Course Feedback

Hi, it has been great learning with this group for the past several weeks. I would greatly appreciate your feedback on the course, so I put together a little survey. If you could take 5 - 7 minutes and fill it in, that would be great. Thanks Click here to access the survey.

Presentation Order 2

So as far as I can see here it looks like:

1. Irina
2. Alina
3. Jen
4. Mike
5. Rocky
6. Lindsay
7. Kimberly
8. Davina
9. Misty
10. Megan

Looking forward to the presentations. Just a heads up, I will be videotaping you...;-)

Presentation Order

Just thought I would give everyone a chance to post a comment as to what order you would prefer to present in. So first come first serve. Post you commment here and you will hopefully get to present when you want to.

Very Cool Tunes

You've gotta check out the tunes we made in class today. Click here

Rubrics

It has occured to me that maybe some of you are a little unsure of what is expected in the areas of your blogs and the final presentation. So I would point you in the direction of the rubrics that I published for you at the beginning of the course. Have a look at the following if you need a little clarification:

1. Productivity Software Assignment
2. Blog
3. Online Discussion
4. Presentation
5. Self-Assessment

Podzinger

How do you search audio files on the web for particular words? Use Podzinger. It uses speach to text technology to find words in audio files. It currently has 41,000 podcasts in its database. Have a look (or listen).

How does Google Work?

I guess it's OK to let the cat out the bag a few hours before the end of the Quiz day. Just how does Google work, you might ask? It's actually a new technology called PigeonRank™. It's actually quite facinating. You can read more about this patented technology here.

Quiz

Here is the link to the quiz. It will not be active until Friday, January 13 and will close by the end of that day. You will have a maximum of 30 min. to complete the quiz so be prepared in advance. Please let me know if you are coming in on Saturday. I am still open to be there if you would like some help. Also, please bring digital photos and your favorite music for Monday's class. We are going to make digital videos. See you then!

Information Literacy Quiz

Please post a comment to this blog with your answers to the questions below. We will look at the answers together in class today. 1. List 4 major search engines and a major directory. 2. What is a blog? 3. Why might you use quotation marks when conducting a search? 4. URL is an acronym for… 5. Identify three Boolean search terms. 6. How do you find the owner or publisher of a Web site? 7. Identify these extensions and what they represent: .org .com .sch .k12 .edu .gov .ac .net .mil .co 8. How do you find out who is linked to your school’s Web site? 9. What clues in a Web address might indicate you are on a personal Web site? 10. Search terms are available for purchase on the Internet. How would you find out how much the phrase “global warming” is worth? 11. How would you conduct a search for the following: a list of Web sites of all the academic institutions in South Africa? (Hint: South Africa’s country code is .za) 12. How do you find the history of any given Web site? 13. How would you conduct a search for the following: US higher education Web sites that contain the word turtle? 14. How do sites get to the top of a result list in Google?

Documents Due on January 10

The Word Pro and Spreadsheet documents are due to be handed in (via email) by the end of our class tomorrow, January 10. The Database and Integrated documents are due by the end of the week.

AppleWorks Resource

I have made some material available online to help with your AppleWorks Assignments. Click here to access the material. It is password protected. Please contact me if you need the user name and password before Monday's class.

The Music Genome Project

Pandora is a web service that was developed out of the Music Genome Project.

"On January 6, 2000 a group of musicians and music-loving technologists came together with the idea of creating the most comprehensive analysis of music ever." read more

Pandora allows you to create a radio station based on your favorite song. It will analyse the song according nearly 400 attributes or "genes" and then match songs that are similar and stream them to your computer. You will end up discovering music you probably like but never heard before. It's pretty cool. Now, back to work...

I'm on iTunes

This is a series of Instructional Video Tutorials with the purpose of training teachers to use software applications in the classroom.

Click here to have a look

EdTech Research Project Ideas

1. Should we let students use cell phones in school?
2. Virtual Schools - what are they? Are they for everyone?
3. Game theory and instructional practice.
4. Calculators in the classroom; should we shouldn't we?
5. One-to-one laptop intiatives. Effective use of technology or expense toys?
6. What our students really need in the face of the digital age.
7. Appropriate use of technology through the grades. A look at age appropriate use information technology.
8. Assistive devices and their role in empowering disabled students.
9. Video conferencing as teaching tool.
10. Using the Read/Write web to enhance student writing and thinking skills.
11. Digital projects as an alternative to pen and paper assignments.
12. Cyberbullying
13. Digital Ethics
14. Virtual Libraries - are real books going the way of the dinosaur?
15. Digital Storytelling - electronic personal narratives.
16. Computers as mindtools for engaging learners in critical thinking.
17. Teaching Science Labs Online
18. Using Technology to Improve Student Learning

Audio Message for you

From time to time I will leave audio messages for you on the blog. Click on the file below to listen to the message.

