Learning, Technology & Society

 

EDTEC 296 Course Syllabus
Spring 2005

Department of Educational Technology
San Diego State University

Jim Julius, Lecturer in Educational Technology
Phone: 619.260.4600, x6542
e-mail: jjulius@mail.sdsu.edu

Themes - Objectives - Schedule - Readings - Grading
More Syllabus Material

Overall Course Themes

This course is about the intersection of three fundamentally human activities. We acquire skills and knowledge; we build tools and processes; we create the communities and cultures in which these activities occur. The common ground among these three realms provides a starting point from which to learn about and live effectively in a technological society. We'll explore this domain as problem-solvers looking for gaps between what's real and what's ideal.

Catalog Course Description: Problem-solving at the intersection of learning, technology and social institutions. Identifying needs, generating possible solutions in the following domains: elearning, edutainment, formal and informal learning. Fictional and data-based projections of future developments to enhance learning.

Objectives

Upon completing this course, you'll be able to:

  1. Describe several specific technologies that are or might be applied to human learning.
  2. Explain how social institutions affect and are in turn affected by such technologies.
  3. Describe the moral, ethical, legal and societal implications of specific learning technologies.
  4. Identify problem situations that occur within the domains of online training, virtual schools, peer-to-peer file sharing, and pervasive computing.
  5. Describe how technological change creates differences between generations in terms of their ethical standards, interests and learning preferences.
  6. Use software tools and online resources to practice creative problem-solving and communicate your solutions and reflections.
  7. Use a variety of problem-solving techniques to address ill-defined problems within the domains of this course and beyond.
  8. Create a plan for effective personal growth using the tools and resources available to anyone living in a technological society.

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Course Schedule



Week

Date

Topics

Tasks Before Class

1

Jan 26

Approaches to Creative Problem Solving - 1
Guest: Bernie Dodge, Ph.D.
How do scientists and engineers approach problem solving? How do novelists and other artists do it?

 

2

Feb 2

Blogging, Concept Mapping, Moodle and Creative Problem Solving

We’ll examine the blogosphere, concept mapping, and the forums in Moodle as tools which can be used at various points in the problem-solving process.

Complete your Moodle profile

Read this recent, brief Wired article on blogging, then explore this overview of blogging

3

Feb 9

New Tools, New Rules - 1
Guest: Allison Rossett, Ed.D.
Every technology brings with it capabilities for people to affect themselves and each other in new ways. Dr. Rossett will talk about some of the positive possibilities.

Afterwards, we'll work on some of the dilemmas JSB proposes in the preface of his book, using some of the Jones techniques you read about.

- Post at least one blog entry
- Check out the comments on blogs that groups did in class (Moodle forum #2) and feel free to leave comments on how their observations match up (or not) with your own
- Read Jones ch. 1-5
- Read Higgins ch. 1-2
- Read JSB preface and introduction
- Read up a bit on captology to be prepared (i.e. come with a good question or two) for Dr. Rossett's guest presentation. Here's a good overview and this site from Stanford is also worth exploring.

4

Feb 16

 New Tools, New Rules - 2
Guest: Carol Tohsaku, M.A.
Activity: Analyze the problem of cyberplagiarism and identify some of the fine points of setting policy in this area. See the causal flow diagram we came up with here and comment on it in Moodle.

-Read Jones Chapters 6-10
-Read JSB Ch 1-2
-Explore this site on plagiarism
-Do a blog entry using problem restatement, pros-cons-fixes, divergent/convergent thinking, or some combination to address a problem in your own life or a problem in the world you are concerned with. Comment on how the method allowed you to move beyond the limits of your biases/assumptions/ patterns/emotions/etc.

5

Feb 23

 Project 1: Generational Shifts in Learning - 1

Does technology change the way people think and learn, or is learning so fundamental to human nature that it’s stable over time? Are you different from your parents because of the kinds of technology you had growing up? How will your children differ from you?

Read Jones Chapter 11
Read JSB Ch 5 (ch 3-4 optional)
Read JSB's Learning in the Digital Age

Read the pages under Content (Louder Echo, etc) on the Growing Up Digital site.

Do a blog entry. If you haven't done one yet following last week's guidelines, be sure to do so this week. Otherwise, feel free to use your blog to reflect on problem-solving, cyberplagiarism, or anything else related to this class OR NOT...

6

Mar 2

 Project 1: Generational Shifts in Learning - 2

Project 1: Analyze data from an online poll of your peers and people of your parents’ generation to test hypotheses based on your readings and experiences with learning and technology.

Contact 8 people you know (1/2 younger, 1/2 older) and ask them to complete the survey before next Tuesday.

Read JSB Chapter 8
Read Jones Chapter 11 again.
Explore other writings by Marc Prensky on his site.

Suggested blog entry: Reflect on how how you and your parents are similar / different with regard to the ways you think and learn, and the role technology does/doesn't play.

