University of Massachusetts at Boston

Graduate College of Education

Teacher Education Program

Computers, Technology and Education

Ed 610 (Section for Middle/Secondary educators)

Fall 2001 Syllabus

Instructor: Peter Taylor, Critical & Creative Thinking Program

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 617-287-7636
Office: Wheatley 2nd flr 143.09 (near Counseling & School Psychology)
Classtime: Thursdays 6.45-9.15, Sept. 6- Dec. 13 (except Nov. 22)
Classroom MacLab D in Healey Library basement UL
Office/phone call hours: M 2.30-3.30, W 6.40-7.20, Th 5.00-6.20, or by arrangement
Course Website: http://omega.cc.umb.edu/~ptaylor/610-01Fp.html
Class email list: Emails sent to [email protected] will go to everyone in the course
E-clippings: Send course-related items you find on the web to [email protected]

CATALOG DESCRIPTION

An introduction to using computers and technology in education. The various uses of

computers and technology in education are examined in depth as participants are
introduced to a wide variety of K-12 educational software and the Internet, and explore
pedagogical issues raised by the use of computers for students, teachers and school
administrators. These include the consequences for learning; problem-solving; organizing
data; creativity; and an integrated curriculum. Finally, the course looks at ways in which
technology may be used as a tool to facilitate changes in the ways teachers teach and
students learn, and ultimately to stimulate reform in education. The course has a field
component where students observe computers being used in the classroom.

PREREQUISITES: None, except curriculum development/lesson design

courses/experience recommended

TEXTS: Xeroxed readings available on reserve in Healey.

SECTIONS TO FOLLOW IN SYLLABUS:

:
 Assessment and Requirements
Course Overview and Objectives
Schedule of Classes
Key Teaching/Learning Tools, including assignment guidelines
Rubrics
Bibliography

ADDITIONAL SECTIONS ON COURSE WEB PORTAL: Student Projects, present and

past; Current issues and conflicting viewpoints about computers in education; Online
resources for teachers who are students of computers in education; Links for teachers to
the curriculum ideas/lesson plans/assessment ideas of other teachers; and more.

ACCOMMODATIONS: Sections 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 offer
guidelines for curriculum modifications and adaptations for students with documented
disabilities. If applicable, students may obtain adaptation recommendations from the Ross
Center (287-7430). The student must present these recommendations to each professor
within a reasonable period, preferably by the end of the Drop/Add period.

Throughout this syllabus attributes of the Thoughtful and Responsive Educator are
indicated in brackets:

Commitments: cE Ethical behavior, cL Lifelong learning, cD dedication, cM

Modeling and mentoring
Understandings: uC Content, uP Pedagogy, uA Assessment, uT Technology
Practices: pC Caring, pCo Collaboration, pR Reflection, pJ Social Justice

ASSESSMENT & REQUIREMENTS:

More detail about the assignments and expectations is provided in the Teaching/Learning
Tools and Rubirc sections of the syllabus, and will be supplemented when needed by
handouts and emails

Written assignments and presentations, 2/3 of grade

A. Project on the sound use of computers and educational technology to aid thinking,
learning, communication and action in classrooms or other educational settings. This may
be a curriculum unit/supplement or a research paper, and optionally may involve a website
or other software-basedpresentation. A sequence of 5 assignments is required--initial
description, notes on research and planning, work-in-progress presentation, complete
draft, and final report (1200-2000 words). [uP, uT]
B. Three mini-essays that weave the course material--readings, activities, homework
tasks--into your own thinking [uP, uT, pR]
C. Group presentation evaluating software and software-based lesson (see handout for
guidelines) [uP, uT]
D. Report analyzing fieldwork observations (500-1000 words) (see handout for guidelines)
[uP, uT]

Participation and contribution to the class process, 1/3 of grade.

E. Prepared participation and attendance at class meetings (=14 items) [pCo]
:
 F. Professional Development (PD) Workbook submitted for perusal week 6 or 7 & week 14
(=2 items)
= Professional Development Worksheets and Homework tasks, including Notes and
reflections on readings, class discussions, clippings (including copies of items posted on
ed610Clips), progress in your individual project, etc. [cL, uP, uT, pR]
G. Minimum of two in-office or phone conferences on your assignments and project,
before weeks 6 and 12 (=2 items) [cM]
H. Peer commentaries on two other students' draft reports (with copies submitted to PT)
[pCo]
I. Assignment Check-list maintained by student and submitted week 12 [uA]
J. Process Review on the development of your work, included with your PD Workbook at
end-of-semester perusal [cL, pR]

This syllabus is subject to change, but workload expectations will not be

increased after the semester starts. (Version 3 September 01)

Students are advised to retain a copy of this syllabus in personal files for use
when applying for certification, licensure, or transfer credit.

