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A: The Interactions Study Package consists of our proven Interactions academic skill-development series and our Interactions e-Course for English learners.

The Interactions e-Course helps students and instructors bridge successfully to digital content. It includes a series of media-rich e-books that mirror the Student and Teacher Editions of Interactions. There is an exact page-to-page match between the Interactions e-Course and Interactions, the world’s best selling academic ELT series. This “book metaphor” design enables instructors and students to easily navigate a familiar layout, with a highly interactive digital format.

The powerful combination of online and offline content makes the Interactions Study Package ideal for blended learning situations in classroom, language lab, self-study, and distance learning settings.

Q: How many titles does the Interactions e-Course include?

A: Ten. An Interactions e-Course title is available for each of the 10 titles in the Interactions series in the skill areas of Listening/Speaking, Reading, Writing, and Grammar.

Q: I’m familiar with the Interactions Student Books. What content is new for the Interactions e-Course?

A: The Interactions e-Course augments and expands upon the academic skill-building aspects of Interactions in many ways. New materials are integrated seamlessly into each screen page, so it is easy to find and use interactive digital content while continuing to make effective use of the traditional textbook both in and out of class.

Here are some of the highlights of the new digital material in the Interactions e-Course:

· The listening and speaking curriculum includes 100s of new video clips. Students watch videos of everyday social interactions, lectures, and other presentations to build listening comprehension skills for academic success.

· Dynamic instructional animations in every chapter expand on the content while appealing to a variety of learning styles.

· The Interactions e-Course automatically assesses students’ answers in multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, & True/False tasks.

· Flash cards with definitions, audio, and example sentences support students as they acquire new vocabulary.

· The Interactions e-Course provides synchronized audio with underlined text for reading passages. Students can listen and read as the spoken words are underlined.

Q: What are the benefits of the Interactions e-Course?

A: The Interactions e-Course offers proven Interactions content, delivered in a way that:

· Offers maximum flexibility

· Anytime/anywhere access to media-rich content via the Internet

· Bundled with the Interactions Student Book to support blended learning.

· Can be used in a variety of ways to accommodate individual learner needs (e.g. additional skill practice or learning style preferences).

· Students’ answers are saved and tracked online.

· Instructors may view student answers and scores online at their convenience.

· Ideal for self-study, homework, language lab, in-class, distance learning.

· Increases student motivation and re-enrollment rates

· Content comes to life through video, audio, and animation.

· Progress is tracked and can be monitored by students, instructors, and institutions.)

· Feedback motivates students.

· Instructors can communicate with students to further learning and motivation.

· The use of current, interactive technology engages students.

· Increases learning and retention

· Content can be readily applied to real-world situations.

§ Realistic examples and scenarios.

§ Ability to view video/animations and listen to audio brings the content to life.

· e-Course is designed to support different learning styles.

§ Visual, auditory, emotional connection with topics.

§ Students can process learning points at their own speed and access activities that suit their own learning styles.

· Interactive exercises and automated feedback encourage students to experiment with the content for greater retention.

· Scaffolding and presenting material in a variety of ways increases language retention.

· Enables efficient evaluation for instructors and institutions

· Enables convenient monitoring and assessment.

· Saves grading time.

· Easy transition from print

· “Book metaphor” design enables familiar, easy navigation.

· 100% “page fidelity” provides an exact page-to-page match between print and digital versions.

· Ideal for blended learning: Bundling with the Interactions Student Book facilitates the integration of classroom-based, textbook, and online learning and support.

· Supports instructors

· More efficient evaluation, as described above.

· More time for conversation and practice in the classroom.

· Adaptable to fit varying student and class needs.

· Fosters engaged, excited students.

Product Overview – Specific Features

Q: How will instructors communicate with students (individually and as a group)? Can they write directly in the e-Course? Can they comment to the whole class within the e-Course?

