Student Handbook

Welcome to the Distance Learning Project and congratulations! You know your goals and

have decided that distance learning can get you there. With a commitment to your future and the

help of your teacher, you can begin your journey toward reaching your goals.

This Student Handbook is your starting point on that journey. It is a resource to help you

know what to do, when to do it, how to succeed, and where you can turn for help when you need

it. It is all about you and your needs as a distance learning student. The information this

Handbook contains is organized into several sections, listed below.

If you have questions about anything in this Student Handbook or about your distance

learning journey, call or email your teacher directly, or call the DLP office at 1-888-889-6020.

1. Getting Ready for Your 1st Week of Class page 2

2. Tips for Success page 3

3. Student Responsibilities page 4

4. When a Student Doesn’t Study page 4

5. Your Teacher page 5

6. Personal Study Plan page 6

7. Beginning Your Class page 7

8. Fast Forward Website for Online Students pages 8-9

9. Live Online Classes page 10

10. Information for All Students pages 11-12

11. Information for ESOL Students page 13

GED® and GED Testing Service® are registered trademarks of the American Council on Education (ACE). They may not be used or reproduced without the express written permission of ACE or GED Testing Service. The GED® and GED Testing Service® brands are administered by GED Testing Service LLC under license from the American Council on Education. TIU 11 is an equal educational opportunity agency. Last updated: 2/12/15

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1. Getting Ready for Your First

Week of Class

Call 1-888-889-6020 to finish your application and

schedule your phone orientation

You’ll be asked for additional information like your Social Security Number

and also to pick a time to complete your phone orientation.

You’ll get the phone number to call and a code to use.

Call into your phone orientation to choose your first class

Date: _______________

Time: _______________

Phone #: 1-877-423-3804

Code: __1234_____________

Want to get started with your studies right away?

During the orientation, let the teacher know that you want to have a

“Jump Start” on your classes and we’ll send your class materials

early.

Look for your materials on the first day of your class.

Online: Look for an email from the Distance Learning Project

(distancelearning@tiu11ces.org). Don’t see it? Check your junk or

spam folder.

Workbook: Look for a big envelope to come in the mail to your

house.

Call us at 1-888-889-6020 if you don’t receive your class materials by

the Tuesday of your first week of classes.

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2. Tips For Success

Communicate with your teacher Your teacher can help you in a lot of ways.

Celebrate your successes Think of every assignment you complete well as one step

closer to your goal.

Have a place to study A quiet place where you can focus is where you will do

your best work.

Set a study time Find a time in your daily life when you can focus and

be free from distraction and interruption.

Get the support of a friend Tell a friend or family member what you are doing with

the DLP and ask them to encourage you.

Keep track of your progress Do your assignments in order and mark down what

you have accomplished already.

Believe in yourself Reaching your goals will be hard work, but with

dedication and the support of your teacher, you can do it.

Get started right away Dive into your first assignment right away and keep your things going. Don't let too many days go without studying.

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3. Student Responsibilities

4. When a Student Doesn’t Study

Testing at your local agency: You must take a test at

your local agency to see what your abilities are

before starting with the DLP (your pretest). Then,

you must take a test at least once a year to see how

you are improving (your posttest).

Communicate with your teacher every week

Work on your assignments:

You should be ready to work

on your assignments for at

least 5 hours each week. Use

the Assignment Checklist for

your class to guide your

studying.

Students should work on their assignments and communicate with their teacher once each

week. If you don’t, here is how the teacher will try to help you get going again…

1 week of inactivity (not completing any assignments or contacting your teacher)

2 weeks of inactivity

3 weeks of inactivity

Teacher will ask the local agency to

encourage the student to study.

Teacher will again notify the local

agency that the student has not

been working on things.

The student will be un-enrolled from their

class for the remainder of the session. This

means that they will no longer have access

to their class or assignments.

If a student is un-enrolled because of inactivity but wants to begin studying

again, he/she will have to complete make-up work from their teacher first.

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5. Your Teacher Use this page to collect all the contact information for your teacher. You may have more than one

teacher during your time with the DLP, so more than one space is provided.

Name: ____________________________________________________________

Telephone: ____________________________________________

Text message: __________________________________________

Email address: __________________________________________

Skype name: _________________________________________

Mailing address: ________________________________________

________________________________________

Best day/time

to talk each week: _______________________________________

Name: ____________________________________________________________

Telephone: ____________________________________________

Text message: __________________________________________

Email address: __________________________________________

Skype name: _________________________________________

Mailing address: ________________________________________

________________________________________

Best day/time

to talk each week: _______________________________________

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6. Personal Study Plan I _________________________ on this date_________ want to begin studying to reach my educational goals. I will use the ideas in the Tips for Success sheet and completing this form to help me with my studies.

I will OWN my learning and take the responsibility needed to make my goals come true.