Welcome

Welcome to the EDCI 336 Blog. This year our website will be run out of this blog. My hope is that it will be a springboard for much discussion around Instructional Technology. It may be your first exposure to the world of blogging, as such a real eye-opener. You will want to visit here often over the next several weeks to view my posts as I seek to challenge your thinking. I would encourage you to comment on my posts right here so that we all will have the benefit of participating in the discussion. Commenting on comments is also encouraged. You will need to get your own blog set up ASAP. Click here to learn how. Happy blogging!!!

Class Topics

As you probably have realized, Instruction Technology is a huge field of study. We, however, are going to take a crack at covering it in under 3 weeks. Thus, it will be importanmt for us to hit the ground running today and not slow down. In an attempt to help you navigate this course, I am posting the topics I will be covering for each of our classes. The topics are as follows:

1. Jan. 4 - Course Introduction, Info Tech Self Assessment and Online Writing using a Weblog, other misc stuff.
2. Jan. 5 - Online discussion on topic TBA. We will use AbbyNet to facilitate this discussion.
3. Monday, January 9 - Productivity Software - Word Pro, Spread Sheets, Databases,
4. Tuesday, January 10 - Productivity Software (cont.) - Draw and Paint and Digital Photography
5. Thursday, January 12 - Online Discussion TBA
6. Saturday, January 14 - Drop in from 9 AM - 3 PM (Attendance is not compulsory)
7. Monday, January 16 - Digital Video and Music Production
8. Tuesday, January 17 - Presentation Software
9. Friday, January 20 - Presentations

Rubrics

All the assignments in EDCI 336 have rubrics created for them. Please have a look before you start working on them.

1. Instructional Technology Self-Assessment
2. Blog
3. Productivity Software
4. Online Discussion
5. Presentation

Course Outline

Instructor: Gary Toews
Class Location:  Information Technology Centre - Abbotsford
Class times:

Day	Time
Wednesday, January 4	4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Thursday, January 5	3:30 PM - 5:30 PM ~ 8:30PM - 9:30PM *
Monday, January 9	4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Tuesday, January 10	4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Thursday, January 12	3:30 PM - 5:30 PM ~ 8:30PM - 9:30PM *
Monday, January 16	4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Tuesday, January 17	4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Friday, January 20	4:00 PM - 9:00 PM

* Virtual Contact Time (I will be available for online interaction)

Office: 2343 McCallum Rd Abbotsford BC  
Office Hours: Virtual Contact via email and chat online (anytime)
Phone:  (604) 302-2952
E-mail:  gary_toews@sd34.bc.ca
Website: http://edci336.blogspot.com

Calendar Description

The role of information technologies and resources in instruction, with emphasis on computers and computer applications' software; utilization of materials in schools and the role of school libraries; laboratories in basic audiovisual instructional techniques.


Text/Reading List

There may be a photocopying fee for course handouts.

Course Outline
Topics:    

1. Issues Affecting Information and Communication Technology
2. What Does Best Practice in ICT Look Like?
3. Preparing Students for the Information World of Tomorrow
4. The Best and Worst Ways to Use Technology in the Classroom
5. Transforming Instruction with Information & Communication Technology

Skills:     

1. Basic Computer Operating Skills
2. Word Processing (Beyond the Basics)
3. Spreadsheets and Graphing Data
4. Basic Data Bases
5. Basic Networking and Telecommunications
6. Media Communications (Including Still and Moving Images and Audio)
7. Multimedia Integration and Presentation

Purpose:    
There are two purposes for this course: First, it is important that teachers have a well-developed arsenal of skills in ICT in order to be prepared to teach, not only in today’s schools, but in the schools of the future. Students are typically more techno-savvy than their teachers. Teachers must not only be masters of the use of technology but must develop lifelong skills and attitudes that will keep them abreast of where technology is going.
    
