Spanish 1411 Beginning Spanish Online Syllabus Spring 2017 CRN 14671

Professor: Crasto Office: 359J Campus: Katy EMAIL: darren.crasto@hccs.edu Spanish 1411 Beginning Spanish Online Syllabus Spring 2017 CRN 14671 COURSE DESCRIPTION This is a first semester Beginning Spanish course that satisfies and transfers as the first semester Freshman-level Spanish requirement at all major universities. All instruction will be provided through watching instructional videos on https://www.vhlcentral.com/ and reading the website instructions in this independent-learning course. This Syllabus may be updated. Please read it often. REQUIRED MATERIALS: You will purchase a code which gives you online access to all your materials. There is no hard book. PORTALES. ISBN# 9781626806313 You must buy a new code for this online course. Do not buy a used textbook. For this online course, you should buy from an online bookstore. If you go to a physical bookstore you will probably get the wrong code. These are the only two online bookstores I know of that have the correct code: http://vistahigherlearning.com/store/schools/houstoncc http://hccs.bncollege.com. Your code gives you access to an electronic textbook, workbook, and lab manual. All work is performed on the Portales website, https://www.vhlcentral.com/ -To receive credit, you must follow the instructions on the document Setting up your Portales Online Account in Canvas and sign in to my online class. Call: (800) 269-6311 today to get free trial access. Don't wait until the code you purchase arrives. Extensions are NOT given for not getting your code on time. This class is an independent-study course for students with patience, perseverance, and initiative who work hard on their own to do everything before the deadlines without being reminded. ATTENDANCE: Every session has an OFFICIAL DAY OF RECORD that is taken approximately 10-14 days after the first day of classes. Official Day of Record February 23, 2017 As stated in the DE handbook: If a student does not login and actively participate on the Portales supersite before the Official Day of Record, he/she will be dropped for nonattendance by the professor. Completing the DE online orientation does not count towards attendance nor does simply logging into Eagle Online! If you have done NO work on the

Portales website, https://www.vhlcentral.com/ by the official Day of Record, you WILL be marked absent and WILL be dropped for non-attendance! In our efforts to prepare students for a changing world, students will be expected to utilize computer technology while enrolled in classes, certificate, and/or degree programs within HCCS. The specific requirements are listed below: On-line books Students have an online e-book and accompanying workbook and lab manual. It is housed in a separate learning management system known as vhlcentral. Students must be able to access https://www.vhlcentral.com/ daily. Audio recordings - Students are going to be required to make audio recordings within https://www.vhlcentral.com/ and will need access to a microphone. Audio files - Students will need to download and listen to audio files both in https://www.vhlcentral.com/ and outside of https://www.vhlcentral.com/. It will be necessary to have speakers and/or headphones. Email - Students need to have an email address to register their online workbooks. Within the class, students will be expected to use the in-class mail feature (HCC) as the primary mode. You are automatically assigned your official e-mail address when you enroll in an HCCS course. Students will be required to use their college-issued email address to communicate with their instructors (secondary mode), so faculty will easily be able to distinguish a student s e-mail from spam. HCC does not allow me to communicate through private, non-hcc email. Instructor s email response: Allow 48 hours to get an answer from your instructor. Emails sent on Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Holidays will start to get answered the following Monday or Tuesday. (Note: I am not online 24/7) Important things to know You must have reliable, high-speed internet access and a microphone to record your voice. Students do not have to go to any HCC location. Everything is done online. All work must be done in Spanish. Any assignment with English or any other language besides Spanish will be given a 0 (zero). https://www.vhlcentral.com/ will grade* most of your work as soon as you click Submit. Your Professor grades what the website does not, for example: speaking activities and writing assignments. Accessing audio and images on the supersite: I hope you find the website easy to navigate, but if this is your first time taking an online course or your first time taking a college language course, you will need to take time every day to learn how this online college Spanish website works. If you are not seeing pictures or hearing audio that should be available, then 99% of the time, it is your browser or the device you are using. If you experience the above problem here is what to do: 1. Use a desktop computer or a new(er) laptop. You shouldn t use a tablet or a phone to do your work as many of the graphics and audio are not compatible with tablets and phones.

