ITLS 5500 Course Syllabus
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- Good internet access - it's an online course!
- Bring your enthusiasm, creativity, and a willingness to work with the class team to explore ideas, research strategies and tools that will help us become better educators!
- Please make your focus on learning! If your focus is on points and grades, and the "hoops you need to jump through" - not much learning will take place! As a teacher, you'll struggle with this too - trying to get your students out of the typical education box and into real life learning! This is real life - you'll be a teacher! Use this course to help you get ready for that!
- We hope you're passionate about teaching and learning! 9`This course is all about exploring and reflecting about the profession you've chosen to major in, and ways that technology can help you!
- If you're truly interested in becoming an excellent educator - you'll want to dive into the content and resources we're going to share with you with a real intensity! Be an active community participant and contributor!
- There are no required books - we'll be using online resources throughout the course.
Video: An Introduction to Technology Integration (4:52)
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Video: What is 21st century education? (2:10) Although this video was created in 2012 - it's even more relevant today!
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Several visual clues are used throughout this website:
- Main Sections and Titles
- Subsections
- Text
- Links
- Things you are assigned to read, think about, and do!
- Clicking on images will either take you to their linked resource, or open in a lightbox window (and usually enlarges them so you can see them better.)
At the bottom of each experience section, there will be a light blue section labeled "Expand your horizons..." In this section, please pick one thing that most interests you and explore it further! It may be an article, a video, or an educational tool or resource. There are so many wonderful resources to share with you! Pick one to explore. Do more if you have time to. This website will be available after you leave this course, so you can always come back to explore further! You'll be asked to share your reflection about what you explored in the class discussion for the week! Newer materials will replace older ones each semester, so save things that look relevant and interesting to you for when you have time to peruse them!
There is also a light green section labeled "Optional resources I want to share with you!" These are completely optional. There are great resources in this section! Take a quick peek through them to see if there's anything exciting to you. Again, my purpose is to share some great resources with you, even if you don't have time during the week to look at them. You can always come back later and explore them! However, newer materials will replace older ones each semester, so save things that look relevant and interesting to you for when you have time to peruse them!
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- As mentioned earlier, this class is a team - a cohort of pre-service teachers and experienced educators. Together, we'll work to enrich the entire team through our discussions and the sharing of ideas, resources, and tools we research. You'll receive points for participating in our Canvas discussions - but that is just a side benefit. The main benefit is that we are working together to find and curate resources to share with each other. One of our goals is to have you take away many resources and ideas that you can actually use in your teaching profession.
- If you've not participated in Canvas discussions before, and need assistance learning how to do that, we've provided Canvas video tutorials in the Resources section of this site. Watch the student videos, particularly the one titled "Participate in a Discussion." They will teach you everything you need to know to work in Canvas. You can get to Canvas at My.USU.edu. You will need your A# and strong password to log in. If you have trouble logging in - please call the USU Help Desk (435-797-4357).
- Our course rules for Canvas discussions:
- Participate! Contribute! Share! Reply to posts that interest you! Express your thoughts and ideas. By doing so, we'll all benefit by considering several points of view. Our class team is a great brain trust - so please do your part! Online courses can be a lonely spot - we don't want that. We want you to know there are many others here to work and share with!
- Please, please be civil! It's OK to agree to disagree - but do so with kindness and tact! No profanity. No name calling. No put-downs. You know, we are asking you to use all those people skills you should have learned in Kindergarten! We're here to help and enrich each other! You are part of a team of educators and peers.
Course fee: The University’s Course Fee Committee recently approved the addition of a $15/credit online course fee. Effective Spring 2020, the fee will be applied to all online courses to sustain current digital technologies and support services required for delivering online learning.
- We will be using both Canvas (for messages and resource sharing, grading, assignments, etc.) and this website (for content and resource sharing).
- Syllabus or Class Changes: During the course of the class, you will be notified of any changes to the class syllabus by a message in Canvas. Changes to this syllabus before or after the course may occur without any notification. Please check back. We suggest you bookmark this class site in your browser.
- Submitting assignments and electronic files: Assignments will be submitted through Canvas. If you've not participated in Canvas assignment submissions before, and need assistance learning how to do that, I've provided Canvas video tutorials in the Resources section of this site. Download and watch the student videos, particularly the video "Student Assignment Submissions.mp4."
- Late work: This course will make you stretch, even push you outside your comfort zone at times. It's important to keep up and not get behind! In this class, late work will be accepted - your instructor will give you the details about late work. Extenuating circumstances such as incapacitating illness, death in the immediate family, etc. (similar to the "I Grade policy" below), will be considered in scoring work submitted late. Each assignment in the course has a "submit by" date clearly identified. The main thing is don't get behind! Contact your instructor if your struggling! Please don't just disappear on us. We're here to help you!
