EDUC 6780 Syllabus

EDUC 6780 Syllabus for Spring 2011
EDUC 6780: Special Topics in Technology Education



Fall Semester, 2011 Online with 2 or 3 on campus face-to-face meetings
(tentatively scheduled for August 30 and September 6 and 13, 5 to 7:30 PM, room TBD)
David Heigle, Ph.D. email: heigle.1@att.net and dheigle@otterbein.edu
Phones: 614.488.1541 (home office); 614.204.1797 (cell)

Course Descriptions

The Official Description

EDUC 6780 - Spec Topics Technology Educ
Offers students the opportunity to pursue current educational technologies and classroom integration with these technologies. The specific topic of the course will change as new tools and instructional approaches are developed and disseminated. Prerequisite: Permission of Instructor. Students may receive credit more than once for this course, as topics change.
1.000 TO 3.000 Credit hours

The internet is a dynamic, growing, evolving organism, therefore:

Here’s the “enhanced, updated version” of the course title and description for Fall 2011.

EDUC 6780: Special Topics in Technology Education
AKA “Teaching and Learning via Web 2.0 & Cloud Computing”

Participants will learn how to use Web 2.0 and Cloud Computing tools and resources to enhance teaching and learning as well as for personal and professional development. Topics of the course include (but are not limited to): evaluating and organizing Internet resources; constructing Web pages; creating and maintaining a BLOG; developing Internet enhanced instruction; ethical, safety, and legal issues of Internet use; and learning what is demanded of educators in technology-rich schools. Participants will also examine how to convey these skills and knowledge to students and will collaborate with colleagues to share resources and to build instructional projects using Web 2.0 tools available on “the cloud”. We will relate projects and assignments to 21st Century Skills today’s students need for tomorrow’s world. Alternative topics as raised by students can be explored and integrated into course content.

Course content/desired outcomes are on three levels:
• The Practical: Skills and knowledge that are of immediate use in classrooms, with students, on-the-job, or for personal/professional advancement (E.g. online resources and tools that can be used without modification on-the-job).
• The Theoretical: Learning theory, teaching theory, technical information, and other ideas that inform sound teaching and learning practice (E.g. Professional organization guidelines, state and national guidelines).
• The Creative: What you as an individual participant can combine from the Practical and Theoretical to make “new” knowledge. The creative is very personal and dependent on individual needs and starting points (E.g. a coach may create a virtual soccer camp using YouTube videos, blogs, shared documents, and social networking sites. A kindergarten teacher may use Twitter and a wiki to keep parents informed about and engaged in student classroom activities).


Learning Objectives*
Participants in this course will be able to:
1. Access and use internet-based (Web 2.0) tools and resources for information sharing, remote information access and retrieval, and web-based publishing,
2. Use web browser applications for communications and for research to support instruction,
3. Use automated online search tools to identify and index information resources,
4. Design and publish online documents that present information and include links to critical resources,
5. Design learning activities that foster safe, equitable, ethical, and legal use of technology,
6. Develop collaborative instructional projects that involve compiling, organizing, analyzing and synthesizing of information and use of technology to support these processes, and
7. Evaluate online sources of information that support and enhance teaching and learning.

*The learning objectives are derived from the standards of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).



Another way of thinking about how a teacher can make use of EDUC 6780 content:

• Alternate organization schema for technology enhanced learning objectives (C3 P3)
6780 Content categories Pupils Parents Peers
Communication Assignments, instruction, curriculum, content, grading, expectations Grading, pupil expectations, calendars, assignments, opportunities to participate Ideas, coordination, help!
Collaboration Help, student to teacher bonding, student to student bonding School to parent cooperation, common expectations, help requests Social networking, common concerns, help!
Creativity Opportunities to create ‘new’ knowledge, alternate assignments, project learning, brainstorming Guided, open-ended home based learning … opportunities for parent participation Brainstorming, think tank activities, cross-curriculum ideas…



Course Materials
• Instead of a text for the course it is required that you join the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Student membership is available for $39 online at http://www.iste.org/membership.aspx. Readings and assignments will be drawn from ISTE print and online resources.
• An optional text book for this course is: Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools by Gwen Solomon and Lynne Schrum, published by International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).
• As far a practicable EDUC 6780 will be paperless. We will exchange information via electronic documents and printing to paper will not be required. I believe you can opt to receive ISTE publications online only.