2. Change or update your internet browser. Google Chrome and Firefox work the best. Internet Explorer is not the best to use, although this does work well for some students. Try switching browsers before sending a comment saying you can't see/hear what is supposed to be available on the screen. I have used this platform for over 7 years, and I have never had an occasion to where the problem is with the website. Remember, I am a user on this supersite just like you. I do not control any pictures or audio on the site. I log in, assign and grade activities. All content is from the publisher of the Portales website. I do not make up the activities or questions, I only assign and grade them. Technical problems should be directed to Tech Support for this site. ONLINE SUPPORT for Portales: When online students experience problems with the Portales website, they should: 1-Visit: https://vistahigherlearning.zendesk.com/hc/en-us 2-Submit: https://vistahigherlearning.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new 3-Call: (800) 248-2813 for tech support 4-Call: (800) 269-6311 to buy a code or get free trial access HCC Eagle Online Canvas Support Phone support: 713-718-5275 or 713-718-2000, options 4, 2, 3 (available M-F 8am - 11 pm Saturday 9:00 AM-11:00 PM-Sunday 1:00 PM - 11 pm) Use the Eagle Online Technical Help form after hours - http://de2.hccs.edu/eo2help/ You can also call 713-718-8800 for general HCC tech support A note about computer graded activities: *The computer graded activities sometimes have several possible answers which allow some variation for correct answers. There is an option to submit work for instructor review if you feel your answer should be counted as correct. Please note that you may lose several points per lesson because of minor errors; this is taken into account already into the grading. Each lesson has between 1,400 1,700 points possible, therefore losing 20-30 points or even more for one lesson will not affect your overall grade at the end of the term or the end of the lesson so please do not stress over a few points. Look at the points possible and earned vs. percentage. For example, an activity that has 4 questions will be worth 8 points. If you miss one this is 6 out of 8 which is 75%, but keep in mind, you only lost 2 points. In one lesson if the points possible is 1,400 and you earn 1,200 / 1,400 your average for that lesson is an 85%. Let s say you lose 50 points for silly mistakes, which seems like a lot (it will probably be a lot less than 50) 1250/1400 is still an 88%... all of this totaled at the end will have very little impact on your final score when the total points possible is over 7,000 points. Participation: IMPORTANTE! Online classes are flexible, but require daily attention even on weekends and during College holidays. Attendance is critical. Your success in this course will be the direct result of your frequently accessing the online course environment and actively participating throughout the course. You should know that your virtual presence and contribution matters. No longer attending or participating in this class does not constitute withdrawal from this course, nor does the student s notification to the instructor that the student wishes to be dropped. It is the student s responsibility to drop the class. Failure to do so may result in the grade of F

