COURSE SYLLABUS

COURSE TITLE: COURSE CODE: TERM: START DATE: COURSE CREDITS: COURSE SECTION: COURSE LOCATION: COURSE TIME: WEBSITE:

Design and Use of Online Learning Resources ETAD 470 2 (2013) January 3, 2013 3 2 EDUC 3134 T & TH 11:30 AM 12:50 PM http://words.usask.ca/etad470ross/

Course Description
"Internet is a system that links together most of the current on-line networks around the world. Explores the informational and interpersonal resources available on the Internet network and focuses on ways that teachers can integrate these resources into classroom instruction.

Learning Outcomes
By the completion of this course, students should be able to: 1. Create and maintain their own blog 2. Demonstrate an understanding of issues around acceptable use policies, Internet safety, and digital citizenship 3. Create and publish a podcast 4. Collaborate using a Google Doc for a project 5. Demonstrate basic knowledge of RSS, wikis, social bookmarking and other social media tools 6. Connect with others involved in education through the use of social networking tools 7. Apply basic Web design and "writing for the Web" principles to create either a WebQuest or ePortfolio for educational purposes 8. Assess Website credibility

Revised HMR Oct. 2012

ETAD 470

Information on literal descriptors for grading at the University of Saskatchewan can be found at: http://students.usask.ca/current/academics/grades/grading-system.php Please note: There are different literal descriptors for undergraduate and graduate students. More information on the Academic Courses Policy on course delivery, examinations and assessment of student learning can be found at: http://www.usask.ca/university_secretary/council/academiccourses.php The University of Saskatchewan Learning Charter is intended to define aspirations about the learning experience that the University aims to provide, and the roles to be played in realizing these aspirations by students, instructors and the institution. A copy of the Learning Charter can be found at: http://www.usask.ca/university_secretary/LearningCharter.pdf

Page 2 of 11

ETAD 470

University of Saskatchewan Grading System (for undergraduate courses)

Exceptional (90-100) A superior performance with consistent evidence of a comprehensive, incisive grasp of the subject matter; an ability to make insightful critical evaluation of the material given; an exceptional capacity for original, creative and/or logical thinking; an excellent ability to organize, to analyze, to synthesize, to integrate ideas, and to express thoughts fluently.

Excellent (80-90) An excellent performance with strong evidence of a comprehensive grasp of the subject matter; an ability to make sound critical evaluation of the material given; a very good capacity for original, creative and/or logical thinking; an excellent ability to organize, to analyze, to synthesize, to integrate ideas, and to express thoughts fluently.

Good (70-79) A good performance with evidence of a substantial knowledge of the subject matter; a good understanding of the relevant issues and a good familiarity with the relevant literature and techniques; some capacity for original, creative and/or logical thinking; a good ability to organize, to analyze and to examine the subject material in a critical and constructive manner. an acceptable basic grasp of the subject material; a fair understanding of the relevant issues; a general familiarity with the relevant literature and techniques; an ability to develop solutions to moderately difficult problems related to the subject material; a moderate ability to examine the material in a critical and analytical manner. a familiarity with the subject material; some evidence that analytical skills have been developed; some understanding of relevant issues; some familiarity with the relevant literature and techniques; attempts to solve moderately difficult problems related to the subject material and to examine the material in a critical and analytical manner which are only partially successful.

Satisfactory (60-69) A generally satisfactory and intellectually adequate performance with evidence of

Minimal Pass (50-59) A barely acceptable performance with evidence of

Failure <50 An unacceptable performance

Page 3 of 11

ETAD 470

Course Overview
This course will be a mix of the technical and theoretical parts of educational technology. You will learn how to work with the tools as well as how to make good pedagogical use of them with your students and for your own professional development. You will read the blogs of other students and educators and be required to create and maintain your own blog related to education and educational technology. You will also work collaboratively with classmates on a major paper related to a topic related to the use of educational technology in schools. Your final project will allow you to develop either your own ePortfolio or a WebQuest. More details about each of these activities appear later in this syllabus.

Course Schedule
Week 1 2 3 Topics Introduction to Course / What is CMC PLNs / Whos Who in EdTech / RSS Blogging Google Account Created (By the start of class on Tuesday Jan. 8) Blog platform chosen and request for blog made if you pick Wordpress at USask (by Tuesday Jan. 15) We will work on setting up your blogs in class on Thursday First blog post is due by 5 PM on Friday Jan. 18 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Internet Safety, Digital Citizenship and AUPs Google Docs / Podcasting Website Design Principles / WebQuests / ePortfolios Wikis / Google Sites Reading Week Copyright / Creative Commons / Flickr / Website Credibility Overview of Web Tools The Big Picture/ Work on
Page 4 of 11

Evaluation Due Dates

Introductory YouTube Video must be posted to blog by 5 PM Friday Feb. 1

AUP / Social Media Guidelines Assignment Due by the Start of Class Thursday Feb. 14

Podcasts must be posted to your blogs by 5 PM on Friday March 8

ETAD 470

Completing Projects 12 13 Work on Completing Projects Final project presentations (Tuesday and Thursday) Course evaluations at end of class on Thursday FINAL EXAM A final exam exemption has been requested (if approved, there will be no final exam) Link to your final projects must be sent to me by start of class on Tuesday March 26.

Page 5 of 11

ETAD 470

Instructor Information
Contact Information
Email: heather.ross@usask.ca Phone: 306-966-5327

Office Hours
I will try to always be available in our classroom at least 30 minutes before class starts. I will remain for that long after class if requested to do so. You may also come to my office in the Murray Building (Murray 50.5 in the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness), but it is best to make an appointment to make sure that Im there.

Instructor Profile
I earned a BA in journalism from California State University Northridge, a B.Ed. from OISE / University of Toronto and graduated with an M.Ed. from what is now the ETAD program at the University of Saskatchewan. I have been working in education for more than a decade and have been blogging about education since 2005 and been part of a semi-regular podcast on the subject for several years. I am an Instructional Design Specialist with the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness (GMCTE) and teach in the College of Education at the U of S. Currently Im working on research on the use of Twitter as a backchannel in large lecture courses.

Teaching Philosophy
Some of the key points from my teaching philosophy include my beliefs that: Good teachers find ways to show how the material being covered matters in concrete ways. Good teachers bring in students non-academic interests or interests from other subjects, into course lessons or activities to help students to engage with the content and better identify those concrete ways that the topic relates to their lives. Good teachers, while teaching content, also emphasis how students can continue to learn related material once the class is over, whether for personal interest or professional use. Good teachers assess in ways that measure understanding and context and not just facts.

Page 6 of 11

ETAD 470

Required Resources
Readings/Textbooks
Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms (Third Edition) by Will Richardson. Textbooks are available from the University of Saskatchewan Bookstore: www.usask.ca/consumer_services/bookstore/textbooks

Other Required Materials

Regular access to a computer or other device with Internet access.

Electronic Resources
The course Website is listed at the top of the syllabus. This syllabus, assigned readings, links to blogs you should consider following and more details about this course are listed there. The blog on that Website is where I post interesting items related to educational technology that I have come across each week. Some resources, such as PowerPoints will located in BBLearn (Blackboard).

Grading Scheme
Blog Podcast AUP / Social Media Guidelines Paper ePortfolio or Webquest Total 30% 10% 30% 30% 100%

Note: a final exam exemption has been requested (if approved, there will be no final exam)

Page 7 of 11

ETAD 470

Evaluation Components
Note that all of these assignments MUST be completed to pass this course.

Assignment 1: Blog
Value: 30% of final grade Due Date: One post is due weekly (by midnight on each Thursday) and you must leave comments on the blogs of at least three classmates (by midnight of the following Monday) See course schedule for more details about due dates and the rubric for blogging for details on how this will be marked. Type: Blog Description: Your blog will be your opportunity to talk about education and educational technology with the larger community. This is an ongoing assignment with the first post due by the end of Week 3. You must create and maintain a blog on education / educational technology. You are required to publish at least one post to your blog every week of the term (you're welcome to post more). Most weeks you will be free to post on any topic within these general categories, but some weeks there will be required posts. By the end of Week Five, you must post an introductory video of yourself to YouTube and embed it in your blog. The video must answer the following questions: What's your name? Why do you want to be a teacher? Who was a teacher that inspired you and why?

The video should be professional in the sense that you dress appropriately and pick an appropriate location (i.e. not Louis'). Remember, a future principal might see this. You must post this to your blog by the due date. A rubric will be provided for this to show you how your blog will be marked.

Assignment 2: Podcast
Value: 10% of final grade Due Date: See Course Schedule Type: A podcast that will be shared via your blog. Description: By the end of Week 10, you must create a podcast of between 10 to 20 minutes on any topic related to educational technology or education in general and post it to your blog. Feel free to include other classmates in your podcasts, but you must each make individual podcasts. *If you decide to do this with others, you might even consider creating a series, with each episode counting towards the podcast assignment for one of you. A rubric will be provided for this to show you how this assignment will be marked.

Page 8 of 11

ETAD 470

Assignment 3: Acceptable Use Policy / Social Media Guidelines Paper

Value: 30% of final grade Due Date: See Course Schedule Type: Collaborative Paper Description: For your mid-term assignment, you will be working in small groups to collaborate on the creation of an acceptable use policy and social media guidelines for a fictional school. You will create the documents in Google Docs to make it easier for you to collaborate from different locations and for you to share your documents with others. The assessment for this assignment will consist of two marks - 75% of the overall mark will be given by me, while the remaining 25% will be made up of the mark you give yourself and the marks your group members give to you. Rubrics will be provided to show you how this assignment will be marked.

Assignment 4: ePortfolio or WebQuest

Value: 30% of final grade Due Date: See Course Schedule Type: Major Project Description: This is the final project for this course. You will create either an ePortfolio or WebQuest to demonstrate many of the skills that you learn in this course. Both of these types of projects will be discussed in detail and examples provide in class. A rubric will be provided to show you how this assignment will be marked.

Submitting Assignments
Assignments will all be submitted electronically. You will share the link to your blog (which is also where you will share your podcast) by the due date indicated on the schedule. The collaborative paper will be submitted by sharing the Google Document with me. The final project will be submitted by sending me the link to the online location.

Late Assignments
Assignments, other than the blog, that are submitted later than the stated due date will automatically lose 10% off of the mark. Assignments submitted more than one week after the due date will not be accepted. Blog posts submitted late, but less than 24 hours past due, will lose 50% of the mark for the week. Blog posts submitted later than 24 hours past the due date will not be counted.

Page 9 of 11

ETAD 470

Must Pass Requirements

All assignments MUST be completed to pass this course.

Attendance Expectations
This course relies heavily on in-class discussions and hands-on activities. If you are not present in class, this will detract from the course for everyone (I believe that every student makes a difference in my courses). Thus, you may not miss more than three classes without marks being deducted from your final mark (5% for each class over three). I also ask, for planning purposes, that if youre going to miss class that you please send me an email or call me prior to the class that youre going to miss.

Participation
As I stated previously, class discussions and hands-on activities are very important aspects of this course. I want to hear from you in class. In addition, your blog and your comments on the blogs of others will demonstrate just how much you have been taking part in class and completing the readings. While no mark is given specifically for participation, failure to participate fully in class will result in a deduction from your final mark.

Student Feedback
Regular two-minute memo activities will take place in class. I value your feedback in helping to make this a good experience for everyone. A course evaluation will be administered the final week of class, during class time. I ask that you please stick around to complete this evaluation as the information you provide helps me to make improvements to future offerings of this course and to my teaching overall. For example, last year there were student comments on the evaluation about resources being spread out between the blog and a separate Website as well as about the mid-term assignment. For this term I combined the two Websites and completely changed the mid-term assignments to try and address these concerns.

Page 10 of 11

ETAD 470

Integrity Defined (from the Office of the University Secretary)

The University of Saskatchewan is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Student Conduct & Appeals section of the University Secretary Website and avoid any behavior that could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University. For more information on what academic integrity means for students see the Student Conduct & Appeals section of the University Secretary Website at: http://www.usask.ca/university_secretary/pdf/dishonesty_info_sheet.pdf

Examinations with Disability Services for Students (DSS)

Students registered with DSS may request alternative arrangements for mid-term and final examinations. Students must arrange such special accommodations through DSS by the stated deadlines. Instructors shall provide the examinations for students who are being specially accommodated by the deadlines established by DSS.

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the many members of my personal learning network (in-person, through blogs, on Twitter, etc.) for their valuable feedback, shared resources and excellent conversations that play a role in the development and teaching of this course.

Page 11 of 11