Homework
In this class you will be doing a good deal of your homework through the Supersite/WebSAM that accompanies your text. You must have access to the web to do the homework for this class! Note that on-campus labs are available to all students, and the Language Laboratory (Stevenson 1040) gives priority to students in language classes who are doing work for those classes while there. In theory, then, students should not have any trouble accessing the lab manual on line.
You can access the Face-à-Face supersite at the following page: http://www.vhlcentral.com/home
In order to see and submit your assignments, receive important announcements, and communicate with your Instructor, you will need an account, a Supersite code, and you will need to enroll in your Instructor's course. To set up your account, please follow the instructions below.
Step 1 - Go to VHLCentral
To begin, go to vhlcentral.com (the link will open in a new window).
Step 2 - Create an Account
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, you will 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 - Activate Code
On the code activation screen, enter your Supersite code.
Click "activate code" to continue.
Look for a flash alert confirming that the code was successfully redeemed.
Step 4 - Select a School
Locate your school by typing your school’s name. To narrow the search results, include the city and state (or 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 the radio button next to the school name.
Click "select school" to add the school to your account.
Look for a flash alert confirming you successfully added the school.
Step 5 - Select a Course/Class
From the list of available classes at your school for your textbook's Supersite, look for Instructor "Toczyski, Suzanne" and the course "FR201"
taught between Aug 22, 2011 and Dec 12, 2011.
Click the radio button for the course section "Section 1."
If more than one class is listed for your Instructor, click the information icons in the class listings until you locate the section:
Location: Stevenson 3030
Day(s)/Time(s): MW 10:00-11:50am
Click Save. You should see a confirmation that you successfully enrolled in your instructor's course.
Please note that this semester, although the number of required QUIA minutes has been reduced, each student will attend a supplemental lab hour in Stevenson 1028 facilitated by our lab director, Professor Robert Train. This part of the course will count for half of your lab grade in the class. You will be expected to attend at least 12 of the sessions offered by Dr. Train throughout the semester (one per week), and you should always go to the lab at the same (assigned) time each week. If you have any questions or concerns, please see me and/or Dr. Train.
Advantages to using the Supersite on-line lab manual for Face à Face:
- Many exercises are immediately self-correcting, so you will receive instant feedback, see the progress you are making right away, and can correct mistakes as you make them!
- You can do your homework anywhere!
- The teacher (that's me) can look over your work and any time and give you feedback.
- You can do both oral and written lab work in the same place without a tape player!
First, you may find that the Supersite works better in some browsers than in others. I have discovered, for example, that the videos are easier to view in Firefox rather than Safari. If you are having issues, try switching browsers to see how things go.
Once you have logged on and accessed the materials for Face à Face, you should see at the top middle of your screen four tabs: Practice, WebSAM, Assessment, and My Results. The first two of these are two lab manuals that accompany your text. You will find that some (but not all) of the exercises under the "Practice" tab are identical to exercises in your book; there are other exercises that are found only online, and still others that are found only in the book. The WebSAM exercises are all distinct from exercises in the book. You will be doing exercises from both of these sections as nightly homework.Please note that any exercise marked with a "little man in green" are to be handwritten (not typed!) and turned in to me in class so that I can hand grade them!! I am a strong believer that we process material differently when we write it versus when we type it, so this handwritten practice will give your brain new French connections it would not otherwise have. Any exercise that is not automatically graded by the Supersite should have a little man next to it; you should expect to be handing in homework daily.
The sections under both "Pratice" and "WebSAM" are coordinated with sections of your textbook, and are labeled Court métrage, Structures, Lectures, and Bande Dessinée. Each day, after we cover one or more of these sections in class, you will be expected to go online and complete the associated activities. ALL OF THE REQUIRED EXERCISES ARE LISTED IN THE COURSE CALENDAR. Do not fall behind in this work! One oddity: when you look in the WebSAM section for the Court métrage activities, you will find them toward the bottom of the page, rather than at the top, so do scroll down!
The section "Assessment" gives you practice tests to use when studying for tests in this class. Take advantage of all of the possible assessment tools so that you know what areas you need to study more carefully.
The final section, "My Results," will allow you to see how you're doing on homework at any time.
A bit of advice... or, Why it is essential that you do your French homework & come to class!
Consider the following cases, taken from a recent year's first-year French class:
Student X had a test average of 94.75 (A), but only earned a 69.8 (D+) on homework and a 53.7 (F) for lab work. Student X consequently earned a B+ in the class.
Student Y had a test average of 94.375 (A), but did virtually no homework, earning only 4.5 (F) and a whopping 13.9 (F) for lab work. Student Y was also absent 7 times, earning a grade of 76 (C) for participation. Student Y consequently earned a C in the class!
Student Z had a test average of 75.5 (C), but earned 86.25 (B) for homework and 100 (A) for lab. Student Z consequently earned a grade of C+ for the class! That is, Student A's grade IMPROVED due to homework!
Or you could look at it like this… The breakdown of final grades from this class were as follows:
- D: X
- C-
- C: XXX
- C+: XXX
- B-: XXX
- B
- B+: XX
- A-: XXX
- A: XX
The two people who earned B+ in the class both had A averages on tests, but their grade dropped by two steps because they didn't do their homework.
Everyone who earned an A- or an A got at least 80 as a homework grade.
Of the 10 people who earned a grade below B, all but ONE of them received a grade under 74 for homework.
Hence it is eminently clear that it is ESSENTIAL that you do your French homework and lab work and come to class!