GRADE DISTRIBUTION: 100-90: A 89-80: B 79-70: C 69-60: D 59-0: F HOW DO I CALCULATE MY FINAL SEMESTER GRADE? A. 30%-ASSIGNMENTS online. You will do ALL assignments for ALL 6 lessons on the website: https://www.vhlcentral.com/ B. 40%-TESTS online: You will take two lesson tests per lesson, for a total of twelve lesson tests on the website: https://www.vhlcentral.com/ C. 30%-FINAL EXAM online: This is a comprehensive final exam covering all 6 lessons. By design, the final exam is more in-depth and more complex than the lesson tests and will take twice as much time as a lesson test. If you have completed every assignment and taken every lesson test, you will be fully prepared for the final exam. The Final Exam is labeled: Lección 6 Multi-Lesson Exam The Final Exam opens at 12:01 AM CST on https://www.vhlcentral.com/ All students are allowed 60 minutes. You will only have one opportunity to take the Final Exam so please make sure you are fully prepared before you begin. All answers must be in Spanish. You can keep track of activities you completed and see the grades for each activity. Some activities are computer graded which means you will immediately know your results. Other activities are graded by me. I will view the activity on-line and provide feedback for you to see. To check to see if you have completed all the assignments, the site will clearly show you that you have completed 100% of the assigned work. Important information from your instructor: Extra Credit: I don t give grades you earn them. There are no extra credit assignments, extra work, or curves given for this course. Your grade is based upon the percentages stated in the syllabus. You must do well and pass the tests and complete ALL assignments in order to pass the course. Every assignment is important, if you only take the lesson tests and final exam and do no other work, you will not earn a passing grade for the course. *A note about grades: The gradebook on the supersite clearly shows your grade for each lesson, the test column shows your average of lesson tests as you complete them. The total average for the class is a current and updated class average as you complete the work over the session. Detailed explanation of the 3 sections of your final course grade: 1. ASSIGNMENTS: (Lessons 1-6): As you see the due date for each lesson or log into to complete the lessons, the computer gives you an approximate time that you will need to finish the activities for each lesson. This is an estimate and you may spend less or more time on each lesson. There is no limit on time (a due date, yes), but you may work as many hours as you like on each lesson. You will need 15 hours or more PER lesson. It is best to work often and in short segments. There is a guide on suggestions of how to complete your work in this syllabus. I recommending spending 2 to 3 hours per day to complete each lesson successfully. Some students do not do the homework. Please be aware that if you fail to do the homework, your grade might be three letter grades lower at the end of the semester 2. LESSON TESTS. You will take 2 tests for each lesson (total of 12 tests). The lesson tests will be available 2 days before the due date of each lesson test, which means you

have a 72-hour window to complete the 2 tests. You will not be able to access the tests early and you will have 30 minutes and one opportunity to take each test. For example, if lesson 4 is due on July 4 at 11:59, the lesson 4 tests will be available on July 2 rd at 12:01AM and to be completed and submitted before July 4 th 11:59PM (This is only an EXAMPLE; actual due dates are on the syllabus) Please note that the lesson tests are meant to prove as more of a study guide and lesson summary. The two tests for each lesson are the simplest form of the tests available. The majority of your grade is based on the amount of work you do for each lesson, so getting passing tests grades does not necessarily mean a passing grade for the course. 3. FINAL EXAM: The final exam will be in the Assessment section of Lección 6 and it is labeled: Multi-Lesson Exam. The Final Exam opens up at 12:01AM CST on May 6 and closes at 11:59PM CST on May 8 on https://www.vhlcentral.com/ All students are allowed 60 minutes. You will only have one opportunity to take the Final Exam so please make sure you are fully prepared before you begin. The timer will start when you open the exam and it cannot be stopped; please review lesson tests before attempting the final. The final will be mostly writing in answers and very few multiple-choice questions. You will also need to write full sentence answers to questions, and write a small paragraph. If you are well prepared, 60 minutes is enough time. If you have completed all the work, you will be prepared. If you have not completed all the work, you will find the final exam extremely challenging. All answers must be in Spanish.

