Welcome to the 2004 summer session of the Masters Program in Educational Technology. This summer we will cover three courses (CEP 800, 801, & 822) as an integrated seminar beginning Thurs, June 18 and continuing through Friday, July 16. We will meet in Room 133, Erickson Hall (Technology Exploration Center, a.k.a. TEC) in the College of Education from 8:30 - 3:30.

This course has two goals: an easy goal and a difficult one. The easy one is to learn about technology. Some of you may already know a lot about it and some may know less. But learning that stuff is easy and we will do some of that this summer. The difficult goal is figuring out what we are going to do with that knowledge to help students learn and to develop professionally. Here things get messy and confusing. Clear answers are hard to come by, in fact sometimes it may not even be clear what the problems are. We will try make some headway into these issues. Rather than teaching the three courses—CEP 800, 801, and 822—separately, we have taken advantage of being together for a month to approach them as an interrelated whole. We think you will find this set of courses a unique opportunity to learn about learning and development, teaching, technology, and research. As your instructors, we have designed a structure and set of experiences to give direction to your learning. We hope that you will learn a great deal from one another as well as from us and from the authors we read. Our task will be to create and sustain a mutually beneficial learning community, and to plan how to do that with your students as well.

Computers and other new technologies have the potential of changing what and how students learn—sometimes in fairly fundamental ways. They can also support the tasks of teaching in significant ways. But these powerful technologies can also, if not used thoughtfully, end up simply being expensive tools for doing things we already do well. We will be addressing such issues this summer by considering research and practice in a number of areas. We all think it’s important to use new technologies in ways that enhance teaching and learning, not just as expensive new "gimmicks." As we think together about about how to enhance teaching and learning with technology, we will encounter many different interrelated issues and ideas. This idea map provides an overview:



We will be focusing on four interrelated domains: Learning and Development, Teaching, Technology, and Research. Each of these areas is important in thinking about teaching and learning with technology. There is sometimes a tendency, however, to concentrate on one of these domains in isolation of the others. Folks thinking about using technology in school settings, for example, may concentrate on what the technology can do without adequate attention to the demands of teaching or the needs of learners. Research sometimes seems too removed from the day-to-day realities of classrooms to be useful to teachers in thinking about their work with children. Our goal this month will be to keep all four domains ever present, thinking about what each can contribute to teaching and learning with technology and about the interrelations among them. Of course, we will at times focus more exclusively on a particular domain. For example, there will be times when we dig deeply into issues of learning or a particular aspect of technology. We hope always, however, to return to thinking about how the ideas fit together.

Within each of the four domains we have posed key questions that will provide our focus. Virtually all of our readings, discussions, and assignments deal with these questions, singly or in combination. All these questions are important for us to think about as teachers using technology to enhance learning. As we move along through though the month we will be adding to our idea map as we address new issues and ideas. Collectively and individually we will explore different ways of representing the complex interconnections among the ideas we encounter.

We have compiled a reading packet for this summer. A list of the readings for this course is available by clicking on the "Readings" link on the left frame. We may add some additional readings (or delete some) as the course progresses. Some readings are available online. You will need Adobe Acrobat reader (a free download from www.adobe.com) for some of the readings. Apart from the assigned readings we expect each of you to conduct research and collect readings for your own learning. We would like you to share any interesting links, documents you find with the rest of us. You can do that by clicking on the "Resources" link on the left, which will allow you to post URL's etc. for everyone to see.

There is also a required text for this course. The Art of Classroom Inquiry: A Handbook for Teacher-Researchers by Ruth Shagoury Hubbard, Brenda Miller Power. Compare Prices at Addall.com

An important goal this summer is to create a learning community in which we can work intensely together to support our own and others' learning.

Expect to be here. We expect you to attend every class session. This is critical as one cannot simply "get the notes" in a class where the interaction among peers and material is key.

Expect to come to class prepared. Being prepared means having read and thought about assigned readings, conducted outside research, or having worked on a computer project. We expect you to read the the required readings and your out-of-class research "hard;" that is, read them with questions, ideas, and conjectures in mind. Four good general questions are:

• What is the author saying?
• Where does what the author is saying fit into his or her argument?
• What would it be like to believe what the author is saying?
• What parts of the paper or chapter were puzzling, confusing, surprising?

