SyllabusTelecommunications in the ClassroomET 630Education Department
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CATALOG DESCRIPTION
Examines technical and curricular aspects of telecommunications in schools. Introduces telecommunications software and hardware, such as world wide web browsers and servers, electronic mail systems, networks, and modems. Explores curricular implications of telecommunications and internetworking, such as networked projects with students and adults outside the school walls, research on the Internet, authentic publishing on the world wide web, and critical information literacy. All necessary software and hardware will be provided for students in labs on the Loyola campus. Those students who wish to do their outside computer assignments off-campus will need access to electronic mail and the world wide web.
COURSE RATIONALE
The Internet has become a pervasive part of society for entertainment, information, research, and communication. Schools have joined the bandwagon spending billions of dollars to get connected. The potential benefits of the Internet are great but there are risks as well. To prevent schools from wasting their money, teachers must know how to take advantage of the educational opportunities of the Internet. Furthermore, as part of schools mission to prepare students to be lifelong learners, teachers must be prepared to help students learn from the Internet on their own. Finally, teachers must be prepared for the dangers of the Internet, including the variety of true, false, and biased information that students will encounter.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. Students will gain technical skills in accesing and producing information for the Internet and World Wide Web.
2. Students will develop strategies for integrating the Internet into the K-12 curriculum in classrooms with different levels of technology, different grade-levels, and different subjects.
3. Students will develop strategies for evaluating information and teaching K-12 students to evaluate information and understand the dangers and limitations of Internet.
COURSE MATERIALS
Harris, J. (1998). Virtual architecture: Designing and directing curriculum-based telecomputing. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education. Due to the fact that the textbook's new edition has not come out yet, readings will be substituted for the textbook chapters.
Materials Needed:
Primary Text
Method of Data Storage (NetStorage and CD-R disks, Flash Drives, etc.)
Software (provided in class and Loyola College labs):
COURSE OUTLINE AND SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
| Class | Date | Topics | Assignments |
| 1 | 9/15 |
Introduction to course Introduction to Critical Information Literacy |
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| 2 | 9/22 |
Electronic Mail Listservs Introduction to Telecollaborative Projects |
Bruce, "Education Online, Learning Anywhere, Any Time" Shade, "Protecting the Kids? Debates Over Internet Content" (PDF file, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) Harris, Chapter 1 "Why Activity Structures?" |
| 3 | 10/6 |
Internet Projects: Interpersonal Exchange Projects Evaluating Information on the Web |
Nunberg, "Teaching Students to Swim in the Online Sea" Bruce, "Credibility on the Web" (PDF file, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) Harris, Chapter 2, pp. 15-40 "Curriculum Based Telecollaboration" |
| 4 | 10/13 |
Internet Projects: Information Collection/Analysis Web Page Authoring: Basics Review |
Harris, Chapter 2, pp. 40-54 "Curriculum Based Telecollaboration" (already read) |
| 5 | 10/20 |
Internet Projects: Problem Solving Web Page Authoring: CSS |
Bruce, "Searching the Web: New Domains for Inquiry" November, "The Web--Teaching Zack to Think" Harris: Chapter 3 |
| 6 | 10/27 |
Teleresearch Internet Searching More CSS |
Harris, Chapters 4 and 5 http://nschubert.home.mchsi.com/education/eddevelop.html |
| 7 | 11/3 |
Designing Internet Projects Javascript |
Project I (suggested deadline) |
| 8 | 11/10 |
More Javascript Telecollaborative Projects in Context |
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| 9 | 11/17 |
Using Your Loyola Web Space Web 2.0 |
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| 10 | 11/24 | Free Web Spaces Chat Rooms |
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| 11 | 12/1 |
WebQuests Project Presentations Work Time |
Project II (suggested deadline) |
| 12 | 12/8 |
Project Presentations Work Time |
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| 13 | 12/15 |
Project Presentations Conclusion |
All Projects |
Harris refers to the primary text. Readings marked in red will be substituted due to the unavailability of the textbook.
The professor reserves the right to make changes to this schedule. Changes to the schedule and changes in assignments will be announced in class.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
You are expected to:
1. Attend all classes.
2. Complete all reading assignments as assigned in class.
3. Participate in electronic class discussions and in-class discussions.
4. Bring disks and cartridges to class to save work.
5. Hand in all projects by the last day of class.
6. Present one project to the class.
ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES AND GRADING CRITERIA
Projects and written materials should reflect the student's knowledge of the subject as well as the use of higher-order thinking skills (analysis, interpretation, synthesis, and evaluation). Materials should be presented in a professional manner, including correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, and usage.
In this class, you will complete four projects. All projects will be weighted equally. This will account for 80% of your grade. In addition, you will receive a grade for class participation, which will account for 20% of your grade. Each assignment and class participation will be awarded a letter grade from A+ to F (including all + and - grades in between). The grades will be averaged together with the above weighting to form the final grade. For the purposes of averaging, the following numeric equivalents will be used: A+ = 100; A = 95; A- = 92; B+ = 88; B = 85; B- = 82; C+ = 78; C = 75; C- = 72; D+ = 68; D = 65; D- = 62; and F = 0. When the grades are averaged, the following scale will be used to assign the final grade (note that A+, C-, D+, D, and D- are not options for final grades): above 92.5 = A; 90 - 92.5 = A-; 87.5 - 90 = B+; 82 - 87.5 = B; 80 - 82.5 = B-; 76.5 - 80 = C+; 70 - 76.5 = C; below 70 = F.