Assignments/Tests/Final Exam February 13 February 13 March 6 March 7 March 27 March 28 April 10 April 11 April 17 April 18 April 24 Classes Begin Purchase Code ASAPandregister on the VHL Central Supersite. Call: (800) 269-6311 to buy a code or get free trial access Begin Lección 1 PORTALES Leccion 1 ASSIGNMENTS DUE Watch all instructional videos. Read all PORTALES pages for Lección 1. Complete all assigned activities. The website provides a time estimate but you can take as little or as long as you need to complete them. Take the Lesson Test. You are allowed 30 minutes. You only have one chance to take the test, so review the entire lesson first. NO EXTENSIONS GIVEN FOR ANY REASON TEST lección 1 DUE Lección 2 ASSIGNMENTS DUE 1. Watch all instructional videos. 2. Read all PORTALES pages for Lección 2. 3. Complete all assigned activities. The website provides a time estimate but you can take as little or as long as you need to complete them. 4. Take the Lesson Test. You are allowed 30 minutes. You only have one chance to take the test, so review the entire lesson first. A timer will run when you start. It cannot be stopped or paused. TEST lección 2 DUE Lección 3 ASSIGNMENTS 1. Watch all instructional videos. 2. Read all PORTALES pages for Lección 3. 3. Complete all assigned activities. The website provides a time estimate but you can take as little or as long as you need to complete them. 4. Take the Lesson Test. You are allowed 30 minutes. You only have one chance to take the test, so review the entire lesson first. A timer will run when you start. It cannot be stopped or paused. TEST lección 3 DUE Lección 4 ASSIGNMENTS Due 1. Watch all instructional videos. 2. Read all PORTALES pages for Lección 4. 3. Complete all assigned activities. The website provides a time estimate but you can take as little or as long as you need to complete them. 4. Take the Lesson Test. You are allowed 30 minutes. You only have one chance to take the test, so review the entire lesson first. A timer will run when you start. It cannot be stopped or paused. TEST lección 4 DUE Lección 5 ASSIGNMENTS Due 1. Watch all instructional videos. 2. Read all PORTALES pages for Lección 5. 3. Complete all assigned activities. The website provides a time estimate but you can take as little or as long as you need to complete them. 4. Take the Lesson Test. You are allowed 30 minutes. You only have one chance to take the test, so review the entire lesson first. A timer will run when you start. It cannot be stopped or paused.

April 25 May 1 May 2 May 8 TEST lección 5 DUE Lección 6 ASSIGNMENTS DUE 1. Watch all instructional videos. 2. Read all PORTALES pages for Lección 6. 3. Complete all assigned activities. The website provides a time estimate but you can take as little or as long as you need to complete them. 4. Take the Lesson Test. You are allowed 30 minutes. You only have one chance to take the test, so review the entire lesson first. A timer will run when you start. It cannot be stopped or paused. TEST lección 6 DUE Final Exam Portales Supersite: Lección 6 Multi-Lesson Exam Due dates are 11:59 PM CST on each due date given. These dates are also listed beside the activities on the Supersite PURCHASING A SUPERSITE CODE This class requires technology access. This access allows you to complete and submit assignments and tests; access all media and study tools; receive announcements; and communicate with your instructor. Shop smart: only buy books that include the required code! You will spend more if you purchase the textbook and code separately. New textbooks purchased at the bookstore will include this code. Most books that are sold online or used DO NOT include the access code. Always check that what you are buying includes the code. SETTING UP YOUR ACCOUNT Returning Students If you have an existing account for any Vista Higher Learning textbook, complete these steps: Go to vhlcentral.com Log in using your existing account information. Choose one of these options: Already have access to the Vista Higher Learning textbook site for this course? Enroll in the course by clicking the "Enroll in a course" link. Then complete "Step 5 - Select a Course/Class" below. OR Don't yet have access to the Vista Higher Learning textbook site for this course? Redeem your new code by clicking the "Redeem a code" link. Then complete "Step 4 - Activate Code" below. New Students If you are new to Vista Higher Learning, complete these steps:

Step 1 Go to vhlcentral.com Step 2 Choose one of these options: Did you buy your code at the Vista Higher Learning online Store? If you created a student account on the store, use the same login information. If you can see your course book on the home page after logging in, go to "Step 5 Select a Course/Class." If no book appears, go to "Step 4 Activate Code." OR Create an Account by clicking the Create an account link In the "Login Information" section of the account creation page, enter a username of your choice. Enter the email address you would like to associate with your account. Enter and confirm a password of your choice. In the "Personal Profile" section, enter your first and last name as you wish them to appear in your Instructor's roster. Select the year of your birth from the drop down list. Enter a student ID (optional). In the "Security Information" section, provide the answer to a secret question, which may later be used to help you access your account if you forget your password. After you enter all of the information, click "create an account." Click "agree." (Before your account is created, you must agree to the terms and conditions of use policy.) Step 3 Select a School Locate your school by typing your school s name, Houston Community College Northwest College, Katy Campus. To narrow the search results, add the city and state, Houston, TX, (include the country, if outside of the USA.) in which your school is located. Click "find." If the terms you entered did not result in a successful search, follow the on screen tips to revise your search. Select your school from the list by clicking on its name. Click "select school" to add the school to your account. Look for a message at the top of the screen confirming you successfully added the school. Step 4 Activate Code On the code activation screen, enter your code. Click "activate code" to continue. Look for a message at the top of the screen confirming that the code was successfully redeemed.

