CT 243 –
COMPUTERS IN THE CLASSROOM
Instructor:
Phone:
Annjanette Bennar
860-919-7351
Email: aabennar@gmail.com * Use this one
bennar@hartford.edu
Introduction . This is a reasonably fast-paced, overview course of educational technology. The main purpose, in
this course, will be to help teacher candidates become competent users of a wide range of educational computer
technology/software. Additionally we will examine some of the issues and implications of computer use in
classrooms. The course is constructivist in nature with a lot of hands-on activities. Students will be working both on
an individual basis and as collaborative teams throughout the course.
Course Objectives: (The candidate will)
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Explore how the process of "Reflective Practice" and its interaction with theoretical, curricular, and
pedagogical considerations relates and applies to the use of technology in an educational setting.
Demonstrate a sound understanding of technology operations and concepts
Plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology
Develop curriculum plans that include methods and strategies for applying technology to maximize
student learning
Apply technology to facilitate a variety of effective assessment and evaluation strategies
Use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice
Understand the social, ethical, legal, and human issues surrounding the use of technology in PK-12
schools and apply that understanding in practice
Grading
Assignment #1 - objectives
5 points
Assignment # 6 - cmap
20 points
Assignment #2 - digital story
20 points
Assignment #7 - portfolio
60 points
Assignment #3 – Software Eval.
20points
Presentation
10 points
Assignment #4 – word, excel , ppt
20 points
Participation
50 points
Assignment #5 - webpage
10 points
Article review & discussion questions
15 points
Online Class #1 – webpage bibliography
10 points
Total
240 points
Late assignments will receive a deduction of 25% for each day late. Because all assignments are to be
submitted electronically, days late include the weekend. For example if the assignment merited a grade of
20 points, but was two days late, the grade for the assignment will be a 10 points.
Attendance - Due to the nature of this course and the amount a material covered in each class period,
attendance is mandatory for every class. If an emergency arises which would necessitate an absence from
one of the classes, contact the instructor immediately via email Missing class will not only put you behind,
but will affect your participation score (minus 2 points for each absence) . If you miss more than 5
classes, whether excused or not, you will receive a failing grade for the course.
Assignments: You will be given more specifics including rubrics in the upcoming weeks and it will be
posted online.
Reflections - All assignments include an individual reflection on that assignment. These reflective
essays are limited to one, double spaced, typewritten page, though they need not be that long. Please
include the following in your reflective essays:
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What you found most difficult about this assignment and how you overcame the challenge
What objectives (of yours) did this assignment meet or contribute to for better understanding
What the benefits of this assignment were to you
How you can apply the knowledge learned in this assignment in the future to your
specialty/profession
How this assignment did/did not contribute to your understanding of integrating technology into the
education process
Assignment Overview – Detailed assignments will be posted on Blackboard
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Article Summaries (15 points) – For this assignment, you will find an article about technology in
education. You will present a 3-5 minute summary of the article in class and will prepare 2 -3
discussion questions for the class. You will be graded on your summary and the depth of your
discussion questions.
Online Class #1 Choose a topic of your choice (lesson planning, specific topic in education,
research topic) Evaluate ten web sites and to write an annotated e-bibliography of these websites.
Online Class #2 - Assignment to be Determined (graded in participation)
Assignment #1 (5 points) - Please list your learning objectives and goals for this course. Your list
should contain a minimum of five objectives.
Assignment #2 (20 points) – Digital story
Assignment #3 (20 points) -This assignment is a two part assignment
For the first part of the assignment you will work in groups of two or three to develop a software
evaluation rubric. The second part of the assignment is to use the rubric to evaluate a piece of
educational software.
Assignment #4 For this assignment you will be using the three most common productivity tools in
the Microsoft Office Suite: Word, PowerPoint, and Excel and creating three, linked documents
using a classroom grade sheet as the common element.
Assignment #5 (10 points) -For this assignment you will create a personal web page.
Assignment #6 (20 points) - Using Inspiration or Kidspiration or cMap, construct a concept map
on a topic that you are familiar with, preferably one that you would teach to someone else.