COURSE OVERVIEW and OBJECTIVES

This course does not simply assume that computers and other new technologies are good
for education and then try to maximize the software tools you master in a semester.
Instead, in learning about computers and technology in education [uT], the thoughtful and
responsive educator or traineee-educator needs to:

A. Make educationally justified and sustainable choices of when and how to integrate
technologies [uP]
B. Plan to learn--during this course and in for ongoing Professional Development
(PD)--how to use the technologies you decide to adopt or adapt [cL].

In this spirit, class activities and homework tasks acquaint you with specific computer-
based tools, the ideas behind them, and evaluating their effectiveness. Guidelines are
introduced concerning specific situations and specific ways in which specific
technologies can be of significant educational benefit [cE, cM, uC, uP, uA, uT]. The
course addresses the following general ways (from most important to least) that teachers
and/or students use computers and other technologies as tools in education:

1. To extend thinking [uC]

2. To facilitate group interaction by freeing teacher from the bookkeeping part of
class simulations and activities [cM, pCo]
3. To enhance communication of knowledge (a.k.a. Presentation tools) [uP]
4. To organize a personal workstation (or virtual office) [uT]
5. To occupy the attention of some students while the teacher focuses on others
(the course discourages this!)
:
 It is important to acknowledge the context in which educators are being asked to develop
their capacity to use technology effectively in education. Although the information
potentially available to anyone with internet access is rapidly expanding, knowledge, as
the poet T. S. Eliot observed, can be lost in information. We need to provide tools for
ourselves and for students that genuinely enhance learning. Among other things this
means--as always in education--addressing the diversity of students' intelligences,
backgrounds, and interests [pJ]. In this multi-faceted endeavor, teachers trying to keep up
with best practices will find many unevaluated claims and unrealistic expectations,
controversy, uncertainty, and rapid change. In the area of educational technology,
therefore--even more so than in others areas of education--teachers need to:

C. Develop Learning Communities in which we help each other to learn about

learning and think about change [pC, pCo]
D. Understand and Respond to the Push for Teachers to Use Educational Technology
[pR, pJ]
E. Examine the Wider Social Changes Surrounding Computer Use Technology [pR,
pJ]

A key requirement of the course is that students maintain a Professional Development

Workbook, which contains records or products of homework tasks, assignments, and
other reflections on the course and the objectives A-E above [cD, pR]. The homework
tasks include computer exercises designed so that you digest the ideas and practices you
are introduced to, that is, incorporate them into your own thought and work. Other
homework tasks are designed to engender a commitment to and capacity for ongoing
professional development and building learning communities [cL, pC, pCo].

There is also a fieldwork requirement in which you a) observe how the tools are actually
used (or not used) in classrooms or interact with people who have considerable experience
in using the tools (ref: Hubbard and Power), and b) reflect on and analyze that experience
[uP, pR].

Around mid-semester you start projects on topics related to your individual concerns as
an educator [uP]. At the end of the semester you showcase your projects, which will be
linked to the course website [cM].

In summary, the course as a whole aims for you--as a teacher or educational professional-
-to better fulfill the needs of your school, community, or organization [uP, cD]; address the
information explosion [uT]; adapt to social changes [pJ]; and collaborate with others to
these ends [pCo].

-------------
See also the Guidelines for assignments given in the secttion on Key
Teaching/Learning Tools and summarized in Rubrics. Additional information about
classes, assignments, and other tasks may be provided in handouts (which will also be
posted on the course website) or emails (which are archived on
http://www.egroups.com/group/ed610).