Course Evaluation

40% Projects
5 or 6 projects will be drawn from the following list:
● Create and maintain a blog*.
● Create and maintain a web site*.
● Participate in creating and maintaining a common class documents/wiki.
● A research paper on a topic drawn from class readings or discovered web sites.
● Individualized learning project related to your field of study/interest.
● Group learning project with other 6780 participants using Web 2.0 tools.
● Individually developed projects related to personal or professional needs.
* Required projects

30% Weekly assignments (graded pass/fail)-
Probable assignment topics
● Weekly written responses to readings, blogs and other prompts.*
● Responding to online surveys, peer inquiries for suggestions and help.*
● Contributing to EDUC 6780 Group community resources.*
● Participating in an educational listserv or social network site.
● Advanced use of online search engines and Web 2.0 tools.
● Finding and evaluating your school’s technology use practices and policies.
● Evaluating and making use of educational videos such asYouTube and TeacherTube.
● Others as appropriate to advance learning.
* Required assignments.

30% Active online, face-to-face participation, and creative effort:
● Creativity: Making “new” knowledge- critical/creative thought.
● Timely completion of assignments (these are weekly and usually can be completed by an individual).
● Timely completion of projects (these are more involved than assignments and are longer term. They may require working with others).
● Regular participation and online interaction with the instructor and classmates (no hiding in the back of the electronic classroom).
● Timely communication with instructor about problems and difficulties.
● Supporting your classmates with online help.
● Reading and self-directed learning as appropriate for graduate students.
● Face-to-face (2 meetings), meeting with instructor as required or requested.
● Online interaction between and among other participants via email, blogs, wiki, and web sites.
● Contributing to project-based learning, both as an individual and within a small group.


Technologies Used

● High speed internet connection that does not filter the tools mentioned below (check your school filter if you intend to use a school account to work on 6780 projects).
● An available email account that can be checked frequently (be sure I have your preferred address).
● Up-to-date PC (Windows XP, Vista, 7) or Macintosh (OS 10.xx) computer w/ MS Office or clone, an up-to-date internet browser (I use Chrome and Firefox) with the ability to listen to audio, view video, download and access various file types.
● Digital camera, web cam, video camera, camera phone and compatible software
● Web search engines: Google, Yahoo, Ask.com, Answers.com, Digg, etc.
● You will need to register for a gMail account with Google. Additionally, access many to the tools listed below may be necessary to complete course work:
○ Twitter
○ Facebook
○ Blogger
○ Wikispaces
○ Wordle
○ Google Docs and Google Groups
○ Animoto
○ Weebly
○ Skype or Facetime
○ YouTube
○ TeacherTube
○ Symbaloo
○ Glogster


● Other Web 2.0 tools and sites as discovered by the instructor and other participants

Assignments (readings, internet exploration, and BLOG entries and communications with the instructor and fellow students) are due on a weekly basis. You should budget about 3-5 hours per week for assignments and course housekeeping.

Projects will be spaced across the span of the semester approximately 2 weeks apart. Projects may take the form of a PowerPoint-like presentation, a Prezi, a YouTube video, or other internet based media. You should allow 10 to 15 hours of worktime over the span of two weeks for each project. Some possible topics are listed above but you are highly encouraged to develop your own project topics. A final project due the last week of class will demonstrate what you have learned in EDUC 6780 and what your plans are for using teaching and learning technologies in the future.


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Campus policy on Academic Integrity
All members of the Otterbein College community of learners are expected to follow the rules and customs of proper academic conduct. Proper conduct includes avoiding academic misconduct as defined in the Campus Life Handbook (pages 25-27). You are encouraged to help each other learn the course material. Unless specifically prohibited, you may discuss homework problems and lab projects with one another. Participants in these discussions enjoy the benefit of deeper and greater learning.
This course includes both individual and team assignments. For individual assignments, the work you submit for evaluation must be your own; created by you while thinking it through. Any individual work submitted for evaluation (assignments and exams) that includes work done by another, copying of another's work, or the result of following another's step-by-step keystrokes and mouse clicks, violates the academic integrity policy of this course. For team assignments, the work you submit will be the product of the team. Taking credit for work that you did not participate in also violates the academic integrity policy of this course.
When academic misconduct occurs as described above, you will receive a zero grade for that assignment or exam. The misconduct will also be reported to the Office of the Academic Dean. If a previous academic misconduct offense is on your record, you will receive a grade of F for this course and a referral to the judicial system.