Expect to participate. Although classroom activities will vary, at times we will have small-group and whole-class discussions of class activities, reading assignments, and other topics that may arise. The success or failure of each activity depends in large part on your participation. We expect each of you will be able to contribute something to our discussions and will do so regularly. You are smart, capable people and the topics, readings, and assignments are designed to engage your interest and experiences. Class participation includes:

• reading assignments completely and thoughtfully before class
• contributing thoughtfully and constructively to class discussions
• making deliberate and clear connections to ideas from the readings, other students, or instructors during discussion
• giving and receiving assistance with technology-related tasks

Note: Your attendance record, preparation, and participation in class will contribute to your grade for the course. The three grades are related: Although you can attend class, be prepared, and not participate, you cannot participate if you are not there and you can not participate if you are not prepared. Do not expect a high participation grade if you have missed any class sessions or regularly come to class unprepared. Participation in class discussions will be evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively. Different class members participate in different ways. Whereas some students may speak often, others may speak sporadically. It is possible, however, to speak often and say little or to speak seldom but say much. It is important that we recognize how often we participate AND our contributions to the class' thinking about important topics--one without the other is an incomplete assessment of participation.

Expect to learn from your peers. Classes work best when students view one another as knowledgeable and expect to learn as much from classmates as from the teacher. Also expect to challenge our ideas and those of your classmates (gently) and have yours challenged by us. We make no headway if we nod our heads politely but push neither ourselves, the readings, or others to deeper understandings.

Expect to be confused, irritated, and misunderstood, as well as appreciated, applauded, and surprised. The readings, discussions, and assignments should provoke a range of feelings and responses. Try to understand what makes you feel comfortable or uncomfortable, what you take for granted and what surprises you, what others understand or misunderstand about your ideas.

And finally, most importantly ...EXPECT TO PLAY! We firmly believe that learning happens best when it is fun. A lot of the fun will happen in our everyday interactions. We have also tried to institutionalize the fun that we can have. As we all know, researchers and academics often love to construct jargon (or use everyday terms in unconventional ways). Clearly, there are no hard and fast rules but we see this as an opportunity for us to play with ideas (which often requires a deep understanding of the ideas in the first place).

Just as utilizing a language creatively requires learning the alphabet and the basic rules of grammar, learning to use technology for the purposes of learning requires learning the basics of technology. We hope that that by the end of this month each of you will have made significant progress in learning technology. In brief we expect each of you:

•	to be able to access your pilot e-mail account and utilize the storage space available to you there.
•	should have a working understanding of key concepts such as file transfer, file formats, client server relationships, protocols, hierarchical file structures (such as nesting of folders and files) and how to access these when designing web page
•	be able to construct a basic web page with links, images etc. We see this web site as being the beginning of your professional portfolio that will grow as you progress through the Master's program (and beyond).
•	be able to construct powerpoint presentations (and upload it to your web or storage space
•	should be able to scan or digitize images and video. Be able to do some simple image manipulation and video editing. This will require having a working understanding of file formats and file compression strategies
•	should be able to burn CDs, upload and download files (FTP)
•	should have an understanding of issues of design and layout as applies to web pages and powerpoint presentations
•	should have a working understanding of file compression (particularly images and video)
•	should have a working understanding of issues around copyright and fair use, security, ethics etc.

This is a lot to learn in one month and clearly not all of it can be covered by us. So we expect each of you to be in charge of your own learning. That said, we will have workshops on many of these topics but more importantly we will design activities that will expect you to develop and practice these skills.

This summer's integrated seminar includes a four major assignments. Two of them are group projects while two are individual projects. The assignments are:

• Action Research Project (Individual project)
• Personal web page/site (Individual project)

Action Research Project

In the MAET program, we are committed to supporting your learning about technology, learning, and teaching in ways that will shape your practice and support your continued learning and development as a teacher. We also believe that good teaching inherently involves reflection and inquiry—that it is by constantly questioning, observing, and analyzing that we continue to grow as teachers and enhance the learning of our students.

