InstructorOwen Guthrie
email: obguthrie@alaska.edu
Phone: 907-479-4768
Office hours: By appointment
Office Location: 2175 University Ave. S., Suite 200, or online (Collaborate, Skype, chat)

Required Texts

Anderson, T., & Elloumi, F. (Eds.). (2008). Theory and practice of online learning (2nd ed.) Athabasca, AB, Canada: Athabasca University. Available for download: http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book

Fink, L. D. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Required Readings

Baker, C. (2010). The impact of instructor immediacy and presence for online student affective learning, cognition, and motivation. Journal of Educators Online, 7(1), 1–30.

Benander, R. (2009). Experiential learning in the scholarship of teaching and learning, Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 9(2), 36–41.

Brooks, C. F. (2010). Toward ‘hybridised’ faculty development for the twenty-first century: blending online communities of practice and face-to-face meetings in instructional and professional support programmes. Innovations in Education & Teaching International, 47(3), 261-270.

Brown, J. (2006). New Learning Environments for the 21st Century: Exploring the edge. Change, 38(5), 18-24.

Cox, M. D. (2004). Introduction to faculty learning communities. New Directions for Teaching & Learning, (97), 5-23.

Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2-3), 87-105.

Krathwohl, D. (2002). A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy: An Overview. Theory Into Practice, 41(4), 212.

Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning 2(1).

Stewart, D.P. (2008). Classroom management in the online environment. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 4(3), 371-374.

Swan, K., Garrison, D.R., & Richardson, J.C. (2009). A constructivist approach to online learning: The community of inquiry framework. In C.R. Payne (Ed.), Information technology and constructivism in higher education: Progressive learning frameworks (1st edition, pp. 43-57). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies, Washington, D.C., 2010.

Yorke, M. (2003). Formative assessment in higher education: Moves towards theory and the enhancement of pedagogic practice. Higher Education, 45(4), 477-501.

Course Description

A study of theory, tools, and methods for teaching online courses. Topics include prominent learning theories, affordances of new technologies, strategies for assessment, and techniques for classroom management in an online environment. Students will develop and articulate a personal philosophy of teaching and learning appropriate for the 21^st Century.

Course Goals

• Compare dominant learning theories
• Consider evolving literacies and competencies of the 21st Century
• Explore instructional methods for online education

Student Learning Outcomes

Students in the course will:

• develop and document their own personal learning network
• create a concept map to identify layers of understanding
• develop a project-based lesson plan that emphasizes student exploration, interaction, creation, and feedback cycles
• compare strengths and weaknesses of online tools and methods
• articulate a personal philosophy for teaching and learning

Course Calendar

See the schedule tab of this site for a detailed course calendar and specific assignment due dates. We will cover these topics:

• Orientation (1 week)
• Teachers as Learners (1 week)
• Historical Perspectives (2 weeks)
• 21st Century Teaching and Learning (1 week)
• Integrated Course Design (3 weeks)
• Assessment and Feedback Strategies (2 weeks)
• Survey of Emerging Tools (2 weeks)
• Classroom Management Techniques (1 week)

Evaluation

Final course grade will be calculated using the following formula:

• weekly writing: 15%
• review of five scholarly articles: 25%
• interaction through discussion, comments, and feedback: 10%
• critical evaluation of tools and methods: 10%
• project-based lesson plan: 25%
• personal philosophy of teaching and learning: 15%

Course Assignments

Assignments will be posted to the Class Blog. You will engage with other students in the class through social media tools:

Weekly writing—15%

The instructor will provide weekly writing and activity prompts.

Article reviews—25%

Discussion, comments and feedback—10%

Students will regularly review writing and assignments posted by their classmates, providing constructive comments and feedback. At a minimum, students should provide feedback to three other students each week. Beyond this minimum requirement, grading will be based on the quality of participation, not on the number of posts.

Critical evaluation of tools and methods—10%

Tool and method reviews will be negotiated among class members and may be completed as a group study project. Scoring will be based on thoroughness of testing, pertinent examples, and concise summation.

Project-based lesson plan—25%

The culminating project for the course will be a unit-sized lesson plan, complete with learning objectives, learning activities, and an assessment plan with feedback cycles. Students will write an accompanying paper to describe audience, context, tools, methods, and rationale. Scoring will be based on thoughtful consideration of outcomes and learning theory, combined with a reasonable defense of tool and method choices.

Portfolio

Students enrolled in the M.Ed. ONID program will transfer key assignments to their degree portfolio. The instructor will review and comment on each assignment. Most assignments will also undergo a peer review process before they are included in the student’s portfolio.