Bring an old pillow or piece of material to cover your monitor when your
attention needs to be elsewhere.
:
 SCHEDULE OF CLASSES

Class on September6, 13, 20, 27// October 4, 11, 18, 25 // November 1, 8, 15, 29 //
December 6, 13

Class 1. (9/6) Internet searches by teachers for lesson plans integrating

technology
Learning objectives:

Appreciate contrasting emphases in teaching computers in education [uP, uT]

Understand and apply the guideline that sound lesson or unit plans that integrate
technology should precede professional development (PD) to learn the technology
[uP]
Learn or refresh search strategies for internet and on-line databases [cL, uT]
Begin to plan and manage your own PD [pR]

Activities:

Powerpoint presentation on contrasting emphases in teaching computers in

education
Introduction to Technology in Education standards and PT's "Guidelines about
specific situations and specific ways in which specific technologies are of significant
pedagogical benefit"
Internet search to locate lesson or unit plans using technology for your subject area
and grade level. Assess those plans in relation to standards and guidelines. Evaluate
your own competencies and sketch PD needed before teaching with that technology.
Find research on case studies or reviews of integration of technology in classrooms.
Propose additions to standards and guidelines. Sketch PD plan to implement those
guidelines.
Pair-share about discoveries and insights. Whole-class discussion.

Class 2. (9/13) Active learning by students through internet searches

Preparation: Homework tasks from class 1
Learning objectives:

Refresh thinking about effective use of co-operative groupwork [uP, pCo]

Understand and apply guideline that computer use should be modeled on best non-
technology teaching practices, e.g., that promote and assess active reading. [uP, uA,
uT]

Activities:

Video and review of heterogeneous group work.

Small group activity to analyze typical case of student use of internet and design
internet search lesson to ensure learning/knowledge-construction is happening, not
simply downloading of information
Groups lead another (acting as students) through lesson and assess its effectiveness
:
 *A* Asmt due: Mini-essay 1.

Class 3. (9/20) Software that facilitates group interaction

Reading: Snyder, "Blinded by science."
Learning objectives:

Appreciate the potential of educational software to facilitate interaction among

students in a classroom (in contrast to drill, mastery of software-specific commands,
and working in isolation) [uT, uP, pCo]

Activities:

Decisions, Decisions simulation from Tom Snyder Productions

(http://www.tomsnyder.com, software for "teachers who love to teach" in "the one
computer classroom"). Guest instructor (to be confirmed): Greg Palmer
([email protected])
Discussion of the experience in light of Snyder's educational philosophy

Class 4. (9/27) Software for Problem-posing, Problem-solving, and Persuasion

(3Ps)
**meet in W-2-031 (first corridor on left off catwalk)**
Reading: Peterson and Jungck, "Problem-posing." Also review Mendelian genetics in any
introductory biology book.
Learning objectives:

Understand and discuss guideline to use computers first and foremost to teach or
learn things that are difficult to teach or learn with existing (not computer-based)
pedagogical approaches [uP, uT]
Through working with the Genetic Construction Kit (GCK) software, experience and
learn the 3Ps model of student learning, which has been implemented in GCK and
other biology education software compiled by the BioQuest consortium
(http://www.bioquest.org) [uC, uP, pCo]

Activities:

Virtual science -- fruit fly mating using Genetic Construction Kit software (Guest
instructor TBA)
Discussion reviewing the experience in light of the 3P's model.

Additional readings:
Cartier, "A modeling approach" (on reserve)
Eisenhart, "Learning science" (on reserve)
*A* Asmt due: Mini-essay 2

Class 5. (10/4) Communicating knowledge

Learning objectives:

Understand and apply guideline that computers should be used first and foremost to
teach or learn things that are difficult to teach or learn with existing (non-computer-
based) pedagogical approaches [uP, uT]
:
 Practice designing and preparing powerpoint presentations, informational websites,
or concept maps [uP, uT]

Activities:

Guest presentation on visualizing material from biology (Steve Ackerman, Biology;

[email protected], to be confirmed)
Design on paper (with evaluation criteria) powerpoint presentation, informational
website, or concept map, then prepare it with peer tutoring

Additional reading:
Parker, "Absolute Powerpoint"
*A* PD workbooks of students with last names A-L collected for first perusal (returned
week 6)

Demonstration 10/11 5.30-6.30 Mac Lab D

PT will run demonstrate the different features of his personal workstation. A handout
will be available of tips for implementing your own personal workstation.

