AD 682 is a combination hands-on technology and discussion/issue oriented class. One-fourth of the class grade will be awarded for class participation. Students are expected to reflect on their current and potential roles in the schools and discuss those roles with the class (both electronically and in class) in light of issues presented in class. As part of these discussions, students are expected to bring material and information as "Information to Share." In addition, students are expected to complete a planning paper and develop (in a group) a learning activity.
Note that project deadlines are established late in the semester (and for the summer, after the end of the semester). Deadlines are late in the semester to give you the maximum flexibility. Do not wait until the deadlines to complete your projects.
Class participation will be graded largely on your participation in discussions in class, discussions through electronic mail, and participation in in-class exercises. You are expected to participate knowledgeably in discussions. Being prepared for discussions, by reading the assigned readings and making an effort to gather "Information to Share," will assist you in receiving a good grade in class participation.
Additionally, you are expected to work on class-related material during class time, you are expected to attend all classes and be on time to all classes, and you are expected to refrain from unrelated work on the computer during class discussions. If you think you can find a resource on the computer related to the class discussion, feel free (you will be asked to share what you have found). If you check your email, browse the Internet, work on class projects, or work on other things unrelated to the discussion, your class participation grade will be severely impacted.
As part of your class participation grade, you will participate in discussions related to "Information to Share," and you will participate in the class email discussion.
As part of class discussions, students are expected to bring material and information as "Information to Share." Some of the "Information to Share" will be documents (such as your school's technology plan), and some will be information (such as how your school's technology committee operates). For some of you, this task will be very easy as you might have easy access to this information (you might have created it yourself). For others, this might be difficult. Do the best that you can.
You might find that the information does not exist for your school. For example, you might not have an acceptable use policy or a technology plan. If this is the case, you should discuss this with key players in your school (such as technology committee members, the principal, etc.). Find out if there are any drafts of what you are looking for or why the information does not exist. Keep in mind that as the technology leader, you are likely to create this information and documentation in the future, so it is critical that you have the appropriate background about what does and does not exist and why.
When asked to share documents, you do not need to provide copies of the documents to the class. You should be able to discuss the form and content of the documents with the class.
"Information to Share" should not require excessive amounts of time. This information will provide important information for class discussions and is likely to provide important background for your projects. As a guide, you should expect to spend approximately 1 hour gathering and processing each piece of "Information to Share." Those of you with easy access to this information might spend less time. Those of you with poor access to this information should avoid spending significantly more time (except for your own personal benefit or for use as part of one of your projects). Additionally, you might save significant time by collecting all the information at one time because a limited number of sources is likely to have access to all the information.
"Information to Share" will not constitute a separate class grade but will be a significant part of your class participation grade. The "Information to Share" that you should gather consists of:
A limited amount of class discussion will take place through email. You may use any email account that you like. If you do not have an email account, you can call the Loyola Help Desk (410-617-5555) to get information about your Loyola email account. All email will be sent to the class Listserv at
You must send at least five messages to the class listserv that pertain to the class during the course of the semester. On the first day of class, you will give the instructor the email address you wish to use for the class (you can change it any time by informing your instructor) and that address will be registered with the class listserv.
This page was prepared by Dr. David M. Marcovitz.
Last Updated: September 15, 2005