COE Conceptual Development and Knowledge Base

The conceptual framework contains four core concepts, which are themes through which we organize and deliver our programs; hence they are central to our vision of professional educators and scholars.

These include:

• Interculturalism
• Interrelatedness
• Inquiry
• Pedagogical Leadership

College of Education (COE) Mission Statement

• To prepare highly skilled professionals to assume roles and positions in teaching, research, educational leadership, and human development.
• To provide undergraduate and graduate programs based on proven best practice, knowledge acquisition, reflective inquiry, critical thinking, and respect for the cultural and linguistically diverse learner
• To continuously develop a dynamic local, state, national, and international, dimension that promotes innovations and contributes to scientific educational, economic, and social change.

College of Education (COE) Vision Statement

The vision of the College of Education is to be consistently recognized as fully-accredited and as a nationally and internationally respected college in the areas of science, mathematics, educational technology and intercultural dimension (language, literacy, culture and interdisciplinary studies in regard to preparing teachers, counselors, administrators, educational researchers, and professional at all levels, not only for the school system but for other economical and service areas which require training, human resources, development and life-long learning.

Teacher preparation programs of the College of Education will be central to the mission of the University and will have national prominence. It will be at the forefront in programs for English Language Learners and, through teacher preparation, P-16 and life-long education initiatives will be a model for helping to close the student achievement gap.

All of these will require the COE to be noted for the quality of its graduates, the scholarship of its faculty, and the leadership and service they provide to the local, regional, and national educational communities in the previously mentioned areas.

Department of Teaching, Learning & Innovation

EDTC 6340 Applications of Advanced Technologies in the PK-12 Classroom

Fall 2014

College of Education

Department of Teaching, Learning and Innovation

Instructor:    Juan Chavez, Ed. D.
Phone: 956-579-5854  | Email: jch165@gmail.com

Office hours:  TBA 

Class day/time:  Please refer to the course calendar for dates.  Collaborate meetings on (some) Saturdays, 9 AM (Central Time). Please refer to calendar for days that we will be meeting.

Class location:   Online via Blackboard Collaborate (details below)

Catalog description:    This course emphasizes the skills required of the Master Teacher of Technology certification including applications of: multimedia, web-based materials, desktop publishing, streaming media, and media currently used in scientifically based research of instructional technology applications in PK – 12 classrooms. Lec. 3, Cr. 3.

Please note: This course is now the first course in the series for the Technology Leadership in Education certificate.  We have a strong focus on the effective use of Social Media and Web 2.0 technologies in both education and the workplace. Even if you are not in K-12 education, you will find this course to be helpful and will provide you with important knowledge and skills that can be useful to you regardless of your workplace environment. The mix of students in industry, the military, higher-education, and K-12 education at all levels of technology expertise provides a rich environment for sharing of ideas, pedagogy and andragogy as related to technology today.  But wait, at the risk of sounding like an infomercial - there's more - you will be amazed at how much you grow in this course.

Required Texts and Supplies

Textbook:   Burmark, L. (2011). They Snooze, You Lose: The Educator's Guide to Successful Presentations

ISBN-10: 0470902906 | ISBN-13: 978-0470902905 | Edition: 1

Hardware:   Your computer must meet the minimum requirements for Blackboard Collaborate .

                      You must also have the following:

1. Headset with a microphone
2. Internet connection, preferably broadband.
3. Prior to the first class session, login to the course meeting room to test your system setup and upload your presentation. Details will be provided in Week 1 - Technology Orientation.
   
   

Software:   Assorted Web 2.0 technologies:  I really believe the best price for software is free.  Thus, most, if not all of the programs are free and resident on the cloud.  More information will be provided in each project.

You might need an HTML editor and an image editing program. Indeed, knowing how to make simple edits on your photos will be great for your technology skillset.  You have several options for this software. Because we know that you likely work in an environment that has limited funding (K-12 education), we encourage the use of free, freeware and open source software, when possible. This will allow your expenses to be low and offers you the ability to rather rapidly add value at your workplace because you will also be able to encourage the use of free software and provide access to the software, also.

Thus, we recommend that you download at least one of the software applications in each category and begin familiarizing yourself with the programs. Many are not only free, but also quite user friendly.