A: Using the “Notes” function on the navigation bar, instructors can make comments on individual student pages or to the whole class. Course management tools, such as those provided by Blackboard, or email are the best vehicles for back and forth communication online between instructors and students. We avoid duplicating that functionality in the e-Course.

Using the notes feature in Interactions e-Course

Student Notes: Students can leave notes for themselves: From the Student Edition:

Select the pencil icon to activate the note function.
Click anywhere on the page to place the note.
Author the note.
Click save.
Click the pencil icon to turn off the note function.

Teacher Notes: Teachers can leave notes for their own reference. From the Teacher's Edition:

Click the pencil icon to activate the note function.
Click anywhere on the page to place the note.
Author the note.
Click save.
Click the pencil icon to turn off the note function.

Teacher Notes to the whole class: Teachers can leave notes for the whole class. From the Teacher's Edition:

Go to the page where you would like to leave the note.
Click the STUDENT PAGES tab.
Click the CLASS drop down menu and select the class for which you would like to leave the note.
Click the STUDENT drop down menu and select any student.
Click the pencil icon to activate the note function.
Click anywhere on the page to place the note.
Select Leave a note for the entire class radio button inside the note box.
Author the note.
Click save.
Click the pencil icon to turn off the note function.

Teacher Notes to an individual student: Teachers can leave notes for an individual student. From the Teacher's Edition:

Go to the page where you would like to leave the note.
Click the STUDENT PAGES tab.
Click the CLASS drop down menu and select the class for which you would like to leave the note.
Click the STUDENT drop down menu and select the student.
Click the pencil icon to activate the note function.
Click anywhere on the page to place the note.
DO NOT select Leave a note for the entire class radio button inside the note box.
Author the note.
Click save.
Click the pencil icon to turn off the note function.

Q: How can instructors integrate the Interactions e-Course and the Online Learning Center (OLC)?

A: Links to Online Learning Center (OLC) activities for each chapter are included in the Interactions e-Course under the “Contents” tab on the navigation bar, and are labeled “Extra Practice.”

Note: Students can email a record of their completed OLC assignments to their instructor. OLC work is not tracked in the Interactions e-Course.

Product Overview – How to Use the Interactions e-Course

Q: How can instructors and students use the Interactions e-Course?

A: There are many ways to incorporate the Interactions e-Course into an institution’s curriculum:

1. Homework – The highly interactive nature of the Interactions e-Course makes student study time more engaging and productive. Students can practice listening, reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary on their own, leaving more classroom time for communication and speaking practice to develop aural and oral fluency. Instructors can monitor student progress using the Interactions e-Course tracking and gradebook functionality and score open-ended responses that require instructor commentary. Classroom time can be spent on the types of learning that are most effectively delivered by a live instructor.

2. Distance learning – The Interactions e-Course provides a turn-key solution for distance learning. The content can be loaded into any LMS or shared using Web conferencing software, so that instructors can lead synchronous online sessions and assign homework or self-study. Instructors can log onto the e-Course to monitor students’ progress and score open-ended responses that require instructor commentary.

3. Self-study – For institutions that want to provide resources to self-motivated students or students who need to do “catch-up” work, the Interactions e-Course offers a comprehensive solution. With the extensive multimedia incorporated into the Interactions e-Course, students are well supported as they study, work through activities, and then check their own responses.

4. Classroom presentation tool – Instructors can project the Interactions e-Course onto a simple screen or Interactive Whiteboard (IWB). Projecting the media-rich e-book is a great way to “get everyone on the same page,” and the “Zoom” function allows the class to focus on a particular part of the page. A connection to the internet is needed.

As instructors project instructional videos and animations and discuss specific pages from the Interactions e-Course in the classroom, students can follow along in their books. The audio, video and animations are also great ways to engage students and introduce discussions for conversation and communication practice.

Q: How can the Interactions e-Course help our instructors use their classroom time more efficiently?

