Syllabus

Course Philosophy and Objectives
This course is designed around the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for both teachers and students recommended by International Society for Technology in Education (iste). The general goal of the course is to provide you with introductory skills in a hands-on manner toward building your skills to integrate technology into your future teaching. To achieve this goal, there are three stages.

(1) Familiarization. Become familiar and confident with a wide range of different technologies, including but not limited to electronic communication, Internet site development, microsoft office suite, electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) development, and so on. This is the primary goal of this course. Only when we know how to "do" the technology, can we possibly apply and INTEGRATE technology into teaching. As said, "Only when technology ceases to be the focus can it become the vehicle for the content."
(2) Creative Application. With a good mastery of the technical skills, deep reflections on the theoretical frameworks through the readings, and a solid understanding of the educational technology standards from the ISTE and the New York State Learning Standards, you will seek to apply technology creatively in your subject areas; and
(3) Integration. With the fundamentals of the first two stages, you will develop the ability to plan instructional activities that integrate educational technologies coherently into teaching and learning. Only when technology becomes not the obvious part can the integration be more coherent. And this coherent integration should be our highest goal and it is a life-long learning experience for a good educator.

Course Requirements

Hardware and Software
Each student is required to

  • Acquire one USB Drive (at least 1GB) as a storage device. Students must have the storage device available for every class meeting.
  • Check the course website on a daily basis.
  • Have a cortland email account.
  • Secure a Cortland Web Account during the first two week of class.
  • Have Internet Access through the Cortland computer labs or on your own.
  • Have access to computers with the following software:
    • Microsoft Office 2007 (2003)
    • Web Authoring System NVU (Free downloading)
    • File Zilla (FTP) (installed in the computer labs), or other FTP program such as Core FTP (Free downloading)
    • Microsoft Photo Story 3 (free download)

Evaluation
The students will demonstrate proficiency in the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) this semester by completing a project based ePortfolio. The components of the projects and due dates are posted in Calendar page. You can view the Basic Requirements of the ePortfolio. A summary of the components of the eportfolio and other course evaluation components is as follows:

(1) Professionalism - Professional Disposition

Attendance, punctuality, active participation in class and professional disposition in general are considered indicators of your professionalism and dedication.  Students who demonstrate professionalism by participating in class, arriving on time, and attending class meetings should expect to receive a higher course grade than those who do not. In accordance with college policy, you can miss up to one week of classes without penalty. Each additional absence will result in a loss of 3 points. Since the class period is only 50 minutes and log in and off computers need extra time, punctuality is considered as a class policy. Every time arriving late or leaving early will result in a loss of 2 points.

Any class time missed must be made up even for excused absences. It is your responsibility to get the notes/handouts/assignments from one of your classmates and to be up to speed by the time you return to class. Absence from class cannot be an excuse for late work.

Teaching and learning in a computer lab is challenging. There are times when the class needs "eyes on the screen and hands off mouse" when the instructor or other class members are teaching and demonstrating.As class policy, Instant Messengers or Emails are not allowed during class . Each incident of violation will result in a loss of 1 point.

Learning technology is challenging. You are expected to have a positive attitude in this technology class: patient and persistent in dealing with technology glitches, never hesitant nor embarrassed showing need of help from either peers or the instructor. The classroom is expected to be a briskly and pleasant learning community where you view one another as knowledgeable learn as much from classmates as from the instructor.

This course follows the Childhood/Early Childhood Department procedures for continuous positive growth toward strong teaching skills and professional dispositions as reflected in the Assessment of Candidate¡¯s Professional Dispositions. It is the policy of the Department that positive professional dispositions are a basic requirement. In the event of problematic demonstration of professional disposition, incidents will be documented and the departmental and Teacher Education Council Fair Practice Policy and Procedures for action will be followed.

(2) ePortfolio. The final product of the course is an eportfolio published on your Cortland web account in a progressive manner during the whole semester. This eportfolio is a demonstration of your mastery of the most commonly used technology skills such as microsoft word, powerpoint, publisher, paint, digital story telling, web design and web publication; a demonstration of your understanding of technology integration, and a demonstration of your exemplary works of the techno application to and meaning integration in elementary and middle school curriculum design and classroom teaching. It will also serve as your professional website.

You are going to get familiar with and a good mastery of the technology programs and skills and apply these skills to the design of a series of the 8 (1 optional) projects during the whole semester and these projects will be published online in your eportfolio in a progressive manner during the semester. Each project has a suggested due date and you are expected to follow the due date of publishing each individual project online. The ten projects are as follows.