Class 6. (10/11) Workshop on evaluating software and software-based lessons,

starting individual projects, and revising PD plans
Readings: Review Reports and Briefings from previous classes (linked to course website)
Learning objectives:

Apply and adapt guidelines for pedagogically sound use of technology in education
[uP, uT]
Apply rubric for evaluating software for education [uC, uP, uT]
Develop a rubric for evaluating software-based lessons in your own area [uC, uT]
Apply guidelines for effective group work [pCo]

Activities:

Verbal reports on fieldwork participant observation of computers in classrooms

Small group work evaluating software and software-based lessons = first step
towards week 8
Guided freewriting towards Initial description of individual projects (with carbon
copy submitted)
Brainstorm about what you'd like to learn about computers (in light of classes to
date) and how to go about that (update PD plan) = advance prep for week 9

*A* Asmt due: Mini-essay 3 or Fieldwork report

*A* PD workbooks of students with last names M-Z collected for first perusal (returned
week 7)

Class 7. (10/18) Achieving Equitable Access to Learning

Readings: Meyer & Rose, "Universal design," Anon, "Universal design"
Learning objectives:

Understand principles of universal design, i.e., considering access for all in the
design of educational technology, not only in its use [uP, uT, pJ]
:
 Appreciate and discuss the social dimensions of equitable access [pJ]
Appreciate and discuss social vs. technical approaches to achieving equitable access
[pJ,uT]

Activities:

Presentation on Universal design (guest: Mary Brady)

Video and discussion on GenTech project to prevent middle school girls leaving
technology to boys

Additional readings:
de Castell et al., "Object lessons" (on reserve and on WWW)
*A* Before class 7: First in-office or phone conferences on your assignments and project

Class 8. (10/25) Teacher Evaluations of Software and Software-based Lessons

Learning objectives:

Demonstrate application of guidelines for effective group work [pCo]

Demonstrate application of guidelines for pedagogically sound use of technology in
education and rubrics for evaluating software for education and software-based
lessons in your own area [cM, uC, uT]

Activities:

Group Presentations Evaluating Software and Software-based Lessons

*A* Asmt due: Group Presentation

*A* Asmt due: Revised initial description of your individual project

Class 9. (11/1) Workshop and peer coaching to learn and practice more
computer tools
Learning objectives:

Appreciate the value of peer coaching [cM, pCo]

Acknowledge the social and affective dimensions of your learning, whatever learning
preference you have [pR]
Appreciate the logistics of your learning new technological competencies and plan
accordingly [uT]

Activities:

Half the classtime: Serve as guide at workstations on setting up email groups;

powerpoint presentation on learning software; spreadsheets for class records and
grades; simple (non-flashy) course websites and portals; internet searching for
lesson plans; wordprocessor used to log websites and links; or concept mapping
(using inspiration). The other half of classtime: Circulate among the workstations.
Update PD plan.

*A* Asmt due: Mini-essay 3 or Fieldwork report

Class 10. (11/8) Work-in-progress presentations by students I

Learning objectives:
:
 Experience how preparing presentations, hearing yourself deliver them, and getting
feedback leads to self-clarification of the overall direction of your project and of
priorities for further work [uA, pCo]
Appreciate the range of concerns teachers have about the use of computers and
educational technology to aid thinking, learning, communication and action in
classrooms or other educational settings [uP, uT]

Activities:

Work-in-progress presentations (13 minutes) including questions and peer

commentary (3-5 minutes)

*A* Asmt due: Presentation (or next class)

*A* Asmt due: Notes on research and planning for your project

Class 11. (11/15) Work-in-progress presentations by students II

Learning objectives and Activities: see week 10
*A* Asmt due: Presentation (or previous class)

No class 11/22
Class 12. (11/29) Computers as tools that extend and constrain thinking: Case of
Computer models of Global Change
Learning objectives:

Understand the idea that computer programs (including computer models) build in
rules that restrict the user's options. Understand and apply guideline that ways
should be explored to expose this restrictiveness [uP, uT, pR, pJ]
Review basic spreadsheet commands [uT]

Activities:

Spreadsheet exercise to predict future populations

The two islands game on inequality
Identifying moral-technocratic language in text

After-class Reading: Taylor, "How do we know"

Homework task: Locate additional articles to support the positions(s) you favor in the
readings for class 13 and counter those you oppose.
*A* Before class 12: Second in-office or phone conferences on your assignments and
project
*A* Asmt due: Complete draft report plus electronic version by email or on disk
*A* Submit a copy of your assignment check-list so PT can alert you about discrepancies
with his records.

Class 13. (12/6) Reinforcing and dismantling barriers and inequalities

Readings = Zhao and Conway, "What's in," Kraut, "Internet paradox" plus clippings in
response, Van Gelder, "The strange case," Turkle, "Computational Reticence," Turkle, Life
on the Screen, 9-26, Sclove and Scheuer, "For the architects of the Info-Highway," Kling,
"Social controversies," "The net that binds" and other clippings (xeroxed handouts).
Learning objectives:
:
 Develop a framework for analyzing effects of computer use for particular people in
specific situations, that is, move beyond equating technology with progress or
inevitablility [pJ]

Activities:

Roundtable discussion/debate about the internet's role in reinforcing or dismantling

gender, class, and other social barriers and inequalities

Additional readings: Section in Kling on "social relations in electronic communities."

