EDIT 5370: Online Course Syllabus

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Course Syllabus
Spanish 2000: Communicative Spanish Beyond the Classroom
Fall 2016

Instructor

Email

Office Location & Hours

Gayle Jeffers

Gayle.jeffers@ttu.edu

M 10:00 -11:00 am (Skype)

TH- 9:00 -10:00 am (Skype)
Or by appointment

Course Information
Course Credit:

3 credit hours

Class Meeting Time:

Online The majority of class time will be conducted asynchronously.

Synchronous meeting times: Wednesdays, 6- 7:50 pm via Fuze meeting

Course Location:

Blackboard Texas Tech University

Introduction
Course Description and Purpose
The purpose of this course is to immerse students in a Spanish-speaking environment to
facilitate their acquisition of the Spanish language. Spanish 2000 is a communicative
intermediate-level Spanish course and will be conducted primarily in Spanish. Each
module will begin with a video introducing the topic and along with grammar functions
and other aspects of the language. Each until will have a host of interactive activities
based on video segments, audio clips, snap chat as well as cultural interviews. The course
will be conducted primarily in Spanish. Students will continue to imp The majority of the
course work will take the form of online instruction and web-based activities. The
course will be conducted primarily in Spanish. Students will continue to improve their
proficiency through deliberate interaction and participation in the target language.
Although the course is primarily communicative, students can expect to build proficiency
through a few reading and writing exercises.
This is a six-week course and you can expect all activities to be conducted at a distance
in an online format. The majority of instruction along with activities will be conducted
synchronously using the Blackboard Learning Management System which is available at

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www.blackboard.ttu.edu All relevant course content will be available using blackboard.

Due to the nature of the course, the class will meet every Wednesday using a synchronous
video conference mode. The synchronous sessions will take place with the instructor and
classmates in real-time using Fuze Meetings available at https://www.fuzebox.com .
Expected Learning Outcomes and Assessment of Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate improved proficiency in Spanish speaking, listening, reading
and writing.
2. See and hear Spanish spoken by native speakers in a real world setting.
3. Practice pronunciations through the use of recordings and comparing their
voices to native speakers.
4. Demonstrate knowledge of Spanish culture in various Spanish speaking
countries.

Student
Learning
Outcomes
1. Demonstrate improved proficiency
in Spanish speaking, listening, reading
and writing.
2. See and hear Spanish spoken by native
speakers.
3. Practice pronunciations through the
use of recordings and comparing it
to native speakers
4. Demonstrate knowledge of Spanish
culture in various Spanish speaking
countries.

Assessment

Oral presentations using VT

Discussion board posts
Self-assessment of oral work
Written assignments for
submission on blackboard.

Course Materials
Required Text:
Concha Moreno & Victoria Moreno (2009). Nuevo Avance, 2, alumno + CD (Spanish
Edition). ISBN 978-849-778-5303

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Computer Equipment & Technology Software:

Student will be required to have access to a computer with a built in microphone
and camera.
Students must have access to dependable internet access.
Students will be required to create an account for skype
(https://login.skype.com/registration) and for Fuze Meeting
(https://www.fuze.com/) for office hour meetings times and video conferencing
for synchronous class time.
Students will be required to create an account for voice thread(
http://voicethread.com) for oral presentations.
Students will be required to familiarize themselves with Blackboard ahead of class
time. If you need help using blackboard, visit the Blackboard Student support site
at (http://www.depts.ttu.edu/elearning/blackboard/).
Course Policies
Attendance:
Students are expected to attend class, log in to Blackboard frequently and participate in
all online activities as well as discussion posts, individual work and peer work. Students
are required to attend all synchronous class sessions held every Wednesday. If a student is
unable to attend the synchronous class session, please inform the instructor in advance.
It is the students responsibility to provide documentation for medical or other
emergencies. An unexcused absence will result in a grade reduction of 2.25%.
Assignments and Participation:
All assignments are to uploaded to Blackboard on the due date given in each module. A
late assignment will be reduced by 10% for each day that it is past the due date. Should
students foresee any issues with an assignment, notice must be given to the instructor at
least 48 hours before the due date. Medical emergencies or other emergencies preventing
a student from submitting the work in a timely manner must be communicated to the
instructor before the due date. This is an online class. Courtesy must be given to your
peers when communicating in discussion posts. Please refrain from typing in all caps
when replying to a post. Students are expected to participate in discussion posts.
Grading Policy:

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Final grades for this class will be based on participation and performance in group
discussions, oral presentation, course projects and unit assignments.
Grading Criteria:
Participation for the course will be determined as follows:
Overall participation

