Professional Development Training

The Big Picture The Hermes Model – Slide 3 Your Role as an On-Site Facilitator – Slide 4 What is Asynchronous Learning? – Slide 5 Getting Started – Week Zero – Slide 6 Working with your IT Team – Slide 8 Critical First Days and Weeks – Slide 9 Facilitating Language Chatting – Slide 10 Your Daily Routine – Slide 11 Your Weekly Routine – Slide 14 Your Monthly Routine – Slide 15

The Hermes Model The Hermes Model is an asynchronous online foreign language module designed for high school students. The course is supported on four levels: (a) a licensed K-12 language teacher is the instructor, (b) on-site facilitators assist the instructor and the students on- site, (c) language coaches which are native intern students from foreign countries who deliver the live language chatting component, and, (d) an instructional designer and technical coach able to provide technical assistance about the course as needed

Your Role as an On-Site Facilitator Your chief role as an on-site facilitator is to ensure the class runs smoothly in your school each day. While you do not teach the class directly, you manage and administer elements of the course so that both the students and the instructor have a point person locally to bridge the distance in this asynchronous environment.

What is Asynchronous Learning? “Learning anytime from any place.” This is a trend that is growing increasingly popular among learners of all ages. Technology makes it possible to learn on various devices and makes the world, the classroom. The Hermes asynchronous courses are delivered entirely online with opportunities for live language coaching and personalized on-site facilitation from you.

Getting Started – Week Zero “Week Zero” is a commonly used term in online learning to refer to the week before the course launches. This is a time when students have access to the learning management system and can begin exploring the site This is a time where you can double check with your local IT staff to make sure that critical functions like Google+ and SKYPE are working and that web based sites listed in the course are ‘white listed’ i.e. vetted by your IT department Be sure you communicate your grading periods with the Instructor

Your Turn Find out today who your IT coordinator is for your school. It is likely staff from CASLS has already been in contact with this individual advising on the necessary protocols to take to ensure a smooth delivery of the course. Contact your IT coordinator and double check that all steps have been taken.

Working with Your IT Team Find out who is the IT coordinator in your school and make contact Review the needs of this course Demonstrate functionality with both Google+ and SKYPE video chats Configure firewalls to allow full access for websites listed in the Hermes content Be ready to get websites ‘white listed’ that are essential to the delivery of Hermes pedagogy Have computers with built-in microphones and webcams for each student (An alternate mode: have at least one computer configured in this way) Have a Mandarin language package installed on each student computer Install the latest version of Chrome, Firefox or Safari on all student computers Install latest version of Adobe Flash on student computers Secure district permission for students to video chat with the instructor and/or language coaches after school hours Ensure that students have a working gmail address through your school’s “Google Apps for Education”

The Critical First Days and Weeks The first few days and weeks of the course are critical to the retention of the students, their engagement and the overall success of the course This is a time to ‘hover’ watching carefully and making sure that all students are participating by their online presence. Should you notice a student is not engaging the content, talk to the student personally to see if there is an issue you can solve. Also notify the instructor by about what you are noticing about any given student. If you wait, the student will start falling seriously behind and could likely drop the course Provide encouragement, make sure students can navigate the technology and the learning management system. If you have questions about the site or have specific technical issues, contact the Hermes Instructional Designer who can provide technical coaching Get to know your learners, establish trust and confidence and get your students busy with building the learning community

Your Turn In the first week, you notice a student who is not engaging the material and is surfing the web and playing video games. What are some helpful approaches you can take with this student? What questions can you ask? How will you get them on track?

Your Daily Routine Take daily attendance and record in the online grade book Open either Google+ or SKYPE on at least one computer and make contact with one of our trained language coaches. This allows time each day for language chatting Follow up with students who may be lagging behind When it is time for group projects, group your students mixing proficiency and skill levels Answer simple questions for the students or refer them to the instructor or technical coach

Facilitating Language Chatting Perhaps the most critical task you will have each day is to help facilitate language chatting between your students and our language coaches via video chat tools Have at least one computer set up each class period with a Google+ or SKYPE window open so that students can practice their language skills daily Coach reluctant students to chat each day, if only for a few minutes either with the dialogue provided with each section or in a ‘free chat’ mode in which they talk with the coach in a way that reflects meeting someone from a foreign country

Your Turn You have a student who is very shy and reluctant to speak up in class, much less to a language coach in a video chat How can you coach them to try video chatting? What materials should they have ready each day to be successful in this task?

Your Weekly Routine Refer students to the practice quizzes that are provided with each new section of material Refer students to the “To-Do Tracker” that accompanies each unit. This helps the student gauge their progress and keep up with the pace of the course See how you can facilitate off site access to computers for your students….public library? Working in groups at a student’s home?

Your Monthly Routine Make sure each student turns in a Project Approval Form on time (See “To-Do Tracker”) Administer the Unit Quiz when you receive it from the Instructor Make sure the student has turned in the Unit project on time (See “To-Do Tracker”)