A: The interactive design of the Interactions e-Course lends itself to homework and language lab use, as a complement to classroom practice. Built-in audio, animation, video, flashcards, and synchronized voice-over reading provide engaging, self-directed listening and reading comprehension practice that might otherwise take valuable classroom time. Providing students with a pedagogically-sound way of practicing these skills frees up time in the classroom for face-to-face communication practice.

The e-Course design also lends itself to use in the classroom with an LCD projector or Interactive White Board, as discussed above, using rich media and the “Zoom” function to grab student attention.

Product Overview – Registration Process

Q: How will my students register for the Interactions e-Course? How straightforward is the process?

A: We have intentionally kept the registration process very straightforward, requiring as little information from each student as possible. Students can choose to register in English or in one of seven other languages (Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish).

Students simply enter their Key Code number with the dashes (looks like a 10-digit phone number) and create a username (their email address) and password during their first visit. To join an instructor’s course, students enter a Class ID provided by their instructor.

When returning to the site for future practice sessions, students will only need to enter their user name and password to access the Interactions e-Course.

Students accessing the Interactions e-Course through their institution’s LMS must first login to the LMS using the login information provided by the institution. Once in the LMS course, students launch the Interactions e-Course.

The first time students launch the e-Course, they will be asked to register by entering their Key Code number and Class ID and establishing a user name and password (as described above). When returning to the site for future practice sessions, students will only need to enter their user name and password.

Q: Is first-language support provided for the registration process? In which languages?

A: Registration pages are available in Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. Students choose the language they would like to use for registration when they begin the registration process. Once registration is complete, the Interactions e-Course is exclusively in English, to support language learning.

Product Overview – Assessment in e-Course

Q: How can instructors assess students in e-Course?

A: There are a variety of Assessment tools in e-Course.

1. Ongoing Informal Assessment

Instructor Online Gradebook Tools:

· Class Report gives summary information for all students in a class

· Detailed Student Report gives an activity-by-activity breakdown of each student’s work

· Student Page View allows a teacher to see a student’s completed and automatically-graded work on any page of the e-Course

· Notes Function allows teachers to leave comments on a student’s e-Course page.

Student

· TOEFL® iBT type questions prepare students for standardized tests.

· Self-Assessment Logs allow students to evaluate their learning.

· Student Progress Report and Instant Feedback allows students to see their scores instantly and practice until perfect

2. Formal Assessment

· Chapter Tests (paper-based) assess student’s understanding of content and academic skills presented in each chapter.

· EZ Test ® Online provides instructors with the ability to give and score the prepared chapter tests online ( www.eztestonline.com)

Product Overview – Measurement and Reporting

Q: What kinds of online and paper-based assessment measures does the Interactions e-Course have?

A: For all Interactions e-Course titles, paper tests are available for each unit and can be downloaded as PDFs from the Instructor versions of each e-Course. Answer keys and assessment audio are also provided as downloadable files within the instructor versions.

Top of Form

The Interactions Study Package offer electronic assessment through McGraw-Hill’s proprietary EZ Test Online www.eztestonline.com.

Bottom of Form

Q: What kinds of reports can instructors use to see student progress/performance?

A: The e-Course Progress Report for instructors is an easy-to-access and read grade report that lists student names, number of activities completed, number of points attempted and the cumulative percentage correct of the items completed. Instructors can also open reports that show individual student results on each gradable activity.

Q: What kinds of reports can we generate so institutions can monitor and learn from student use over time? Can student data from class to class be aggregated on an institutional level?

A: Instructors can export data from their e-Course Progress Reports on a class-by-class basis to an Excel spreadsheet (or other spreadsheet or database). The institution can then combine data from all classes to analyze it.

Q: Can students track their own progress and performance?

A: Yes, students can follow their progress, viewing the number of activities they have completed and the percentage of questions they have answered correctly, chapter-by-chapter, part-by-part, and activity-by-activity. Instructors can view the same data for the class as a whole, and for individual students.

2. Technology

Technology – General

Q: How computer savvy do my institution’s faculty and students need to be to use the Interactions e-Course?

