Course requirements and other information for students of SPAN 1411, Beginning Spanish I Online at Central Texas College. Required materials include Plazas iLrn 4th edition.

1. CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE

2.  Name: Wendi Casillas
 Email*: wendi.casillas@ctcd.edu
 Website: ctcd.blackboard.com
 Office Hours: TBA or by appointment, via
Blackboard Collaborate. Go to
ctcd.blackboard.com/Tools/Blackboard
Collaborate.
*Per CTC policy, student-teacher email must be conducted
in the Blackboard Messages area. Please use the
MESSAGES tool in Blackboard to send email to me; do
not use my ctcd account until after the course has ended.
¡Gracias!

3. TEXTBOOK WITH ACCESS CODE
(CTC Custom Version / Bundled Package):
Hershberger, Robert; Navey-Davis, Susan; Borrás A.,
Guiomar. Plazas: Lugar de encuentros. This is a loose-
leaf CTC custom version with iLrn Heinle Learning Center
3-Semester Printed Online Access Card. Thomson-Heinle /
Cengage Custom Publishing. Copyright: 2012. Edition:
4th. ISBN: 9781111698713.
Note: Before you purchase anything, please verify your
materials at the CTC Instructional Materials page:
http://www.ctcd.edu/im/im_main.asp
MICROPHONE to use with your COMPUTER
(Recommended: Microphone/Headphones Set)
+

4. Order from
 MBS Direct
at http://bookstore.mbsdirect.net/ctc.htm
 or the CTC Bookstore at
http://www.ctcbookstore.com/.
 If you purchase books elsewhere, BE SURE
your package includes the same all-in-one
access to the iLrn™ Heinle Learning Center
for Plazas: lugar de encuentros. (more to
follow)

5.  Find your student book key (sometimes called
access code or passkey).
 The book key is located inside your CTC bundled
Plazas package. It is a 16-19 character code (no
hyphens) included in a white envelope or printed on
the inside of a cardboard bi-fold that may be
shrink-wrapped in plastic. Your book key will not
be printed on any part of your textbook.
 The book key is a one-time-use access code. Once
you have entered the book key, you will not need
to enter it again. To access your Plazas course, you
will log into your account by entering a username
and password.

6.  If you purchased a used book, or are sharing a book, you MUST
purchase the iLrn™ Heinle Learning Center Instant Access
Code for Plazas 4th edition in order to submit assignments and
take tests for our course.
 Go to http://www.cengagebrain.com; enter 1111299463
into the search field.
 The Access Code alone (make sure to purchase the “all-in-one
companion to Plazas” that includes Textbook and eSAM (Student
Activities Manual, or Workbook/Lab Manual) and Video activities
and is not just the eBook) costs about $127.
 ISBN: 978-1-111-29946-0

7. Please verify price; as
of 05/2014, $127

8. STUDENT BOOK KEY
(ACCESS CODE FOR ILRN; INCLUDED
IN PURCHASE OF COURSE MATERIALS)
COURSE CODE
(FOR SPECIFIC CTC SECTION;
PROVIDED BY INSTRUCTOR, although
it can also be retrieved at
hlc.quia.com/books.)
STUDENT BOOK KEY
(iLrn™ Heinle Access Code)
 Find student passkey and go to
http://hlc.quia.com/books
 Enter book key in First Time
User? area or click Create
account button and fill in
required information.
 You now have access to all iLrn™
Heinle Learning Center features,
BUT you must also enroll in the
CTC course with your instructor’s
specific COURSE CODE (see right)
COURSE CODE
(iLrn™ Heinle Course Code unique to
your instructor and section)
 Log on to Blackboard
(http://ctc.blackboard.com/)
 Look in Start Here/Course
Info/Course Materials (or in
the iLrn Heinle menu area) to find
Course Code
 Enter Course Code on
http://hlc.quia.com/books to
enroll in this CTC iLrn course.
(You should see instructor’s name
and section number).

9.  Log in to your iLrn account.
 At the top right area of your workstation, under the
Profile, FAQ, etc. links, there is a field for you to
enter a book key or course code.
 Enter the course code for this course and click go.
 Once you have purchased the book key, it is good
for 18 months (the textbook materials are valid for
SPAN 1411, 1412 and 2311 at CTC), but if for some
reason you cannot use your book key, please
contact the instructor about obtaining an extension.
RETURNING STUDENTS

10. New users: enter your BOOK KEY (included
with your purchase) or create an account
and enter our COURSE CODE (see below) if
you don’t yet have your book key.
Returning users: Log in to your Heinle account and
enter the new COURSE CODE. (provided by
instructor; see Blackboard/Start Here!/Course Info)

