Instructor: Dr. Gregory Zobel Phone:

Transcription

1 [ZOBEL/ CSE 624/ SPRING 2013] 1 University Mission: Western Oregon University is a comprehensive university that creates personalized learning opportunities, supports the advancement of knowledge for the public good and maximizes individual and professional development. Our environment is open to the exchange of ideas, where discovery, creativity and critical thinking flourish, and students succeed. Western Oregon University Division of Teacher Education CSE 624: Internet for Educators Spring Term 2013 Online This syllabus is subject to adjustment and changes at any time. Instructor: Dr. Gregory Zobel Phone: Office: ED zobelg@wou.edu Office Hours: W & H 1-3:30 pm and by arrangement.* *I make every effort to be available to students. You are welcome to drop by my office if you have questions or need to talk to me. I am also happy to schedule appointments, in-person, via Skype, Google+, or Gmail Chat at mutually convenient times for you and me to meet. Communication between students and faculty is important. Please keep me informed if for some reason you are experiencing difficulties with the class and I will do my best to work with you to overcome them. Teaching Philosophy: Learning is one of the most exciting processes and experiences on the planet. My role is to purposefully and meaningfully guide you through a dizzying array of information, media, resources, tools, experiences, and opinions to abet your developing the skills, insights, theories, and perspectives you need to optimally employ technology to support your educational mission and goals. I also hope to help sustain and grow your passion for learning, teaching, writing, and research. Course Description: ED 624: Internet for Educators (3) Course will relate to a number of topics/issues germane to the use of Internet technologies in schools/classrooms/media centers. Students will become knowledgeable about the practical, theoretical and philosophical implications of using the Internet in Education. Course Site: Everything important and related to the course, except for grades, will take place at the course web site. Make sure you visit the site and review the contents. The course content is located at my blog/site at WOU. Be sure to find the Course page. From there you can locate 624 for Spring Grades will be available in our Moodle course.

2 2 [ZOBEL/ CSE 624/ SPRING 2013] About the Course How This Course is Taught This is an online course with no meetings at WOU. The course may include a variety of readings, videos, podcasts, online demonstrations, activities, assignments, and/or online discussions. Although there is some flexibility because it is an online course, students are expected to keep up with the readings and engage in online discussions of relevant course material with other students via blog posts and comments. Discussions and posts should take place in a regular and timely manner, otherwise the discussions and learning are not as effective. Each week by 8 am, Tuesday, a series of different materials are introduced. Be sure to read, view, and follow-up on the material before you post or comment. It is a good idea to review all of the material so that you can identify relevant themes throughout the content. Unlike other courses in the MS:EdIT program, all materials, content, posts, and responses are due on Mondays at 11:55 pm. Your comments/engagement must be supported and documented in this course. Each week you should comment on a minimum of 1 other student s post and a maximum of 4 other students posts. The introduction forum does not count for responses. By the end of Week 8 (5/27/13), you need to have left and documented (on the appropriate form) 20 intelligent and engaging comments for at least 10 different peers. By 5/27/13, you will submit the documentation. Required Texts There are no required texts for this course. All materials will be provided to you either via download or hyperlink to other sites. Course Learning Goals and Objectives Learning Goals Understand existing internet and technology related standards. Participate as a public intellectual in the blogosphere. Understand and discuss how the internet has impacted key aspects of education and Learning Objectives The student will be able to (TSWBAT) understand, recognize, and apply NETS-S standards to resources, activities, and articles during course work; TSWBAT understand, recognize, and apply NETS-T standards to resources, activities, and articles during course work; TSWBAT compare and contrast NETS-S and NETS-T standards; TSWBAT create, maintain, and generate content for a WordPress blog or site; TSWBAT constructively comment on and respond to colleagues blogs; TSWBAT intelligently discuss how the internet impacts communication;

