Before I begin
IS ONLINE LEARNING FOR ME?
Before enrolling in an online course, it is helpful to consider how well your goals,
interests, learning style, and life commitments fit an online learning environment.
Successful online students tend to be:
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self-motivated
organized
comfortable learning by reading and writing
people who stay on top of their work rather than needing reminding about deadlines
 people who do not leave material for the last minute but pace themselves throughout
 busy people who understand learning takes time and do not expect online classes to
take fewer hours than face-to-face classes.
Unsuccessful online students tend to:
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leave assignments for the last minute
rush through assignments “to get them done”
expect the instructor to be the only font for learning
use technology issues as an excuse for uncompleted/incomplete assignments
 not organize themselves well for deadlines
 believe that because they are busy they should be exempt from course work
Previous experience:
To be successful, you don't need to be a computer wiz, but you must be familiar with
using a computer. You must also feel relatively comfortable when you have to try
something new with your computer, have consistent internet access, have your own email account and check it daily, and have experience with:
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word processing
e-mail (sending, receiving, and using attachments)
using a variety of file formats ( Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs)
file management on your computer
navigating websites
willing to learn how to use new programs: Elluminate, etc…
The following are the course requirements. Read them carefully and if you have any
questions ask your instructor.
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ITALIAN 105- Fall 2013 (Online)
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GENERAL INFORMATION
It is expected that you read ALL of the following information and that you acknowledge that you have read
and understood all the information by signing on the bottom and drop-boxing the entire document to the
Course Description drop-box in eCollege.
Eligibility:
***This course is designed for students who have little or no experience in Italian. If
you took 2 or more years of Italian at the High School level, or a placement test, you will
not receive credit for this course. ***
Course objective:
 105 is designed to develop the necessary skills needed to read and comprehend
Italian prose. Students will develop comprehension of texts from a broader variety of
disciplines including the humanities and the social sciences.
 At the end of the course students will be able to understand and interpret texts that
present complex elements of Italian syntax, grammar, and vocabulary and will master
basic translation skills. They will be able to identify the distinctive features of the
language as well as the ways in which it shapes culturally specific meaning
 The online version of the course will allows students to bring there own research
needs into the curriculum and therefore, the goal is to have individual students become
versed in the comprehension of texts necessary for their academic careers.
 105 is the first installment of two courses that will lead to a certificate in Italian for
reading knowledge.
The grade distribution is:
Midterm 20%; Final 25%; quizzes 20%; translations/comprehension assignments 15%;
PowerPoint sessions 10%; Vista SuperSite assignments 10%.
The grading scale is:
90-100=A; 86-89=B+; 80-85=B; 76-79=C+; 70-75=C; 60-69=D; below 60=F
Tests and assignments:
Your first quiz is on this course description and can be found as a content item under
“Course home”.
Quizzes, exams, translations/comprehension assignments, and PowerPoint sessions will be
given using eCollege. Grammar workbook and vocabulary exercises will be given through
the Vista Supersite. The midterm and final exams will be on week 8 and week 15.
Students will have the majority of the responsibility for their learning. You will be
expected to be involved and complete assignments on a daily basis and study grammatical
points and vocabulary thoroughly. The focus of the class is the development of a competence
in reading knowledge, which will be accomplished by the grammar lessons in the PowerPoint
sessions and practice exercises in the Vista Supersite. Translations and comprehension
assignments will serve as a formative practice and application of grammar and vocabulary in
order to prepare you for quizzes and exams.
Minimum Computer Skills Requirements
Students who enroll in an online course must have basic computer skills including a working
knowledge of word processing, e-mail, and Internet usage. You must have access to a
computer, the Internet, a web browser, and other software and hardware configuration as
described below.
Minimum Hardware /Software Requirements
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It is important to meet the following system and hardware requirements in order to be able to
participate in live interactions with instructor and classmates, as well as to be able to complete
assignments, quizzes and exams.
Internet Connection - High speed or broadband cable required; Satellite Broadband not
recommended due to conflicts with synchronous software
Operating System Version:
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Windows® XP
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Windows® Vista - Windows® 7
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Mac OS 10.4 or higher
Additional software and hardware as it pertains to the instruction of the course: 
 Headset with microphone (speakers are not a good option as they cause severe feedback)
 You will have to run an AUDIO SETUP WIZARD on Classlive
 Webcam
 PowerPoint
 Latest JAVA upgrade
Required texts and Website
Textbook: Mastering Italian Grammar (Barron's Foreign Language Guides); Barron's
Educational Series; Bilingual edition: 2007
Vtext: Cozzarelli, Julia. Sentieri. Vista Higher Learning. 2011. Supersite and WebSAM
(with vText) access code. ISBN: 978-1-60576-799-4
Website #1: https://ecollege.rutgers.edu/ : This website will contain all the announcements,
homework assignments, quizzes and tests, grade book, etc… All you need to access this site
is your Rutgers’ net ID and password.
Website #2: www.vhlcentral.com/ : This website is your resource location with grammar
workbook exercises (WebSAM) The access code to register to this website come with your
book packet.
Live Sessions
Your instructor will be available twice a week through the CLASSLIVE function on
eCollege to go over the lessons for each unit. You will have the option of attending 1 of 2
live sessions a week. Your instructor will post the session times on your eCollege course
page.
The first week’s Live session is mandatory for all students. You may attend either of the
two offered in week 1.
Technical support
eCollege 24/7 technical support, please e-mail onlinehelpdesk@ecollege.com or call 877.740.2213
Vista Supersite technical support, please go to http://support.vhlcentral.com/ or call 800.248.2813
PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT YOUR INSTRUCTOR FOR TECHNICAL ISSUES. YOU
WILL HAVE TO RESOLVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE SUPPORT OFFERED.
