Joe Polman, Ph.D.

Office Hours: Tuesdays 4-5:30pm, Thursdays 3-4:15pm, or by appointment

Marillac 216

Phone: 516-7210

This course is intended to inform teachers and other educators how to foster changes in uses of technology for learning in schools. We will get to this point by taking a historical view of the past century, and a critical assessment of the past two decades. Questions we will address include:

• What did people predict and hope for earlier in the century with educational technologies before the computer? What actually happened? Why?
• What did people predict and hope for in the 1980s with computers? What actually happened? Why?
• What are people predicting and hoping for now with computers and networking? What is happening? Why? What is likely to happen given different scenarios?
• How can teachers and other educators help foster effective use of technology for learning?

There are five main activities associated with the course:

1) Attending class weekly and actively participating. These sessions will be devoted to presentation and discussion of readings and other assignments, led by the professor and students. We will also have two "debates" (weeks 6 & 11). You should notify me before class if you know you will not be able to attend, and as soon as possible if something unexpected arises. Missing more than two class meetings will require makeup work.

2) Weekly participation in discussions on our email listserve.

You are expected to post at least one message per week to discussions of readings on the class email listserve, edtec435@lists.umsl.edu. You must make at least one post before 6pm Monday evening, the day before class. Please read other students’ responses to the discussion before you post, and make an effort to build on their ideas (we want a discussion, not a set of isolated comments). Before class, make sure and read any emails that are posted after yours, because we are likely to use the online discussion as a jumping off point for face-to-face discussion.

3) Together with another student, making a presentation of key points and leading the class in discussion of two readings during the semester. You will sign up for time slots the second week of the semester. In one case, you will act as the presenter, and in the other, you should act as the questioner/facilitator.

4) Completing a case study of a school’s reform involving educational technology. A proposal will be reviewed and approved by Week 10, and the printed paper will be due at the time of the final exam. The paper should refer to concepts from class readings (with citations where appropriate) and discussion.

5) Completing a "group final exam". You will be given a set of questions and the opportunity to discuss them with your group. You will then individually write up answers to the questions, but have the opportunity to discuss them further as you wish.

Grades for the course will be based on work in class and out as follows:

• Presenting and leading discussion during the class (20%)