Frequently Asked Questions

English 12 Summer School 2010

How should I start?

The essence of an online course is that it is self-guided. You can always see your teacher for help, but really you need to be self-motivated and self-disciplined in order to succeed.

Start by taking the time to “play” with the website. Explore the tabs, click on everything, and read all the course content, from start to finish. If you still have questions, get in touch with your teacher.

When do I have to come to Tupper in person?

1. Introduction to English 12 Workshop - attend one of the following times: July 6 at 10:00am, July 7 at 10:00am or July 8 at 1:00pm.

2. Midterm Exam - exact date to be announced (will be between July 15-20).

3. Speaking and Listening Activity - attend one of the following times: July 30 at 1:00pm or August 3 at 10:00am.

Attendance at these events are a required component of the course and are worth marks.

How do I get in touch with my teacher?

E-mail: In person:

When are assignments due?

Though you will not be penalized for not meeting the suggested deadlines (see the calendar in the course content), you will receive one percent bonus for each assignment that is submitted by the suggested deadline.

Please note that the midterm will be heavily based on all content in the course that is due up to the day before the midterm. If you write the midterm without being caught up in the course, you will not do well on the midterm.

How are assignments marked?

Every assignment has a link to a marking rubric. Always check out the marking rubric before starting an assignment!

Can I resubmit assignments?

No. Once something has been marked, you cannot resubmit anything – not even a part of the assignment that was missing. So make sure that you are happy with your assignment before you submit it to the dropbox.

Are there any bonus assignments?

As of right now, there are no bonus assignments. However, please keep an eye on announcements on the course homepage: bonus assignments may be added during the summer and will be announced on the homepage.

Are there any books for this course?

Resources that you will need to find yourself: This year’s novel study is a self-guided study, meaning that you can choose any novel from the list provided:

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseni Obasan, by Joy Kogawa, Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger 1984, by George Orwell The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Please be responsible by ensuring early on that you will have access one of the above novels. You can borrow the book from a friend, buy it at a bookstore, borrow it from your local library, or purchase it online.

We will be reading Hamlet this year, and though you will be able to get the text from VLN, you will have to get two film versions by yourself. Again, please be responsible by ensuring early on that you will have access to a film version of Hamlet. Some suggestions are:

Laurence Olivier's Hamlet, starring Laurence Olivier (1948) Franco Zefferelli's Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson (1990) Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet, starring Kenneth Branagh (1996) Michael Almereyda's Hamlet, starring Ethan Hawke (2000)

If you would like to watch a film that hasn’t been listed above, please send your teacher an e-mail first. You can borrow a dvd from a friend, buy it at a bookstore or video store, rent it from a video store, borrow it from your local library, or purchase it online.

Resources that you can get from VLN: Your Hamlet text can be picked up from the VLN bookroom which you can find in John Oliver Secondary, which is on the corner

of 41st and Fraser and is open between the hours of 8:30am-4:30pm Monday to Friday.

ALL OTHER RESOURCES ARE ONLINE!

I’ve only completed one assignment and now I’m getting 90%. What’s going on?

Grades in an online course are done cumulatively, which basically means that anything that has not yet been submitted is omitted from your final grade. This is meant to show you that you can still hand that assignment in. However, at the end of the course, you will receive a zero for any assignment that has not been completed.

So, to help you: when you are looking to see how you are doing in the course, you need to go to your "Grades" page. Once the page opens, you will see something that looks like this:

Student Name    38.56 / 44, 87.63 % At first glance it looks like this student is doing very well. Keep in

mind that this mark (88%) is only based on 44% of the course. If this student does not submit any more assignments, does not complete any more quizzes, does not write all of the required exams or does not participate in any more discussions, their final mark will be 39%.

So do not be fooled! Do all the assignments to ensure that you will get the grade that you want.

 

How much time will this course take?

Expect to commit four to five hours every day towards completing this course. English 12 is a 120 hour course.

Can I work with a friend?

You can work with a friend, but be aware that VLN has a strict zero tolerance policy on plagiarism. In other words, you must ensure that your work is your own work. If it is found that your work is the same as another student’s work, this will count as a plagiarized assignment and you will both receive zeroes on that assignment. Be vigilant. Your work must be your own!

How do discussions work?

Discussions are worth 4% of your final grade. This 4% is marked by the use of 4 discussion boards, one for each week of the first four weeks of summer school. Each discussion board is marked out of 10 marks and worth 1% (of the 4%). The first discussion board will be open on July 5th, and will be closed just before the next board opens up on the following Monday, July 12th (you get the picture). You MUST post on each weekly discussion board before it closes at the end of the week. If you don't, you will not get those marks. 

To get full marks, you must actively participate in each discussion board. This means posting worthwhile, paragraph comments and responding to other students - basically, PARTICIPATE and DISCUSS with thoughtful, respectful comments. These posts should be well written and good quality. Posting everything in one day is extremely discouraged.

You can see how you are doing on each discussion board by checking out your grades page. For example, if you only scored 8 out of 10 and want to get 10 out of 10 for that week, you are more than welcome to continue to post until you reach full marks for that week's discussion board.

One final note before you begin: remember to be polite and respectful towards others. Learning how to control the tone of your writing is just one more aspect of learning how to be a good writer. So remember that even though something may sound polite to you, it may sound impolite to someone else. Be extremely careful in how you word your responses, making sure that your tone, manner and wording is respectful towards others. 

Any tips for success?

Make sure that you get a How to Succeed in English 12 Summer School leaflet when you attend the introductory workshop.