YOUR INSTRUCTOR WILL NOT ANSWER ANY EMAILS WITH TECHNICAL
QUESTIONS. TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WILL NOT EXCUSE YOU FROM DUE
DATES. PLEASE LEAVE YOURSELF AMPLE TIME TO COMPLETE
ASSIGNMENTS IN THE ADVENT OF COMPUTER ISSUES.
Email policy
Your instructor will be available to contact via email. However, due to the large quantity of
emails that is customary for an online course, your instructor will respond within 48 hours
during the week and 72 hours on the weekend. Please do not contact your instructor with
questions about an assignment the day before a deadline as you may not receive a response
before the assignment is due. You will still be responsible for all deadlines despite
unanswered emails. Therefore, please take into consideration the time window in which you
will receive a response from your instructor when contacting him/her.
Netiquette
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A Web-based course is a new area of social interaction, and as such it has its own rules for
interacting with others. Here is a link to a guide which is intended to be an overview of
appropriate etiquette for interaction in this new environment:
http://www.brighthub.com/education/online-learning/articles/26946.aspx
Academic Integrity /Plagiarism
In order to avoid plagiarism (the representation of the words or ideas of others as one’s own),
every quotation must be indentified by quotation marks or appropriate indentation and must
be properly cited in the text or in a footnote. Always acknowledge your sources clearly and
completely when you paraphrase or summarize material from another source (in print,
electronic, or other medium) on whole or in part. If you are in doubt, please consult the policy
on plagiarism and academic integrity at Rutgers and do not hesitate to ask your instructor for
clarifications.
http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/integrity.shtml
Because of the special nature of this course, students are especially reminded that cheating
includes working with another student on quizzes or exams. These MUST be done
independently, with no help from anyone else. DO NOT take your quizzes and exams at the
same time or on the same computer with another student.
Disabilities policy
In case students with disabilities should require any special type of assistance and would like
to request accommodations, they must follow the procedures outlined at:
http://disabilityservices.rutgers.edu/request.html
Instructor
Daniele De Feo: ddefeo@rci.rutgers.edu
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eCOLLEGE WEBSITE
http://ecollege.rutgers.edu
eCollege is the base website for our course. On the left toolbar you will find the Course Home where each
week’s assignments will be designated. On the top toolbar you’ll find the following tools which will be used
during the course:
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GRADEBOOK (where you will receive all your feedback and grades on assignments
EMAIL (where you contact your instructor or other students in the course)
LIVE (this is where you can connect to Elluminate for our weekly live sessions and Elluminate
activities)
DROPBOX (a place to upload documents for your instructor when prompted to do so)
DOC SHARING (where your instructor will share documents related to the course)
TECH SUPPORT (please reference with any question for the use of the website)
POWERPOINT SESSIONS: You will have to listen to the grammar explanations, practice the models given,
etc… You will have to complete your application of the models by using AUDACITY and place the audio files
in the given PowerPoint. Then you will have to put the PowerPoint (with the audio files) in the appropriate
folder of your instructor’s dropbox. The audio is for practice of pronunciation which is important in the
development of your reading skills. For your POWERPOINT SESSION to be considered you must have hand it
in by the indicated deadline. PLEASE MAKE SURE TO TAKE YOUR TIME AND MAKE AUDIO CLEAR
OTHERWISE YOUR GRADE WILL BE NEGATIVELY IMPACTED. Each session will be graded according
to the following rubric:
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Description:
Very well prepared, excellent execution of all activities, demonstrates care and
attentiveness in the preparation of all slides.
Well prepared, good execution of all activities with few errors, demonstrates care
and attentiveness in the preparation of all slides
Adequately prepared, generally good execution of activities with some errors,
demonstrates care and attentiveness in the preparation of all slides
Prepared, satisfactory execution of activities, missing slides and work seems rushed
Somewhat prepared, poor execution of activities, incomplete and missing slides,
rushed work and/or inaudible audio
Barely completed, extremely poor execution, missing many slides and/or activities
Session not in the proper drop-box by the indicated deadline
Points
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0
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VISTA HIGHER LEARNING SENTIERI SUPERSITE
www.vhlcentral.com/
The Vista supersite accompanies the Sentieri textbook. You must have purchased the access code (which comes
with the book in the packet), register to the site, and yourself to your instructor’s course. To ensure success in
the course you cannot cram all activities in a few days time. It is essential to work on a daily basis.
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Under the PRACTICE toolbar you will find each Unitá divided into two parts (A and B), each with
the following categories from which exercises will be assigned:
 CONTESTI (Pratica; Pronuncia e ortografia)
 STRUTTURE
 VOCABOLARIO
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Under the WebSAM (Student Activities Manual) toolbar you will find the workbook and lab
manual activities. There are three components to WebSAM as follows:
 WORKBOOK (divided into Contesti and Strutture for both the A and B sections of the
Unità.
 LAB MANUAL (divided into Contesti, Pronuncia e ortografia, and Strutture for both
the A snd B sections of the Unità.
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Under the ASSESSMENT toolbar you’ll see a practice quiz for each Unità.
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Under the vText toolbar you have access to an electronic version of the Sentieri textbook.
All assignments from the Supersite must be completed by the deadline or the system will automatically score
them as a zero. No assignments can be made-up past the deadlines assigned. Please be sure to take these
exercises seriously as they are fundamental practice for your advancement throughout the course. The more
effort and time you put into them the more successful you will be.
All assignment to be completed on the Supersite to be completed are indicated by a due date. Please refer to the
RESULTS tool to see the score of your assignments.
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I _______________________________(student’s name) have read and understood all information provided in
this document. I will not expect to be exempt from any of the above policies as I understand that these are the
course requirements.
(Signed description will be due in the dropbox by Sunday 9/8)
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