Best time of the day for me to study is:__________________________________

Best place for me to study is:__________________________________________

I can schedule to study at this place______________at this time_____________

My preferred learning style(s) is/are:____________________________________

I can ask the following people questions about my studies:

1)______________________ phone:_____________email:____________

2)______________________ phone:_____________email:____________

I have a GOAL(s) I will achieve. My GOAL(s) is/are:

1)___________________________________________________________

2)___________________________________________________________

The REWARD(s) for achieving my goal(s) is/are:

1)__________________________________________________________

2)___________________________________________________________

By working on my studies, I will be ready for a posttest by: __________________

I will contact my local agency to schedule my posttest so I can see what new skills I’ve learned: _____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

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7. Beginning Your Class

Online student

1. Get your Welcome Email You should get your Welcome Email by the first day of class. This email contains everything you need to get started in your class, including your teacher’s contact information, your own username and password for the website of your course, the link to that website, and a link and information for your weekly Live Online Class.

2. Look over your online materials The Assignment Checklist for your class is attached to your Welcome Email. Using the information in the Welcome Email, log in to the website for assignments for your class. Information on the “Fast Forward” website that holds most of the assignments for most of our classes can be found in this packet on pages 8 and 9.

3. Contact your teacher It is important that you talk with your teacher every week, and your first time is very important. You should discuss:

□ Your goals in doing distance learning □ The best day and time to talk each week □ What you think will challenge you □ What you want to accomplish in 6 weeks □ Questions about how distance learning works

4. Start your Week 1 assignments Check the Assignment Checklist to see your first assignment. Then click on the link in your Welcome Email to get there and get started. The orientation video that is in your Welcome Email can answer many questions you might have.

5. Attend your first Live Online Class See your Welcome Email for the time and date of your weekly Live Online Class. Click on the link there a few minutes before the start to login.

Workbook student

1. Get your materials You should get a packet of workbook materials by the first day of class. It will have the workbooks and everything that you will need. Write your answers on the “Reflection Sheets” and mail them back to your teacher each week.

2. Look over your materials Take a few minutes to look through the workbook materials that you got. Look at the Assignment Checklist for what assignments are due in each of the six weeks of the session. Let your teacher know if you have any questions about what you will need to do or what you should return.

3. Contact your teacher It is important that you talk with your teacher every week, and your first time is very important. You should discuss:

□ Your goals in doing distance learning □ The best day and time to talk each week □ What you think will challenge you □ What you want to accomplish in 6 weeks □ Questions about how distance learning works

4. Start your Week 1 assignments Check the Assignment Checklist to see your first assignment. When you are done you will mail your answers on the “Reflection Sheet” for that week in the stamped envelope provided. Getting off to a strong start right away on your first assignment is very important. So dive right in and let your teacher know if you have any questions.

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8. Fast Forward website for

Online Students

Fast Forward is the website where most of the

assignments for most of our GED® level classes are

found.

Click on the subject that you are studying with the DLP

to begin working on your next assignment

When you login with the username and

password that we give you, Fast Forward

will record all of the studying that you do

so you will never lose your place.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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In Fast Forward you will work on

units for each subject. Each unit is

made up of a number of lessons. Be

sure to read every page in the lesson

to learn each skill.

After you do a lesson and look at the menu, the

“Lesson Review” will appear underneath that lesson

for you to click on. Make sure that you do these

lesson reviews because they are where you will

practice the skills and knowledge you need on the

GED® test.

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

Albert Einstein

“Life is not easy. Life is tough. But when you’re tough on yourself,

life is going to be infinitely easier on you.”

Zig Ziglar

When you have passed all the lesson reviews

for a unit, you will take the “Topic Review” to

test your knowledge of the whole unit.

Aim for 80% on each lesson review and

topic review. Keep track of your progress

and make sure that you are doing the

units in the order they are given on the

Assignment Checklist.

unit

lessons

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9. Live Online Classes

Each week, online students have a one hour class with their teacher and other students to learn new

skills. These classes are a great way to build on the work you are doing when you study on your own.

How long is my LOC? Your weekly LOC is a one hour long class where your teacher presents a lesson that is meant to

be in addition to the studying you are doing online on your own. It will be held the same time and

day each week for the entire six-week session.

How do I get there? Your teacher, you, and a handful of other students will login online and listen and talk using the

website shared with you in your Welcome Email.

What will we do? Just like sitting in a classroom, you can work on things with other students or ask your teacher

questions.

What if I can’t make it? If you ever know you will not attend the LOC that week, please let your teacher know ahead of

time. “Call off” just like you would for a job.

Your teacher can share

their screen to view a

lesson. Or they can let

you share YOUR screen!

Use a headset, or use the

microphone and speakers in

your computer or device.

The chat box can be

used to write an

answer or to talk to

your teacher.