Zhao and Conway, "What's in"

*A* Before class 13. Comment on at least two of the draft reports (linked to the course
website) emailed to the student. (Include copies with PD workbook)

Class 14. (12/13) Taking Stock of Course: Where have we come and where do
we go from here?/ Showplace for Websites
**meet in Center for Library Instruction, 4th floor, Healey Library**
Learning objectives:

To feed into your future learning (and other work), course participants take stock of
your process(es) over the semester [uA, pR]
To feed into instructor's future teaching (and future learning about how students
learn), I take stock of how you have learned [cL, cM, pR]

Activities:

Written evaluations
Professional Development Planning
Showcase of each others' projects

*A* Project final reports: due one day before last class by email attachment or on disk
*A* PD workbooks collected for end-of-semester perusal. (Arrange to collect this after
one week or supply a self-addressed stamped box to post it back to you.)
*A* Process review

KEY TEACHING/LEARNING TOOLS

including guidelines for assignments.

Note: If you get behind, ask for an extension or skip the assignment/item--it defeats the
learning goals to submit a stack of late work.

A. Stages of development for course project [cM, uA, uT]

The course project should not be seen as a "term paper," but as a process of development
that involves dialogue with the instructor and other students and revision (re-seeing) in
light of that dialogue (see examples of previous students' assignments and my comments,
on reserve). To facilitate that process, a sequence of five assignments and peer
commentary is required. The goals of each stage are described below.
:
 Initial description
Building on your in-class draft and comments back from me, compose an initial overview
of your project. This overview may, several revisions later, end up setting the scene in the
introduction of your project. In one-two prose paragraphs (not bullets), an overview
should convey subject, audience, and your reason for working on this project. The subject
must relate to the sound use of computers and educational technology to aid thinking,
learning, communication and action in classrooms or other educational settings. The
project may be a curriculum unit/supplement or a research paper, and optionally may
involve a website or other software-basedpresentation. For previous semesters' projects
see http://omega.cc.umb.edu/~ptaylor/610-01p.html.
Notes on research and planning [uT]
Pull together notes on your reading and your thinking and present it in a form organized
so it can elicit useful comments from a reader (in this case, me). Show that you are
finding out what others have been doing in your area of interest. You should include an
updated overview and an outline and/or annotated bibliography of readings done or
planned. Record the full citations (not just the URLs) for your sources. I recommend
starting to use a bibliographic database. Endnote can be downloaded for a 30 day trial
from http://www.endnote.com
Work-in-progress presentation [pCo]
Preparing presentations, hearing yourself deliver them, and getting feedback usually leads
to self-clarification of the overall direction of your project and of your priorities for further
work. In this spirit, 13 minute presentations of your work-in-progress are scheduled early
in your projects and are necessarily on work-in-progress. Convey the important features
of work you have already done and, to elicit useful feedback during 3-5 minutes of Q&A,
indicate also where additional investigation or advice are needed and where you think that
might lead you. A website or powerpoint presentation is not expected at this stage, but
may be used.
Complete draft report
Whatever form your report takes, it should Grab readers' attention, Orient them, and
move through Steps so that they appreciate the Position you have led them to and how it
matches the subject of your project. You should also include material that conveys your
process of development during the semester and in the future. The report should not be
directed to the instructor, but conceived as something helpful to your teacher colleagues.
The draft must get to the end to count, even if some sections along the way are only
sketches.
Final report (1200-2000 words, plus bibliography of references cited, optionally including
website or powerpoint presentation)
For the report to be counted as final, you must have revised in response to comments
from instructor and peers on complete draft. Allow time for the additional investigation
and thinking that may be entailed.

B. Mini-essays [pR]
The goal of mini-essays (200-400 words) is for you to weave the course material--
readings, activities, homework tasks--into your own thinking, and for this to help you
bring your own thinking back into class activities. Provide sources or support for any views
you present. Although I will suggest some possible topics for the mini-essays, the choice
of topic is open as long as it meets this goal. Mini-essays topics can include lesson plans.
Write as if the audience were other teachers, not only the instructor.
:
 C. Software evaluation
In groups of 2 or 3 students with a similar area/level of teaching, identify some software
you want to examine and find lessons using that software (suggestions/listings will be
provided if needed). Each group will fashion their own manageable evaluation rubric from
a selection provided (see course web portal) and will illustrate its use in a 10-15 minute
presentation to the rest of the class. A 200-500 word handout shoud accompany the
presentation. This assignment allows to class to experience a greater range of software
and software-based lessons than the instructor on his own could.

