Literacy, Technology and Instruction Syllabus

APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY
LITERACY, TECHNOLOGY AND INSTRUCTION

Spring, 2003

Instructor	Office	Phone	E-Mail	Office Hours
Julie Horton	318E	7171	hortonjk@appstate.edu	M & W: 9:30-11:30 and by appointment
Gary Moorman	223C	6066	moormangb@appstate.edu	M, W & F: 10:00-11:30 T & Th: 10-11:00 and by appointment
Linda Pacifici	208E	3231	pacificilc@appstate.edu	T & W: 10:00-Noon and by appointment

You are encouraged to make appointments to see your professor.

College of Education Conceptual Framework

Course Description
This is a required course in the College of Education's core curriculum. Its purpose is to provide students with a broad understanding of professional issues related to literacy, technology and instruction. The impact of media and various technologies on society will be examined. There will be a special emphasis placed on developing understandings of what it means to be literate in a multimedia culture.Throughout the course, a variety of instructional methods will be used; students are encouraged to examine their own learning processes as part of this instruction. The course is based on the assumption that all knowledge is socially constructed, and that learning is achieved through active engagement of the learner. This theoretical view will be addressed directly and modeled as the predominant instructional approach. Students are expected to become active members of this learning community, in preparation for their role, in and out of the classroom, as professional educators.We will meet both as a whole group and as smaller break out groups throughout the semester.

Note: This is not a methods class, nor is it intended as a substitute for either FDN 3100 or CI 3750. Students should also be aware that different sections of 3850, while focusing on the same concepts and overall objectives, have considerably different assignments and instructional styles.
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Objectives
Students will:
1. Learn to engage in dialogue as a primary means of increasing professional knowledge.
2. Develop an historical perspective on literacy, technology and media.
3. Critically evaluate their own literacy and learning processes.
4. Develop computer, multimedia and telecommunications skills.
5. Understand the role of ethnicity and gender in literacy, technology and instruction.
6. Critically analyze and evaluate mass media formats.
7. Utilize media and technology as part of a design/production process to communicate effectively.
8. Recognize the impact of media/technology on school and society.
9. Understand the role of computers and telecommunications in the classroom.
10. Develop a conceptual understanding of the competencies addressed in the the Advanced Technology Portfolio.
11. Begin to build a web-based telefolio to satisfy the requirements of the Advanced Technology Portfolio.

Schedule

Unit	Date	Topics	Assignments Due
Introduction	Jan. 14th	Setting purpose for course, attitude, small group activity (course description) Logistics (syllabus, projects, grades, expectations, small groups) Subscribe to the class listserv Library Reserve Reading Introduce Literature Circle Project Review Literature Circle Handouts What Is Literacy by Jim Gee (Powerpoint presentation)	Library Reserves Literature Circle Portfolio Assignment
Unit 1: Literacy	Jan. 21st	Questions about syllabus Assign Inquiry Research Topics Literature Circles (model and practice) using on-line article What Is Literacy by Jim Gee (small group/large group sharing - What does this mean for me as a teacher, or in instruction?)	Read Jim Gee Article - Library Electronic Reserve Literature Circles (Teaching "Whole Language and Music Literacy article)
	Jan. 28th	Purcell-Gates Introduction and Jigsaw Activity Cooperative Learning Resources: Cooperative Learning Center at the Univ. of Minnesota International Association for the Study of Cooperation in Education Prepare for Literature Circles	Purcell-Gates Introduction Inquiry Research on Selcted Topic (one word-processed page) Read Purcell-Gates Introduction and Chapter One
	Feb. 4th	Student Conduct Code Review Literature Circles Portfolio Assignment Assign Unit I Reflection Literature Circles #1 (Ch.2-4) Literature Circles #2 (Ch.5-6) Large Group Discussion	Read Purcell-Gates Chapters 2-6 Prepare for Literature Circles #1 and #2 (Ch. 7-8)
	Feb. 11th	Review Unit I Reflection and Literature Circles Portfolio Assignments Literature Circle #3 (Ch. 7-8) Small Group Discussion (Ch.9) Work on Literature Circle Portfolio No Child Left Behind Discussion	Read Purcell-Gates Chapters 7-9 Prepare for Literature Circle #3 Work on Literature Circle Portfolio High Stakes Are for Tomatoes Teaching: From A Nation at Risk to a Profession at Risk?
Unit 2: Media Literacies	Feb. 18th	Entrance Ticket Small group/large group sharing - what does this mean for me as a teacher, or in instruction? Introduction to Media Video	Get 'em Thinking! Using the "3 Rs" of Media Literacy Classroom Strategies for Exploring Realism and Authenticity in Media Messages Literature Circle Portfolio Due
	Feb. 25th	Collect Unit I Reflection PowerPoint Project Assigned Power Point Article Discussion Tough Guise Video and Discussion TruthorFiction.com	Unit I Reflection Due Absolute Powerpoint by Ian Parker on Library Reserve
	March 4th	WorkDay - Lab for Powerpoint Bring Zip Disk	PowerPoint Tutorials #1 PowerPoint Tutorial #2 PowerPoint Tutorial-PDF
	March 11th	No Class - Spring Break
	March 18th	Present Powerpoint	PowerPoint DUE Telefolio and Webquest tutorials
Unit 3: Technology and Literacy	March 25th	What is technology? Technology: The Dark Side (Digital Divide Video, Part I) Lab Webquest Introduction - How is webquests a useful tool? How does it promote literacy? Review of Rubrics NC Curriculum DPI Standards Telefolio and Webquest tutorials APA Style help Begin thinking about Webquest Group Webquest Scoring Rubric	Read Creating a Webquest: It's Easier than You Think online (http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech011.shtml) Review at least two of the ASU elementary student Telefolios. Here is one particularly good example Copy Telefolio Template on YOUR zip or floppy disk (See Tutorial #1 on copying files) Copy Webquest Template on the shared folder (See Webquest tutorial) Webquest criteria Review Webquest website The WebQuest Design Process WebQuest Taskonomy: A Taxonomy of Tasks WebQuest Taskonomy in Pictures Review specific examples of webquests From ASU From NCWiseowl site Elementary Secondary
	April 1st	Webquest Content in Small Groups Turn in Storyboard for Webquest Lab Time Review of Rationales	Reading: Internet Project: Preparing Students for New Literacies in a Global Village in Reading Online (in class quiz) Review Webquest Scoring Rubric Review the "Building Blocks of a Webquest". This will give you a good idea of how to begin constructing your webquest. Bring zip disk with 3 changes to webquest Groups chosen by now with ideas
	April 8th	Introduce Telefolio Review telefolio templates and begin your telefolio Telefolio criteria Telefolio Rubric Telefolio resources, including examples Lab Time	Work on webquests *NOTE:* Only the Student Webquest is required More Webquest examples ;review at least five webquest examples. Resources for web images: Google Image Search AltaVista Image Search Yahoo! Picture Gallery
	April 15th	Webquest Mini-conference rules Webquest Mini-conference schedule Lab Time
	April 22nd	No Class- Easter Holiday
Last Day of Classes	April 29th	Course evaluations Webquest Mini-conference (Lab)	Webquests due Telefolios due

