This wiki is a planning site for a graduate course in distance education that will examine the impact of Technology on K12 Education.
Who is this course for?
This course will be mainly of interest to graduate students in distance education who have experience as teachers or administrators in the K12 public education system. It will also be of interest to designers of instructional systems, policy designers and decision makers. As what happens in the K12 environment will have impact on the expectations learners bring to the post-secondary system, this course may also be of interest to planners and instructors in the post-secondary sector.
The goals of the course:
The course is about decision making. It will look both at technology push, global trends and the politics of curriculum and delivery decisions around the world.
This course is designed to provide a broad perspective of current trends in K12 and technology and the growing practice of distance delivery in the K12 world.
The course is in part about teaching with technology, and using technology to teach. It will also look at several promising practices for the use of technology in both face-to-face and distance classrooms.
This course is about leadership and planning. It will examine the pragmatics of introducing new technologies in the K12 environment.
This course is about evaluating technology use. It will examine ways of determining the effectiveness of technology for instruction and for creating change.
What are the logistics of this course?
The course is designed to take up a typical 3 credit course in a 13 week term.
The course is designed to be delivered at a distance to a paced cohort of learners.
The learners will be expected to interact with each other in a variety of ways, through asynchronous onferencing and through other channels that are of convenience. Learners will peer review each others' intellectual contributions.
How is the course organized?
The course is organized in a brief introduction followed by 5 modules. Module 1. Introduction to the 21st century curriculum movement - the notion that learning will be powered by technology.
Critical reflection will be given to identification of drivers of policy and implementation decisions for technology in K12 public education. Module 2. K12 Technology around the world. Review of example of national/ regional efforts to use technology and distance learning as an economic driver in a wide rang of countries and jurisdictions. How does the use of technology reflect the goals of the decision-makers?
Module 3. Technology and K12 Learning -What are the emerging technology tools and how are they used?
Is there a common model of analysis that can be applied to classify promising practices or help identify innovation gaps?
Module 4. Research on Learning and Teaching with Technology
What does current research tell us about promising practices for improving education?
How can meta-analysis help us make better informed decisions on where to place our efforts? How does it inform us about the evaluation of innovations?
Module 5. Planning for technology innovations.
A final project to articulate a plan for a technology innovation in K-12 education. Each learner will visit a local school or school authority and write a case for the infusion of new technology based upon the profile of the school and the potential use of the technology in that setting.
How will the participants be assessed?
Each module will have a knowledge evaluation component or quiz (5% x 5 = 25%).
There will be three production assignments: An interview with a decision maker on implementation of technology in K12 (15%). A comparative paper examining educational technology in K12 in two schools or in two different school authorities (school boards) ( (20%), and an implementation project to complete a real or hypothetical implementation plan for a technology innovation in K12 distance learning (25%).
In addition 15% of the course mark will be for participation in the development of the class as a "learning community".
When will the course be offered?
The course might be offered as early as September 2011.
Welcome to Technology and K12 Distance Learning!
This wiki is a planning site for a graduate course in distance education that will examine the impact of Technology on K12 Education.
Who is this course for?
This course will be mainly of interest to graduate students in distance education who have experience as teachers or administrators in the K12 public education system. It will also be of interest to designers of instructional systems, policy designers and decision makers. As what happens in the K12 environment will have impact on the expectations learners bring to the post-secondary system, this course may also be of interest to planners and instructors in the post-secondary sector.
The goals of the course:
The course is about decision making. It will look both at technology push, global trends and the politics of curriculum and delivery decisions around the world.
This course is designed to provide a broad perspective of current trends in K12 and technology and the growing practice of distance delivery in the K12 world.
The course is in part about teaching with technology, and using technology to teach. It will also look at several promising practices for the use of technology in both face-to-face and distance classrooms.
This course is about leadership and planning. It will examine the pragmatics of introducing new technologies in the K12 environment.
This course is about evaluating technology use. It will examine ways of determining the effectiveness of technology for instruction and for creating change.
What are the logistics of this course?
The course is designed to take up a typical 3 credit course in a 13 week term.
The course is designed to be delivered at a distance to a paced cohort of learners.
The learners will be expected to interact with each other in a variety of ways, through asynchronous onferencing and through other channels that are of convenience. Learners will peer review each others' intellectual contributions.
How is the course organized?
The course is organized in a brief introduction followed by 5 modules.
Module 1. Introduction to the 21st century curriculum movement - the notion that learning will be powered by technology.
Critical reflection will be given to identification of drivers of policy and implementation decisions for technology in K12 public education.
Module 2. K12 Technology around the world. Review of example of national/ regional efforts to use technology and distance learning as an economic driver in a wide rang of countries and jurisdictions. How does the use of technology reflect the goals of the decision-makers?
Module 3. Technology and K12 Learning -What are the emerging technology tools and how are they used?
Is there a common model of analysis that can be applied to classify promising practices or help identify innovation gaps?
Module 4. Research on Learning and Teaching with Technology
What does current research tell us about promising practices for improving education?
How can meta-analysis help us make better informed decisions on where to place our efforts? How does it inform us about the evaluation of innovations?
Module 5. Planning for technology innovations.
A final project to articulate a plan for a technology innovation in K-12 education. Each learner will visit a local school or school authority and write a case for the infusion of new technology based upon the profile of the school and the potential use of the technology in that setting.
How will the participants be assessed?
Each module will have a knowledge evaluation component or quiz (5% x 5 = 25%).
There will be three production assignments: An interview with a decision maker on implementation of technology in K12 (15%). A comparative paper examining educational technology in K12 in two schools or in two different school authorities (school boards) ( (20%), and an implementation project to complete a real or hypothetical implementation plan for a technology innovation in K12 distance learning (25%).
In addition 15% of the course mark will be for participation in the development of the class as a "learning community".
When will the course be offered?
The course might be offered as early as September 2011.