8 secrets for being successful in Croghan's class

Online classes can be challenging, yet the flexibility they allow can be worth the effort for many students. However, in my experience, I feel that many students are not ready or equipped to succeed in online learning. Learning Spanish is a challenge in an on-ground class. And now you want to do it online? That doubles (or more) the challenges for some people. But it can be done and I have had many students who actually enjoy my online Spanish courses! I think it takes a special learner-type to excel in online classes. So I want to share some of the secrets of successful students with you. If you already innately have these things, chances are good that no matter your ability, you will pass my course!

In no particular order, here are the 8 secrets:

1. Have concern. I don't want you to be fearful, I just want you to take the class seriously and be active, interested and engaged in what you're doing. For example, if you have technical difficulties on a test and email me, please check back frequently for my response. Often, if I have to reset a test, I will only give you a day or two to complete it. If you don't check back with me for the rest of the week, that doesn't show that you care to get the work done. Another example of concern: Do more than what is expected of you. If I require 10 discussion posts, do 12-15. If I ask for 200 words, write 250. If I ask for 5 sentences, write at least 7. Or do your assignments well before deadline. If the test is due Saturday, do it Thursday or Friday. We can't predict what life has in store for us, so it's always better to overachieve and be proactive. This shows concern!

2. Make this class a priority. This goes along with having concern. I expect you to be committed for the full term. If you have other things coming up that will take away from your commitment to the class, it may be better to take the course during a different term. For example, if you are planning a vacation, I will expect you to have internet access while there and adhere to the course deadlines. Vacation is certainly a lot more fun and enticing than doing coursework, but it does not trump my class, no matter how long you've had your trip planned.

3. Know the due dates. Just because this is an online class, it doesn't mean you can work at your own pace. With so much work to be done, that would be unwise and a sure failure for many students. I set the pace for you. You can always work ahead but never behind. As an instructor, I am a "no late work" policy person. I grade all of a certain assignment at one sitting. So if I grade the chapter 2 test, and then I allow students to complete it late, I might be in a different or unfamiliar frame of mind from when I was grading the first round. In other words, I might grade it differently than I had graded the others. This is a fairness issue.

4. Don't miss assignments, then at the end when you're desperate ask me for extra credit. This is a pet peeve. I am NOT an extra credit fan when it is requested as a plea to help you earn a certain grade. Some courses, I have (or the course developer has) built in some extra credit. In other classes, I drop low scores in some categories. But a desperate sense of "I missed some assignments, now what can I do to make up for them???" ...um, you should have done the assignments! All of my classes offer several opportunities to earn points. This is not a course where you will have two tests and two papers and that's it. So you do the work I've assigned, and I will assess that.

5. Be patient with yourself and the time you need for this course. I often hear that my class takes up way more time than other classes on a student's courseload. There are several possible reasons for this:

• In general, (contrary to popular belief) online classes take more time. If you think about it, this makes sense. Something that takes an instructor 10 minutes to say in an on-ground course may take double- or triple-time for you to read and absorb on your own in the online format.



• It's a skill-based course. It takes a lot of time and effort to develop a skill.



• How many credits is it worth? Most of my classes are 4- or 5-credit classes. Compared to a 3-credit class, that right there tells you a bit about the time expectation.



• How easily are you absorbing the material? If you're breezing through the content, it will take you less time. If you're struggling or just need to work slowly through it, that will also be a time-soaker.

6. Know your limits/Don't overload yourself. Please make sure you block off a good amount of time to work on this course every week.  It is not unreasonable to need around 10-15 hours per week, maybe more.  Enrolling in a college course takes time and commitment.  If you have too much on your plate, maybe you should try this course again when you don't have as much going on.  We must recognize that there are human limitations, know what our own limits are and set priorities.

7. Read the syllabus and announcements. Here is another pet peeve. I make every effort to provide you with every piece of information you could possibly need in the course. It is all there for you, it's just a matter of you taking the time to know the course and know where to look. One example, the most common request at the beginning of the semester is for those classes that require an access code to log on to another site. I promise you, it's there in the course. But I always have an overwhelming number of emails requesting the code. Now, I don't want to seem like I don't like to answer your questions, I certainly do. But I just ask you to check (1) the announcements, (2) the discussion boards and (3) your messages before you ask me a question. Chances are good I've already answered it somewhere! :)

8. Communicate early and often! This is a big one for me. I am much more willing to work with you if your need for more time on something is for a valid reason (i.e. not vacation) and is requested well in advance of the deadline.

If your academic personality is in line with these 8 traits, I think you will get along very well in my course! If not, you can learn along the way how to be successful.  This class can be a very rich and rewarding experience for you. And I wish you the very best in this endeavor!

-Profe Krista Croghan

Plagiarism, yuck!

