A) A description of the course, including goals and objectives
The name of this course is an Introduction to the Master’s Level E-learning Program. This course will help to prepare educators to teach online courses and incorporate technology in their own classrooms. The length of this course will be 8 weeks.
The goals and objectives are as follows:
Goal- Basic Computer Knowledge
Objectives- The objectives for this goal will be for the learners to learn the following: (a) Microsoft Office Word 2007, (b) open/close and save documents, (c) cut/paste and print information, (d) create an e-mail, (e) send/receive e-mail, (f) attach files on e-mail, and (g) search for different web addresses.
Goal- Manage an appropriate technology classroom environment
Objectives- The objectives for this goal will be for the learners to learn the dos and don’ts of using technology use in the educational setting. The learners will also create a list of computer rules and regulations, along with a schedule for their classroom.
Goal- Increase understanding of technology
Objective- The learners will use technology every opportunity they get.
Goal- Create educational lessons that utilize technology
Objectives- The learners will incorporate online tools such as Skype, blogger.com, and Slideshare when necessary. The learners will also use a promethium board in their lessons. The learners will use real world examples for their students. The learners will incorporate technology across the curriculum. The learners will also provide collaborative technology opportunities for the students.
Goal- Use online resources and PowerPoint
Objectives- The learner will use appropriate search engines. The learner will also learn how to use PowerPoint and assign individual and group research projects that have to be presented using PowerPoint.
Goal- Learners will successfully complete the collaborative activity
Objectives- The learners will learn how to (a) interact appropriately with their classmates in the online chats and the video conferences, (b) show up to all classroom chats and video conferences on time, (c) will stay in the chats and video conferences for the required length of time, (d) provide feedback on the discussion topic in each classroom chat and video conference, and (e) to consult with each group member when needed.
B) Grade/Age/Learning Level of the Learners in the Course
This is a master’s level course for graduate school. The learners vary in age from around 23 years old to about 51 years old.
C) Background information on the Learners
This is the first class that these learners have taken completely online. Majority of the learners are non-traditional college students. The non-traditional college students have very little basic computer knowledge.
D) A clear description of each activity and why it is considered a collaborative activity
Collaborative Activity #1
The first collaborative assignment will be in the form of an icebreaker. The learners will need to provide a short introduction and post it on the discussion board. The learners will also need to create an account on blogger.com and post the brief introduction there. This is considered a collaborative assignment, because each learner in the course will be required to respond to at least two learners introduction on blogger.com.
Collaborative Activity #2
The second collaborative assignment is a Collaborative Online Chat. The group will be made up of five individuals. This is considered a collaborative assignment, because the learners will need to meet in a chat to discuss the discussion questions.
Collaborative Activity #3
The third collaborative assignment is a Collaborative PowerPoint Presentation. The group will be made up of three members. This is a collaborative assignment, because learners will have to work in groups to complete a Collaborative PowerPoint Presentation. The PowerPoint will need to be put on Slideshare.
Collaborative Activity #4
The fourth collaborative assignment is a Collaborative Online Video Conference. The group will be made up of four individuals. This is considered a collaborative assignment, because the learners will need to meet in a Video Conference to discuss the discussion questions.
E) A detailed description of the activity
Collaborative Activity #1
Learners, I’m pleased to have you in the course. The first collaborative assignment will require you to complete a brief introduction about yourself in a word document. Information that you need to include in your brief introduction will be your (a) family, (b) education, and (c) profession. Once you have completed it you will need to cut and paste it to the discussion board below. Then, you will need to create an account on blogger.com and post your introduction. The learners will have a week to complete this part of the assignment. During the second week of the course the learners will need to go to blogger.com and select two classmates’ posts to respond to. The learner’s response need to be a short paragraph. The learners will need to complete this by Wednesday of the second week of the course.
One of the goals for this assignment is Basic Computer Knowledge. The objectives are (a)
Microsoft Office Word 2007, (b) open/close and save documents, and (c) cut/paste information. The second goal for this activity is that the learners will increase their understanding of technology. The objective is that the learners will use technology every opportunity they get. Another goal that the learner will work on is creating educational lessons that utilize technology. The objective is to have the learner to use blogger.com.
This Collaborative Icebreaker Activity will be based on a 100 point grading scale for evaluation purposes. The learners will be able to earn 25 points by posting the introduction on the discussion board. The learners can earn up to 25 points for posting the introduction on blogger.com. The learners will also earn 25 points for each response on blogger.com.
Collaborative Activity #2
This collaborative assignment will require the group of five learners to meet in a classroom chat bi-weekly for at least an hour. The name of this collaborative/team activity is called Collaborative Online Chat. During these meetings the learners will need to discuss the following question: Why is technology important? Why are the benefits of e-learning? How can technology be used in your daily instruction? How should technology be used for appropriate research? The learners will need to coordinate a time to meet that is convenient for them. The collaborative group will be responsible for selecting one leader. This leader will email all dates and times. This leader will also lead and guide all classroom chats.