Assignment #7 (60 points) - an electronic portfolio of your work for this class.
Presentation (10 points) - a short (no more than 10 minute) presentation of your e-portfolio.
Participation (50 points) - Participation constitutes 50 points of the grade for this class.
Participation is constituted of both in-class discussions and the online discussions, reflections and
readings that take place during the course. The purpose of both in-class and electronic discussions is
for whole class "participation in discussions" in relation to achieving the stated goals of the course.
Calendar – Subject to change
Date
Week 1 –
1/25
Week 2 2/1
Topic
Introductions, Syllabus,
Calendar
Digital Storytelling Images, Sound, &
Video
Assignments
The readings listed are due for that week
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling/
http://electronicportfolios.com/digistory/index.html
http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=2/3/38&pq-locale=en_US
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2002/10/22/digi_photo_tips.html
http://www.betterphoto.com/exploring/tips.asp
Assignment #1 due - Personal course objectives
Week 3 –
Wiki Work, Web 2.0
Tools
Work On Your Digital Story for presentation in next week's class.
2/8
Week 4 –
2/15
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY
Multimedia and
Content-Area Learning
Software for Learning
Evaluating Software
http://hagar.up.ac.za/catts/learner/eel/Conc/conceot.htm
http://www.netc.org/software/eric_software.html
http://www.childrenssoftware.com/evaluation.html
http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/emc300/software/evalform.html
http://kathyschrock.net/1computer/page4.htm
Assignment #2 - Digital Story for presentation DUE IN CLASS
Week 5 –
2/22
ONLINE CLASS #1
Internet for Inquiry
Searching the Web
Evaluating Web Site
http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/webcrit.html
http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/webeval.html
www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/critical (Highly recommended)
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~agsmith/evaln/index.htm (Highly recommended)
Assignment ONLINE CLASS #1 due - Web site annotated ebibliography
Week 6 – 3/1
Productivity Tools
(Excel)
http://tinyurl.com/24kyzm
http://innovationcreators.com/wp/?p=115
Assignment # 3 due – Software Evaluation
Week 7 -3/8
Productivity Tools
(Word and Powerpoint)
http://fcit.usf.edu/Internet/CHAP3/CHAP3.HTM
http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/columnists/poole/poole015.shtml
http://oregonstate.edu/instruction/ed596/ppoint/pphome.htm
http://www.actden.com/PP/
http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/biztools/article.php/68487
3/15
Week 8 –
3/22
SPRING RECESS
Basic Web Page
Design
http://electronicportfolios.com/portfolios/aahe2000.html
Assignment # 4 due - Word Document, Excel Spreadsheet, and
PowerPoint - Excel spreadsheet embedded and "linked" to the other two
applications
Week 9 3/29
Week 10
Basic Web Design
Setting up your e-portfolio
http://www.citejournal.org/vol2/iss4/general/article3.cfm
CMaps
http://cmap.ihmc.us/
http://cmap.ihmc.us/publications/researchpapers/theorycmaps/theoryunderlyingconce
ptmaps.htm
4/ 5
http://electronicportfolios.com/portfolios/aahe2000.html
Assignment # 5 due - (This Personal Web Page might be the basis for your
"splash"/home page in your e-portfolio)
Week 11
4/12
Responsible Use
Copyright Fair Use
Copyright - cyber.law.harvard.edu/property/library/copyrightact.html
Fair Use - www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/copypol2.htm
Assignment # 6 due - An Inspiration/Kidspiration, cMap concept map
with multiple levels.
Week 12 –
4/19
Week 13 4/26
ONLINE CLASS #2
Multimedia tools
http://www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/blog/
http://www.webreference.com/authoring/languages/xml/rss/intro/
http://www.podcastalley.com/what_is_a_podcast.php
Portfolio Work
Assignment - TBD
Readings: NONE!
Class is devoted to finalizing your portfolio. If you happen to be well along in your
portfolio and don't think you need to spend the class time doing your portfolio, there
is probably someone in the class who would benefit from your help.
Week 14 –
5/3
LAST CLASS
Presentations Due
Final Presentations
Assignment # 7 Due