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| AHMET AYHAN HOUSE COLLEGE 49 Ethniki Odos Athens 60600 Greece |
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| DISTANCE EDUCATION: THEORY AND PRACTICE EMC 598 Summer Session of 2001 "bridging distances to the individual learner" |
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| INTRODUCTION: |
Welcome to our course offered online from the Educational Media and Computer Program at Stratigakis House College. The course will be taught by Dr. Rob Williams and Barry Tomalin. We will meet face-to-face July 6, 7, and 8 from 9:00-11:50 am in Computer Commons Room 203 and online daily until August 7. Select one of the topics below to learn more about the course, assignments, students, and online resourses. You are encouraged to e-mail Dr. Kostantine or Tony Bastow at the above e-mail addresses for more information. |
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| COURSE OBJECTIVES: |
At the conclusion of this course students will: * Identify major trends in the distance education movement; * Describe issues of particular importance to distance educators; * Identify educators who have made important contributions to the field; * Synthesize the use of various technologies used in distance education; * Be familiar with professional journals and resources in the area of distance education; * Become users of synchronous and asynchronous desktop conferencing systems for distance education. |
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| COURSE DESCRIPTION: |
* We will examine the theoretical framework, historical development and practical applications of the distance education movement. You will use a variety of media to communicate between class members and with instructors. During the course we will be working with a text-based conferencing system called FirstClass ΞΒΞ’ΒΞΒ²Ξ²β€Β¬Ξ’ΒΞΒβ€β€ΞΒ²Ξ²β€Β¬Ξ²β€Ξ†ΞΒΞ’ΒΞ’Β²ΞΒΞ’Β²ΞΒ²Ξ²β€Β¬Ξ’ΒΞ’Β¬ΞΒ’Ξ’ΒΒΞΒΞ’ΒΞΒ²Ξ²β€Β¬Ξ’ΒΞΒΞ’Β²Ξ²β€ΒΒ¬ΒΒΒΞΒΞ’ΒΞΒ²Ξ²β€Β¬Ξ²β€Ξ†ΞΒ’Ξ’Β® by SoftArc. * There are two readings. The text you will need to buy is Distance Education: A Systems View by Michael G. Moore & Greg Kearsley. The text is available at the ASU Bookstore. The other optional reading is a chapter by Barry Tomalin and Tony Bastow.The chapter will be available online. Topics covered include research, planning, assessment, and the use of emerging technologies for distance education. We will discuss the problems and issues facing the rapid development of the Internet as a technology for implementing distance education. Online resources will supplement the text materials. This class is meant to be an interactive seminar in which students and instructors take active roles in contributing to discussions. You will be expected to have access to the Internet and be proficient in using e-mail and downloading files. Assignments include two or three weekly focus papers directed to issues covered in the readings. These short (1000 word) focus papers are to include online resources as part of the essay and will be posted on the internet. You will also choose a topic to explore and will develop your own comprehensive online reference list. |
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FORMAT OF THE SEMINAR: |
You will begin by introducing yourself and posting a short autobiography in FirstClassΞΒΞ’ΒΞΒ²Ξ²β€Β¬Ξ’ΒΞΒΞ’Β²Ξ²β€ΒΒ¬ΒΒΒΞΒΞ’ΒΞΒ²Ξ²β€Β¬Ξ²β€Ξ†ΞΒ’Ξ’Β®. These and other assignments will be posted in the FirstClassΞΒΞ’ΒΞΒ²Ξ²β€Β¬Ξ’ΒΞΒΞ’Β²Ξ²β€ΒΒ¬ΒΒΒΞΒΞ’ΒΞΒ²Ξ²β€Β¬Ξ²β€Ξ†ΞΒ’Ξ’Β® Conferencing folders. There will be two types of questions posted; focus questions and discussion questions. Focus questions have been posted by the instructors and can be located in the Focus Paper section on the class website. Each student will write a 1000 word analysis of each textbook chapter, based on the focus questions for that week. The papers will be posted in the homework folder. After reviewing the papers, the instructors will post them in the papers folder and then on the web for the class to read. Assignments are due no later than Sunday night at which time that week's folder will be closed. Discussion questions will be posted by students and will be the basis of discussions for that week. There will be two or three discussion topics. Students are expected to be online daily. You are expected to contribute a minimum of two thoughtful dialogues per week in each of the discussion areas or folders in FirstClassΞΒΞ’ΒΞΒ²Ξ²β€Β¬Ξ’ΒΞΒΞ’Β²Ξ²β€ΒΒ¬ΒΒΒΞΒΞ’ΒΞΒ²Ξ²β€Β¬Ξ²β€Ξ†ΞΒ’Ξ’Β®. The first contribution should be related to the reading and posted early on in the week while the second and later contributions may be used to exchange opinions and relate relevant information. Everyone is encouraged to contribute to the discussions as they unfold. Discussion dialogues should be limited to one screen. Discussions each week will include two or more topics. Conversations on previous topics may continue in the FirstClass synchronous chat area. You will select the subject of one chapter of the text to explore in more detail over the Internet. The final project will be a one page examination of the topic to accompany a description of online resources supporting that topic. These resources should be listed by url and described individually. When writing to class members, all messages should clearly identify the topic and sender. Times will be established for synchronous chats for those students who are available. All comments should be posted by Sunday night at the end of each week, at which time the topic will be closed for discussion. You are encouraged to write your comments off-line using a wordprocessor and spellchecker. Take time to carefully construct your correspondence and you will find that people will take your posting more seriously. Please be considerate of other's feelings. No flaming, of course. Remember, encourage those who are reluctant to participate online. Some class members may be new to this medium. Everyone's opinions are important. Don't worry about making mistakes. Have fun! |