A: The only background instructors and students need is a basic comfort level with accessing the Internet. The Interactions e-Course was designed for everyone—its “book metaphor” design makes the e-Course easy to navigate for students and instructors with a lot of online experience or for those just getting started.

Q: What are the system requirements and plug-ins necessary to use the Interactions e-Course?

A: Flash 8 or higher is the only software plug-in required to use all of the animation, audio and video in the e-Course. Computers manufactured after 2003 can run Flash 8. Ninety-eight percent of Internet users already have Flash installed. If students using the e-Course don’t have Flash 8, they will be prompted to download and install the plug-in. This is a fast and simple process. There are no additional system requirements. (NOTE: If they have problems with the newest version of Flash just released—Flash 10—please let us know.)

Q: Does an Interactions e-Course drop cookies onto each computer?

A: No. No content persists from session to session on a student or instructor’s computer.

Technology – Security

Q: How long do students and instructors have access to the e-Course?

A: All student access to their e-Course will expire 12 months after the initial login. Students have unlimited use of the Interactions e-Course during that time. Students must use the Key Code soon after purchased. The Key Code has an expiration date (meaning registration will not be possible after a certain date). You can find this on the Key Code card or in the email that came with your order.

Instructors’ access to the product expires after three years or when the account is inactive for 13 months. Instructors must also check the Key Code expiration date.

3. Teacher Training and Support

Q: What support materials are available for instructors?

A: A comprehensive Teacher’s Edition is available for each of the 10 Interactions e-Course titles. Each Interactions e-Course Teacher’s Edition becomes a digital dashboard, with easy access to a wealth of procedural notes, tests, worksheets, and answer keys, which instructors can download as PDF documents. Instructors can use these materials to: prepare for class; discuss and demonstrate key concepts in the classroom with book pages and rich media; and review student work and plan remediation support.

Each downloadable PDF icon appears next to the activity it supports. Content for the downloadable PDF documents comes from the print-based Interactions Teacher’s Editions, supporting the use of print and digital versions of the product together.

Q: How can our instructors learn to use the Interactions e-Course?

A: The Interactions e-Course “book metaphor” design ensures that instructors will find it’s easy to get to know the product. We will provide live demos and online throughout the semester, and for larger adoptions, we can schedule hour-long in-person training sessions for faculty using the Interactions e-Course for the first time.

Q: How will students learn to use the Interactions e-Course?

A: Our pilot data shows that university-age students are able to very quickly navigate and learn the features of the Interactions e-Course on their own. The product’s “book metaphor” design helps immeasurably in this process.

4. Help!

Key Code and Registration

Q: Why does it say that my code is not valid?

A: You can register with e-Course only one time with each Key Code. You may have already registered for your e-Course. If so, please log in using the email address and password you created when you registered. If this is your first time, please be sure you chose the correct Book and Level, and that you selected “Teacher” if you are a Teacher, and “Student” if you are a student. The code will only work with the e-Course you ordered.

Q: How can I receive a Teacher’s e-Course Key Code? My students have the e-Course, but I don’t have a Key Code.

A: Please contact your local Cambridge ESL Specialist at 888-ESL-BUZZ (375-2899) or email ecourse@cambridge.org. A code with instructions will be emailed to you.

Q: How can I get a Student e-Course Key Code? I have a used (or new) book that did not come with a code.
A: Students in classes using e-Course should purchase the Interactions Study Package (Student Book + e-Course). If you did not order or receive the Study Package, you can either try to return your book and get the Study Package, or you can purchase a Stand Alone e-Course Student Key Code for the Student Book you are using. To Order: 800-872-7423 or orders@cambridge.org.

Log In

Q: Do I have a username? What is it?
A: Your username is your email address. Please use a valid email address. If you forget your Password, you will be asked to enter this email address to receive a reminder of your Password.

Q: My Username (Email Address) and Password are not working. What should I do?