Image editing. Any of the following should give you all you need in an image editor:

• Photo Filtre: Very user friendly and quite robust for a free software, I have this loaded on my flash drive so that I have a quick and dirty image editor any time/any place.

• Gimp: I haven't spent much time with this - so I am not terribly familiar with it - but users say it is quite good - much akin to using Photoshop.

HTML editors. With the abundance of WSIWYG editors out there, you don't necessarily need an HTML editor any more. With Weebly, PBWorks, Wordpress, etc., etc., you can pretty well do anything without the editor.  However, if you want to learn more about HTML editing, you can try some of the free ones available.

Either of the following will do nicely:

• Nvu: Much like Dreamweaver, Nvu is a complete web authoring System allows you to create web pages with no technical expertise or knowledge of HTML.

• Kompozer- A good HTML editor that continues to update and fix bugs as needed.
   

If you have access to any of the commercial programs out there for image editing (Photoshop, Freehand, Photo Impact, Corel, etc.), HTML editing (Dreamweaver or Front Page) or video editing (Pinnacle, etc.) at your campus, then please feel free to use them. However, keep these free programs in the back of your mind for the teachers you are mentoring.

Email account:    We used to require an external email account because business or school account often blocks the university listserv. However, now all email from the university goes to your UTB-created email accounts. Those of you who do not regularly check your UTB emails will need to either forward your email to the account you use or remember to check your UTB email regularly. On the portal page, I am asking that you include your UTB email as well as an external one so that we can get in touch with you.

Library:  You will need to access the UTB Library , through Quick Links on UTB Main page.

Course Description Expanded and Purpose of the Course

This course is also part of the Online K-12 Instruction@UTB Digital Literacies and must therefore accomplish mastery (Knows and Understands; Applies) of specific iNACOL standards related to teaching online in the K-12 environment. Please click here to access the standards and how each is addressed in this course.

This course provides a broad overview of many of the technology tools with which you will need to be proficient in your role as a technology leader. You will use these tools in a variety of situations that are appropriate for your professional duties. Many of the tools will be the newly emerging social collaboration tools that are impacting the educational and global business communities. In addition to learning how to use the tools, you will more importantly be learning how to integrate them into your curriculum instruction or training.

You may have already gained a certain level of expertise with technology in your work place. This course will continue to build your skills repertoire, and, most importantly, provide opportunities to use those skills in meaningful contexts. As you go through the various projects, it is important that you consider both how you can use the tools in your job AND how you can mentor and train others in the effective use of the tools.

The course is not solely about building your skills capacity for instructional technology tools. How those tools are used effectively is absolutely critical. Thus, a major focus of the remainder of the Technology Leadership in Education certificate is how to mentor faculty, administrators, colleagues, peers and even parents to use technology effectively. The projects will focus upon providing information to a variety of audiences, in a variety of formats, for a variety of purposes.

Modes of Communication

Throughout this course, you will communicate with your instructor and peers in a variety of ways:

Phone conferences: I am available for phone conferences or Collaborate conferences. Please email to set up time.

Online discussions: Class meets weekly in Blackboard Collaborate. Refer to the calendar. While we highly encourage students to attend the Collaborate sessions (because we learn a lot and have fun!), we know that there can be scheduling conflicts that prevent you from attending. Thus, all the Collaborate sessions are recorded so that you can view them later if you are unable to attend live.

Email correspondence: Email is the preferred method of contact. I'll send critical information via email, so check it daily. I try to respond to email within 24-hours (usually sooner), but sometimes glitches occur. I call those glitches gremlins. If I don't respond within 24 hours, resend your message and/or call.  If you resend – please state in the email subject line that this is a second request. I don't mind being bugged to respond.

Formatting emails: Please, please, please, include the course number and subject of your email in the subject line when using communication outside of the course email tool. Please help me help you by including the course number first in the subject line. Often questions are difficult to answer without knowing which course you are referencing.  Knowing in advance which course you are asking about helps me to answer you quickly and correctly. When you use the Course Email tool in Blackboard, Blackboard automatically includes the course number.

Wiki: Access the course wiki at EDTC 6340 Course Portal Page.

Face-to-face: While it's not mandatory, instructors will meet you face-to-face upon request. We will also meet virtually. Contact me by email or phone to set up a time to meet.  Email works better generally.