Try this small experiment. Copy this passage, and then paste it into a Google search:


Spain's population density, lower than that of most European countries, is roughly equivalent to New England's. In recent years, following a longstanding pattern in the rest of Europe, rural populations are moving to cities. Urban areas are also experiencing a significant increase in immigrant populations, chiefly from North Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe.


What happened when you did that? If you did it correctly, it should have returned results of the original source of that passage. It came from the U.S. Department of State website (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2878.htm).

I do that periodically, when I suspect a student's writing is not his or her own. And that is a quick and easy way to confirm that suspicion. But it is not fun for me to make this revelation. In fact, I'm actually quite relieved when my suspicion is proven wrong.

I am going to tell an honest and embarrassing story. When I was a college freshman at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, I was taking Psychology 101 in a very large lecture hall, probably about 300 students. It was intimidating. We had an assignment to write a book review. We were warned about the importance of using our own words and ideas, to not plagiarize. I had heard of plagiarism before, but didn't think I was an offender. So I wasn't all that worried.

A few weeks after we had turned in our papers, the professor made an announcement that some students had plagiarized. If they were willing to come forward to him (privately), he would offer a redo. I remember thinking, "Could he be talking about me? Surely not." I was insecure and unsure, but too scared to approach him. I let it go.

The next week, when we got our papers back, I was aghast. Not only had I been caught plagiarizing, thereby failing the assignment, I also was to fail the course. I was mortified.

I remember the next day, going to the professor's office in Burnett Hall. Dr. Ross Thompson. I don't remember all of my professors' names from undergraduate, but I certainly will never forget his. I was ready to go my knees and beg him in his office for a redo. He was polite about it, but short with me. There was to be no redo. I pled ignorance. I thought attaching a list of Works Cited was all I needed, even though I used the book's exact language without direct quotations. I appealed and took it as high in the university judicial system as I could. My university handled my case with poise and professionalism, but the decision stood. I failed Psychology 101. It was a hard lesson to learn, but it was a lesson learned nonetheless.

Here is what I know now that I didn't know then:

1. Plagiarism is illegal. It is punishable by failure of the assignment, failure of the course or even expulsion from the institution. After all, you are stealing somone's property.

2. Using the thoughts or ideas of others, even in your own words, is plagiarism if you don't cite it.

3. Using the exact words (even just a couple of words) without using direct quotations and proper citation is plagiarism.

4. Directly quoting several sentences or paragraphs, while not plagiarism, is inappropriate. You must interject your own ideas and thoughts. This is especially true when the assignment length is only a paragraph or two.

To be honest, I am not a huge stickler that proper APA form is meticulously used as you quote your sources. I am not a go-to person for answers about proper APA style. I will not be counting the number of spaces you've used, or watching for periods, commas and appropriate italics. I do, however, expect some attention be given to this matter, and an attempt made at giving credit where credit is due. I think that is more than fair.

So please do not learn the hard way on this, like I did. Hopefully, somebody can learn from my mistakes before they make them for themselves. If I can help one person, then I guess it was worth the experience. Yeah, maybe not.

Ser or Estar?

Estudiantes... I am posting this information, reaped from other sources, in the hopes that it will be a helpful pool of resources for you. The notion of "ser vs. estar" is one of the trickiest concepts for beginning students of Spanish. So I hope you find some or all of the following very helpful. I do not take credit for any of it. The websites have been included for citation purposes, so you may like to bookmark the sites.

General Ser Rule

Ser is used to classify and identify permanent or lasting attributes. If the general rule isn´t specific enough for you, think of the acronym DOCTOR, which stands for Description,Occupation, Characteristic, Time, Origin, and Relationship

General Estar Rule

Estar is used to indicate temporary states and locations. If the general rule doesn´t suffice, think of the acronym PLACE, which stands for Position, Location, Action, Condition, and Emotion.

Here is the link if you would like to see more (including examples).

http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/100040/ser-and-estar

Also, the following information comes from http://www.studyspanish.com/. For more information, check out this site. It's a wonderful site because it first explains the grammar concept in English and then in Spanish.


http://www.studyspanish.com/lessons/serest1.htm
http://www.studyspanish.com/lessons/serest1.htm
http://www.studyspanish.com/lessons/serest3.htm
http://www.studyspanish.com/lessons/serest4.htm

When a noun follows the verb, use ser
When an adjective follows the verb, decide between "essence" and "condition"
To tell where something is from, use ser
To tell where something is located right now, use estar
To tell where an event is taking place, use ser


And for audiovisual you folks, here is some YouTube you might enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPRWnL2kGok&feature=related

Like anything that is difficult, this is going to take some time and practice. And even then, it may be awhile before you feel comfortable distinguishing between the two verbs.

"I am struggling with word order in Spanish sentences."