Project #1: Initial Publication of your ePortfolio
Project #2: Elementary School Website Design Contest (Group Project)
Project #3: Puzzle Maker and Microsoft Paint Project
Project #4: Microsoft Word Project (Optional)
Project #5: Web Quest Project (Group Project)
Project #6: Microsoft Publisher Project
Project #7: Digital Story Telling Project
Project #8: Reflections on the Learning Journey of Technology

Requirements for each project and for the entire ePorfolio are posted on the course website. Some requirements might need to be reconstructed in class based on the schedule and on situation at the discretion of the instructor. Please be attentive and stay tuned for any reconstruction and updating of requirements.

(3) Final Showcase and Conversation (10 points)
Each student will make a final showcase/presentation to highlight what you have accomplished and share with the class your reflections on the learning process and the products. Guidelines for the final presentation and conversation will be posted on the weekly calendars in the course website.

Below are the points for each component. Grading of the Course Projects and Reading Assignments will follow the guidelines listed in each course project (refer to each from the Calendar), plus the Basic Requirements of the ePortfolio.

Professional Disposition

 10 points
ePortfolio 80 points
Final Presentation/Conversation 10 points

Numeric grade equivalents are as follows: A+ will be awarded to extraordinary works.

Weigh
Letter Grade
95%-100% A
90%-94%
A-
87%-89%
B+
83%-86%
B
80%-82%
B-
77%-79%
C+
73%-76%
C
70%-72%
C-
60-69%
D
Below 59%
F

Task Stream

The Childhood/Early Childhood Education Department uses Task Stream as its data management tool for performance-based assessment for New York State Department of Education, NCATE (ACEI), and other reports. Candidates are required to subscribe to Task Stream, and to upload certain tasks into a Directed Response Folio for each of their courses in the C/EC program. For EDU 314, the assignment is to submit your ePorfolio URL address, for example " http://studentweb.cortland.edu/yourid/".

Course Expectations

Expect to attend and being attentive. Attendance is a course requirement because of the high levels of interaction during the hands-on sessions. If you find that you must miss a class, it is your responsibility to contact a classmate to learn the material that you missed. I will NOT go over class material for individuals who miss class (unless it is a special circumstance). Absence is not an excuse to miss assignment deadlines.

Being attentive means more than attending the class. There is a MYSTERIOUS FORCE found in computer labs that draws hands to keyboards and mice and eyes to monitors. It will be very distracting when keyboards and mice are being used when the instructor or your peers are talking. There are times when we need "eyes on the screen; hands off mouse." Please reach deep within yourselves and resist this force.

Expect to help each other and learn from each other Classes work best when students view one another as knowledgeable and expect to learn as much from classmates as from the instructor. It is expected that you will be peer tutors and assist each other in completing activities and assignments.

In addition to technology skills, learning how to create small groups of teams to collaborate on projects is another major component of this technology course. In this vein, there will be both individual work and group work for the course projects where everyone is expected to be collaborative.

Expect to be mindful and save your work. I hope it doesn't happen but it almost ALWAYS does. Someone is going to lose a flash drive or have a system crash. BACKUP YOUR WORK AS YOU GO!!!!!!!! Always have multiple copies of your work - save things on your hard drive (HD), on your flash drive, on your Cortland web space. Save early, save often. Loss of work is not supposed to be an excuse of late submission of assignments.

Expect to spend time out of class. You are expected to spend time out of class in getting a good mastery of contents introduced in class and in coordinating with group members to finish group projects.

Expect to be confused, irritated, and misunderstood, as well as appreciated, applauded, and surprised. In a technology course where difficult issues are being considered or technological glitches may arise unexpectedly at any time, disposition, collaboration and engagement is foundational to the success of the class. The assignments, activities, and readings should provoke a range of feelings and responses.You are expected to do trouble-shooting with positive attitudes, right disposition, patience and persistence to tackle technical problems that may arise any time. Try to understand what makes you feel comfortable or uncomfortable, what you take for granted and what surprises you, what others understand or misunderstand about your ideas, and figure out solutions with patience and persistence and grow through these experiences.

And finally, most importantly, expect to Have Fun...
I firmly believe that learning happens best when it is fun. A lot of the fun will happen in our everyday interactions. We will try to institutionalize the fun that we can have. Over the semester we'll spend some time each day coming up with ideas of technology integration. Clearly, there are no hard and fast rules but we see this as an opportunity for us to play with ideas (which often requires a deep understanding of the ideas in the first place).

This syllabus is only a guideline. The instructor reserves the right to make adjustments along the way depending on such variables as class levels, schedules, interests, special events, or other factors. Be flexible!

Acknowledgement: Thanks go to Dr. Beth Klein, Dr. Hee-Young Kim and Dr. Punya Mishra for many of their original ideas in teaching technology.