Step 5 Select a Course/Class From the list of available classes at your school for your textbook, look for Instructor "Crasto" and the course "CRASTO SPAN 1411 SPRING 2017" taught between 02/13/2017 and 05/08/2017. It should look like this: Crasto, Professor CRASTO SPAN 1411 S SPRING 201 Click the radio button for the course section "SPRING 2017." If more than one class is listed for your instructor, click the information icons in the class listings until you locate the section. Click Save. You should see a confirmation that you successfully enrolled in your instructor's course. Computer Problems: *You are responsible to have access to a functioning computer. Computer problems will not be an acceptable excuse for not getting work done and turned in on time!! You registered for an on-line course; it is your responsibility to make sure you have access to a working computer. If your computer has problems, you must visit the campus, a library, etc etc to complete your work on-time! -You should work ahead and try to beat all deadlines by 3-4 days minimum. You never know when situations beyond your control will arise, making it difficult or impossible for you to do work for a period of time. The solution is to work ahead, far, far ahead. Last minute emergencies (no computer, family emergency, work, sick children etc. etc.) are NOT valid excuses for late on-line work WORK AHEAD. If you wait until the last day to complete your work, you are risking such unexpected occurrences, so be prepared to accept the consequences! Make-up Policy: You are well aware ahead of times of dates for on-line assessments and homework. No work will be accepted late. NO exceptions. Work ahead of schedule so if you have computer problems, health issues or family issues, you will be ahead of schedule. No credit is given for late work. If you wait until the last day and have an emergency beyond your control or computer problems, you chose to put yourself in that situation by not working at least a couple weeks ahead of the deadlines. Students who rush to get all the work completed in the last day or two before the deadline are usually not successful. In addition, if a situation arises that prevents you from completing the work, then you receive a zero. COURSE OBJECTIVES: These descriptions reflect what most students will be able to do by the end of the course: Listening comprehension: Comprehend words, phrases and sentences in standard spoken language where the context is familiar, mainly simple sentences using high frequency vocabulary. Speaking: Speak using words, phrases and short sentences in a number of familiar contexts. Reading: Read and comprehend language about practical everyday situations. Writing: Write short, simple sentences using learned vocabulary and grammatical structures within familiar contexts.

Culture: Acquire cultural awareness and understanding of Hispanic countries and peoples. TASP REQUIREMENTS: Students who have failed any part of the TASP test must be enrolled in at least one developmental course (in any of the areas not passed). If you do not enroll, or drop, or do not attend your developmental courses, you will be withdrawn from all your classes with no refund. SCHOLASTIC DISHONESTY: Students engaged in any scholastic dishonesty: cheating, plagiarism or collusion, as described by the Student Handbook may be penalized as specified in the Student Handbook PLEASE NOTE Students who repeat a course for a third or more times may face significant tuition/fee increases at HCC and other Texas public colleges and universities. Please ask your instructor/counselor about opportunities for tutoring/other assistance prior to considering course withdrawal or if you are not receiving passing grades. Distance Education Home Page: http://www.hccs.edu/online/ Distance Education Log-in Help http://de-counseling.hccs.edu/studentsignin/ Please visit the Distance Education Technical Support website if you need additional assistance with your login. HCC Course Withdrawal Policy The State of Texas imposes penalties on students who drop courses excessively. Students are limited to no more than SIX total course withdrawals throughout their educational career at a Texas public college or university. To help you avoid having to drop/withdraw from any class, contact your DE professor regarding your academic performance. You may also want to contact your DE counselor to learn about helpful HCC resources (e.g. online tutoring, child care, financial aid, job placement, etc.). HCC has instituted an Early Alert process by which your professor may alert you and DE counselors that you might fail a class because of excessive absences and/or poor academic performance. You (the student) may drop yourself online through the HCC Student Center prior to this date the drop date. You are responsible for dropping the class. DO NOT EMAIL ME ASKING ME TO DROP YOU. This is YOUR responsibility. Last day to withdraw April 11, 2017 After the withdrawal deadline has passed, you will receive the grade that you would have earned. Zeros averaged in for required coursework not submitted will lower your semester average significantly, most likely resulting in a failing grade of an F. It is the responsibility of the student to withdraw from the class; however, your professor reserves the right to withdraw you without your request due to excessive absences. If you do not feel comfortable contacting your professor to withdraw, you may provide a written request to DE Counseling through the AskDECounseling form found at de.hccs.edu. However, please do not contact both a DE counselor and your DE professor to request a withdrawal; either one is sufficient. Classes of other duration (mini-term, flex-entry, 8-weeks, etc.) may have different final withdrawal deadlines. Please contact the HCC Registrar s Office at 713.718.8500 to determine mini-term class withdrawal deadlines. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 requires that institutions have policies and procedures that protect students rights with regard to sex/gender discrimination. Information regarding these rights are on the HCC website under Students-Anti-discrimination.

