Here are some guidelines to help you have a successful school year.
Stay in the classroom with the students. You need to be there with
the students. You also need to have materials available for them. You'll find
that I will routinely discuss and show the location of materials needed for
assignments, etc. at the beginning of the class. You won't want to miss this
information. But more important, your students need your presence as well
as your supervision.
Keep roll of the class each day. Enter the attendance on the Internet.
If you prefer to record the attendance on the Enrollment/Attendance Form provided
in the "Forms" section of this guide, please mail KET a copy
every six weeks. Whichever method you choose, maintaining clear, accurate
records is vital. Your records need to show whether each student absence is
excused or unexcused. This determination will affect how you assign scores
and make-up work. When a student is absent, try to arrange for him or her
to view the tape of the program for that day to catch up (watch the tape during
school, before/after school or watch the tape at home).
Check the mail, e-mail and Internet daily for any new materials sent
by KET.
The Internet will be the main source of documents. Download these
documents in a timely fashion. Monitor student Internet use. If you have too
many students per computer to effectively administer the "Quaestio"
quizzes on the Internet, then download the quiz, make copies and use the answer
key from the Internet for grading. Administration by this method will require
you to enter the grade into the Internet grading program.
Maintain an up-to-date gradebook. Forms are included in the "Forms"
section of this guide. Also, there is a gradebook program on the Internet,
found under Facilitator Login on the Latin I front page. Help for using
the program is found under Info on the KET distance learning home page
(www.dl.ket.org).
Maintain a relaxed but controlled atmosphere. Help the students keep
focused on the task at hand. Keep the classroom live and interactive.
The testing atmosphere is very important. Proctor all tests and in-class
assignments (see Testing Procedures under Classroom Management).
Maintain an up-to-date notebook of all class activities, assignments
and exercises. Obtain a three-inch notebook to keep materials I will send
you either through the Internet or by mail. This will help you organize and
keep up with materials covered during the course. The students expect you
to have materials ready or know where they can turn for help. Help them in
the organization of their own notebooks. Encourage them to call the latin
assistant or me for help. Don't worry about making errors - they can be
corrected. Written work in class and homework assignments must be important
to you. If they are not, your students will take their cue from you and fail
to complete this work.
Please be prepared to take notes. Most of the training you will need
as a facilitator will be provided during regular class time.
In case of any technical difficulty, call the appropriate KET technical
hotline number.
Communicate with me by telephone, e-mail, U.S. Mail, or fax when you
feel the need. This communication is our lifeline. Through these media,
we can resolve problems and clarify issues.
Set the timer of your VCR for the same time each day to make sure
you have a tape of any lesson that might be missed. You may want to give a
student the responsibility for performing this task. Check with your administrator
now to find out the procedure for purchasing blank tapes for your class.
Let me also encourage you to learn the language along with your students.
This will enable you to offer them more guidance and assistance. I will provide
you with a notebook update and other supplementary materials to give you additional
support.
Find someplace in your classroom for a bulletin board to display
maps of Rome, the Roman Empire and cultural materials. I will send you some
cultural materials for the students to use for display. Please encourage the
students to contribute their own materials obtained from the school library.
I also suggest that you designate some space in your room as a Latin corner
for books and storage. Take pictures of bulletin board or students' displays.
I will put them on the Internet under password protection in an area I call
"Student Show Case."
Public relations with others in your school is very important. The
principal can help you promote distance learning programs. The school secretary
can help get information, such as notices of special days. Make plans with
the students to participate in those special days. You must remember that
the students in your distance learning class are pioneers and that the course
itself is sometimes treated as an outside class by other faculty members.
You must then prove to be a friend, comrade, and co-member of the school staff.
Also, have the students make posters for their school events and holidays
or any special event, then have them sign it: by Latin I distance learning
students. Again, have a camera ready to document student involvement.
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 Info on the KET distance learning
home page. Call KET for the student passwords.
Assemble a guide for the substitute. Include general information about the
class, a roster, and the KET hotline numbers. Please leave the facilitator
ID and password with a responsible adult who can share it with the substitute
should he or she need it (as for downloading documents).
Complete the Facilitator Photo and Information Form located in "Forms."
Have the students fill out their Student Photo and Information Forms/Consent
Agreements (signed permission to use thir pictures "protected under
password" on the Internet) and "Get To Know" forms. Send
them to KET along with your information form.
Check the list of materials, which follows later in this "Implementation"
section, to see whether you have everything needed for your site. If you do
not, contact me as soon as possible.
Read the student guide. It has additional information that is important
to you, and it tells you what the student duties and responsibilities are.
Make extra copies of the grade forms as follows:
Enrollment/Attendance Form 7 (one per 6 weeks + one for the beginning
of school)
Grade Report Form for Latin I one per student (hard copy of the
Internet grade report)
3-Homework # Grade Report Form 12
Class Participation Grade Form 10 (one per month)
Fill in the names of your students on the Grade Report Form and the Enrollment/Attendance
Form. You will use these forms to record grade data that you will then enter
on the Internet and to make photocopies to send to KET each grading period
Fill in names of your students on the Class Participation Grade Checklist.
Locate the Latin I second notebook of Classroom Materials (Required &
Optional). Duplicate the Required Materials for students to put in their 3-ring
notebook.