D. Fieldwork [cM, uP, uT, pR]

Building on what you have learned in Teacher Inquiry courses and/or Hubbard & Power,
"The artist's toolbox":
1) Observe and make a record of how computer tools are used in actual classrooms or
interact with people who have considerable experience in using the tools. (See options and
contacts on course portal.) Your record could take the form of notes, interview, student
work, sociograms, transcripts of audio- or videotape. If you have a specific concern or
question to begin with, focus your observations and record around that. This will help you
decide whether your note-taking will take a methodological, theoretical, or personal
orientation (see Hubbard & Power).
2) Reflect on and analyze that experience in 500-1000 word report. If you didn't have a
specific question or concern in part 1, use part 2 to come up with a question. Design
future teacher research. Revise the report in response to my comments.

For A-D, Dialogue around written work [cM, uA, pR]

I try to create a dialogue with each student around written work, that is, around your
writing, my responses, and your responses in turn. Central to this teaching/learning
interaction are requests to "Revise and Resubmit." The idea is not that you make changes
to please me the teacher or to meet some unstated standard, but that as a writer you use
the eye of others to develop your own thinking and make it work better on readers. I may
continue to request revision when I judge that the interaction can still yield significant
learning--such a request does not mean your (re)submission was "bad." Even when the
first submissions of written assignments are excellent, angles for learning through
dialogue are always opened up.

In my comments I try to capture where the writer was taking me and make suggestions
for how to clarify and extend the impact on readers of what was written. After letting my
comments sink in, you may conclude that I have missed the point. In this case, my
misreading should stimulate you to revise so as to help readers avoid mistaking the
intended point. If you do not understand the directions I saw in your work or those I
suggest for the revision, a face-to-face or phone conversation is the obvious next step--
written comments have definite limitations when writers and readers want to appreciate
and learn from what each other is saying and thinking. Please talk to me immediately
if you do not see how you are benefitting from the "Revise and resubmit"
process. I am still learning how to engage students in this given your various
backgrounds and dispositions and my own.

Students should keep a copy of all typed assignments because I usually supply comments
on a separate sheet and keep your original.
:
 E. Prepared participation and attendance at class meetings is expected, but
allowance is made for other priorities in your life. I do not require you to give excuses for
absence, lateness, or lack of preparation. Simply make up the 80% of participation items
in other ways (F-J).

F. Professional Development Workbook [cL, cD, pCo, pR]

In your workbook keep records or products of homework tasks, assignments, and other
reflections on the course and its objectives. Specific instructions for the tasks are provided
in handouts. I do not expect all tasks to be completed, but you will learn as much in this
course as you put into the class activities and homework. When you submit the PD
workbook for perusal, I will let you know if you need to undertake more of the tasks. If
you are using the workbook effectively and undertaking the homework tasks, the
workbook should convey your developing process of practicing tools and critical thinking
about course readings, activities, and discussions.

Homework Tasks [cL, pC, pCo].

include computer exercises designed so that you digest the ideas and practices you are
introduced to, that is, incorporate them into your own thought and work. Other homework
tasks are designed to engender a commitment to and capacity for ongoing professional
development and building learning communities.

Clippings and E-clippings [cL]

The goal is that you get in the habit of keeping up with current developments and debates
concerning technology in education (see Course objectives d and e). Include with your
workbook relevant clippings or copies of articles from newspapers, magazines, journals,
and websites (average one every two weeks). Make sure the full citation on each article is
included. In your workbooks, include your own reflections on specific points in the articles
you choose. For clippings you find on the web submit the URL and brief annotation to
[email protected]. These can be viewed at
http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/ed610Clips. Use the search box to find clippings on
specific topics.

G. Conferences
for discussion of comments on assignments (see Dialogue around written work, above),
ideas for course projects, and the course as a whole. They are important to ensure timely
resolution of misunderstandings.