3 [ZOBEL/ CSE 624/ SPRING 2013] 3 daily life. Demonstrate an understanding of technology trends. Develop a realistic awareness of personal technological abilities. TSWBAT intelligently discuss how the internet impacts collaboration; TSWBAT intelligently discuss privacy and security concerns related to the internet; TSWBAT intelligently discuss copyright and Creative Commons concerns related to the internet; TSWBAT intelligently discuss Digital Citizenship and the internet; TSWBAT intelligently discuss the internet s impact on accessing primary source materials; TSWBAT intelligently discuss how virtualization is and will continue to impact education; TSWBAT write an evaluation of their own technological skill sets and learning gaps; TSWBAT will identify what learning outcomes they met or did not meet in this course TSWBAT productively evaluate this course to make sure it meets the stated Learning Goals and Learning Objectives. Course Outcomes and Course Deliverables Once you have completed this course, you will have: Generated a public facing blog which you can use for professional and/or personal goals; Participated in multiple ongoing threads and conversations; Understood the mechanics of maintaining a blog and working with multiple users on a blog; Understood the elements of contributing in an online blogging community; Authored, organized, and revised multiple posts on a theme; Read, responded to, and evaluated six scholarly articles; Identified, evaluated, and shared over 20 online resources and tools; Developed a personal understanding of three themes related to specific learner populations and learning media and connected them to your working environment. The Deliverables Deliverables in this course fall in to three categories. First, there are writing responses to readings and videos you watched. The goal is to think about and integrate some of the ideas you are exposed to in to your own experience and consider how this information may impact your teaching, reading, writing, personal, and professional lives. The second category is resource sharing. While it is easy to discuss and think about the theory or potentials of collaboration or public domain video, it is more useful to go out and find resources that you or others can use in your classroom(s), work environments, or professional development. A major goal of this course is not to just help increase your awareness of, but your familiarity with Internet resources. The

4 4 [ZOBEL/ CSE 624/ SPRING 2013] third category of deliverable is journal review. This is a more formal document. While we are not doing full blown academic literature reviews or analyses in this class, we are working with academic articles/literature and linking them to our own work. It is important to become familiar with the processes vital to locating material, evaluating it, responding to it, and then integrating the core concepts in, to, or with your work. During this class, you will author six journal reviews that have specific requirements. Please pay attention to those requirements. About the Deliverables Why is there so much emphasis on writing? Writing is an essential tool for communicating. While multimedia have continued to grow in importance, virtually all policy, hiring, and funding decisions are made via alphabetic text on paper products: hard copies of writing. Writing is an important and integral tool for communicating in your future role as technological evangelist, tech-using teacher, instructional designer, or independent author, consultant, and media creator. The MSEdIT program also requires some significant writing performances in order to complete the program. You will either write a thesis, write a final project, create an online portfolio that features your writing, or write comprehensive exams. No matter how you look at it, you will do a lot of writing. Course Management Class Assignments and Expectations Complete assigned readings and explore relevant resources weekly and be prepared to actively write, post, and respond to issues raised in these readings. Brainstorm, draft, revise, pause, revise, and THEN post. The blog posts and comments in this class are not meant to be final drafts, but they are not meant to be first drafts either. Cranking out a single draft or posting thoughts off of the top of your head is not best practice, nor will it earn you the grade that you are capable of earning. All of your posted, public writing should be thoughtful and decently organized content that addresses the prompt and/or readings and shows respect for the reader and author. All assignments are due on the date listed. Late Work, Family Emergencies, Illness, and Other Problems If you think there is going to be a problem meeting a due date or deadline, please contact me immediately. Keeping me in the dark is not helpful. Letting me know briefly, efficiently, and without too many personal details that your life has a few bumps will go a long way in relieving stress for all of us. If you have a family emergency, simply me that with estimated date(s) and time(s) this will impact you and when you think life will become normal again. I do not need nor want doctors notes, detailed descriptions, nor epic sagas; your personal lives are your own if there is a crisis significant enough to warrant telling me about it, all I need to know is that things are bumpy. Your attention is best spent on the situation and handling it the best that you can.

5 [ZOBEL/ CSE 624/ SPRING 2013] 5 The key to minimizing stress and maximizing your performance during difficult times is clear, effective communication. Technology Problems Technology is NOT an excuse to not meet your deadlines. You should always have backup, cloud based or thumb drive or what have you. As an educational technologist in training, it is your responsibility and duty to determine multiple workarounds and solutions in case things go bad or get weird. Be prepared. Sample Work & Assignments Examples of quality student blogs will be linked to on the course blog. Assessment Methods Grading It is possible to earn 1,000 points in this class. Grades (%) A 930-1,000 A B B B C C C D F below 600 Course Grade Assignments may be submitted before the due date, but they must be conducted in order. For more specific information about each of the deliverables, please refer to the Assignment section at the course website. Online Discussions Students are expected to do scheduled readings, respond to prompts by the posted date and time, and then respond to other students and the instructor. Appropriate responses make a substantial contribution to the discussion. Do not simply reply, I like that, good job. Rather, add new ideas of your own, cite views from readings, comment on why you find a particular idea intriguing, or lead us to related articles.

