Student Handbook ~ English 3

 I look forward to getting to know you better as we work together in English 3.

Setting a date to complete is the first step in earning a credit for this course.
Remember, how you manage schedule will determine whether you accomplish your goal!

I plan to complete my first semester of

English 3 on_____, ___ 2010.

To complete this goal, I must

1. Contact my teacher for a welcome call, ASAP.
2. Log into my account and begin working today.
3. Contact my teacher if I need help; request or attend an Elluminate help session.

 Remember, rather than face the possibility of a failing grade on your transcript, you can opt out
of this course without penalty during the grace period.
 Remember, I am on your team! Keep me informed as to what I can do to support you.

Contacting Your Teacher:

Different teachers use different communication methods, but we are all very accessible. Communicate
with your teacher whichever way is best for you. On the announcement page you’ll find a variety of
other ways to reach your teacher, some of which may include Skype, Facebook, and Google Voice
(which will connect you for free if calling long distance is a problem).

When emailing, simply click the Email tab in the course, click send message, and check the box
next to my name.
Your teacher will return your phone calls and emails within one business day (24 hours), but
often will get back to you much sooner than that.
When sending me an email, include 1.assignment or lesson number and 2. how what specific
help you need. Parents, include your child’s first and last name.

If you reach your teacher’s voicemail, speak slowly and include the following:

1. your full name,

2. the reason for your call,
3. a return phone number, including area code,
4. the best times to call you back.

Please know that your teacher is available to assist you. If you reach voicemail your teacher
may be assisting another student, in a meeting, or temporarily away from his or her desk. Rest
assured that your calls will be returned promptly; there is no need to call multiple times
without leaving a message.

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 WHAT OTHER KINDS OF COMMUNICATION WILL I HAVE WITH MY
INSTRUCTOR?
Email: The blue Email tab in Educator is where you will go to check your email a minimum of 3 times
a week, or every other day.

Expect to receive weekly updates through this email account. Sometimes these are in the form
of an email, other times they are video weekly updates. You should read or watch these for
important updates about the course and related information.

Monthly phone calls: At least once a month your teacher will need to speak to both parent and
student on the phone. These calls are quick and painless; we will discuss your pace, your grade,
and clear up any questions or confusions.
 Monthly Calls are a requirement of FLVS classes. Your teacher will call you, and
you will all chat about your progress…this usually means I’ll brag about how
great you’re doing and make a game plan for the coming month.

Getting Organized:
I cannot stress the importance of this step enough! I have compiled this list based on what
STUDENTS have taught me! I strongly suggest that you develop a schedule and try it out.

Take some time to see if your plan is working, and ask yourself:
Do I feel
Am I satisfied Am I able to stressed? Am I
with my stay on pace? ok?
grades?

Am I able to
stay on pace?
If you are having trouble developing a schedule/strategy, please call your teacher. We are here to
help!
Do I feel
stressed, or
am I handling
Here are some strategies I strongly suggest to get you started in the right direction:
things ok?
o Create a folder on your computer called “FLVS English 3” and Save all documents you
create in this folder
 If the internet even blinks while you are submitting, and you do not have your
work saved, it will be lost! Don’t let this happen to you!
 Label all documents with the assignment name or assignment number.
Files usually cannot be saved with a ‘period’ in a title

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  DO:   Don’t 
1_02PaceChart 1.02PaceChart

102PaceChart 1.02

AddoPaceChart

Some formats cannot be easily uploaded. RTF (Rich Text Format) are most compatible.
o Save as RTF: click “File” then “save as” then change “save as type” to “Rich Text
Format”
Keep a notebook clearly labeled “English 3” for all printed materials like Pace Charts,
o Print a copy of the Pace Chart and put it at the front of your notebook
o You cannot break anything by clicking on it, so click away! Click on the blue tabs on
the left hand side and go exploring in our course!
 Course Information has a tremendous amount of… you guessed it, information
about the course! Please spend 10-15 minutes checking this out, especially if
you are new to FLVS.
 Under Course Information you will see another link
called Educator Orientation. This has a tremendous amount of information
about working in our courses, including several answers to “How do I….”
questions. Please take a look!
 Plan ahead! You will need to reach me for DBAs (discussion based
assessments), passwords for tests, and occasional assistance. Please continue
to work if waiting to connect with me, but also plan ahead for these events.

You may call or email anytime. Your calls will be in one business day
(24 hours) or less. See the announcement page for my web based
Appointment Scheduler!

Now That I am Activated and Logged in…Where do I Start?

a. LESSONS: This is like your course textbook. You will find your course
content and assignment instructions here. This is where you will begin your
work.
b. COURSE INFORMATION: In the drop down menu under Educator
Orientation, you will be able to access my contact information, your pace chart,
course questions and answers, and the academic integrity policy.
c. ASSESSMENTS: This is where you will submit your work for grading after
you have completed it. (Remember – directions for assignments are located in
the LESSONS link)
d. GRADEBOOK: You may view your graded assessments and assessment submission status here. Your
assessments will usually be graded within 48 hours. Please read my comments after your
assessments are graded. I give you hints for corrections that you can make, and I write

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 personal feedback for you to consider. You can make corrections and resubmit in the
GRADEBOOK area.
e. EMAIL: After you are activated you will use the course e-mail to correspond with me rather than the
VSA messaging system. Every time you log in to the course the second thing to do is to read
your e-mails (after you have read the course announcement page, of course.)
f. DISCUSSION GROUPS: You will click this tab to post and respond to discussions. After posting your
discussions you still need to go to the ASSESSMENTS link to submit your work for a grade.
g. ANNOUNCEMENTS: This will take you back to the first page you see when you
log in to the course. This is your virtual bulletin board, be sure to read it each week! My
contact information and information on any FLVS events will be posted here.
h. LOGOFF: Be sure to click here every time you leave the course. If you forget to logoff you may get
an error message the next time you try to access the course. If this happens, just click
LOGOFF and then log back in again. If you use the red x to log out instead, eventually you
may lose access to your lessons. If this happens, let me know ASAP!