The second purpose for the course is to have students begin to think critically about issues affecting technology and instruction. The extent to which technology is changing instruction is profound. It will be imperative that new teachers are well aware of what the contemporary issues in instructional technology are, and will be, in the future. In addition, they will need to be aware of the forces that are continuing to shape the new information era.

Readings
An updated list of readings will be available at the following website:
http://edci336.blogspot.com/

Assignments
1. EdTech Self-Assessment    10%

Students will fill out a EdTech Self-Assessment prior to the start of the course. Toward the end of the course they will fill it out again and comment, where appropriate, on the process that they were involved in to advance their skills and knowledge.
Due: January 20, 2006.

2. Quiz         10%

The quiz will cover basic concepts covered in course.
It will be taken online the weekend of January 13 – 15, 2006    

    
3. Productivity Software Assignments    20%

a) 3 Basic Documents
Students will create 3  AppleWorks documents: one Word Processing, one  Spreadsheet/Graph, and one Database
The documents will be ones that they would typically use while teaching.
Basic Documents Due: January 9, 2006

b) 1 Integrated Document
Students will create one document that integrates at least three of the modules within AppleWorks: Word Processing, Spreadsheet, Drawing, Painting and DataBase
Integrated Document Due: January 13, 2006

4. On-line Discussion    10%    

Ongoing participation in online discussions taking the form of weblog posts and comments to other class members’ weblogs.

Due: January 20, 2005

5. Presentation    20%    

Part A:  Students will select an issue relevant to education technology today.  They will conduct internet searches to gather information. The will discuss the issue and its potential impact on education and come up with recommendations.
Part B:  Using a word processor, students will create a handout to accompany their presentation with the main points included.
Part C:  Students will present their findings to the class using a computer and LCD/video projector. Presentation time should be no more than 5 minutes. There is no minimum length for the written material since it may take on one of many different forms.
Part D: All references will be posted on the students’ weblogs.

Due to be presented: January 20, 2006.

5.  Weblog    20%    

1.The weblog should be posted to regularly: (5 times per week.)
2. It should incorporate images to increase the interest level.
3. It should document a list of links that were of interest during the research for the presentation.
4. One post should be a complete list of resources used while preparing for the presentation assignment. It will serve as an electronic bibliography
5. The weblog should include the use of hyperlinks to add richness to the content and add reference to the writing.
6. The weblog should include reflective pieces and display a development in thinking around education technology issues throughout the course.

Due: January 20, 2006.

6. Participation (in-class and on-line)    10%    


Grading etc.  

Students must abide by academic regulations as set out in the university calendar.  They must observe standards of 'scholarly integrity' especially with regards to plagiarism and cheating (see pp. 31-32 of the 2005-2006 Undergraduate Calendar, and pp. 22-23 of the 2005-2006 Graduate Calendar.


Extensions may be granted by consultations with the instructor BEFORE the due date. Late assignments without appropriate documentation will be deducted 5% per day to a maximum of 3 days.  After the third day, the assignment will not be accepted and will be recorded as a zero.  Mark allocation can be negotiated.  No assignment may be worth less than 10%.  Written and signed requests to change mark allocation must be received by (date).

Reflections on setting up a ICT course for teachers

I've been spending the last few days thinking about how EDCI 336 will look for 2006. What has changed since 2005? How has my thinking about ICT changed? What do these potential teachers need to learn about ICT and what do we need to pass on. Well, out with the how to text books we used last year. We will be looking at videos and I will also send them out to look for tutorials on their own. Handing them a "book" has everything wrong with it. Learning about software products can most likely be learned better on the web. Should we be using AppleWorks? Or Office? Or some other package? I am tempted to look at open source stuff but find it unpolished and quirky at best. ApppleWorks 6 is free to educators in BC and runs on Mac and PC. Is the Swiss Army Knife of productivity software. Yes, there are better data base, paint, draw, and spreadsheet programs on their own, but none so tightly integrated and easy to use. Yes, it will be AppleWorks again this year. What about the Website assignment? That was the worst part of last year's assignments. Must use something easier that allows students to manipulate their sites and is transferable and useful. Looks like Geocities and Blogger will be my picks this time around. Last year no one knew what a Blog was. I'd be interested to see who is blogging already. What about Instant messaging? Would be interesting to use Yahoo for that too.. Anyway, looking forward to learning new stuff with these guys...