6 6 [ZOBEL/ CSE 624/ SPRING 2013] Plagiarism Policy Much of the work we do in this class involves using online electronic texts and images as a resource. If you use material you have found online, you are expected to acknowledge the source and, in the case of text, paraphrase as appropriate. If you use another writer s words, you must put those words in quotation marks (or use block quote formatting) and formally cite where they came from. If you cut and paste text or any other material without crediting your source, you are plagiarizing. Plagiarism is unethical. If discovered, intentional plagiarists fail. WOU Student Support Services Available Disability Accommodation: If you have a documented disability that my require assistance, you will need to contact the Office of Disabilities Services (ODS) for coordination in your academic accommodations. The ODS is located in the Academic Programs and support Center (APSC) Suite 405. The phone/tty is (503) Writing Center ( Learning Resource Center ( Counseling Center ( Department or College Resources Class Calendar Weeks run from Tuesdays through the next Monday. Week Topics 1 Course Introduction, Self-introduction; NETS, Communication, and Collaboration; Blog Set-up 2 Privacy/Security & Digital Citizenship 3 Copyright & Creative Commons Primary Sources 4 Article review on first topic 5 Second article review on first topic Web resources for first topic 6 Article review on second topic 7 Second article review on second topic Web resources for first topic 8 Article review on third topic Digital Citizenship/Class engagement summary 9 Second article review on third topic Web resources for first topic 10 Futures of Education Finals Learning evaluation and self-evaluation

7 [ZOBEL/ CSE 624/ SPRING 2013] 7 Detailed descriptions can be found online at the course website. You will also find a document that has a checklist for all of the course assignments for the term. Assignments Digital Citizenship An essential part of learning and digital citizenship is interacting with others in an intelligent, productive, and meaningful manner. This means interacting with others ideas and giving feedback that moves the discussion forward. Digital citizenship in this class is scored based on your ongoing participation and interaction with others via the blogs. This means you need to go to other students blogs, read their content, and respond. As you do this, be sure that you document your work on the blog comments rubric that is due on 5/27/2013. This is 15% of your grade. Please see the Digital Citizenship page and handout on the course website Writing Key to all the writing assignments is several simple principles. Simple does not mean easy. Simple does not mean stupid. Simple does not mean you should dismiss it. (Hint: A rapid way to improve your writing is to acquire and read Rudolf Flesch s The Art of Readable Writing, Flesch s The Art of Plain Talk, or Kelsch & Kelsch s Writing Effectively: A Practical Guide.) 1. Respect your reader. a. Use accessible academic English and clear writing. b. Assume they are intelligent, inquisitive, and critical thinkers like you. c. Be engaging, i.e. do not bore us. 2. Support your claims. a. Respect your reader by showing roughly where the information came from. b. Respect your reader by summarizing the work for them don t make the reader work through the quotes that you should work through. 3. Have something to say. Make a point and connect the dots. a. All of this content is interesting, and it all addresses multiple issues in which most of the public is concerned and invested. This is an easy conversation to join, and it is a conversation to which you can make a valuable contribution. This means thinking and drafting before you write be very clear about what you want to say. Say it well when you say it. Make a point, and then move on to your next point. Before you close, remember to connect all of the dots. Do not assume your reader will get it just because it seems obvious to you. Instead, your post, your writing, your argument should make the point so obvious that the reader is led to it. Assignments Weekly Due Date: Assignments are due at 11:55 pm on Mondays (which is the final day in the online course week) except when noted.

8 8 [ZOBEL/ CSE 624/ SPRING 2013] Assignment % (Points) Due 11:55 pm NETS response 5% (50) Week 1: M, 4/8, 2013 Writing Response: Privacy/Security 5% (50) Week 2: M, 4/15, 2013 Writing Response: Digital Citizenship 5% (50) Week 2: M, 4/15, 2013 Writing Response: Copyright/CC 5% (50) Week 3: M, 4/22, 2013 Primary Sources 5% (50) Week 3: M, 4/22, 2013 Article Review 1, Topic a 5% (50) Week 4: M, 4/29, 2013 Article Review 2, Topic a 5% (50) Week 5: M, 5/6, 2013 Web Resources for Topic a 5% (50) Week 5: M, 5/6, 2013 Article Review 1, Topic b 5% (50) Week 6: M, 5/13, 2013 Article Review 2, Topic b 5% (50) Week 7: M, 5/20, 2013 Web Resources for Topic b 5% (50) Week 7: M, 5/ Digital Citizenship/Class Engagement 15% (150) Week 8: M, 5/27, 2013 Summary Article Review 1, Topic c 5% (50) Week 8: M, 5/27, 2013 Article Review 2, Topic c 5% (50) Week 9: M, 6/3, 2013 Web Resources for Topic c 5% (50) Week 9: M, 6/3, 2013 Futures of Education 5% (50) Week 10: M, 6/10, 2013 Learning evaluation and self-evaluation 10% (100) W, 11:55 am, 6/12, 2013