One of the most frequent questions I receive on my site is this one:
“What are the online classes like?”
Fair enough.
First of all, you should know that the online classes are designed for two types of students.
First, the online classes are designed for those who enjoyed Visual Latin and want to go beyond. The online classes are next level Latin classes. They are not easy. In fact, they are highly challenging. Please do not ignore this warning. I typically do not allow students under the age of 13 into these classes.
Second, the online classes are designed for Classical Conversations students studying Latin using First Year Latin by Robert Henle. I recommend the Henle classes only for students required read the Henle series. For everyone else, I recommend Lingua Latina by Hans Ørberg.
The online classes are not a well-produced series like Visual Latin. Instead, they are a series of screencasts. Students watch me explain the text on my screen.
Here is an example of what class is like:
You will also have access to explanatory videos. For example, if you are having a hard time with a difficult concept, or exercise, I will create extra videos to explain. Here’s an example of one of those videos:
You will have access to about 800 videos. Currently (June 2017) there are 771 videos.
In the past, I graded the work of my students. I spent 6 to 8 hours a day grading. I did this for years. Eventually, I had to stop.
However, I kept a record of all of my notes to my students. I am now in the process of making those notes available to all subscribers.
Here is an example of question from Lingua Latina (My corrections are in red. If a student gets the answer is correct, there will be no red corrections.)
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1. Quis Iuliam pulsat? Who punches Julia?
- Marcus
- Marcus Iuliam pulsat.
- Marcus pulsat Juliam.
- Mārcus Iūliam pulsat et rīdet.
- Mārcus Iūliam pulsat, quia Iūlia cantat.
Puer quis Iuliam pulsat est Marcus. If you are going to use the relative pronoun (and I think it’s impressive that you did), you will need the masculine relative pronoun in this case. Qui, instead of Quis. I’m not taking any points off, because you missed it by one letter, and you had the courage to even attempt it.
Marcum Juliam pulsat. Since Marcus is the subject of the sentence, he is in the nominative case. Change his name from Marcum to Marcus. -1
Marcus pulsat Ioliam. One small spelling mistake… Julium, not Joliam -1
Marcus pulsat Julia. Julia receives the action… she is in the accusative case. Marcus pulsat Juliam. -1
Iulia non pulsat True. But, the question is, “Who punches Julia?” Of course, Marcus Juliam pulsat. -2
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Many people ask, “How will I grade the work of my children?”
Now that I am done grading, I am in the process of uploading even more answer keys. I am also in the process of creating more automatic quizzes on my site. Using the quizzes on my site, students will be able to immediately receive feedback, and parents will be able to track the grades of their children. My site will keep track of students grades.
As students take quizzes, my site tracks their progress. Here is my progress, for example:
As you can see, I am pretty good at English vocabulary and not so good at Latin. I’m teasing. 🙂
As I write the quizzes, I intentionally insert wrong answers to test the system.
This site is how I make my living. I am doing everything I can to make my site more user-friendly and even more powerful for those attempting to learn Latin or Greek. I have stopped grading the work of individual students so that I can dedicate more time to everyone.
If you are unsure about signing up, you are welcome to see what others are saying over in “Kudos” section of my site.
Or, you can just read the letter of another subscriber:
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Dear Dwane,
Let me start by telling you how happy I am to have found your website!! You have totally revolutionized the way we study Latin in my home. 🙂 This will be my 4thyear being a Challenge director for Classical Conversations, therefore 4 years of trying to diligently learn Latin in order to teach both my students in class and my 4 children at home. Even though I actually enjoy learning Latin, it has been an uphill battle using Henle Latin. But now that I have been watching (and re-watching) your videos I feel like it’s finally starting to truly make sense. You have a remarkable teaching style…and it just clicks!! Thank you!! 🙂
Last year I really wanted my older Challenge level kids to join in on your Henle classes, but unfortunately the finances just weren’t there (even though your prices were SUPER reasonable, especially with your sibling discounts). However, when you opened your site to a family rate, I just couldn’t pass it up. I prayed about it, and God provided (He is so good)!! Well, being the one-income, frugal homeschooling family that we are, we get our money’s worth…with everything!! 😉 Last year we would have ONLY gone through Henle. However…since you’ve opened your website to include ALL of your classes, and since I have discovered so many wonderful gems in terms of learning language with your videos, I am having my kids view many of your other classes as well. (I am not quite sure they are as excited about all the classes you offer as I am, since in their minds that equates to ‘more school.’ 😉 But I do know that they are learning so much more than they could ever have gotten with just doing Henle.) As a family, we have added Lingua Latina and love it!! And even though my kids may grumble sometimes when I call them to watch a video, they giggle their way through them. You throw out so many interesting tidbits. I just love the conversations it opens up for us!
Even though my 10 year old’s main Latin curriculum is Visual Latin, she enjoys watching and reading/listening to Lingua Latina as well. I am absolutely amazed at how quickly she is picking Latin up with your videos. She absolutely loves VL, even now that we have reached lesson 13 and it’s starting to get more intense for her. But that’s o.k., she has plenty of time….and we are just taking it slowly. You truly have a wonderful God-given gift of teaching and relating to kids. Thank you so much for making learning Latin fun!!
I know you are a super busy guy, and I am sorry that this letter is so long, I just really wanted to tell you how much I appreciate all that you do: making a great service extremely affordable (especially to families with multiple children), making learning Latin FUN, and providing great content in all of your classes.
– Anita
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