At the beginning level, a large number of questions students have concern knowing how to put everything together to construct grammatically correct sentences. I assure you, many other students have this exact same concern. So do not feel alone! I understand it feels like a completely different ballgame than the structure of your first language. However, you will find this process becomes easier and easier, the more years you study Spanish. Yes, I said years. Try not to get in a hurry, but just learn it as it comes. It will take effort.



In this blog, I will attempt to point out some tips that you can use as a general guide. Do not follow them religiously, as there are always exceptions to the rules. But hopefully this will help, overall.


In case I start using "parts of speech" vocabulary that you could really use a refresher on before beginning, refer to: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/definitions.htm



A few simple rules:

• A sentence that is a declaration or statement (not a question) will typically follow the same structural order as English: Subject + Verb

She walks. Ella camina.

You add objects right after the verb.

She walks the dog. Ella camina el perro.

• A sentence that is a question will now have some changes: Verb + Subject

Does she walk? ¿Camina ella?

And when you start adding objects, or recipients of the action, you start to have a little more flexibility or possible change in the word order:

Does she walk the dog? ¿Camina ella el perro? OR ¿Camina el perro ella?

In the first example, the subject is right after the verb. In the second example, the subject now comes after the object. That can seem confusing that it works more than one way, but the important thing to remember is that, in either case, the subject comes AFTER the verb. So aim for that.

• Adjectives Adding adjectives to a sentence complicates your life slightly. But it shouldn't be too bad. Generally speaking, when you have a noun and adjective right together, use this order: Noun + Adjective

the fat dog = el perro gordo

If the noun and adjective are separated by a verb, those would follow the word order from the first posted rule: Subject + Verb + Adjective

The dog is fat. El perro es gordo.

Of course, just as soon as you learn this rule of "noun before adjective," you will see it broken. This rule is generally used for more descriptive adjectives. There are other adjectives, that provide different purposes:

this hat = este sombrero

three hats = tres sombreros

(both the words "this" and "three" are adjectives)

Here is a helpful link that goes into much more detail about adjectives and word order:

http://spanish.about.com/cs/grammar/a/whereadjective.htm

While this is not a complete synopsis on Spanish sentence structure, it does provide a start in the process for beginning students. If you didn't get enough detail in this blog, or just want some reinforcement, here are a couple of other sites, including a wiki and another blog, that can help:

http://easiestspanish.blogspot.com/2007/08/bienvenidos-using-visualization-tricks.html

http://www.lingolex.com/spanishbasic.htm

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Spanish/Word_Order

http://spanish.about.com/library/beginning/bl-beg-sentences-word_order.htm

"How do I get started? I am overwhelmed!"

Your questions about where to go, where to begin, how to start... I will attempt to answer all of that here, as all of my courses are generally designed in the same fashion. Let me start with some definitions:

• CMS Course Management System--This is the school-hosted platform where you will find the primary instructions, due dates, discussion boards, etc. (i.e. Blackboard, D2L, eLearn, eCollege)
• eText Online textbook and resource materials-- This is where you will find grammar tutorials (text and video format), practice and graded exercises. This constitutes the real bulk of material to be learned. (AKA Quia site, Supersite, etc.)

1. In all cases, the syllabus is where you need to start. It is displayed prominently in the CMS, but if you can't locate it, post a question in the discussion forum. Read it at the start of class and refer to it often.
2. I then would make sure you have accessed the assignment due dates sheet, or course calendar and get those into your own personal calendar. They will not change (unless I have made an error, in which case I would send out an announcement).
3. Get enrolled in the eText site. You get your code(s) through the purchase of your texbook (so don't throw away ANY of the packaging until your code(s) are accounted for and you've enrolled in the eText site).
4. There also is a teacher code posted prominently in the CMS. You will also need this to get enrolled in my course on the eText site. A common issue I see is students who enter the codes that come with their textbooks, but don't enter my teacher code. You need to do this to appear on my roster and get credit for your work.
5. From there, I would then spend some time getting to know the CMS. Do not try to pass up this self-orientation time, and do not rush the experience. During this stage, I would also get to know the eText site as well as you can before you start working on the assignments.
6. Once you have spent some time in both the eText and CMS, you should go ahead and begin in your first lesson or chapter. You naturally may feel hesitant or doubtful if you are completing everything I have assigned. I would be glad to check on something for you to confirm completion. Just send me a note about it.
7. Chapter or Lesson 2 will get easier! It will be essentially the same routine for each of the 6 chapters.

If, after following all 7 steps, you still have questions or feel lost in some aspect, please let me know!

"There is so much work in this course!"

Yes, I know. I am very aware that if you have a full load of classes, home and family responsibilities, a job or anything else going on in your life, you probably feel overwhelmed by this class. If you really have all that much going on, something just may have to give.