7

Mar 9

 Project 2: The Virtualization of Formal Education
Guest: Farhad Saba, Ph.D.
What are the benefits of replacing aspects of schools, universities and training programs with their mediated equivalents? What gets lost? How will technological and societal changes in the near future affect these tradeoffs?

Read Dr. Saba's overview paper on distance education
Reread JSB pp. 229-241

Visit others' blogs to make some thoughtful comments. Feel free to add to your blog.

Work on Project 1 (due March 16).

8

Mar 16

Project 2: The Virtualization of Formal Education
Guest: Maria Schutt, M.A.
We'll hear about usability issues related to the design of interfaces between humans and computers.
In preparation for Project 2, we'll practice the weighted-sum method for systematic decision making.

Read JSB ch. 3 (Review if you read it earlier)
Reread Jones ch. 10

Complete Project 1 by March 16.

9

Mar 23

Project 1 Showcase
Project 2 Work Session

Prepare your group presentation on Project 1
Start work on Project 2 (due Apr 6)

Skim through the Higgins book and blog about any techniques that particularly catch your eye or that you may have some prior experience with.

 
 
Mar 30
 Spring Break

10

Apr 6

Project 3A: Future Learning
Visions, Possibilities and Nightmares
Guest: Philip Molebash, Ph.D.
Creative minds have envisioned how technology might enhance our ability to learn through fictional accounts of possible future tools and institutions. What values, hopes and fears are reflected in these works? From today’s perspectives, how valid do they seem? What is your own vision of the future of learning?

Project 3B: Informal Learning, Edutainment, and Infotainment
Guest: Minjuan Wang, Ph.D.
What constitutes a high-quality technology-based learning environment? How can you separate hype from reality? What is the relationship between fun and learning? How does learning take place in museums and attractions, through television and popular culture?

At the end of class session, you'll choose between these two topics for your Project 3.

Read The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster

Complete Project 2 by Apr 6.

11

Apr 13

 Project 3 Work Session

Be ready with the Project 3A or Project 3B deliverables for today.

Keep on blogging!

12

Apr 20

4:30 class start

 Project 3 Showcase Project 3 due today

13

Apr 27

Project 4: Social Networks for Learning
Activity: Write a business plan for service that brings minds together for learning.

Introduction and start of work.

This week is an excellent opportunity to do some blogging. Check out Kristin's post for a nice example of a blog entry that goes beyond simply a diary-type entry - blogging at its best is all about connecting with ideas of others and making your own contribution. Don't forget to visit others' blogs and comment as well.

Look ahead to project 4 and begin thinking about it!

14

May 4

Project 4: Social Networks for Learning
Guest: Donn Ritchie, Ph.D.
In an information society, you will need to be a nimble learner to survive. Sometimes you won't have time to wait for a specific course to be available. How can we harness all the new tools that connect people together to help us all become smarter just-in-time?

Project 4 Work Session

Be ready for project 4 phases 2 (second part) & 3 in class this week.

Keep on blogging.

15

May 11

 Project 4 Showcase

By May 8, look back over your blog postings and nominate (by providing the URLs) five postings you made over the course of the semester that best represent your thoughtful reflections on issues related to our course. You should also point to an additional five postings in which you have responded to postings made by others in the class. You will receive a grade based on this rubric.

Finish up Project 4

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Readings

There are three textbooks for the course. They are available in Aztec Shops or may be ordered from Amazon by clicking on the links.

Brown, J.S. and Duguid, P. (2002). The Social Life of Information. Harvard Business School Press.

ISBN: 1578517087

  
Higgins, J. M. (2000). 101 Creative Problem Solving Techniques: The Handbook of New Ideas for Business. New Management.

ISBN: 1883629004

Jones, M. D. (1995). The Thinker's Toolkit: 14 Powerful Techniques for Problem Solving. Three Rivers Press.

ISBN: 0812928083

An additional set of readings is available through the course website, most as PDF files requiring Acrobat Reader.

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Grading

Your final grade will be determined by your performance on four projects and your blog responses.

Most projects will be team efforts. Each individual on the team will be graded separately, though the overall performance of the team will have an influence over individual grades. It behooves you, therefore, to put some energy into team building in order to maximize everyone's success. The projects will be weighted as follows:

Project 1: Generational Changes in Learning

20%
Project 2: Deciding on a Learning Environment 20%

Project 3: Future or Informal Learning

25%

Project 4: Social Networks for Learning

20%

Blog Reflections

15%

Note that your course grade can be negatively affected by lack of constructive participation (including non-attendance) and turning work in late. See the second syllabus page for details.

Please keep in mind the following definitions of grading standards from the SDSU General Bulletin:

A

Outstanding achievement; available only for the highest accomplishment.

B

Praiseworthy performance; definitely above average.

C

Average; awarded for satisfactory performance.

More Syllabus Material

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