 AECT Course Objectives (Competencies)

Student Publishing

Your projects for this class will be posted in your personal wiki and linked to the course wiki portal page. The course wiki is available to the public. If you prefer, you have the option of restricting access to your projects to the instructor only. However, in the spirit of sharing with your colleagues and to expand knowledge for everyone, please consider making your wiki accessible to all. 

Your grades are managed securely within the Blackboard gradebook and will only be accessible to you.

Course Evaluation

Grade distribution will be based on the below table. Rubrics are found within the description of the projects.

Your final grade will be computed as follows:

GRADING SYSTEM

Late projects:    Projects are expected to be turned in on time.  We know that online programs have many challenges associated with them and it is easy to become overwhelmed.  If you find yourself falling behind, you need to contact me and discuss solutions. The worst thing you can do is to fail to contact me when you encounter challenges.

Evaluation:    Grades are based on assignment instructions and rubrics provided in this course.  A large portion of this course will be based on self-evaluation.

Resources

UTB help desk:    http://www.utb.edu/its/ccp/Pages/helpdesk.aspx or (956) 882-HELP (4357)

Purdue OWL APA Guide:    http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/1/

UTB library:    http://utb.edu/library/Pages/default.aspx

Course Policies

1. The instructor reserves the right to make changes in the syllabus as deemed necessary.

2. Refer to the course calendar for important dates. Dates are subject to change, however, you will be notified in advance should this occur.

3. Assignments are due Sundays by 11:59 PM CST (before midnight) of the week they are due.

4. Again, maintain contact with your instructor if you have challenges or concerns about completing the coursework in a timely manner.

INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES

Satisfactory Academic Progress

UTB/TSC monitors academic progress every fall and spring semesters to identify those students who are experiencing difficulty with their courses. Satisfactory Academic Progress (Sap) is based upon two components: GPA of 2.0 or higher and successful course completion of at least 70% of course work attempted. Students remain in good standing with the university and Financial Aid when both criteria are met. Students who do not maintain these required minimum standards will be placed on probation or suspension as appropriate. The complete Satisfactory Academic Progress policy and the Undergraduate Satisfactory Academic Progress for Financial Aid policy can be found in the current Undergraduate catalog. For more information, visit http://blue.utb.edu/vpaa/sap .

Scholastic Dishonesty

Students who engage in scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and expulsion from the University. Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to be unfair advantage to a student, or the attempt to commit such acts. Since scholastic dishonesty harms the individual, all students and the integrity of the University, Policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforce. (Board of Regents Rules and Regulations)

STUDENTS ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITIES

Students are expected to be diligent in their studies and attend class regularly and on time. Students are responsible for all class work and assignments. On recommendation of the instructor concerned and with the approval of the Dean, students may, at anytime, be dropped from course. This may result in a "w" or "F" on the student's permanent record.

EMERGENCY POLICY STATEMENT

In compliance with the Emergency UTB/TSC Academic continuity Program, academic course, partially or entirely, will be made available on the MyUTBTSC Blackboard course management system. This allows faculty members and students to continue their teaching and learning via MyUTBTSC Blackboard http://myutbtscblacboard.com , in case the university shuts down as a result of a hurricane or any other natural disaster.

The university will use MyUTBTSC Blackboard to post announcements notifying faculty members and students of their responsibilities as a hurricane approaches our region. If the university is forced to shut down, faculty will notify their course(s). To receive credit for a course, it is the student's responsibility to complete all requirements for that course. Failure to access course materials once reasonably possible can result in a reduction of your overall grade in the class.

To facilitate the completion of class, most or all of the communication between students and the institution, the instructor, and fellow classmates will take place using the features in your MyUTBTSC Blackboard and UTB email system. Therefore, all students must use Scorpion Online to provide a current email address. Students may update their email address by following the like titled "Validate your e-Mail Account" in MyUTBTSC Blackboard Portal. In the event of a disaster, that disrupts normal operations, all students and faculty must make every effort to access an internet-enabled computer as often as possible to continue the learning process.

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA)

Students with disabilities, including learning disabilities, who wish to request accommodations in this class should notify the Disability Services Office early in the semester so that the appropriate arrangements may be made. In accordance with federal law, a student requesting accommodations must provide documentation of his/her disability to the Disability Services counselor. For more information, visit Disability Services in the Lightner Center, call 956-882-7374, or e-mail steve.wilder@utb.edu.