Let me present some objective thinking. It's a 4 credit class. [NOTE: You may be enrolled in a 3 credit class. In this case, please adjust the math accordingly.] This means 4 hours you spend each week should be considered "in-class" time. Then, the commonly accepted recommendation for college-level courses is to spend 2-3 hours outside of class for EVERY hour in class. That would be 8-12 hours [for a 4 credit class]. Add it all up, and you should be spending at least 12 hours each week. I encourage you to keep a watch to monitor this at least once. When you hit the 4-hour mark, just consider that "in-class" time. Beyond that, it's "out-of-class" studytime.

Learning a second language is going to be a more labor-intensive subject to learn because you are trying to attain a skill. This is going to take lots of practice and repetition. So, several assignments and/or assessments are required in this class to provide as much opportunity as possible to acquire the new language.

If you think about it from a practical standpoint... how long did it take you to learn your first language? Are you even finished with that process yet? Granted, learning Spanish cannot naturally happen the same way, but just think about it from the standpoint of time-on-task. It took lots of time, lots of practice, and lots of mistakes to get to where you are today in your first language. And even now as an adult, you probably are still learning new and complicated vocabulary words in your first language. We are all still learning... this is a lifelong process! So certainly, it is going to take comparable amounts of time to devote to learning a second, third, or fourth language.

My advice? Do your best to embrace the process. Try to not get frustrated if time is not being your friend. The best way to do that is to divide up the work. Spend time on your work every single day. Certainly do not cram it all in the day before it is due! Depending on what it is, you may or may not finish.

Before you consider giving up altogether, consider the following:

• Does something have to give? Rank your responsibilities, and if Spanish class ends up at the bottom, perhaps it's better to throw in the towel and try again some other time.
• If a major life event or tragedy happens, contact me ASAP. With proper communication and requested documentation, I am a very understanding instructor willing to extend due dates. I only ask you to discuss this with me BEFORE the due date. After the fact, I usually feel it's too late unless it was impossible for you to communicate with me beforehand.
• Even if life is a little uncomfortable, this class does have an end date. Ask yourself if you can just put up with it for the short term to successfully finish the course. And then breathe a huge sigh of relief! The pain is temporary.

Hopefully this has answered the "why so much work?" question. Like it or not, in my courses I really want you to be able to speak some Spanish. :)

¡Te mando mucha suerte!

What is appropriate help for written compositions?

Mis queridos estudiantes...


I want to set clear expectations about what is fair and allowable when you are completing written compositions or syntheses in Spanish class. Please read the following very thoughtfully:

All written compositions should be considered asessments. Another word for "assessments" COULD be "tests." These are ways for me to assess your progress in class. What this means is that I expect you to do the work yourself, with minimal assistance from tutors, translators (online or otherwise), bilingual friends/family members, or whatever other means out there.

I prefer you only use your textbook and supplementary class materials as resources for all written assignments. It is very hard for me to come across an assignment that, clearly, not all of it came from your own brain. In past experiences, students have frustratedly said to me, "but in my other classes, my professors actually prefer that we have our writing proofread or peer-edited before turning it in." That logic makes complete sense to me... in a course that is more research-based. But this class IS grammar, punctuation and spelling. So to have someone else do that for you (what is essentially happening when you have someone edit your work, or run it through a translator) is not demonstrating academic honesty.

Now, I understand you need resources when writing. So I would prefer that you only refer to your textbook, or the online textbook resources, to aid you in your writing. If you haven't learned how to say it yet (whether that's a grammar construction or a sentence full of unfamiliar vocabulary) I prefer you leave it out.

So do not write your whole assignment in English and then translate. I think this is a very common approach, but that is also how you can get into trouble. In this way, you are not really consciously considering what you CAN say in the second language. You are only focusing on English. Instead, I suggest that you go through the lesson chapters we've already covered, looking for constructions and vocabulary that we have actually learned in this course, that are applicable to the writing prompt. You may have a word here or there that you really want to include, in which case, you can look it up in a dictionary. I have no problem with that.

In short, I do not want you to use the help of a tutor, a bilingual friend or family member, or an online translator (unless it is just for a word here and there) on writing assignments. I know this really limits what you can write about. But it is the only way I can assess you for what you were supposed to learn from this semester. I am not grading you on what you haven't yet learned. There is A LOT out there that you haven't learned yet.

There is a policy outlined in your syllabus regarding how I will approach suspicions of academic dishonesty. If you have doubts about what is acceptable assistance, please email me ASAP. If a major percentage of your work appears to be beyond your means, please be prepared to demonstrate your current levels of capability so I can determine if the work appears to be yours or not.

Thanks for reading this far through the blog post. It is really important to me, and I take this very seriously. Good luck and happy writing!


Profe Croghan