ED586 | ED386 Spring 2021 Syllabus

The affordances of digital technology alter the sociotechnical systems within which people interact — and thus alter perception and cognition.

Welcome to ED386/ED586 EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Theories and practical techniques concerning technology in educational contexts. Includes exploration of emerging technologies and selection, production, and integration of educational materials. Lab fee required. Prerequisite: formal acceptance into the teacher education program. Co-requisite: ED325, ED330 or ED337. Lab fee required.

ED386/ED586 – 1 | Wednesday 5:00-7:40 web/online

Professor David Shutkin, Ph.D.

Goals

  1. Produce an educational weblog site;
  2. Analyze the pedagogical potential of video games;
  3. Demonstrate understanding of multimodal literacy;
  4. Produce a multimodal digital story and demonstrate pedagogical significance;
  5. Apply ideas of distributed cognition to analyses of classroom practice;
  6. Demonstrate the development of your TPACK through the design of a technologically enhanced learning environment.

Alignment ED386 | ED586 Course Goals with DESP Learning Outcomes & JCU Academic Learning Goals

Assignments

Every assignment is to include a list of references

All assignments are required. I encourage you to discuss your assignments and your grades with me while the course is in progress.You are always welcome to stop by my office during my office hours or during some other time that we agree is mutually convenient. We don’t even need to talk about specific grades or assignments!

In each assignment, I am looking for evidence of thoughtful engagement and reflection on course readings, lectures, workshops and discussions. I invite you to carefully consult the assignment descriptions and associated assessment rubrics that I have developed to guide your work and to support your understanding of the expectations of each assignment.

Video Games

We will be considering the pedagogic potential of video games. Of course to do this, we need to learn to play a new video game. In addition, this unit invites you to research the availability, quality and purpose of video games and simulations in your content area and/or that are developmentally appropriate for young children. Follow this link for further information and resources.

WebLog Exploration

To demonstrate your preparation for class and your engagement with course events, including assigned readings, videos, in-class learning experiences, invited guests, and so forth, you are required to produce and develop a weblog (on-line journal). Unless otherwise noted, a blog post is due every Friday for the first twelve weeks of the semester. Follow this link for further information and resources.

Digital Storytelling

Composition and literacy are changing as the Internet becomes a more ubiquitous and central part of our literate lives.  It is not enough to use digital media to teach print literacy.  Indeed, the significance of print literacy is not decreasing; it is ever more important as literacy expands and becomes multimodal. We are not witnessing a replacement of one mode of literacy for another but rather a multiplication of the media. To be literate in the 21st century is to master multimodal communications.  Follow this link for further information and resources.

Distributed Cognition

How are a student’s capacities to learn augmented by the educational technologies s/he’s working with? Alternatively how are a teacher’s capacities to teach augmented by the educational technologies s/he’s working with? What does/can it mean that cognition is distributed between and among students and the technologies they learn with or teachers and the technologies that augment their classroom practices? Follow this link for further information and resources.

TPACK as Design

Design a technologically enhanced learning experience (TELE) based on your emergent technological, pedagogical content knowledge of the cooperating classroom, students and, available technologies.

Introduce the learning event or experience, lesson or unit. Consider Lee Shulman’s (1986) descriptions of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). Reflect on how Mishra and Koehler (2006) are building on Shulman’s PCK in their explorations of TPACK and  good teaching with technology. Follow this link for further information and resources.

Assessment

All assignments are required. I encourage you to discuss your assignments and your grades with me while the course is in progress.

In each assignment, I am looking for evidence of thoughtful engagement and reflection on course readings, lectures, workshops and discussions. I invite you to carefully consult the assignment descriptions and assessment rubrics that I have developed to guide your work and to support your understanding of the expectations for each assignment.

Attendance | Attendance at every class is required. In the event that you are unable to attend class for a substantive reason, please contact me PRIOR to that class to arrange an excused absence. A pattern of unexcused absences will result in a pattern of reduced FINAL grades. (One grade for each unexcused absence, i.e. from A to B)

Late Assignments | Submitting assignments after the assigned due date will reduce the grade for that assignment by one letter (i.e. from A to B). However, PRIOR to due dates alternative arrangements can be made for late submissions. A final grade of “I” (incomplete) may be awarded upon request and pending approval.

Academic Honesty | I cannot stress enough the significance of ALWAYS giving credit where credit is due.In all that you do, you are expected to cite any and all resources that you use in the construction of any and all work. Print sources as well as electronic media must be cited. Any work submitted for evaluation must either be original work or cited work. Plagiarism is absolutely unacceptable. The University’s policy regarding academic honesty as stated in the John Carroll University Undergraduate Bulletin will be adhered to.