Students who are pregnant and require accommodations should contact any of the ADA Counselors for assistance. It is important that every student understand and conform to respectful behavior while at HCC. Sexual misconduct is not condoned and will be addressed promptly. Know your rights and how to avoid these difficult situations. Log into www.edurisksolutions.org. Sign in using your HCC student email account, then go to the button at the top right that says Login and enter your student number Student Services DISTANCE EDUCATION ADVISING AND COUNSELING SERVICES Much DE student information can be found on the DE Student Services website: de.hccs.edu. Advising or counseling can be accomplished through our online request form AskDECounseling. Counselors and Student Services Associates (SSA) can assist students with admissions, registration, entrance testing requirements, degree planning, transfer issues, and career counseling. In-person, confidential sessions, can also be scheduled to provide brief counseling and community referrals to address personal concerns impacting academic success. INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS Contact the International Student Office at 713-718-8520 if you have questions about your visa status. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the appropriate HCC Disability Support Service (DSS) Counselor at the beginning of each semester. Faculty is authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the Disability Support Services Office. Students who are requesting special testing accommodations must first contact the appropriate (most convenient) DSS office for assistance: Disability Support Services Offices: System: 713.718.5165 Central: 713.718.6164 also for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services and Students Outside of the HCC District service areas. Northwest: 713.718.5422 Northeast: 713.718.8420 Southeast: 713.718.7218 Southwest: 713.718.7909 After student accommodation letters have been approved by the DSS office and submitted to DE Counseling for processing, students will receive an email confirmation informing them of the Instructional Support Specialist (ISS) assigned to their professor. NOTICE FOR STUDENTS OUTSIDE OF HCC SERVICE AREA Students who live or work outside the HCC service area and cannot take paper exams at one of our HCC testing locations MUST make arrangements for a proctor. Please see the DE Student Services Additional Resources webpage for more information. VIRTUAL CLASSROOM CONDUCT As with on-campus classes, all students in HCC Distance Education courses are required to follow all HCC Policies & Procedures, the Student Code of Conduct, the Student Handbook, and relevant sections of the Texas Education Code when interacting and communicating in a virtual classroom with faculty and fellow students. Students who violate these policies and guidelines will be subject to disciplinary action that could include denial of access to course-related email, discussion groups, and chat rooms or being removed from the class. SEXUAL HARRASSMENT It is a violation of HCC policy for an employee, agent, or student of the College to engage in sexual harassment as defined in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines. Any student who has a complaint concerning this policy has the opportunity to seek resolution of such a complaint in accordance with procedures set forth in the Student Handbook. Report any complaints immediately to College Administration or call the Institutional Equity & Compliance Office 713.718.8271