11. •Find Start Here!
•Read Course Information
and Syllabus Pages 1 & 2
•Under Course Information
/ Course Materials, locate
Course Code.
•Read all instructions
carefully.
•Read Instructor
Information and make
sure to understand how to
communicate with
him/her.
•Review all menu areas on
Blackboard and familiarize
yourself with Course
Orientation Activities.
•Review Course
Evaluation in Syllabus to
understand requirements
and grade breakdown.
Login to
Blackboard for
Course
Information
•Purchase CTC custom
bundle that includes the
iLrn Access Code (be sure
to do this ASAP so the
package arrives in time.)
• Purchase directly from hlc
bookstore to receive instant
access code or if you have a
used book.
• Using your student book key
(access code) WITH course
code, enroll on iLrn.
• Familiarize yourself with the
Plazas iLrn workstation,
especially the Self-Tests
area, Textbook Assignments,
and eSAM (Workbook / Lab
Manual) Assignments
(Activities, Assignment
Calendar)
Purchase Materials,
Register with iLrn
Heinle, Enroll in
Instructor’s Course
•Introduce yourself on
Discussion Board.
•Introduce yourself on
Voice Board.
•Complete
Orientation Quiz
and Accentuation
Quiz in the ¡Vamos!
(Orientation) folder
(in Start Here!)
•Review Lessons
Folders to understand
what is required for
each chapter.
•Complete Self-Test
Pre-Test for Chapter 1
and review study
plan.
Return to
Blackboard. Begin
Course
Orientation:
¡Vamos!
GETTING STARTED WITH THE COURSE

12. On iLrn Plazas:
 SELF-TESTS: Take one Pre-Test
and one Post-Test per Chapter.
 TEXTBOOK ACTIVITIES: Assigned
activities are marked with an A.
 eSAM ACTIVITIVES (eStudent
Activities Manual = Workbook/Lab
Manual): Assigned activities are
marked with an A.
 SPEAKING TEST: one per chapter
 EXAM: one per chapter
On Blackboard:
 Orientation Quiz (in Lessons /
¡Vamos! [Orientation])
 Accentuation Quiz (in Lessons /
¡Vamos! [Orientation])
 Regular attendance: Log in at least
every 3 or 4 days.
 Two Discussion Board assignments
(DB 1, DB 2)
 Two Voice Board assignments (VB
1, VB 2)
 Final Exam (Ch 1 – 5), in Exams
menu area

13.  No, you don’t have to do work that isn’t assigned.
(Assigned work is marked with an A and/or a due date.) But
it’s great practice to do as many activities as you can.
 Grading: Some activities are set to be graded on
performance and some are set to give credit for completion
of the work, regardless of score. ALL activities are set for
multiple attempts (except exams), and ALL activities are set
to display correct answers upon submission, so you may
RESUBMIT your graded assignments as often as you want
until you are satisfied with your score.
 For speaking activities, you may work with a willing
partner (spouse, roommate, etc.) if you cannot locate a
classmate online using the chat area on Plazas. You may also
complete both/all roles yourself (but please pause between
each role if you do this).

14. Finding Your Assignments in Plazas:
Remember that you are assigned Textbook Activities and
Workbook / Lab Manual (eSAM) Activities. You can find a list of
all assignments required for a chapter by clicking the Assignment
Calendar button on the right hand menu and selecting the View by
Chapter tab. You can also access assignments by clicking the
Activities button (above Self-Tests) and clicking/expanding the
appropriate chapter on the left-hand table of contents.
Speaking Tests and Chapter Exams are also located in the
Assignment Calendar / View by Chapter or in the Activities
area. They will generally be listed below all other chapter activities
but are included in your cumulative Textbook Activities total until I
update Blackboard grades (where each Speaking Test and Exam is
separately weighted).

15. Plazas 4e Navigation
Click Plazas book or Class
Name to Open iLrn Course

16. Plazas Navigation: Activities
Expand each chapter and sub-section
to access assigned activities:
Textbook, Workbook, Lab Manual. At
the end of the expanded chapter list
are the Exam and Speaking Test.

17. Plazas Navigation: Assignment Calendar
EXAM and SPEAKING TEST are located at the
end of the Assignment Calendar, View by
Chapter list of activities.
Use the View by CHAPTER option for
complete list of required assignments.
View by date option – not
recommended for daily
reference.

18. Plazas Navigation: Assignment Calendar
Your scores on the Assignment
Calendar don’t display completion-
based (credit) scores (see Results
page, next)
eSAM (workbook/lab manual)

19. Plazas Navigation: Results
RESULTS (click here for your
progress & scores – or to see
what else you need to
complete .)
Choose either Textbook
or eSAM from the upper
drop-down menu.
Once I have entered your totals for the Exam and Self-Test for
each chapter, I will ‘unassign’ them so that they will not be
included in the Textbook Activities cumulative total. (The green
A may disappear.)
A check mark = complete (100% for a credit
activity); whereas a graded assignment will
be displayed as number of points out of total.

