Voice Chatting Through Your Computer
To speak live with the instructor and tutors during our open tutoring hours, you will use a headset (you can buy one for 20 dollars or less) plugged directly into your computer and an Instant Messaging (IM) system of your choice. The two systems we use with our students are Wimba Pronto, which can be accessed through the student's eLearning site, and Skype. These can be used by multiple tutors at once, and can also be used to communicate with classmates. Pronto is safe because only our students can use it, and you won't be annoyed by strangers trying to add you to their contacts. We also have Skype as a backup system, and this is available when you cannot access eLearning. You do not need a web camera unless you want to use one. Once you enroll, we will exchange IDs and add you to our contacts. We never contact you over your IM, you ALWAYS initiate a chat. Since we may have two or three students wanting a tutoring session at once, you will first send a text message through the IM asking if we are free to answer a question (or check the status if we are busy), and then when ready you can do a practice tutorial, or do an actual graded quiz - whatever you want! If you are waiting in line, once the tutor is free, he or she will call your computer. We do only private, individual tutoring, no group tutoring unless there is a very large class that enrolls and meets during a set school period. In that case, we will use the telephone with speakerphone. All graded oral quizzes will be given individually, and no proctor is needed.
Most tutoring sessions last about 20 minutes, but we'll spend longer with you if it's not busy. We used to assign times but that didn't work very well because students kept cancelling and rescheduling CONSTANTLY so now it is all open hours, first come, first served. Please check the tutoring hours at the beginning of each term. Our tutors' schedules change every semester. You will get an announcement in eLearning when that happens. If you are not enrolled or if you have graduated we have to remove you from the Nihongo Web IM contact lists, but if you would like to stay in touch with your tutors or instructor, they may give you their personal user IDs too.
Detailed instructions for setting up Wimba Pronto can be found within your eLearning course.