Course Assignments and Grading

Assignment	Due Date	Point Value
Literature Circles	February 18th	20
Unit I Reflection	February 25th	25
Powerpoint Presentation	March 18th	25
Telefolio	April 29th	15
Webquest	April 29th	30
Community of Practice Participation	On-going	35
TOTAL		150

Literature Circles (20)
We will be discussing Victoria Purcell-Gates book, Other People's Words, using a "literature circle" approach in which each member of a small discussion group has a given job (e.g. Discussion Director, Summarizer, Investigator, etc.). Each student will be assigned jobs for each week of discussion and will prepare materials related to those jobs.

Unit I Reflection (25)
The Literacy unit will conclude with a take-home exam that will give students a chance to synthesize the ideas developed in the unit and to reflect on the readings and class activities.

PowerPoint Presentation (25)
In this project, you will work in groups of two to three to analyze a stereotype or category through two different media. You will create a PowerPoint presentation of your analysis and present this to the class.

Telefolio (15)
You will begin the creation of a web-based telefolio to be used to organize the Advanced Technology Competency collection that is required for licensure. A template is available in the class shared folder. You will begin your telefolio by using the Webquest project (see below) as an artifact in this telefolio.

Webquest (30)

In groups, you will create a Webquest project. This project should follow the basic Webquest design, and use a standard Webquest template (available in the class shared folder). NOTE: You will only need to complete the Student Webquest template.

Community of Practice (35)
This class is structured around a Community of Practice model of learning. You are required to attend all class meetings, and your active participation in discussions is expected. Unexcused absenteeism will result in a grading penalty. You should always be prepared for class; assigned tasks such as readings, study guides, and out of class activities must be completed. Preparation for class is demonstrated through your active participation in classroom discussions and other activities. Being “shy” is not an excuse for not participating; after all, you aspire to be an educator. The Community of Practice grade will include performance in all of the following areas:

Attendance - Expected. Five points will be deducted for each absence from your community of practice grade.
Participation in small and large group discussions - 5
Preparation for class (including all readings and assignments) - 10
Class Activities - 10
Quizzes - 10

A: 95-100 A-: 90-94 B+: 87-89 B: 83-86 B-: 80-82 C+: 77-79 C: 72-76 C-: 70-71 D: 60-69 F: <60%
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Description of Grading Criteria:

A paper or project:

Demonstrates a level of excellence and depth of thought as it meets the expectations of the assignment.
Shows original thought and/or innovative design.
Is technically advanced.
Is well organized.
Has no problems with mechanics.

B paper or project:

Meets the basic expectations of the assignment.
Shows technical proficiency.
Is well organized.
Has few problems with mechanics.

C paper or project:

Meets the minimum expectations of the assignment.
Has more than a few problems with mechanics, organization, and/or technical issues.

D paper or project:

Does not meet the minimum expectations of the assignment, but deserves some credit.

F paper or project:

Is not turned in, or is so minimal that it deserves no credit.

All assignments must be completed in order to pass the class.

Textbook and Readings

Purcell-Gates, Victoria. (1995). Other People's Words. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA
Additional Readings will be available on-line.
Students will also need to purchase a zip disk.