Day 9: Thursday, May 15. The students were given another Italian lesson at 10 a.m., but only about 10 of the 17 attended. I was asked by one student if they were required to attend. I told them that I would not grade them off in their video class for not attending, but that the lessons were being offered "free" and it was in their own best interest. I think the fact that the class was scheduled at 10 a.m. may have had some influence on their decision. Many of them have a tendency to stay up/out very late, so even 10 a.m. presents a challenge. Next week, 3 of our 4 class days we will meet at 10. I'm confident they will be there - let's see how awake they are.

I jinxed myself yesterday by saying that the ethernet solved all the problems. Today, even with a hardwire connection, we had several instances of the video stream stopping. We made it through, but it was frustrating. I was a little surprised to hear how many of the students wanted to spend class time going over the camera. I know they've probably never used this specific model, but it's not like it's their first camera.

Our injured student returned to class today. She was able to rent a cane for the low price of 10 cents per day. Between the brace and the cane she was able to get around.

Filiberto ran a 90 minute session for the class (another "free" benefit) providing background about churches. I know many of them were not as interested as I was, but it was all pretty interesting stuff. This was "extra" class time, above and beyond the minimum class contact minutes that the bean counters worry about. Mini rant here: because some study abroad programs have been abusive in the past (by awarding credit for little more than tourism), universities have had to closely monitor class meeting times to be sure that classes are academically rigorous enough. In theory I completely agree. In practice it's a little harder to regulate. If I propose that I will meet class X days for Y minutes, there's no guarantee that I will, or if we meet that we will do anything educational. It still remains the obligation of a professional that the experience is worthwhile and demanding.

I haven't taken many pictures, so I just took this one of Macerata from the web.