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What
will the classes be like?
The
students' e-mail addresses will be in an electronic conference
system. With this system, the students will receive, via e-mail
or via web, messages from the Coordinator, from the teachers
and from the other students, interacting as if they were in
the same face-to-face classroom -- they will be in a "virtual
classroom." In one of his first messages, the Coordinator
will send an address and password to grant access to the timetable
and to the detailed program of the seminar, as well as to
the texts which will be read by the students according to
the timetable/program. Each student will visit the address
given and will read the texts on the screen or print them,
as they wish. During each week there will be a debate around
the topics brought up by the texts, with the participation
of the teacher, the Coordinator and all the students. Also
through this system the teacher will send his/her comments
and explanations. At any moment the student will be able to
contact the Coordinator individually if he/she has a problem
or needs orientation.
What
is the class schedule?
The
one which is most convenient to the student. The electronic
conference system allows the students at any time to receive,
answer and send messages that will in turn be received by
the teacher and other students whenever it is most convenient
to them.
Will
there be a face-to-face meeting?
No.
All activities during the seminar will take place virtually,
exclusively via Internet, with the help of the resources available
on the web itself.
What
knowledge of computers will be necessary to attend the seminar?
Only
the basic knowledge, on a user level, to deal with electronic
mail (receive, answer and send messages via e-mail), and surf
the web pages. All messages of the electronic conference system
will be translated from English to Portuguese and vice-versa.
Summaries, in Portuguese, of the main texts will be made available
to all involved.
How
much time will be required of the student?
The
seminar has a total of 20 hours and a duration of 20 week
days. Therefore, ON AVERAGE, it will require one hour per
week day. We recommend that the student allocate a daily schedule
to read the texts, the messages distributed by the electronic
conference system, as well as to write the messages, as close
as possible to this average one hour per day.
How
long will I need to be connected to the Internet to attend
this seminar?
The
student will need to be connected to the Internet to download
texts on web pages and messages sent by the electronic conference
system via e-mail. To read the texts and take part in the
debate, reading and answering messages, the student does not
need to stay connected. Consequently, a maximum total of about
four to six hours of connection during the 20 week days is
estimated.
What
are the pre-requisites to attend this seminar?
Being
an on-line seminar, the minimum operational pre-requisite is
to have a regular access, not eventual, to the Internet. By
regular access we mean the possibility to connect to the Internet
daily by means of a stable connection. In general, those who
can surf web pages and communicate through electronic mail
(e-mail) already have this minimum operational pre-requisite
satisfied. Other than this operational pre-requisite, the
seminar requires an AVERAGE commitment of one hour per day
dedicated to read the texts and messages (ON AVERAGE 10 to
15 messages will be delivered through the electronic conference
system per week day). If you want to read texts in English,
you may use on-line translation tools such as
Google Language Tools or similar.
Do
I have to install any special program or software?
No.
Throughout the four weeks of the total seminar duration the
student will need only an electronic mail program (Outlook,
Netscape Messenger, Internet Mail, Eudora, Pegasus or similar),
and a web navigation tool (Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator
or similar).
What
type of computer will I need to attend the seminar?
In
fact, a PC-compatible 386 or superior, equipped with Windows
operating system and a modem of 14,400 bps represents the
minimum platform required.
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