10%

Course projects, assignments

25%

Oral presentations

60%

Discussion posts

5%

The final course grade is based on the following point scale:

Exceptional work

90 to 100%

Good work

80 to 89%

Adequate work

70 to 79%

Weak performance

60 to 69%

Very minimum effort

Below 60%

Students with Disabilities:

Any student, who because of a disability, may require special arrangements in order to
meet course requirements should contact the instructor immediately so that any
necessary accommodations can be done in a timely manner. Students must present
appropriate verification from Student Disability Services via the instructors email
provided in the syllabus. For additional information, you may contact the Student
Disability Office at 806-111-111. Disability status is confidential and should be discusses
in private with the instructor once you have completed the appropriate Student Disability
verification procedures.
Discrimination and Harassment:
Harassment of any kind is not tolerated. This may include harassment in the form of
discussion posts and discussion boards. Harassment and discrimination of any kind must

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be reported to the Student Resolution Center at 806- 112-113 or file a report online at
http://titleix.ttu.edu/students.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
All announcements for this course will take place via Blackboard. Students are
responsible for keeping up with announcements that may not be listed in the syllabus.
Course Schedule
This course will last for a duration of six weeks:
First day of class: September 1st 2016
Last day of class: October 6th 2016
Topics:
Week 1: Quin eres?
Vocabulario: Cmo te llamas? De dnde eres? Introducing yourself.
Gramtica Ser o no ser? Forms and uses of ser.
Week 2: Qu estudias? Courses of study and school subjects
Te gusta? Discussing likes and dislikes
Qu carreras hace? Talking about your major
Sabas qu? Did you know that.? Courses of study in Hispanic countries
Week 3: Ms sobre clases
Son buenas tus clases? Describing people and things.
Hay muchos estudiantes en tu universidad? The verb form hay.
Week 4: Actividades para el fin de semana Weekend activities
Qu hace una persona los sbados?
Week 5: El tiempo y las estaciones. Talking about the weather
Qu tiempo hace ?
Week 6: La cultura
Cules son las costumbres en tu pas?

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Instructional Activities
All asynchronous class sessions will take place via Blackboard. Students are expected to
log into Blackboard in order to have access to ALL available course content and material
including the course syllabus, course calendar, course modules, discussion boards, etc.
Week 1: Module 1 - Introductions and Greetings
In this module, students will listen be introduced to basic conversational greetings used
in various Hispanic countries. Students will be expected to greet various persons using
appropriate expressions.
Activities:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Read chapter 1 on Introductions in your text book.

Watch the video on introductions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvkapUiY_wE
Create a voice thread account and a Fuze meeting account
Create an introduction using the information from your textbook and the video.
Respond to greetings from two of your classmates. Pay attention to your
pronunciation and vowel sounds. While you are not expected to speak perfect,
you are expected to put forth some effort. English is forbidden for the
introduction.

Week 2: Module 2 Courses of Study and school subjects.

1. Read chapter 2 of your textbook and take notes where necessary.
2. Complete the interactive activity located in module 2. Post your answers to
blackboard.
3. On the discussion board, write in Spanish your favorite courses and other courses
that you are currently taking. Respond to one of your classmates post.
Week 3: Module 3- More about classes and university life (Synchronous class meeting)
1. Log into Fuze meetings
2. Introduce yourself to the classmates using what you have learned in Modules 1 & 2.

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You are required to speak for a minimum of 1 minute and a maximum of 2 minutes.
3. Ask your classmates basic information such as where are they from, what do they
study etc.
Week 4: Module 4 - Weekend Activities
1. Reach chapter 3 of your text and make notes.
2. Create an oral presentation using voice thread about activities you do on the
weekend. Images and pictures can be used. Be as creative as powerpoint.
3. Using powerpoint, Google Docs or prezi, create a visual presentation of what your
classmate (chosen from the list provided in the module) does during the weekend.
Upload the assignment to blackboard.
Week 5- Module 5 Talking about the weather (done synchronously)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Watch the tutorial provide in Module 5. Take notes as necessary.

For this activity students you will be paired with a partner.
Listen to two native speakers speak about the weather in the link provided.
You will have 5 minutes to create a weatherforecast
Listen to two native speakers provided in the link in module 5.
With your partner create a weather segment of the news class to be presented
orally for the entire class.

Week 6 Module 6 Culture

1.
2.
3.
4.

On your own find two Hispanic cultures using internet resources.

Write one paragraph of no more than 300 words about your discovery.
Post your written assignment to black board.
Using voicethread, speak about the country you learned about. Upload the link to
blackboard.

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