Watch the ED5320 Welcome Video!

Click here to review a sample syllabus.

Check out the narrated 'infomercial' for prospective students...

Download the Advisor sheet at the bottom of this page.

Read more about ED5320... from Dr Nix's perspective, as follows!

Whether online, face-to-face, or anywhere in between, setting up a positive learning environment that’s efficient AND effective is the key to success for both students and teachers. Each of us plays both of those roles probably several times a day in our technology-driven society. Whether you are creating resources for classroom educators, or administering a program for a museum or center, or undertaking studies to chase your own curiosity, there are some basic elements – or factors – that you need to consider. Together, over the 8 weeks of ED5320, we will learn about, think about, talk about, and apply those issues in educational technology to your current focus.

Check out the new ED5320: Issues in Educational Technology

• Video Welcome - available at http://youtu.be/-tzvgGltY98
• Course Syllabus - also available at UTD Course Lookup
• eLearning FAQ - available at https://www.utdallas.edu/elearning

This broad-based introduction to educational technology is organized from a conceptual perspective, but presented with actual examples, so that you can transform this ‘classroom learning’ into real-world solutions. In this graduate course:

Through guided activities, you will gain first-hand experience with the ‘traditional’ – and emerging technology tools – as used in educational contexts.

Through individual assignments, you will balance inter-dependent aspects of your own ideas for enhancing learning with appropriate uses of educational technologies.

Through structured group discussions, you will challenge your (and your peers’) creativity to figure out practical integration approaches.

Through various types of electronic assessments, you will demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the main trends and topics in education and technology.

Then,

Through personal reflection and professional action, you will likely make a proactive difference in the education of technology-empowered students and their teachers!

Because we have a lot to cover in a relatively short time, I will draw on my years of experience designing, delivering, and evaluating formal and informal environments to guide your discovery. In a sense, we’ll use a ‘flipped project model’ so that you can dig deeper into the areas that matter most to you now, yet still develop a rich portfolio to encompass the ever-changing ‘big picture’ of a theme. As the course designer and instructor, it’s my job to:

1. hold you accountable,

2. help you advance, and

3. foster academic excellence by supporting your innovation and ingenuity.

By the end of this summer you ought to have a comprehensive grasp of what it takes to apply technology to solve problems in education for whatever grade level, age group, or subject area interests you. I look forward to working with and learning from you individually and as a class this semester. The course syllabus will be our ‘roadmap’ for this shared experience, so study it first and refer to it often.

Friendly advice

Having earned my doctorate via distance, I particularly am sensitive to accessible design and time allocation in online courses. I actually worked through each of the ED5320 lessons to ensure a reasonable load from the standpoint of student, instructor, and administrator. On average, I spent about 45 minutes answering the survey items and exploring the lesson content, 45 minutes reading the textbook chapter, 60 minutes working on the project task (including the discussion), and 30 minutes to prepare for and complete the quiz. That adds up to 3 hours each week which is what everyone would expect for a 3 semester credit hour course.

As noted in the Distance Learning FAQs in the UTTC Knowledge Center,

Certain people are better suited to distance learning than others. A student who succeeds in distance education is generally: self-motivated and self-disciplined; has the ability to work independently; is comfortable with the written word and the use of e-mail; and will ask for help when needed. Although commuter time is reduced, an online student must have the time to dedicate to coursework. Students in an online classroom should expect to spend as much or more time on their course than in an onsite classroom.

In keeping with the UTD schedule of 2 class meetings per week as defined in the course schedule section of the Syllabus, I tried to balance the amount of information and interaction within a logical flow. You may access the currently available items by simply clicking on the associated link in the main areas presented on the course Home page. (Note that the 'breadcrumb' trail at the top left is a handy way to jump around the course!) Naturally, some things will take longer than other things depending on your schedule, mood, ability, and even the weather when internet connection is required! To help keep us all on track, weekly Announcements will pop-up when you 'come' to class; these are archived within the course as well for reference.

Part of my goal is to help you learn how to speak the language of Ed Tech so that you can work effectively and efficiently with the variety of tools and resources, especially people, that are and will be available to you. Given the current trend toward open source items and abundance of reputable shareware, I no longer require you to purchase and use a certain version of any software or a specific type of hardware. In order to survive professionally these days you need to know how to leverage whatever is available to you in the present moment and/or be able to figure out what you need to get to make the right things happen! A lot of that has to do with simply asking the right questions. That's what we'll practice together in ED 5320.

Getting help

So, that leads into what's expected of you in Ed Tech. If you are having technical difficulties, you need to contact the UTD Help Desk. When you do have a question or concern about the course content, the first place to look is through the Announcements and then the Commons discussion area. If you don't see anything that helps in those places, email me directly at rnix@utd.edu. I will check the discussion forums on a fairly regular basis, but if you need a relatively immediate response, please let me know! I'm almost always online...