H. Peer commentary [pCo]

After the draft report is completed I require you to comment on at least two other
students' drafts. Send me a copy by email and/or include in PD workbook. Keep Elbow,
Writing with Power, chapters 3 & 13 in mind when you decide what approaches to
commenting you ask for as a writer and use as a commentator. In the past I made lots of
specific suggestions for clarification and change in the margins, but in my experience,
such suggestions led only a minority of students beyond touching up into re-thinking and
revising their ideas and writing. On the other hand, I believe that all writers value
comments that reassure them that they have been listened to and their voice, however
uncertain, has been heard.

I. Assignment check-list [uA]

:
 Please keep track of your assignments and revisions submitted and when they are
returned marked OK/RNR. To gauge whether you are on track for at least a B+, simply
note whether you have submitted 80% of the assignments by the dates marked and
attended 80% of the classes.

J. Process review [cL, pR]

Identify 4-6 examples that capture the process of development of your work and thinking
about computers, technology, and education. Journaling, freewriting, drafts, etc. may be
included, that is, not simply your best products. Explain your choices in a 1-2 page cover
note and through annotations (large post-its are a good way to do this). Submit with your
PD workbook, or extract into a portfolio.

Other Teaching/Learning Tools

Rationale for the Assessment system [uA]
The rationale for grading the different assignments simply OK or R&R (revise & resubmit)
and granting an automatic B+ for 80% satisfactory completion is to keep the focus of our
teaching/learning interactions on your developing through the semester. It allows more
space for students and instructor to appreciate and learn from what each other is saying
and thinking. My goal is to work with everyone to achieve the 80% satisfactory completion
level. Students who progress steadily towards that goal during the semester usually end
up producing work that meets the criteria for a higher grade than a B+ (see rubrics). Use
the Assignment Check-list to keep track of your own progress. Ask for clarification if
needed to get clear and comfortable with this system.

Simulations and other class activities [uP]

Class activities, on and off the computer, are designed so that students participate in
discovering the guidelines and other ideas I want to teach themselves. Specific
descriptions of the activities are provided in handouts or during the class in question.

Learning Community and email group/list [cM, pC, pCo]

Individually and as a group, you already know a lot about using computers as tools and
can help each other learn what you don't know. Moreover, you can learn a lot from each
other and from teaching others what you know. The email group or list (emails sent to
[email protected]) can be used to help the community develop.

Taking stock at end of semester involves multiple angles on course evaluation

(including written evaluations during class, Process reviews and PD planning in your PD
workbook): [uA]
a) to feed into your future learning (and other work), you take stock of your process(es)
over the semester;
b) to feed into my future teaching (and future learning about how students learn), I take
stock of how you, the students, have learned.

RUBRICS

Overall course grade. This rubric is simple, but unconventional. Read the Rationale in the
Key Teaching/Learning Tools amd ask questions to make sure you have it clear.
:
 B+ is earned automatically for 80% of Written items (=8 of 10, including Final Report)
marked OK/RNR (=OK/ Revision-reflection-resubmission Not Requested) and 80% of
Participation items fulfilled (=16 of 21).
The qualities below will determine whether a higher grade is earned. If you show half of
the qualities to follow, you earn an A-. If you show almost all of these, you earn an A:

A sequence of assignments paced more or less as in syllabus,

often revised thoroughly and with new thinking in response to comments. [pR]
Project innovative,
well planned and carried out with considerable initiative, and
indicates that you can guide others to use technology with sound pedagogical
rationale. [cM, uP, uT]
Project report clear and well structured,
with supporting references and detail, and
professionally presented. [cM]
Active, prepared participation in all classes. [pCo]
Consistent work outside class on preparatory and follow-up homework tasks [cL,pR]
Process Review that shows deep reflection on your development through the
semester and
maps out the future directions in which you plan to develop [cL,pR]

If you do not reach the B+ level, the grade for Written assignments & presentations will be
pro-rated from B+ down to C for 50% of assignments OK/RNR. Similarly the Participation
& process grade goes down to C for 50% of participation items.

Converting points to percentages to grades. Count each writing OK/RNR as 10 points up to

a maximum of 80 and each participation item as 5 points up to a maximum of 80.
Combine these points into a % grade = Writing points x2/3 + Participation points x 1/3. If
your combined total is 80%, the rubric above is used to assign grades of B+, A-, and A.
Below 80%, the minimum grade for B is 72.5%; for B- is 65%; for C+ is 57.5%; and for C
is 50%.

