Last Updated: 08/21/2023

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Educational Specialties

ETC 645: Distributed Learning System

Fall 2023

COVID-19 Requirements and Information

Additional information about the University’s response to COVID-19 is available from the Jacks are Back! web page located at https://nau.edu/jacks-are-back

Syllabus

Total Units of Course Credits: 3

Pre-requisites & Requirements

Course prerequisites: ETC 547 or ETC 567.

Notes: It is highly suggested that students complete ETC645 prior to attempting ETC655. Students will have more positive learning experiences if they take ETC645 first then ETC655. Students are highly suggested to take ETC645 and ETC655 in the same semester. Both ETC645 and ETC655 are offered in spring and fall semesters; generally not during the summer session.

Mode of Instruction: Online

Instructor's Name

• • Chih-Hsiung Tu, PhD

Instructor's Contact Information

• Email: Chih.Tu@nau.edu

• Office address: PO Box 5774, Room 209-I Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5774 Phone: 928-523-0892 Fax: 928-523-1929

Instructor's Availability

• Office hours: By appointment via e-mail, phone, chat room, or any other video conferencing system

Teaching Philosophy

The instructor's philosophy of teaching rests in a firm belief that students learn best when actively engaged in learning activities that are relevant to their current and future professional placement. MORE...

Course Purpose

The terms "distributed education," or "distributed learning" have been applied interchangeably by many different researchers to a great variety of programs, providers, audiences, and media. Its hallmarks are the separation of teacher and learner in space and/or time, where much of the control over the learning environment can be by the student rather than the distant instructor, and asynchronous communication between student and teacher, mediated by print or some form of technology.

Distributed learning technologies are expanding at an extremely rapid rate. Too often, instructional designers and curriculum developers have become enamored with the latest technologies giving less thought to: a) the underlying issues of learner characteristics and needs, b) the influence of media upon the instructional process, c) equity of access to interactive delivery systems, and d) the new roles of teacher, site facilitator, and student in the distributed learning process.

This course is designed to provide learners opportunities to explore various distributed learning systems, also known as learning management systems. More importantly, however, the course will provide learners with the opportunity to design and develop distributed learning units that take great consideration in those issues listed above and to employ the theory of distributed cognition or situated cognition.

Course Student Learning Outcomes

Student Learning Expectations/Outcomes for this Course

The Goals of this course are for students to develop an understanding of:

• distributed learning environments in terms of current learning theories

• the role of technology in distributed learning environments

• the importance and types of collaboration and community-building distributed learning environments

• the issues of diversity within a distributed learning environment

To determine if the course goals have been attained, students should be able to demonstrate the following outcomes:

1. utilize skills with online learning technology

2. utilize skills with technology programs as they relate to distributed learning

3. utilize distributed/situated cognition to enhance online learning

4. describe issues of diversity that pertain to distributed learning

5. develop a distributed learning unit based upon current distributed learning theory for adults that includes the following elements:

• Learner Interaction

• Learner Resources

• Learner Collaboration

• Learner Planning and Publishing

• Learner Assessment

• Global Digital Citizenship

Course Structure/Approach

This course is VERY labor intensive. Each student is expected to engage in online participation in class discussions, group activities, assignments, and individual work. There may be many times when you will need to be able to troubleshoot complex problems on your own -- be prepared.

A variety of instructional methods will be used in this class. They include, but are not limited to:

• Assigned readings,

• Online discussions,

• Online discussion moderation,

• Application utilization,

• Research papers,

• Individual and group work.

Communication

E-Mail

NAU & Canvas e-mails are the official e-mail channel for the course.

Chat Rooms/Zooms

Chat rooms may be used to hold personal meetings with the instructor and to discuss projects within the groups. Group members may agree to meet at a certain time and date in a chat room to discuss how to develop a project.

Discussion Board

The Discussion Board is the place where you will post your reactions to readings, comment on other people's postings, or ask for help from your classmates. Online discussions are required in this class. Students must participate regularly in the discussions. While conducting the lesson readings, use these three questions to help you to enrich your lesson discussion activities. It will well prepare you for active and interactive discussions. 

• After reading, I did not realize...

• What were the THREE most important concepts to YOU? Explain why?

• What are two possible exam questions?

Regular reading, quality participation, interactive engagement, and posting of contributions to the discussion boards is mandatory throughout each week of the semester. Each student must post their messages each week/lesson by following two posting periods. Failure to post these messages every week may result in a grade deduction.  Grades for online discussions will be posted regularly to assist students in understanding expectations. Late responses to the key questions and postings do not recruit any point.