Submitting Assessments:
The Assessments tab is where you will submit your work. You will submit work in three ways:
1. Worksheets – Click on the assignment, enter your responses and submit. You will see a
variety of multiple choice, and essay questions. Tests will also appear in this format.
2. By Attachment – Create and Save your document to your Earth-Space Science folder on
your computer. After accessing the assignment, click the browse button, find your
document, click “open”, then submit as usual. Remember; do not include a period in
your document file name.
Assignment 3.02 could be titled 3_02 or simply 302. The preferred file types of
attachments are Rich Text File (.rtf), Power point, or PDF.
3. Typing Answers in the Student Comments Box – You can type your work into the
student comments box. Please note; if there is a problem with your submission, you will
not have a backup copy of your work. This method is most appropriate for very short
assignments like discussion posts and orals assessments.

Be sure to check “Submit for Grading” and then click “Submit.”

Submit for Grading

Reset Submit

If both of these are not checked and clicked, the assessment will remain in your Assessments
tab, will not reach me for grading, and will not count towards your weekly progress
 Be sure to click the submit button only once on your worksheets, or the
computer will register this as multiple attempts and use up available
submissions
 After you have submitted a worksheet, multiple choice questions will be
autograded, but any essay responses will temporarily be averaged as having

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 earned 0 points until I have graded them. I will grade assessments within 2
business days. Simply click on the assignment title in the Gradebook to see if
the entire assignment has been graded, and to read my comments!
WHEN TAKING A TEST – do not click on the back or forward arrows, or try to open up any other
windows. If you do (even by accident) you will be locked out of the test. Call or email me right
away if this happens, but note, the only option may be to have you start over, losing all work.

Academic Integrity:
All students enrolled in any FLVS course have signed their name, showing agreement to the FLVS Code
of Ethics policy. When answering questions on Workfiles, work sheets, or any assignment, it is never
acceptable to paste or copy answers directly from lessons, websites, other students, or any source.
All answers must be in your own words, as this process is where true learning occurs. All instructors
utilize a database called Turnitin.com to assist in monitoring student work.

Academic Integrity is very important at FLVS. Violation of the agreement is grounds for discipline
and/or dismissal. Academic Integrity policies can found under Course Information, and at
www.flvs.net, under Students and Parents/Policies.

Grace Period:
You have 28 days from your activation date to make sure that online learning is appropriate to your
learning style and needs. You may drop this course without penalty during your Grace Period. If you
decide to drop the course after your Grace Period has ended, you will receive a failing grade that will
appear on your official high school transcript.

Use your Grace Period to establish a work schedule that works, to learn to successfully
navigate the course, and to show me your commitment to the course by staying in
communication with me, and submitting work according to the pace chart.

If you are not consistently, working and communicating, you risk being removed from the course. I
monitor your progress closely during your Grace Period, and I will be in touch. I hope your decision to
continue or not is reached by student, teacher, and parent.

Please note, if I have trouble reaching you, I will make a professional decision that is
academically in your best interest.

Technical Support:
The Technical Support tab will lead you to options necessary to resolve most computer issues.
Please make note of ways to reach support in case you cannot access the course or the internet:
o 1.866.322.8324 (toll-free) – FLVS Support

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 o 1.877.932.3382 (toll-free) – Educator Support
o http://help.flvs.net
Computer problems should not prevent you from submitting work. Please identify alternative
options for computer/internet usage before a problem occurs. School computer labs, a
neighbor or friend, and the public library are great (and free!) options. Be sure you are still
saving your work even if you are away from your personal computer.

How to Succeed in your English 3 Course at FLVS:

Get started immediately! If there are any activation issues, let’s get them resolved!
Submit work every single week.
Return my phone calls and emails within 48 hours.
Read your course email a minimum of 3 times per week.
Complete Monthly Calls to remain active in the course.
Call or email immediately if a situation is preventing you from submitting work, or if you are
opting to take a vacation week.
Check your Gradebook for my comments, learn from your mistakes, and resubmit low grades.
Keep all contact information updated under “Edit Profile” of your login screen.
Do not leave any answers blank in your assessments.
Keep your pace chart with you as you work, be sure your teammates (parents) have a copy, and
cross assignments off as you complete them.
Complete assignments in order.
Stay on pace right from the beginning of the course!
Enlist my help, and establish a weekly schedule.
Schedule time for your E3 work, then stick to your schedule!
Parents – be sure to set up a Guardian Account, and log in weekly to check your child’s progress
against his/her pace chart. Remember that I am here to assist both you and your child!
Watch your Grace Period ending date. If you decide this isn’t right for you, let me know
before the Grace Period expires. I want you to make the decision that is best for you.

I sincerely thank you for taking the time to read this; you’ve taken the first important step
toward successful completion of the course! I believe in you and I know you’re going to get off
to an awesome start!

It is our honor to have you in class. We consider ourselves to be active

members of your team, and hope you call on us when you are in need of
support. Welcome to the class!

Your team of English 3 Teachers