Written assignments (10 assignment points each up to maximum of 80)

Each assignment will gain 10 points if marked OK/RNR (= Revision-reflection-
resubmission Not Requested) meaning you have met almost all of the guidelines described
in the section on Key teaching/Learning Tools (and summarized below), but Revision and
Resubmission will be requested if you have not (0 points). Rationale for the assignments
is conveyed in the Key Teaching/Learning tools section. Comments made as part of
Dialogue around written work (see earlier in syllabus) provide guidance tailored to each
student's specific interests and needs.

In addition to the specific rubric for each assignment, the following General Expectations
apply:
All papers must be turned in during class typed on standard 8.5" x 11" paper, using at
least 1" margins, a standard 10- or 12-point font such as Times or Helvetica, and
(preferably) one and half line spacing. Do not submit work by email unless specifically
arranged with the instructor.
The student's name, course number, assignment number, and date of writing or revising
must appear on the first page at the top right. Subsequent pages must contain the
:
 student's name and the page number. Do not use a cover page.
Proofread your work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and coherence of paragraphs.
(Each paragraph should have one clear topic that is supported and/or developed by what
is in it.) If writing is difficult for you, arrange peer or professional assistance -- do not
expect the instructor to be your writing teacher.

A. Project
i. initial description. OK = Overview conveys 1. subject, 2. audience, and 3. your reason
for working on this project. 4. Subject relates to the sound use of computers and
educational technology. 5. One-two prose paragraphs (not bullets).
ii. notes on research and planning OK = 1. notes on your reading and your thinking
organized to elicit comments; 2. show that you are finding out what others have been
doing in your area of interest; 3. full citations (not just the URLs) recorded for your
sources; 4. Updated overview; 5. Outline and/or annotated bibliography of readings done
or planned.
iii. work-in-progress presentation OK= 13 minutes incl. 3-5 minutes of Q&A. ; 2. conveys
the important features of work you have already done; 3. indicates where additional
investigation or advice are needed and where you think that might lead you.
iv. complete draft. OK= 1. gets to the end to count, even if some sections along the way
are only sketches; 2. not directed to the instructor, but conceived as something helpful to
your teacher colleagues; 3. Grab readers' attention, Orient them, and move through Steps
so that they appreciate the Position you have led them to and how it matches the subject
of your project.
v. final report. OK= 1. 1200-2000 words; 2. bibliography of references cited; 3. revised in
response to comments from instructor and peers on complete draft; 4. time allowed for
the additional investigation and thinking that comments may entail.

B. Mini-essays (3 required). OK = 1. 200-400 words; 2. the course material--readings,

activities, homework tasks--woven into your own thinking; 3. sources or support provided
for views presented; 4. written as if the audience were other teachers, not only the
instructor.

C. Group presentation evaluating software and software-based lesson OK = 1.

active contribution to a10-15 minute group presentation to the class; 2. 200-500 word
handout; 3. software plus lesson based on that software; 4. manageable evaluation rubric
fashioned by the group; 5. reflects the insights of the different authors in the selection
provided and elsewhere.

D. Report analyzing fieldwork observations. OK = 1. 500-1000 words; 2. based on

observations made and recorded of how computer tools are used in actual classrooms or
on interactions with people who have considerable experience in using the tools; 3.
reflects on specific concern or question formulated in advance or through the fieldwork
and writing; 4. future teacher research in this situation/area defined.

Participation items (5 participation points each one fulfilled up to maximum of 80)

E. Prepared participation and attendance at class meetings. One item fulfilled for each
class attended except NOT if you arrive late and have been more than 10 minutes late
once or more before or if you are clearly unprepared/un-participating and have been so
once before.
:
 F. Professional Development (PD) Workbook. One item fulfilled if you submit your
workbook for perusal week 6 or 7 and & another if you submit it in week 14 it shows you
have been working consistently between classes on PD worksheets and homework tasks,
making notes and reflections on readings, class discussions, clippings (including posting
items on ed610Clips), and your individual project, etc.
G. In-office or phone conferences. One item fulfilled for each of two conferences on
your assignments and project, one before week 6 and the other between then and week
12, except appointments missed without notifying me in advance count as a participation
item not fulfilled.
H. Peer commentaries. One item fulfilled for commentaries on two other students' draft
reports with copies submitted to PT.
I. Assignment Check-list. One item fulfilled if check-list is maintained and is submitted
in week 12
J. Process Review. One item fulfilled if process review with 1-2 page cover note and 4-6
annotated examples that capture the process of development of your work and thinking is
included with your PD Workbook at end-of-semester perusal.

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