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10. Information for All Students What courses does the DLP offer? The Distance Learning Project offers adult students a variety of courses to study to prepare for

their educational goals. Many of our students have the goal of getting their high school

equivalency diploma and so we offer classes that cover the four subject areas of the GED® exam.

o GED® / Adult Basic Education – This group of courses often prepares students to pass the

GED® exam. Students study one subject at a time to cover Math, Reading, Science,

Writing, and Social Studies.

o ESOL – ESOL stands for “English for Speakers of Other Languages.” Our ESOL classes are

available only online and can help you improve your English skills if English is not your first

language.

o ESOL/Adult Basic Education “Bridge” Class – For ESOL students who have tested above our ESOL levels and want to continue to improve their reading and writing skills, we offer this “bridge” class.

o Transition to Postsecondary Education – Students who already have their high school

equivalency diploma and who want to prepare themselves for further education can study

with this course to get ready for the next level of their education.

How long is a class?

We work in six-week sessions and the goal is for students to work individually with the help of a

teacher and to complete the six weeks of assignments by the end of the session. When you do

finish the class at that time, you can move on to the next class or another subject in the next six-

week session.

Should I study online or with workbooks?

By now you know that you can choose to be a workbook student or an online student with the

Distance Learning Project and have already made that choice. Workbook students receive a

packet of materials to study in the mail and use the stamped envelopes we give them to return

their answers to their teacher every week. However, not all of our classes are offered via

workbooks. Online students work entirely online using a handful of websites that have their

assignments. Online students also should attend a weekly one-hour Live Online Class with their

teacher. Both formats have assignments broken into six-week sessions and have the support of a

teacher.

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What if I have a problem?

Any time you have a problem or question about your distance learning, the first place you should

turn is your distance learning teacher. If he or she is not available at the phone number or email

you have been given, you can call the DLP office at 1-888-889-6020 to talk with another DLP

teacher.

o Grievance procedures – If you have a problem that you do not want to go to your teacher

for help with, or if you have a grievance, you can contact Destiny Simpson, the DLP Project

Coordinator, by phone at (717) 248-4942, extension 199. If Destiny Long is your teacher,

you may contact Adele Craig, the DLP Project Director, by phone at (717) 248-4942,

extension 106.

When can I go to take my GED exams?

When you take your GED® exams is still up to you. Talk with your teacher and ask if he or she

feels that you are ready to pass the exam. We usually recommend that students take the GED®

exams one at a time after studying each subject with the DLP, but every student’s situation is

unique. You should consider taking the official GED Ready®practice exam online before

scheduling your GED® exam.

What other resources are available?

o Transitions counseling – If you know you’d like a job but aren’t sure what kind of job or if

you’re thinking about going to school and need some help, our Transitions Counselor can

help. Ask your teacher to connect you with our Transitions Counselor. The Transitions

Counselor helps students to identify and explore career options and to create a plan to

reach the career they choose.

o Is the DLP on Facebook or Twitter?

Yes! You can connect with the Distance Learning Project on Facebook at

“PADistanceLearningProject”. On Twitter, the DLP is @PADLP.

“Striving for success without hard work is like trying

to harvest where you haven’t planted.”

David Bly

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11. Information for ESOL Students

What classes does the DLP have for English language learners?

o ESOL levels 3 (intermediate) through level 5 (advanced) – These courses are for adults for

whom English is not their first language. By taking a placement test you will be put into

the correct level of ESOL classes for your ability.

o ESOL/Adult Basic Education “Bridge” Class – For ESOL students who have tested above our ESOL levels and want to continue to improve their reading and writing skills, we offer this “bridge” class.

Where do I start?

Before you begin your first class, you will have participated in an orientation for ESOL students.

This orientation is over the phone and also uses the online program “Adobe Connect” to view

things online.

In the week before each new six-week session begins, you will receive a Welcome Email from the

DLP. In it you will find the name and contact information for your teacher, all the usernames and

passwords you will need, and links to the websites that we use for our class and assignments.

There is also a short list to tell you how to get started. You will receive a new Welcome Email at

the beginning of every six-week session and it is a good idea to keep each one during that

session.

What are the commitments of being an ESOL student?

Just like any other DLP student, it is your responsibility to talk with your teacher every week, and to

work about three to five hours online in the ESOL Community Class. You should also join in two Live

Online Classes (LOCs) each week.

What do I do in the ESOL Community?

In the ESOL Community you will do three main things:

o Complete an Individual Learning Plan – Your Individual Learning Plan is a 20 question

survey about why you want to study English. This survey helps the teachers make a class

just for you.

o Rosetta Stone – This online language learning software is matched to your skills. You can

use this website by yourself whenever you choose.

o Live Online Classes (LOCs) – Twice each week you will attend classes online with a teacher

and other students. You’ll get to practice talking and listening in English with other

students and your teacher. There are several times each week that you can choose from.