Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2019 - EDUC 890 G002

Educational Media as Foundations of Curriculum (4)

Class Number: 10806

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 3 – Dec 2, 2019: Thu, 4:30–8:20 p.m.
    Location: TBA

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Provides a historically-grounded treatment of the constructive role of technologies in the transmission and production of cultural knowledge and understanding. Students develop a grasp of the ways in which technologies have mediated and transformed the nature of knowledge, the knower, and processes of coming to know.

COURSE DETAILS:

Educational technology enthusiasts are prone to talk about the advantages of new modes of curriculum “delivery.” This language assumes that it is possible to separate curriculum from the media used to enact it. In this course, we will take seriously the proposition that it has never been possible to separate curriculum from the media used to implement it. We will explore this proposition both through literature and our own technology design efforts. In the literature, we will examine of the history of various educational media and their use, as well as current technology trends and the scholarship around them. In the design field, students will examine the unique affordances of educational media currently in vogue (such as digital games, wikis, blogs and other technologies for computer-supported collaborative learning) by developing their own original designs for learning to suit students and settings that are important to them. Students will benefit from critiques provided both by peers and the instructor before final submissions are due.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

In this course you will begin to:

  • Appreciate the concepts of "technology" and "educational technology" as contested fields
  • Understand the history of educational media in formal education
  • Understand the educational affordances of some popular digital media
  • Understand the issues of privacy and human rights that need to be considered alongside the use of technologies in education
  • Analyse and interpret some current controversies in the field of Educational Technology and Learning Design and the insections of Education and Technology more generally
  • Develop an ability to create and critique projects in learning design

Grading

  • • Between-class online discussions (evaluated by portfolio) 30%
  • • Design of a technology-based tool for teaching and/or learning (includes both the artifact and a statement of design rationale) 45%
  • • Draft of your design 5%
  • • Critique of a peer’s draft design 20%

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

Students will need to use web design / prototyping software for one of the course projects. There are a variety of freely-available options, many of which will be discussed in class.

REQUIRED READING:

Selwyn, N. (2016). Is technology good for education? Cambridge, UK: Polity Press

RECOMMENDED READING:

Here is a sample of other required readings, to be provided for download:  
Helsper, Ellen Johanna & Eynon, Rebecca (2010). Digital natives: where is the evidence? British Educational Research Journal 36(3), pp. 503–520 

Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., & Jones, K. (2009). Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies. Washington, DC: US Department of Education. (pages 1-8, 37-54).

Noble, D. (2002). Digital diploma mills: The automation of higher education. Toronto: Between the Lines. (selections)

O'Neill, D.K. and Sai, T.H. (2014). Why not? Examining college students’ reasons for avoiding an online course. Higher Education.

Pashler, H. (2010). Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest 9(3), 105-119.

Picciano, AG, Seaman, J, Shea, P, Swan, K (2012). Examining the extent and nature of online learning in American K-12 Education. Computers & Education (15) 127-135.

Squire, K. (2004). Replaying history: engaging urban underserved students in learning world history through computer simulation games. Proceedings of ICLS 2004, International Conference on the Learning Sciences.

Vardi, Moshe (2012). Will MOOCs Destroy Academia? Communications of the ACM. November 2012, p. 5

Watson, W.R., Mong, C.J. & Harris, C.A. (2011). A case study of the in-class use of a video game for teaching high school history. Computers & Education 56, 466–474

**Readings are subject to change based on the perceived needs of students enrolled in the course

Graduate Studies Notes:

Important dates and deadlines for graduate students are found here: http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/current/important_dates/guidelines.html. The deadline to drop a course with a 100% refund is the end of week 2. The deadline to drop with no notation on your transcript is the end of week 3.

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS