Syllabus

EST 571 30 Online Evaluation of Educational Technology

Gerry O'Connor = oconnog@sunysuffolk.edu

Fall 2005

For a more comprehensive explication of all of this please see the course web site: http://www.ic.sunysb.edu/Class/est571go/

Catalog Description:

Prerequisite: EST 565 or permission of instructor (http://www.stonybrook.edu/est/courses/graduate.html)

Evaluation of the educational uses of computer technology. Course goals include understanding research methodology and the research literature, conducting a research study of educational technology, and learning about microworlds and constructivism. Through hands-on computer experience, class discussions assess the quality of research articles on educational technology. Spring, 3 credits

Blackboard:

Access to our class's on-line Blackboard site
You can access class information on-line at: http://blackboard.sunysb.edu  If you used Blackboard during the Fall semester, your login information (Username and Password) has not changed.  If you have never used Stony Brook's Blackboard system, your initial password is your SOLAR ID# and your username is the same as your Stony Brook (sparky) username, which is generally your first initial and the first 7 letters of your last name.  For help or more information see: http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/helpdesk/docs/blackboard/bbstudent.php    

For those who do not have sparky accounts or web space on the University server, we will create same for you shortly before class officially begins.

For problems logging in, go to the helpdesk in the Main Library SINC Site or the Union SINC Site , you can also call: 631-632-9602 or e-mail: helpme@ic.sunysb.edu

Overview:

This is a course in the art of exploration - a drive to discover new things, creating new realities and building new connections. It's a course where surprises abound, where "explorers" thrive on knowing that just around the corner there is something new that they are going to have to learn and react to. The ultimate effect is not just a matter of recombination, which often happens within a single field, but of creative encounters, of one discipline fertilizing another, one thought triggering another.

You will, in the spirit of open-ended play, be able to experiment, to try new combinations and to take risks often not available in print culture. This will generate some surprisingly new, complex intellectual combinations. We need to learn, to challenge ourselves, to invent new patterns, new paradigms. The fun of creating and using the web to create our image text will give you the opportunity to change work into play. Play is what we do for our own sake, yet it is a spur to our most creative, most significant work. You will act as a creator not a consumer of knowledge; you are in charge.

Attendance and participation are required. Peer evaluations will take place using E-mail. You'll swap URLs and provide feedback to your team members. You will post your work (projects) to your web page which is like an artist's portfolio; we'll call it a webfolio. Most individual questions will be handled using E-mail and Blackboard. In addition, I will be available by E-mail most days and for one-on-one workshops by appointment if necessary.

Essentially then, our goal is to understand research methodology and the research literature. You will conduct a research study of educational technology and develop an understanding of the realationship between research, theoretical development and practical appliation. Tyhrough related computer experience, guided activities, and class discussion on BB, students will assess the quality of research articles on educational technology. .

How can we move beyond mere anecodotal evidence to demonstarte the effectivness of educational technology? How do we show that educational technology improves learning, if in fact it does? That's what this course is about!

Course Requirements:

* Check your E-mail and Blackboard (Bb) at least once a day.

* Regularly participate and share material with the class.

* Required

* Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., Cocking, R.R. (Eds.). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School. Washington D.C. National Academy Press. [ISBN 0-309-07036-8]. Available online at http://www.nap.edu/books/0309070368/html/index.html

* Recommended:

* Gee, Paul James. What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy. [ISBN 1-40396-169-7]Palgrave Macmillan. N.Y. 2003.

* Jonassen, Peck, Wilson. Learning to Solve Problems with Technol.ogy. A Constructivist Perspective. Prentice Hall, 2003.

* Stilgoe, John. Outside Lies Magic. [ISBN 0802713408] Walker & Co., 2003

* Subscribe to the following free publications ASAP:

* Syllabus - New Dimensions in Educational Technology - free subscription at http://www.syllabus.com.

* The Journal - Technological Horizons In Education - free subscription at http://www.thejournal.com

Objectives:

á      to develop critical thinking skills

á      to develop the skills to become an independent and lifelong learner

á      to develop proficiency with the computer - the 21st century learning instrument - i.e., E-mail, web design, software and research

á      to create your own body of knowledge within the structure of the course

á      to become familiar with the pedagogical issues revolving around the use of the personal computer for learning

á      to develop an understanding of learning theory and methods of verification.

á      to create seven discipline-related projects which reflect your research.

Due Dates:rAssignemnts & Relevant Due Dates - see web page

Blackboard - Questions/Discussion Responses (See Due Dates

Activities:

Participation in this course is broken down into several requirements for successful completion of the course

1. Critically read and evaluate academic articles about educational technology and related fields.

2. Conduct multiple small research studies in educational technology, uncovering empirical evidence following accepted procedures of basic research in the manner of the social sciences

3. Collaborate with colleagues: review each other's projects both in and out of your respective teams.

4. Complete 4 assignments and post to your webfolio.

5. Thirteen (13) Discussion responses

6. Review weekly Blackboard (Bb) postings and comment on the work (projects) of others in the class

7. Regularly upload asignments to your web site reflecting your study and knowledge acquisition in cyberspace..

8. Throughout the semester, you must demonstrate, through your research and threaded discussion, a mastery of the material covered in the required text.

9. Participation in weekly threaded discussion in Blackboard (Bb)

What are these Research Studies?

The quick answer is that you are to create, design, develop multiple small research studies that demonstrate the effectiveness or lack of effectiveness of a particular technology. Let me try and explain what that entails.

Over the course of the semester, you will be required, using the available technology and software, to generate four (4) practical assignments for use either in the classroom or on the web. These assignments will reflect your understanding of constructivist and research theory as explicated in the required text. You will post these assignments to your webpage on the University server by the stipulated due datesl

Evaluation:

Your final grade for this course will be based primarily on the quality and appropriateness of your research studies participation in threaded discussion and your willingness to explore the vast parameters of cyberspace. As a minimum, your grade will be the average of all required assignments and threaded discussions. Failure to submit all projects and/or failure to participate in the threaded discussion will adversely affect your grade.

You will have the entire semester to edit, revise and update your work, but regular posting of projects and threaded discussions will be required.

All work must be posted by the last day of class. I will not accept E-mail attachments as meeting the responsibility of a webfolio.