Assessment Rubric | For each assignment, I have designed a unique assessment rubric. I invite you to visit the both the Assignment and Assessment drop down menus above and to consult each assignment and rubric. Additionally, from the Assessment menu, there is a link to the Educational Foundations Grade Sheet for your section. On this page, you will find your name with a password protected link to your assessment grade sheet where you can review the numerical grades you’ve earned for each assignment.

Grading System | Students are evaluated by their understanding of substantive information, insight regarding the synthesis and transformation of this information into knowledge, capacity to apply this knowledge to new situations, and the ability to communicate this knowledge.  I use the John Carroll University four (4) point grading scale.  In my interpretation of this scale, the number adjacent to the letter grade indicates the highest number possible for that letter grade.  For example, while a 3.7 is an A-, an assessment earning 3.7001 grade points and above is an A.

AOutstanding scholarship. 4 quality points.
A-3.7 quality points.
B+3.3 quality points.
BSuperior work. 3 quality points.
B-2.7 quality points.
C+2.3 quality points.
CAverage. 2 quality points.
C-1.7 quality points.
D+1.3 quality points.
DLowest passing quality. 1 quality point.
FFailure. No quality points.

Syllabus Statement on Accessibility, Inclusion, Harassment and Bias

John Carroll University is committed to fostering an equitable and accessible learning and working environment, based upon open communication, mutual respect, and ethical values consistent with our Jesuit and Catholic tradition. We express this commitment in the following policies and procedures:

In accordance with federal law, if you have a documented disability you may request accommodations from Student Accessibility Services (SAS). For more information go to the accessibility page or you may contact the office directly at sas@jcu.edu or 216.397.4967. Please keep in mind that accommodations are not retroactive so it is best to register at the beginning of each semester.  Only accommodations approved by SAS will be recognized in the classroom.  Please contact SAS if you have further questions.

If you have experienced sexual harassment, assault, or misconduct based upon gender/sex/sexual orientation, and you share this with a faculty or staff member, that person must notify the Title IX Coordinator (TitleIX@jcu.edu or (216) 397-1559), who will discuss options with you. In most cases, communicating with the Title IX Coordinator does not automatically trigger a formal investigation. Members of the University community may communicate with the Title IX Coordinator in order to get more information and seek supportive measures without filing a formal complaint. 

For more information about your options and resources in a Title IX matter, please go to the Title IX page, where you can file an online report. An option to report anonymously is available. Members of the University community are encouraged to review the University’s Sexual Harassment & Interpersonal Violence Policy, as well as the Resolution Process & Grievance Process for Title IX Sexual Harassment.

If you have experienced bias or discrimination based on race, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, ethnic or national origin, disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or any factor protected by law, you are encouraged to report this via the Bias Reporting System. 

For more information about the University’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, please visit the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Division home page. 

Readings

Gee, J.P. (2007) Good video games, the human mind, and good learning. pp. 22-44.

Squire, K. (2006). From content to context: Video games as designed experience. Educational researcher, 35(8), 19–29.

Dalton, B. (2013). Multimodal Composition and the Common Core State Standards.

Lambert, J. (2012) Chapter 5: Seven Steps of Digital Storytelling, Digital Storytelling: Capturing Lives, Creating Community. (4th Edition). Routledge : New York, NY. pp. 53-69.

Lambert, J. (2012) Chapter 7: Approaches to the Scripting Process & Chapter 8: Storyboarding

Ohler, J. (2013) Chapter 4: Assessing Digital Stories. Digital Storytelling in the Classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA : Corwin. pp. 83-91.

Salomon, G. & Perkins, D. (2005) Do Technologies Make Us Smarter? Intellectual Amplification With, Of and Through Technology.” pp. 71-86.

Martin, L. (2012). Connection, Translation, Off-Loading, and Monitoring: A Framework for Characterizing the Pedagogical Functions of Educational Technologies. Technology, Knowledge & Learning, 17(3), 87-107.

Morgan, M., Brickell, G., Harper, B. (2008). Applying distributed cognition theory to the redesign of the ‘Copy and Paste’ function in order to promote appropriate learning outcomes.  Computers & Education, 50(1), 125-147. [Focus on pages 125-132]

Harris, J., Hofer, M. Schmidt, D., Blanchard, M, Young, C., Grandgenett, N. and Van Olphen, M. (2010) “Grounded” Technology Integration: Instructional Planning Using Curriculum-Based Activity Type Taxonomies. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education. 18(4), 573-605.

Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge? Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9(1), 60-70.