GERM 1620 580: Beginning German I & II

Upon completion of this course students will be able to:

• CO1: Speak in German at the Novice (beginner) level as defined by ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages): https://www.actfl.org/publications/guidelines-and-manuals/actfl-proficiency-guidelines-2012
• CO2: Use simple grammatical structures at the sentence level in speaking and writing.
• CO3: Apply the general principles and/or patterns in language structures.
• CO4: Discuss some particularities of life in countries where the target language is spoken.
• CO5: Identify appropriate use of the language according to the cultural and situational context in which it is spoken.

Grading Policies:

The gradebook for this course may be found in SUPERSITE. Log in to Supersite gradebook to view all your course grades. Note: YOU CANNOT PASS THE COURSE IF YOU ARE NOT ENROLLED IN THE SUPERSITE ONLINE WORKBOOK. There will be no extra credit for this course. Below is the breakdown of the grades:

1. 40% of course grade: Participation. You must complete all the assigned activities via Supersite. These Participation activities are auto-graded for immediate feedback, and you'll have unlimited attempts for each activity. Be sure to submit all assigned activities by the specified dates shown in Supersite.
    
2. 30% of course grade: VoiceThread VIDEO: For each lesson, you must submit two (2) VoiceThread VIDEOS via Blackboard:
   A) The VoiceThread Assignment requires you to watch the instructor's lecture and then post a new VoiceThread of you repeating everything you hear in the video. Then, you will provide all the required information in German based on the prompt.  
   B) The VoiceThread Presentation requires you to post a new VoiceThread of yourself reading the conversations or statements based on the prompt.
   Note that all VoiceThread submissions must be in VIDEO format. VoiceThread audio will receive a zero. Your VoiceThread grades will be manually recorded in the Supersite gradebook. Be sure to submit all VoiceThread videos by the designated dates via Blackboard. The due dates are specified on each lesson module.
    
3. 10% of course grade: Final Oral Presentation. There will be a final VoiceThread presentation, which requires you to post a video to Blackboard and speak 100% in German for the entire time. You will access the prompts for the presentations via the Blackboard/Final Exam folders. You must submit your final VoiceThread presentation on the date specified on the Final Exam module. There will be no makeup exams.
    
4. 20% of course grade: Final Exam. The final exam will cover materials covered on the Supersite and lecture materials and may also include items that have previously appeared in-class assignments and assessments. The exam portal will open on the date specified on the Final Exam module. There will be no makeup exams.

Grading System:

Grading Policies

Grade	Value
GRADE	PERCENTAGE
A	90-100
B	89-80
C	79-70
D	69-60
F	Below 60

Course Structure

To be successful in this course, you must submit all the assigned coursework via Supersite and Blackboard (VoiceThread) by the designated dates. This course consists of 9 lessons. Lesson folders are located within the Lessons Tab of your Blackboard course shell for this course. Lesson folders in the course content are labeled "Lesson 1," "Lesson 2,".... "Lesson 9," which correspond to "Lesson 1A," "Lesson 1B,".... "Lesson 5A" of Sag Mal and Supersite.

YOU CANNOT PASS THE COURSE IF YOU ARE NOT ENROLLED IN THE SUPERSITE ONLINE WORKBOOK.

VHL Central or Supersite account
Create an account or log into your existing account. Click REDEEM A CODE. Enter your code and click REDEEM. Then click ENROLL IN A COURSE, choose your school and your course, and click ENROLL. Explore the wealth of self-help resources designed to help you successfully use the technology on VHL central and make the most of your learning experience. For further assistance, please visit https://support.vhlcentral.com.

Announcements/Course Messages/Emails

Announcements will be posted regularly on Mondays. Students should expect to receive feedback on VoiceThread submissions, class assignments, and course messages within 48 hours. The instructor is available online via Blackboard Virtual Meeting Space for one-on-one assistance and course communication: Monday - Friday (10 am -12 pm) or by appointment.            

Student Support Resources

The University wishes to have all students succeed in their courses. To provide support to our students, an array of services in the areas of technology support, academic support, student support, and accessibility support may be found at the University. For more information, visit the Instructional Technology and Distance Education Services page on University Resources and Support Services.

Minimum Technical Skills & Technology Required

You must have high-speed internet access, a dependable computer, and some additional computer accessories. To be successful in this course, you must have a functional webcam, speakers and headphones and a microphone for your computer since you will be using VoiceThread, Echo360 and Blackboard Collaborate in addition to the technical requirements mentioned on the OIT webpage.
Note: Students, if you do not own the required hardware or software or do not have access to the Internet, it will be highly challenging for you to make any progress in this class. However, my goal is to assist you in finding solutions and guide you appropriately most of the required materials can either be found free of charge at TAMIU’s library, classrooms, and available computer labs. Visit Media Services’ web page on the availability of on-campus computer labs. In addition, you may also purchase any of these items at any electronic store.           