A: Please be sure you chose the correct Book and Level, and that you selected “Teacher” if you are a teacher, and “Student” if you are a student. If you want to check that you have the correct Password, please click “Forgot your password?” on the Log-In page. Then enter your email address (must be the same as your username). Your Password will be emailed to you instantly. Please check your email for your Password, and try again. If you are still experiencing problems, please email us at ecourse@cambridge.org.

Joining/Dropping/Changing a Class

Q: What does an instructor do to get students into his/her gradebook?
A: An instructor must register for e-Course and create a class before a student can enter the class. From inside the e-Course, teachers must click “Manage My Classes” (button on upper left of screen) and then “Add Class.” Enter the name of the class (Ex., Reading 1) and the time of the class (Ex., Monday-Thursday, 4-6). Then click “Add Class.” A Class ID will be generated. The instructor must give this Class ID to students. Students will enter this Class ID when they register or log in.

Q: How does a student join an instructor’s class?
A: An instructor will provide a student with a Class ID (Ex., Reading_1_5555). When the student registers for e-Course (first time) or any time he/she logs in, he/she will be asked to enter the Class ID.

Q: Can a student register for e-Course and do work without a Class ID?
A: Yes, a student does not have to be a member of a class to use e-Course. In this case, only the student will be able to view word and scores.

Q: Can a student change to another instructor’s class?
A: Yes. Click “My Account” on the “Welcome!” page (after you’ve logged in). Here account information can be changed. Change the Class ID and click “Update.” The student’s name and grades will be added to the new instructor’s gradebook.

Gradebook/Progress Report

Q: What are the little blue numbers on the teacher’s e-Course Class Report?
A: The blue numbers represent the number of activities the student has completed for that Chapter. The number at the top of the column (in the header) gives the total number of activities in the Chapter/Part.

Q: How are the scores in the Reports calculated?
A: The scores in the reports represent the percentage of correct answers (points) out of the total number of points attempted. In the Detailed Student Report, you can see the total number of possible points in the Chapter/Part/Activity, and the total number the student has attempted.

Q: What does the “Attempts” column in the Detailed Student Report mean?
A: This column represents the number of times a student attempted an activity or group of activities. In the Summary Report, the “Attempts” represent the number of times a student tried (cumulatively) all activities. For any given activity, it shows how many times the student tried that activity. This gives further information in your students effort and progress. If a student attempted an activity several times, then he/she may need some extra help.

Q: Why does a student who has only done one activity have a high score?
A: The score in the gradebook reflects the total points correct out of the total points the attempted. It is important to be sure the student has completed the correct number of activities assigned to determine their progress and success. The blue numbers represent the number of activities completed. The number at the top of the column represents the total number of activities in the Chapter.

Q: Can grades be imported into an LMS gradebook?
A: Yes. An instructor can export the Class Report into an Excel spreadsheet and import it into an LMS (Note: The Excel document will need to be formatted in various ways, depending on the LMS used by the institution).

Q: How can I see my student’s progress on activities that are not in the gradebook?

A: You may view student work in your teacher e-Course. Simply select “Student Pages” from the top tab, select the class and student you are interested in viewing, and view that student’s work on any page you like. You may view the work of each student in the class quickly and easily by using the arrow keys next to the drop down menu. You can also link from the gradebook to any page of any student’s e-Course.

Q: Can I give my student a score on a type-in or other unchecked activity?

A: You can leave an Instructor’s note on the student’s page with comments and a score. When you choose, you can export your grades to an Excel document and add any other grades you like and/or alter the total points. The score will not be reflected in the e-Course gradebook.

Loading/Performance Issues

Q: Why are the videos and animations loading slowly?
A: Please check that your computer and internet connection meet the system requirements (see below). The servers may also be unusually busy. Please try again in a few minutes if you do not usually experience this problem. Contact us if this issue persists.

Plug-in – Adobe Flash Player 8.0 or above
Speakers or headphones
Internet access