- Ethics and Honesty: "Each student has the right and duty to pursue his or her academic experience free of dishonesty. The Honor System is designed to establish the higher level of conduct expected and required of all Utah State University students." In this course, your voice is important. I will be asking you to assess your own efforts as part of the grading process. It is vitally important that you be ethical and honest in this. Dishonesty will cause you to receive a failing grade for the course. (By the way, you're a teacher! Aren't you going to expect this from your own students? Be a model of good ethics and honesty!)
- The Honor Pledge: To enhance the learning environment at Utah State University and to develop student academic integrity, each student agrees to the following Honor Pledge: "I pledge, on my honor, to conduct myself with the foremost level of academic integrity." A student who lives by the Honor Pledge is a student who does more than not cheat, falsify, or plagiarize. A student who lives by the Honor Pledge:
- Espouses academic integrity as an underlying and essential principle of the Utah State University community;
- Understands that each act of academic dishonesty devalues every degree that is awarded by this institution; and
- Is a welcomed and valued member of Utah State University."
- Plagiarism: "Plagiarism includes knowingly "representing, by paraphrase or direct quotation, the published or unpublished work of another person as one's own in any academic exercise or activity without full and clear acknowledgment. It also includes the unacknowledged used of materials prepared by another person or agency engaged in the selling of term papers or other academic materials." The penalties for plagiarism are severe. They include warning or reprimand, grade adjustment, probation, suspension, expulsion, withholding of transcripts, denial or revocation of degrees, and referral to psychological counseling."
- Please take time to read through Utah State University's Academic Honesty/Integrity Policy - we will adhere to it in class.
- Students with Disabilities - The Americans with Disabilities Act states: "Reasonable accommodation will be provided for all persons with disabilities in order to ensure equal participation within the program. If a student has a disability that will likely require some accommodation by the instructor, the student must contact the instructor and document the disability through the Disability Resource Center (797-2444), preferably during the first week of the course. Any request for special consideration relating to attendance, pedagogy, taking of examinations, etc., must be discussed with and approved by the instructor. In cooperation with the Disability Resource Center, course materials can be provided in alternative format, large print, audio, diskette, or Braille."
- Withdrawal Policy and "I" Grade Policy: Students are required to complete all courses for which they are registered by the end of the semester. In some cases, a student may be unable to complete all of the coursework because of extenuating circumstances, but not due to poor performance or to retain financial aid. The term 'extenuating' circumstances includes: (1) incapacitating illness which prevents a student from attending classes for a minimum period of two weeks, (2) a death in the immediate family, (3) financial responsibilities requiring a student to alter a work schedule to secure employment, (4) change in work schedule as required by an employer, or (5) other emergencies deemed appropriate by the instructor.
- Course feedback and evaluation: Students taking this course are strongly encouraged to give feedback on the course. What can we do to make it better, more meaningful and helpful to you? We ask that you take time at the semester's end to fill out the IDEA evaluation.
We love teaching! We love helping students learn and improve! We love watching students rise to the challenge to be innovative and creative! That's why we chose to be teachers! Since we are required to give you a grade in this course, we will endeavor to make grading as uncomplicated and fair as we can. And we will ask for your help in assessing your efforts. Points will be assigned for the following:
Thank you for reading through the course syllabus. Now move on to the course experiences (lessons).
- Assignments, reflections, and Canvas discussions: Points will be awarded for completion of required coursework. These will be graded using a scoring rubric that is provided for each assignment. Your own self assessment of your effort may be included in this.
- If you happen to receive a low score - advice will be given as to what you need to do further to revise and resubmit for an acceptable score. It's OK to fail at something, if you try again until you make it acceptable. We want you to succeed!
- Deadlines are important! We only have 14-15 weeks to accomplish a lot! Please avoid falling behind!
- There are no midterm or final tests for this course. You will be evaluated on the quality of your participation in class discussions, the quality of your assignment submissions, and the effort you put into those.
- 94-100% = A • 90-93% = A-
- 87-89% = B+ • 83-86% = B • 80-82% = B-
- 77-79% = C+ • 73-76% = C • 70-72% = C-
- 60-69% = D • Less than 60% = F
Thank you for reading through the course syllabus. Now move on to the course experiences (lessons).
Material on this website - other than curated internet videos and resources linked to within - are copyright 2020 by Nathan M. Smith Jr. - Updated July 22, 2020