Additional guidelines for  online discussions.

• You should complete the activities throughout the workweek/lesson and avoid leaving them until the last day.

• Your posting should be thorough and thoughtful. Just posting agree/disagree with your comment, or I think the same as someone else is not considered an adequate response.

• It should be evident from the postings that participants are reading each other's comments. That is, the participants should make references to each other's points of view.

• Six comments per week/lesson are considered marginal; more are expected. More postings are encouraged.

• Students should respond to at least one or more key discussion questions posted by the instructors in the FIRST posting period (Monday-Thursday). Respond to more than one key question is highly encouraged to enrich your learning.

• When replying any discussion postings, students need to replace "Subject" field with keywords/tags that reflect/summarize their posting. If not keywords/tags not applied, discussion grades will be deducted.

Required Posting Periods (Late Posting does not accrue any points)

1st Posting Period

• Respond to at least one or more KEY Questions at least.

• Encouraged to respond to others' postings.

• Use keywords/tags in "Subject" field for all postings.

2nd Posting Period

• Respond to others' posting and/or respond to the questions raised by others to your postings.

• Total SIX minimum for each lesson

• Use keywords/tags in "Subject" field for all postings

Discussion Rubrics

Team Discussion Moderation

Each team must moderate one or more lessons of the online discussion. Moderation duties include:

• • Group 1 moderates Lesson 2 discussions, Group 2-Lesson 3...Group 7-Lesson 8.

  • moderating/facilitating the discussion, ensuring that the focus of the discussion is maintained, 

  • and posting a summary of the discussion at the end of the lesson, 

  • and evaluating classmates' discussion performances.

Team members will share the moderating responsibility collaboratively and cooperatively.

The points of lesson discussion are assigned to the online moderation. Moderators should focus on their moderating work.  It is not required to respond to the key discussion questions for the moderators.  Team members should moderate, participate, and facilitate the discussions actively. Failure, or simply refusing, to facilitate may result in grade deductions.

The team moderators are required to evaluate and provide the feedback to the classmates' lesson discussions. The moderators should use    Excel to provide the grade and the feedback. The team moderators should self evaluate themselves as well. The final grade for the lesson discussion will combine the moderators' evaluation and the instructor's evaluation. Both moderators' and instructor's evaluations take 50% of the points of each lesson's discussion evaluations.

There are several useful resources that focus on how to moderate an online discussion. Students are advised to read these resources to become acquainted with the process of successful moderation of online discussions.

• Why Collaboration?

• Moderation guidelines

• Team Building Guidelines.

• Group Member Bill of Rights and Responsibilities

Assessment

Assignments

All paper assignments should be written in APA (American Psychological Association) format, double-spaced, including page numbers. Failure to follow the required format may result in point deduction. Assignments may involve various written reports, critiques of articles, research papers, or technical productions (see each assignment for details).

Assignments must be written in a clear and concise English format. Students should follow the length requirements of each assignment. All assignments should be in APA format, doubled-space, font size 12, and pages numbered. Failure to follow the proper format will result in grade deduction. See each assignment for details. 

APA is the style to be used for references and bibliography. If different reference styles are required in your professional field please note this in each of your assignments. Those of you in educational fields are required to use APA style.

APA resources

• American Psychological Association. (2019). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

• Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html

Want to learn to use reference manager application to organize your references? See these two free tools:

Zotero & Mendeley

Grading System

Please note: The assignments are due at the midnight on the specified due date unless other arrangements are made with the instructor. In very special cases, the instructor may award an extension if an assignment needs to be redone. If the assignments are not turned in on the due date, they will NOT COUNT toward the course grade.

Signature Assignment Policy

The College of Education requires all students enrolled in this course to complete and submit the following signature assignment(s) to Bb Learn Outcomes.  If the course’s Signature Assignments are not submitted OR do not meet expectations at an adequate level, the result could include a student not being able to satisfy the requirements of the degree program.

These signature assignments are REQUIRED to pass the course – REQUIRED TO PASS THE COURSE regardless of the grade you earn in the same. Failure to submit ALL signature assignments via the Canvas may also prevent you from having your graduation application approved. The required signature assignments for this course are:

• Assignment 2: Online Learning Tool Evaluations

• Assignment 4: Final Project: Online Professional Development for Global Digital Learning

• Assignment 6: ETC Program Portfolio: ETC645 Reflections

Readings & Materials

Text and other Materials: Required Textbook:

• Anderson, T. (Ed.) (2008). Theory and practices of online learning (2nd ed.). Athabasca, AB, Canada: AU Press. 