20. Plazas Navigation: Voiceboard?
iLrn Voiceboard is simply a tool for
students to connect with
classmates in order to complete
assigned paired speaking activities
in Plazas…
PLEASE NOTE: The iLrn Plazas
Voiceboard is NOT the same
as the required audio Voice
Board on Blackboard.
…but if you have difficulty locating
an online partner, remember that
you may complete the speaking
activities alone or with a physical
partner.

21. Plazas Navigation: Practice
Click the Practice button for
various student resources,
such as grammar tutorials
and other reference
materials.

22. Plazas Navigation: Practice

23. Plazas Navigation: Practice

24. Blackboard Course Requirements: Discussion
Board & Voice Board Assignments
Discussion Board Assignment
Voice Board Assignment
Chapter Due Dates

25. Please, please do NOT contact your instructor to say you could
not finish your work due to technical issues UNLESS:
you have first contacted the CTC Online Support Center (if it is a
Blackboard, Wimba, System Requirements, etc. issue), and/or
you have first contacted the iLrn Heinle Technical Support team (if
it is a Plazas Textbook, Student Activities Manual (eSAM:Workbook/Lab
Manual), Video or Audio, Microphone, Login, etc. issue)
Please contact these Technical Specialists first and be sure to
save/copy your communications with them to me. Please
include your ticket number or any other pertinent information.
I understand that technical issues do often occur, but you must take
responsibility for resolving the situation and having a back-up
computer plan. I am quite flexible and give everyone the benefit of the
doubt, but as you can imagine some students tend to abuse the
“technical issues” excuse.

26.  On Blackboard, click the last gray tab along the top of
the screen that says Technical Support. It will take you
to the CTC Tech Support Center, where you may browse
FAQs, submit a help request ticket, or use Live Chat for
help. You can also phone: 866-350-4729
 On the iLrn Heinle Learning Center (Plazas), look at the
top right-hand side of your student workstation. To the
left of the Log out link is a link for Technical Support.
 http://hlc.quia.com/support.html

27.  EXAMS (Best 4 of 5 Chapter Exams, 60 pts each) 240 pts
Located in Plazas Textbook Activities.
 FINAL EXAM (comprehensive, Chapters 1 – 5) 60 pts
Located on Blackboard / Exams
 SELF-TESTS (5 chapters, 10 pts each) 50 pts
One Pre-Test (5 pts) and one Post-Test (5 pts) per chapter
Located on iLrn Plazas.
 SPEAKING TESTS (5 Speaking Tests, 20 pts each) 100 pts
Located in Plazas Textbook Activities.
 PLAZAS TEXTBOOK ACTIVITIES 200 pts
5 lessons, 40 pts per lesson
 PLAZAS WORKBOOK/LAB MANUAL ACTIVITIES 200 pts
5 lessons, 40 pts per lesson (aka Student Activities Manual)
 DISCUSSION BOARDS (DB 1 & 2, 25 pts each) 50 pts
Located in Blackboard/Discussion Board
 VOICE BOARDS (VB 1 & 2, 25 pts each) 50 pts
Located in Blackboard/Voice Board
 ORIENTATION QUIZ (Blackboard / Lessons / ¡Vamos!) 25 pts
 ACCENTUATION QUIZ (Blackboard / Lessons / ¡Vamos!) 25 pts
Total Points 1000 pts
COURSE EVALUATION
A=900-1000 pts
B=800-899 pts
C=700-799 pts
D=600-699 pts
F= Below 600 pts

28. Please check your email account to ensure that it is correct and the one you want to use for your
courses. You can do this by going to WebAdvisor at
http://www.ctcd.edu/webadvisor/webadvisor_intro.htm . The email address that is listed for you
in WebAdvisor is the one that is pulled into Blackboard.
If you need to change your email of record, please
 submit an Email Address Change Form at http://online.ctcd.edu/change_email.cfm.
 notify your instructor that you have submitted this form and provide him/her with the proper email
address. (Be sure to include your name in your communication with your instructor.)
NOTE: In general, instructors respond to student email within 48 hours. If you do not receive a
response within a reasonable period of time or have not heard from your instructor by the second
day of class, it’s possible that either you or your instructor is experiencing email problems. Please
follow these steps to attempt to establish contact:
 Contact your instructor via Blackboard messaging.
 Contact your instructor by email.
 Post a statement at the Discussion Board.
 Check the Instructor Info for a phone number and call, if possible.
 If you still get no response, please contact online.mentors@ctcd.edu or call 1-800-792-3348
extension 1296 (526-1296 in the Killeen area). Be prepared to provide your name, the instructor's
name, the course name and number, course start date, etc.