In addition to the graded assignments, each student is required to present one project to the class and to participate in any in-class assignments and discussions. These assignments are ungraded, but failure to do these assignments will significantly impact the class participation grade.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Due to the fact that this an interactive, laboratory course, students are required to attend all class sessions. Frequent unexcused tardies and/or absences will impact your grade.
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Unless otherwise stated, all work handed in for assignments is expected to be the original work of the student. Work that is not your own should be properly and clearly credited to the original author. Any plagiarized work will lead to a grade of F for the course.
Note that your instructor has access to many of the same resources that you do and can easily check for plagiarism in a number of ways (see for example http://www.plagiarism.org/).
LEARNING DISABILITIES
If you have a disability that is documented with the Disability Support Services Office (DSS) and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact your instructor as soon as possible. If you have a learning disability that has not been documented, you may contact the Disability Support Services Office (410-617-2602) for assistance.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Baron, A.E. & Ivers, K.S. (1996). The Internet and instruction: Activities and ideas. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
Bruce, B. (2000). "Credibility on the web: Why we need dialectical reading." Journal of Philosophy of Education (special issue), 34(1), 97-109.
Bruce, B. (1999, May). "Education online: Learning Anywhere, Any Time." Journal of Adolescent and Adult Learning, 42(8), 662-665.
Bruce, B. (1999, April). "Digital Content: The Babel of Cyberspace." Journal of Adolescent and Adult Learning, 42(7), 558-563.
Bruce, B. (1999, December). "Searching the Web: New Domains for Inquiry." Journal of Adolescent and Adult Learning, 43(4).
Bruce, B. C., Peyton, J. K., & Batson, T. (Eds.). (1993). Network-based classrooms: Promises and realities. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Bruce, B., & Rubin, A. (1992). Electronic quills: A situated evaluation of using computers for writing in classrooms. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Burniske, R.W., & Monke, L. (2001). Breaking down digital walls: Learning to teach in a post-modem world. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Cafolla, R., Kauffman, D., & Knee, R. (1997). World wide web for teachers: An interactive guide. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Cohen, K.C. (1997). Internet links for science education: Student-scientist partnerships. New York: Plenum Press.
Crotchett, K. (1997). A teacher's project guide to the Internet. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Cuban, L. (1986). Teachers and machines: The classroom use of technology since 1920. New York: Teachers College Press.
Feenberg , A. & Barney, D. (eds). (2004). Community in the digital age: Philosophy and practice. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Garner, R. & Gillingham, M. (1996). Internet communication in six classrooms: Conversations across time, space, and culture. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Groves, Dawn. (1997). The web page workbook: Academic edition. Wilsonville, OR: Franklin, Beedle & Associates.
Hunter, B. (1993). Internetworking: Coordinating technology for systemic reform. Communications of the ACM, 36(5), 42-46.
Katz, J. (2000). Geeks: How two lost boys rode the Internet out of Idaho. New York: Villard.
Marcovitz, D.M. (1997). I read it on the computer, it must be true: Evaluating information from the web. Learning & leading with technology 25(3), 18-21.
November, A. (1998). The Web--Teaching Zack to think. Retrieved July 11, 2008, from http://novemberlearning.com/images/stories/Documents/Articles/Teaching%20Zack%20to%20Think.pdf
Roblyer, M. D. (2003). Integrating educational technology into teaching (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Schrum, L. & Berenfeld, B. (1997). Teaching and learning in the information age: A guide to educational telecommunications. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Schiller, H.I. (1996). Information inequality: The deepening social crisis in America. New York: Routledge.
Serim, F. & Koch, M. (1996). NetLearning: Why teachers use the internet. Sebastopol, CA: Songline Studios, Inc.
Shade, L. R. (2002). Protecting the kids? Debates over Internet content. In S. Ferguson & L. R. Shade, (Eds.), Civic discourse and cultural politics in Canada: A cacophony of voices. Westport, CT: Ablex. Retreieved July 12, 2007 from http://artsandscience1.concordia.ca/comm/shade/word/Protecting_the_Kids.pdf
Starkey, B. (1998). Using computers to connect across culural divides. In H. Bromley & M.W. Apple, (Eds.), Education/technology/power: Educational computing as a social practice (pp. 175-185). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Tarbox, K. (2000). Katie.com: My story. New York: E.P. Dutton.
Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the screen: Indentity in the age of the Internet. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Vander Veer, E. (2000). JavaScript for Dummies, 3rd Ed. New York: Wiley Publishing, Inc.
Williams, R. & Tollett, J. (2000). The non-designer's web book: An easy guide to creating, designing, and posting your own web site, 2nd Ed. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press.
Wresch, W. (1996). Disconnected: Haves and have-nots in the information age. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
This page was prepared by Dr. David M. Marcovitz.
Last Updated: September 12, 2008