Teacher Academy Jumpstart your Path to the 21st Century Classroom February 24th 2009 • Course Syllabus
February 24th and Online 8:00-3:30 PM Fairlane Center North School of Education Website: https://ctools.umich.edu/portal
Dr. Stein Brunvand School of Education e-mail: sbrunvan@umd.umich.edu Telephone: 313-583-6415 Office: D-7 School of Education
Course Overview Participants will be introduced to a variety of technologies that are available for use in k-12 classrooms. These technologies will focus on providing collaborative learning environments through the use of video and audio conferencing and other Web 2.0 tools. Participants will have the opportunity to conduct a technology needs assessment and develop an action plan to respond to identified needs. CTools A course website has been created in the online course management system known as CTools. You are automatically granted access to this site as a result of your enrollment in the course. In order to access the site you need to go to www.ctools.umich.edu and login using your uniquename and Kerberos password. Your uniquename is usually some combination of your first initial and last name. This is assigned to you and can also be referred to as your username or login ID. Your Kerberos password should have been mailed to you when you were initially accepted into the university. It is the password you would use to access your UM- D mail account through the Webmail service or to register for classes online. It may not necessarily be the same password that you use to login into the computers in the labs. If you don’t know your Kerberos password you can contact the ITS offices located at 1140 Computing Wing. Their phone number is 313-593-5519 and you may need to go there in person to get your Kerberos password. You can also change the password at several of the computer labs across campus at special terminals within the labs. You will want to ask the lab attendants which terminal to use for this purpose. The final option is to change your password online at http://www.its.umd.umich.edu/48/. All online discussions will take place through the ctools course site. In addition, all assignments can be accessed and submitted through this site using the Assignments section. If you are new to ctools you will find an informational Module on using ctools in the Modules section of the site. This Module includes several video tutorials that demonstrate how to use different parts of the ctools interface.
Forum Discussions Each CTools site has a Forum that can be used for discussions. As part of this class we will be having 3 different discussions using this Forums tool. The due dates for your responses to these discussions are shown below. You are expected to respond to my initial posting by midnight of each respective due date. I encourage you to read the responses of other students and respond to them where you feel appropriate. This is our main form of communication and sharing so it will be important for people to participate in these discussions as required. Please note that the discussion topics are listed in reverse chronological order so the discussion you need to respond to first is actually at the bottom of the list when you look at it in ctools. Forum Discussion Due Dates Discussion Topic Reactions to the Conference Online Learning Expectations Sharing your Action Plan
Due Date Midnight, Monday, March 2nd , 2009 Midnight, Monday, March 9th , 2009 Midnight, Monday, March 16th , 2009
Learning Activities 1. You need to develop an action plan for addressing the prominent technology needs at your school. This plan should include explicit steps and strategies for helping your school take advantage of some of the many technologies discussed and presented at the conference. This assignment is further outlined in the Assignment section of ctools. Due by midnight on Monday, March 9th 70 Points 2. Participation in required Forums Multiple due dates 45 points Total Points Possible: 115 Points Due Date Policy Assignments should be completed by their assigned due dates or a 20% grade reduction will be enforced. Teaching for Understanding The School of Education at the University of Michigan-Dearborn has adopted the Teaching for Understanding model as a framework for educating future teachers. It is a distinct method of teaching and learning, rooted in a specific way of looking at and explaining the world. Teaching for Understanding begins with the assertion
that knowledge is constructed. This means that people shape, form, or “construct” their own worlds. People determine what is “real,” what is “necessary,” and what has meaning. In Teaching for Understanding teachers and students change the ways in which they approach information, each other and the learning experience. No longer “fountains of knowledge and information,” teachers are called on to be learners in their own classrooms. No longer “empty vessels” of passive receiving, students are called on to be teachers of self and of others. Cooperative relations among students and an interactive relationship between students and the instructor are a means for students and the instructor to construct knowledge. Teaching for Understanding includes the following approaches to discourse and social interaction. Classrooms are places where: • Students and teachers acquire and construct knowledge collaboratively • Orthodoxies of pedagogy and “facts” are continually challenged • Conceptual understanding of subject matter is a goal • Teachers function as guides, coaches and facilitators by posing questions, challenging thinking, and leading in the examination of ideas and of relationships between concepts and experience. Based upon the Teaching for Understanding model, courses in the School of Education promote active student learning and the construction and development of knowledge through lectures, readings, small and large group discussions, small group activities, field based learning, and projects that require the application of knowledge. Academic Integrity The University of Michigan-Dearborn values academic honesty and integrity. Each student has a responsibility to understand, accept and comply with the University's standards of academic conduct as set forth by the Code of Academic Conduct, as well as policies established by the schools and colleges. Cheating, collusion, misconduct, fabrication and plagiarism are considered serious offenses. Violations will not be tolerated and may result in penalties up to and including expulsion from the University. Disability Resource Services The University will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Students need to register with Disability Resource Services (DRS) every semester they are taking classes. DRS is located in Counseling and Support Services, 1060 UM. To be assured of having services when they are needed, students should register no later than three weeks after the first day of classes.