Course Communication Guidelines (Netiquette)

There are course expectations concerning etiquette or how we should treat each other online. We must consider these values as we communicate with one another. Visit Instructional Technology and Distance Education Services’ web page on Netiquette for further instruction.

Accommodations/Accessibility Policy

Texas A&M International University seeks to provide reasonable accommodation for all qualified persons with disabilities. This University will adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the student's responsibility to register with the Director of Student Counseling and to contact the faculty member in a timely fashion to arrange for suitable accommodation. For more information, contact the online at Office of Disability Services for Students (DSS), via phone at 956.326.3086 or by visiting the staff at the Student Center, room 118. A link to the Disabilities Services for Students site has also been included under the "Resources" tab inside the course.

Student Support Resources

The University wishes to have all students succeed in their courses. To provide support to our students, an array of services in the areas of technology support, academic support, student support, and accessibility support may be found at the University. For more information, visit the Instructional Technology and Distance Education Services page on University Resources and Support Services.

Learning Management System (Blackboard)

Students are provided with an orientation (*eLearning (Blackboard) Student Orientation*) and access to guides on how to use the Blackboard LMS. Guides may be available at Instructional Technology and Distance Education Services' Student eLearning Tutorial Videos page or by contacting the eLearning team at elearning@tamiu.edu.

Technical Support Services

For VHL Supersite Tech Support: please call (800-618-7375), Student Tech Support: 800.248.2813 or visit the tech support site: https://vistahigherlearning.com/tech-support
For TAMIU Tech Support: If you have technical issues or you need assistance, please contact OIT at elearning@tamiu.edu (7 days a week) or call at 956-326-2792 (M-F, 8am-7pm). More information about services may be found at: http://www.tamiu.edu/distance/technical-support-services.shtml

Grading Scale/Schema (after Grade Breakdown section)

The points section in the grading system corresponds to the weighted total of points.           

                  A                 100 – 90%                   18 – 20 points

                  B                 89 – 80%                    17.9 – 16 points

                  C                  79 – 70%                    15.9 – 14 points

                  D                  69 – 60%                    13.9 – 12 points

                  F                   59 – 0%                      11.9 – 0 points
Note: The grading of all class assignments will occur within 48 hours.

Rubrics

To access the grading rubrics for all VoiceThread submissions, go to the Blackboard Course content folders.

Late Work Policy

Late work is not accepted and all work is due by 11:59 pm on the assigned day. No makeup assignments so be sure to pay close attention to deadlines.

Accessibility and Privacy Statements on Course Technologies

At Texas A & M International University, all students should have equal technology opportunities in the classroom. These technologies/sites may also require user data, such as creating a username and password. This class will utilize Blackboard Collaborate, ECHO360, and VoiceThread. For statements of accessibility on the necessary course technology, visit http://www.tamiu.edu/distance/technology/accessibility-statements.shtml to find links to the company’s accessibility statement. For privacy policy statements on third-party websites, visit http://www.tamiu.edu/distance/technology/privacy-statements.shtml to find links to the company’s privacy policies.

For statements of TAMIU Accessibility Policies, visit https://www.tamiu.edu/distance/technology/accessibility-statements.shtml to find links to the TAMIU Accessibility Policies.

In this class, we will utilize the following tools:

• Echo360 – a lecture capture tool that will allow me to record and publish a lecture for students to watch online. Echo360 is designed to foster active, engaged, and personalized video-based learning to increase student success. General information on Echo360 may be found at: http://www.tamiu.edu/distance/mediaservices/Echo.shtml.
• Blackboard Collaborate is a video conferencing service for online office hours or synchronous meetings. This tool is integrated directly into Blackboard and is very user-friendly. In addition, it helps promote active learning and student success. Online office hours or appointments are optional. General information on Blackboard Collaborate may be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W4sGpVmJaY&feature=youtu.be.
• Supersite - a website that provides comprehensive activities and resources for student success. Each section of your textbook contains activities on Supersite, many of which are auto-graded for immediate feedback. General information on VoiceThread may be found at: https://www.vhlcentral.com/home. 
• VoiceThread – an asynchronous discussion/presentation tool that can use text/audio/video responses between instructor and students. VoiceThread can be used to practice speaking in the target language at a conversational rate. General information on VoiceThread may be found at: http://www.tamiu.edu/distance/technology/voicethread.shtml. The link below provides helpful information on creating and submitting your new VoiceThread videos: https://wp.voicethread.com/howto/blackboard-3/#create.
• YouTube – To improve listening skills and cultural competency, students are required to watch the supplemental Easy French videos as they align with the lesson’s content and topics. General information on YouTube may be found at: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=easy+french.
   

Syllabus Subject to Change