  • Selected chapters will be assigned as required readings.

  • Paperback

    • 978-1-897425-08-4 (SC)

  • Ebook (Free to download)

    • 978-1-897425-07-7 (pdf)

    • 978-1-897425-07-7 (epub)

• Internet Access with appropriate browser(s).

• Productivity Software (i.e. MS Office, or Google Apps.)

Optional Textbook: Recommended optional materials/references

• Tu, C. H. (2004). Online collaborative learning communities: Twenty-one designs to building an online collaborative learning community.. Westport, CT.: Library Unlimited. ISBN-10: 1591581559

Reading Resources

ETC645 Learning Resources on Diigo

Course Outline

Course Policy

Methodology/Approach:

Each student is expected to log into the Canvas and/or the course wiki at least twice a week and should engaged in online participation in class discussions, group activities, assignments, and individual tasks. There may be many times when you will need to be able to troubleshoot complex problems on your own -- be prepared.

Late Work Policy

The assignments are due on the specified due date unless other arrangements are made with the instructor. If the assignments are not turned in on the due date, they will NOT COUNT toward the course grade.

Extra Credit Policy

Occasionally, extra credit points may be awarded by the instructor for work that is deemed to beyond the normal scope of expectations of assigned work. However, these are distributed at the instructors discretion and not be solicited by the students. In other words, you shouldn't ask if you can do alternative assignments for extra credit.

Grading

NAU and the professional community expect the College of Education to maintain standards that reflect its reputation as a leading school in preparing educational leaders. According to the University's Graduate Catalog,

• A means Superior

• B means Satisfactory

• C means Lowest grade acceptable for graduate credit

In general, professors award "A" grades to acknowledge achievement that goes beyond specified course requirements and criteria. By its very nature, this kind of exemplary performance cannot always be spelled out clearly in advance. "A"s are reserved for special efforts that exceed expectations by demonstrating exceptional creativity, boldness, commitment, ingenuity, or polish, and are available for the highest accomplishments. In sum, if you submit an assignment that only meets the minimum competencies, you should not expect to receive an A in such an assignment. 

Participation This reflects the instructor's subjective assessment of the quality and quantity of your online interactions with her/him, and with other class members, both through email, chat, and the bulletin board, and the way that you contribute to the course's learning environment. Risk-taking is encouraged as a means to "push the envelope" of your individual learning. 

Incompletes

Incompletes are given only for reasons as spelled out in NAU policy. As a general rule, please note that there will be NO "Incompletes" given for this course.

Course Evaluation

A course evaluation will be made available toward the end of the semester and you will be asked to complete the instrument. Evaluations are anonymous and are submitted to the departmental secretary for coding and tabulation. Results of the evaluation are used to update the content and emphases of the course as contemporary research suggests. 

• Course evaluation

University Policies

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

NAU expects every student to firmly adhere to a strong ethical code of academic integrity in all their scholarly pursuits. The primary attributes of academic integrity are honesty, trustworthiness, fairness, and responsibility. As a student, you are expected to submit original work while giving proper credit to other people’s ideas or contributions. Acting with academic integrity means completing your assignments independently while truthfully acknowledging all sources of information, or collaboration with others when appropriate. When you submit your work, you are implicitly declaring that the work is your own. Academic integrity is expected not only during formal coursework, but in all your relationships or interactions that are connected to the educational enterprise. All forms of academic deceit such as plagiarism, cheating, collusion, falsification or fabrication of results or records, permitting your work to be submitted by another, or inappropriately recycling your own work from one class to another, constitute academic misconduct that may result in serious disciplinary consequences. All students and faculty members are responsible for reporting suspected instances of academic misconduct. All students are encouraged to complete NAU’s online academic integrity workshop available in the E-Learning Center and should review the full Academic Integrity policy available at https://policy.nau.edu/policy/policy.aspx?num=100601.

COURSE TIME COMMITMENT

Pursuant to Arizona Board of Regents guidance (ABOR Policy 2-224, Academic Credit), each unit of credit requires a minimum of 45 hours of work by students, including but not limited to, class time, preparation, homework, and studying. For example, for a 3-credit course a student should expect to work at least 8.5 hours each week in a 16-week session and a minimum of 33 hours per week for a 3-credit course in a 4-week session.

DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR

Membership in NAU’s academic community entails a special obligation to maintain class environments that are conductive to learning, whether instruction is taking place in the classroom, a laboratory or clinical setting, during course-related fieldwork, or online. Students have the obligation to engage in the educational process in a manner that does not interfere with normal class activities or violate the rights of others. Instructors have the authority and responsibility to address disruptive behavior that interferes with student learning, which can include the involuntary withdrawal of a student from a course with a grade of “W”. For additional information, see NAU’s Disruptive Behavior in an Instructional Setting policy at https://nau.edu/university-policy-library/disruptive-behavior.

NONDISCRIMINATION AND ANTI-HARASSMENT

NAU prohibits discrimination and harassment based on sex, gender, gender identity, race, color, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status. Due to potentially unethical consequences, certain consensual amorous or sexual relationships between faculty and students are also prohibited as set forth in the Consensual Romantic and Sexual Relationships policy. The Equity and Access Office (EAO) responds to complaints regarding discrimination and harassment that fall under NAU’s Nondiscrimination and Anti-Harassment policy. EAO also assists with religious accommodations. For additional information about nondiscrimination or anti-harassment or to file a complaint, contact EAO located in Old Main (building 10), Room 113, PO Box 4083, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, or by phone at 928-523-3312 (TTY: 928-523-1006), fax at 928-523-9977, email at equityandaccess@nau.edu, or visit the EAO website at https://nau.edu/equity-and-access.

TITLE IX

Title IX is the primary federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex or gender in educational programs or activities. Sex discrimination for this purpose includes sexual harassment, sexual assault or relationship violence, and stalking (including cyber-stalking). Title IX requires that universities appoint a “Title IX Coordinator” to monitor the institution’s compliance with this important civil rights law. NAU’s Title IX Coordinator is Elyce C. Morris. The Title IX Coordinator is available to meet with any student to discuss any Title IX issue or concern. You may contact the Title IX Coordinator by phone at 928-523-3515, by fax at 928-523-0640, or by email at elyce.morris@nau.edu. In furtherance of its Title IX obligations, NAU will promptly investigate and equitably resolve all reports of sex or gender-based discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct and will eliminate any hostile environment as defined by law. Additional important information about Title IX and related student resources, including how to request immediate help or confidential support following an act of sexual violence, is available at https://in.nau.edu/title-ix.

ACCESSIBILITY

Professional disability specialists are available at Disability Resources to facilitate a range of academic support services and accommodations for students with disabilities. If you have a documented disability, you can request assistance by contacting Disability Resources at 928-523-8773 (voice), 928-523-6906 (TTY), 928-523-8747 (fax), or dr@nau.edu (e-mail). Once eligibility has been determined, students register with Disability Resources every semester to activate their approved accommodations. Although a student may request an accommodation at any time, it is best to initiate the application process at least four weeks before a student wishes to receive an accommodation. Students may begin the accommodation process by submitting a self-identification form online at https://nau.edu/disability-resources/student-eligibility-process or by contacting Disability Resources. The Director of Disability Resources, Jamie Axelrod, serves as NAU’s Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator and Section 504 Compliance Officer. He can be reached at jamie.axelrod@nau.edu.

RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH

Students who engage in research at NAU must receive appropriate Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training. This instruction is designed to help ensure proper awareness and application of well-established professional norms and ethical principles related to the performance of all scientific research activities. More information regarding RCR training is available at https://nau.edu/research/compliance/research-integrity.

MISCONDUCT IN RESEARCH

As noted, NAU expects every student to firmly adhere to a strong code of academic integrity in all their scholarly pursuits. This includes avoiding fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism when conducting research or reporting research results. Engaging in research misconduct may result in serious disciplinary consequences. Students must also report any suspected or actual instances of research misconduct of which they become aware. Allegations of research misconduct should be reported to your instructor or the University’s Research Integrity Officer, Dr. David Faguy, who can be reached at david.faguy@nau.edu or 928-523-6117. More information about misconduct in research is available at https://nau.edu/university-policy-library/misconduct-in-research.

SENSITIVE COURSE MATERIALS

University education aims to expand student understanding and awareness. Thus, it necessarily involves engagement with a wide range of information, ideas, and creative representations. In their college studies, students can expect to encounter and to critically appraise materials that may differ from and perhaps challenge familiar understandings, ideas, and beliefs. Students are encouraged to discuss these matters with faculty.

SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Copyright 2023 Northern Arizona University. All Rights Reserved.

The information contained in this syllabus, other than this course’s grade and attendance policies, may be subject to change with reasonable advance notice.