MDDE 610: Introduction to Current Distance Education Technologies

Delivery mode: Online course with collaborative group study

Credits: 3 - Elective

Prerequisites: None

Instructor Winter 2011: Craig Montgomerie

Overview

This course provides practical experience with online technologies currently used in distance education, and allows critical assessment of them. The course uses various technologies to present material, to announce course-related activities, and for communication with the instructor and other course members.

The following are some of the technologies examined during the course.

1) Asynchronous tools
2) Synchronous conferencing methods
3) Course/learning management systems
4) Social software applications
5) Mobile learning (pod/video-casting)

Students who are already using technology in specific distance education contexts can base their course studies around this experience. Newcomers to the educational technology field may follow less applied interests in
their course work.

Course Objectives

There are three main objectives in this course:

1. Gain hands on experience and undertake a critical evaluation of a variety of educational technologies.

2. Learn to apply media attribute schema and Bates ACTIONS/SECTIONS criteria to various media.

3. Apply adoption theories to a technology that could be used in your own local teaching/learning situation.

Course Requirements & Evaluation

Assignment 1 - 30%
A 1,500-word paper on Synchronous/ Asynchronous/ Individual/ Group: personal reflections on the ideal DE technology.

Assignment 2 - 40%
A 2,500 word paper on a topic of interest to the individual student (to be determined in discussion with the instructor).

Online conferencing - 30% (throughout the course)
This section includes online discussion of individual course units (text and occasional audio). Students’ critical, reflective participation in the online conferences is essential to the course's success.

The instructor will apply the following criteria in assessing the students' contributions to the conferences and written assignments:

• engagement and commitment;

• evidence of wide reading;

• capacity for intellectual reasoning, and openness to new ideas;

• ability to synthesise thinking and to link theory and empirical findings to practice; and

• efficient communication skills.

All assignments are to be submitted through the course assignment dropbox in Moodle.

 

[NOTE: Referencing format must follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th Edition).]

An Early Start

MDDE 610 Checklist

The purpose of this page is to allow you to orient to the course early, if you wish. You are not required to complete any of these activities before the official start date of your course.

To access this item, please use your Student ID and your password. (Login instructions)

 

CDE - Last updated by MK December 02, 2010