

On the navigator bar

N.B. the items on the navigator bar will change as you access different pages from here. You can always go HOME (DOMUS) however and the original page will appear.

A few notes:

• Facilitators must "open" a quiz for students to be able to access the quiz. This allows the student to access a quiz at home or at school at a time when the facilitator feels it is appropriate to do so. This function offers the facilitator control over the integrity of a quiz. A student with a home computer cannot view a quiz before its time.
  To "open" a quiz,
  • Connect to the Agenda page for the lesson on which the quiz is assigned.
  • Log in.
  • Scroll down to Quizzes.
  • Select the appropriate quiz.
  • Click on "open."
  • Log out. Students may then log in from the appropriate lesson and access the quiz.
  You may also "close" a quiz at the end of the class period, which keeps students from accessing that quiz after class. The "open" and "close" are helpful if you want to give one student the opportunity to take a quiz early (for example, one student working at a faster pace than others in the class), and not allow the other students access.
• To access data that is posted on a given lesson, one must go to that lesson on the Agenda. Use the previous or next button at the top of the Agenda, or the Previous Work button on the arch.

IV. Implementation

Grading Policy - Back

Students have day by day assignments for 160 required lessons. During the other days of class, they are expected to work on projects, research materials, or use the time as needed to reinforce their Latin. Time is also allowed for work with some of the ancillary Internet materials, the National Latin Exam, standardized tests, etc. Materials for subsequent days are posted should there be time in individual schedules. This is a self-paced class. Each may proceed at his/her pace but must cover the full agenda as well as do well in all tests, quizzes, daily work etc. to qualify for an A in the class from the school. The grades are determined by this formula:

TESTS (35%) and QUIZZES (30%):

There will be NINE tests during the course, excluding the AP^® exam. There is also a final exam that students MUST take if they do NOT take the AP^® exam. For students taking the AP^® exam, the final is optional. There are also numerous quizzes. The tests and quizzes cover a variety of topics including long and short written essays, sight translations, figures of speech, grammatical constructions, rhetorical devices, scansion, and reading comprehension. ALL tests are electronically closed, until the student contacts KET. The test will be "opened" for a period of an hour, and then closed again.

HOMEWORK (35%):

Homework/Classwork (all Opera) consists of vocabulary and grammar exercises and practice, prepared translations, sight translations, multiple choice questions, scansion, well developed essays AND short essays, culture and history.

You are expected to complete a lesson a day according to your school calendar. When you connect to the Internet you will be able to view the assignment, as well as any breaking news or announcements that might be posted for you. Access your assignments from the Today's Agenda or Opera links on the scroll. All assignments are submitted on-line and you will receive feedback and a grade in a timely manner. If you miss any questions, you can go back and try again with no penalty.

How Grades are entered into the electronic Grade Book:

• All quizzes and tests taken by computer have grades entered automatically. If a student feels that an answer can be correct, contact me and I will alter the grade if appropriate.
• Most extra credit work needs to be graded at KET and the grades will then be entered at KET as well.