The goals for this activity are the students will collaboratively complete all required classroom chats. The objectives are (a) the learners will interact appropriately with their classmates in the online chats, (b) the learners will show up to all classroom chats on time, (c) the learners will stay in the chats for the required length of time, (d) the learners will all provide feedback on the discussion topic in each classroom chat, and (e) the learners will learn how to consult with each group member when needed.
The Collaborative Online Chat will be based on a 100 point grading scale for evaluation purposes. The learners will be able to earn up to 25 points for each chat, provided that the students are on time and provides feedback for the discussion topic. There will be a total of four chats.
Collaborative Activity #3
Collaborative PowerPoint Presentation group will be made up of three learners. Each learner will be having a task to complete. The assignment will consist of three different activities. The topic has to be related to education technology. One learner will be responsible for picking a research topic, receiving approval from the group, finding at least four scholarly articles related to the research topic, and complete a reference page. The second learner will be responsible for writing a three page paper, using at least three of the articles found by the first student. The third learner will have to check the paper for any errors or grammar mistakes, gather the highlights, and input them on a PowerPoint Presentation. The PowerPoint Presentation needs to be at least 10 slides long. The fourth learner will also need to design the PowerPoint Presentation. When the fourth learner has completed the project, the learner will need to send it to the group and the first learner will need to put it on Slideshare. The group will have two weeks to complete this activity. After assigning the collaborative groups, they will have two days to decide who will assume what role in the Collaborative PowerPoint Presentation.
The goals for this activity are that (a) Basic Computer Knowledge, (b) Increase understanding of technology, (c) the students will complete collaborative research on an educational topic of their choice, (d) present their findings in a paper, (e) complete a PowerPoint Presentation, and (f) the learner will work on is creating educational lessons that utilize technology.
The objectives are (a) The objectives for this goal will be for the learners to learn the following: (a) Microsoft Office Word 2007, (b) open/close and save documents, (c) cut/paste and print information, (d) create an e-mail, (e) send/receive e-mail, (f) attach files on e-mail, (g) search for different web addresses, (h) The learners will use technology every opportunity they get, (i) the students will learn how to work in collaborative groups and in order to meet deadlines, (j) the students will learn how to work collaboratively on a research topic of their choice, (k) the students will be able to develop a PowerPoint Presentation working collaboratively with each student, (l) the students will be able to complete their work using APA format, (m) the students learn how to consult with each group member when needed, (n) the learner will use Slideshare.
This Collaborative PowerPoint Presentation will be based on a 100 point grading scale for evaluation purposes. The students will be able to earn 20 points by cooperating and working in a collaborative group. The students can earn up to 20 points based on the content in the research paper. The students will be able to earn up to 20 points based on the overall writing in the paper. The students can earn up to 20 points based on the content in the PowerPoint Presentation. The group will be able to get a total of 20 points for uploading the PowerPoint Presentation on Slideshare.
Collaborative Activity #4
This collaborative assignment will require the group of four learners to meet in a classroom Video Conference twice through the course for at least an hour. The name of this collaborative/team activity is called Collaborative Online Video Conference. During these meetings the learners will need to discuss discussion topics related to the course. The learners will need to coordinate a time to meet that is convenient for them. The collaborative group will be responsible for selecting one leader. This leader will email all dates and times. This leader will also lead and guide all classroom chats.
The goals for this activity are the students will collaboratively complete all required classroom Video Conferences. The objectives are (a) the learners will interact appropriately with their classmates in the Online Video Conference, (b) the learners will show up to all classroom Video Conference on time, (c) the learners will stay in the Video Conference for the required length of time, (d) the learners will all provide feedback on the discussion topic in each classroom Video Conference, and (e) the learners will learn how to consult with each group member when needed.
The Collaborative Online Chat will be based on a 100 point grading scale for evaluation purposes. The learners will be able to earn up to 50 points for each Video Conference, provided that the students are on time and provides feedback for the discussion topic. There will be a total of two Video Conferences.
You have done a very complete job on this, Jessica.
ReplyDeleteA few things that you may want to consider including the complexity of the tasks and activities you are proposing. Learning to use Microsoft Office or Powerpoint might not be considered Master's level work, more for junior college or even high school. Typically, at the Masters level learners should already have those types of clerical competencies and should be working at a much more conceptual level, critically analyzing the use of various online applications and elearning pedagogical practices perhaps. For the web-based tools, the same applies but with the understanding that earlier education seldom adequately prepares people for the digital economy. So in that case the activities are combined, learning to use the tools and critically analyzing their use in context.
Look over your course activities to see where you could increase academic complexity and focus on the type of tasks that would be more suitable for university level study.
I hope that you will be able to continue your exploration of the online applications and practices and incorporate them into your own personal learning and into the courses you design and teach.