Welcome to GSL520/GED565: Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), part of the MATESOL Campus + Online strand of the MATESOL Program at Saint Michael's College! Please read carefully! Location of the course/ Logging on The course is delivered through a web course management system called Canvas and resides at the Saint Michael's College Online Portal at the web address: http://my.smcvt.edu. (Use your SMC log-on information to access SMC resources. Please bookmark it by putting it into your Favorites, or better, putting the link onto your Favorite Links bar!!!). The Canvas site can now be accessed via mobile technology (smart phone, tablet). Download the app to your mobile device or use the browser on your mobile device to access the site.
Important notes: B. Access to Saint Michael's College email and resources
Resources: Since you
are officially a Saint Michael's College (SMC) student, you have access to all
of the College's activities and resources. You can find important information on
the SMC Web site at http://www.smcvt.edu.
GSL520/GED565: Computer-Assisted Language Learning is a course that takes a hands-on approach to technology. You will learn about the uses of computer technology by actually trying it out. I think the best way to find out about the capabilities and limitations of technology is by experiencing them first-hand. Thus, the goal of this course is NOT to learn technology for technology sake but to learn how technology can assist you as a teacher in delivering your classes more successfully. That is why you will find a rather heavy emphasis on lesson planning and actual teaching, in addition to getting a lot of how-to's (instructions, tips, workshops) for using the technology. Important note: At the end of this page, I will ask you to send me an e-mail message, stating that you have read and understood the information and accept the terms and conditions specified. The course follows the Saint Michael's College schedule for Graduate Programs. Since it is a Saint Michael's College course offered by the Master of Teaching English as a Second Language Program and the Master in Education Program, all participants are bound by the policies and procedures for such courses, including schedule, length of time, grading, deadlines, etc. Once we get started, the course is 15 weeks in length, starting on August 28 and ending on December 11, when your course project is due. I will email information with some orientation/start-up tasks in mid-July and mid-August and expect the course, including assignments, to begin on August 28. Each week starts on Monday and ends on Sunday at midnight, except in cases of SMC holidays, as noted on the course schedule. Weeks open up on Saturday the week before. This means that instead of meeting at a regular time and place, you will have one week to complete all the "class" work, fulfill the required assignments, and submit any projects that are due. Due dates/times for projects are Sundays/midnight, unless otherwise noted. Please note: 1) I will be away September 13-17, giving a plenary and demonstration/workshop on teaching with technology at a symposium in Bogota, Colombia. The course will continue as usual. 2) There will be TWO holidays in between, with no scheduled online meetings and no assignments due during that time--Monday/Tuesday, October 17, 17 and November 22-26 (Thanksgiving Recess). The beauty of an online course is also that you get to do your work at your own pace and when it works into your schedule. Of course, the downside to that is that you will be working individually, for the most part, and therefore you will probably miss the verbal and face-to-face interaction that you are used to. Nevertheless, I have built in many ways for us to communicate and stay in touch (more below)! Course Work: The course work corresponds to the 37.5-hour requirement for 3-credit graduate courses at SMC in that I have scheduled 15 weeks worth of "Tasks" and "Assignments." According to the Academic Policies in the Graduate Catalog, 2017-2018, General Academic Requirements, "students spend approximately two to three hours in preparation for each hour of class time." The "Tasks" I have estimated to require about 3 hours of intensive on-task work plus roughly two to three times that amount for "Assignments," including readings, hands-on preparation and regular weekly assignments (3+6 or 9 = 9 or 12 hours total per week). Please note: Students with low computer skills will require more time-on-task than the average estimate above. Many tasks are optional or extra credit, and although many students choose to complete them because they are interesting, these should not be counted into the number of hours spent on task. Please note: When you upload your assignments, they receive a date stamp, so it is easy to see if an assignment is late or not. In case of an emergency or extenuating circumstances for not being able to complete the weekly tasks, please send me an e-mail message. Prerequisite computer skills, books, hardware, software Prerequisite computer skills:
For help with Google Drive, please see these Tutorials for Google Drive: Video tutorials: How to Create and Share a Google Doc (3:49 min) Google Docs How to Tutorial 2012 (15 min: excellent tutorial/overview) 8. Facility with Skype: Set up a Skype account (and download Skypeif needed). We will use it for individual chats and as a back-up to Conferences in Canvas for class chats. Books: We will not be using a book. However, you will be asked to download one or more free electronic books for reading assignments. In addition, if you would like to purchase one or more of the recommended books, please check the Syllabus and buy/order them. Hardware: You will need
Software: For your computer, you will need the following software
Alternatives: You may also download open source software from Apache OpenOffice at http://www.openoffice.org/ (for wordprocessing, download “Writer”; for presentations, download “Impress”), but there may be missing features/functions and incompatibility issues when we use the Insert Comments and Track Changes features. Instead of PowerPoint, you may use Prezi (http://prezi.com), Zoho Show-Presentation, or one of these 40 apps for creating presentations. How/where can you get help if you have a problem or a question? Course content question/problem: If you have a question/problem regarding the course itself, contact me by e-mail at cbauer-ramazani at smcvt.edu, by phone (during the day, U.S. Eastern time) at XXXXX or (before 8:30 am and after 7 pm), at home (posted in the course and will be emailed to you), by fax at XXXXX. Please see also the link on the course home page for "Contacting the instructor." Important note:Don't hesitate to call me at home, but please do not give this number out. My home phone number is for your use only, but I'd rather have you call me at home than go through frustrations. Often the frustrations can be solved very easily and quickly. Tech support: The best way to get support is to go to the Help menu in Canvas. Search the Canvas Student Guide, post your question in the Ask the Canvas Community, or Contact Canvas Support). How is the course/web site organized--the Course Navigation Tools?
...... How will the course progress? Next, read about me in information about the instructor. Then click and read the Syllabus. ©
Christine Bauer-Ramazani |