Over the next year you will be planning and carrying out an action research project intended nurture your reflection and inquiry skills and to deepen the connection between what you are learning in your MAET courses and your teaching practice.  Basically, the project will entail focusing on a problem or issue arising from your teaching practice, developing and implementing a plan to address that problem (involving technology, of course!), and systematically reflecting on what happens.  Thus, this project is research, but it is also teaching:

Action research implies an orientation to research, a form of professional practice, a research process, and, for teachers, a reflective way of teaching. Teachers who ask questions of their practice such as, How can I improve my practice? (Whitehead, 1996), who try out some of their ideas in response to that question, who systematically observe and collect evidence related to their actions, and who then analyze and talk with others about it—these teachers are engaging in reflective practice.  They are following the same kind of cyclical process that characterizes action research. (Ahar, Holly, & Kasten, 2001, p. 15)

The term action research, like so many terms, has a history of different but related meanings.  We use this term for MAET project primarily for two reasons: First, action research, as originally conceived by LewinÉ. Is participatory collaborative research intended to improve existing social practice--=no matter its current state.  Participants identify some area of concern, study possible solutions, try some things out, and then systematically observe and records what happens, finally reflecting on the results to determine future action.  Action research has also been taken up in the educational community as a label for research done by teachers or other school-based educators to better understand their own students and classrooms.  The term is good because it involves action—you will do something thoughtfully planned—and it involves research—you will systematically observe, record, and analyze to reflect on and learn from what transpires. 

A Year-Long Project

This summer you will do much of the planning for your action research project. This planning is an important part of the inquiry process, involving focusing in on a problem or issue, figuring out what others have done and written that is relevant to the problem, and planning a course of action.  At the end of our month together you will have an Action Research Proposal that describes and justifies what you plan to do and the beginnings of a plan for how you will observe, analyze, and reflect on what takes place.  In the fall, you will further develop your proposal, fleshing out more specific research questions and methods for data collection and analysis.  Then you will carry out the project, writing up an Action Research Report that you will present to your MAET colleagues next summer.  Action research work during the academic year will be the focus of CEP 894D, Practicum in Educational Psychology, an online course that will run from September to May.  Activities in this course will be organized around action research groups that we will form this summer and will be the collaborative/learning/support groups for carrying out your inquiry. Each action research group will have 4-5 students with common subject matter interests.  For example, one group might focus on high school mathematics and another on middle-school social studies. To expand the pool of students with similar interests and broaden your network of colleagues, these groups will be formed across the three MAET summer sites—East Lansing, Traverse City, and Plymouth (England).  You will work with your research group using various online communication tools (providing another kind of opportunity to learn about using technology!).  Your research group will be a site for you to discuss your action research plans and other subject-specific assignments this summer.  During 2004-2005 academic year, you will continue working with your research group as you carry out your action research project (through CEP 894D).

This Summer

Various kinds of individual and group work on action research proposals will be a major strand of activities and assignments across our four weeks together this summer. Within the first week of class we will form action research groups and you will work with your group to define a problem area on which to focus your research project. The first written assignment will be a draft statement of this problem area.  During the second week, you will explore what others have learned, done, and written about your problem area—reviewing research literature and information.  This work will culminate in a written review of related literature and information, which you will submit along with your revised problem statement.  The ideas is for each written product to build on the one that preceded it.  Thus, each week you will revise what you've written already and add a new part, so that by the end of the month, you'll have a coherent plan for your action research project.  During the third and fourth weeks, you will develop your instructional plans and justification and begin to develop questions to focus your research on what transpires.

Here's an overview of key activities and assignments for action research projects this summer.  The week time frames are approximate and may vary a bit across MAET sites.

Personal Web page/site

This assignment will accomplish three things. First, it provides an opportunity to introduce design issues. We will look at the aesthetics, functionality, and accessibility of web pages/sites. Second, it provides an opportunity to compile your work into a portfolio. Third, your web page/site will serve as a starting point for the portfolio you must complete in the final year of the masters in educational technology program. At the end of the class your portfolio must contain:

• A professional-looking site.

• A site that has been updated or changed since the start of this course

• Contact information for you

• A link to some courses you have taken at MSU (this course for example)

• A link to your group site

• A link to any individual work you are turning in.

• A link to CV or resume.

• A short bio or description of you. Who are you anyhow?

Representation of the course ideas