Course Outline: Distance Education



Course Syllabus

I. Course Number and Name: IT 550: Distance Education: History, Development and Practice

• Credit hours: 3 hrs.

• Location: TLEC 214A

• Instructor: Lance A. DeCuir

• Office: TLEC 311A

• Office Hours: Mon-Fri. 8-10 and By appointment

• Contact Information: email me at ladecuir@

II. Prerequisites;

• IT 500

• IT 510

• Basic internet computer literacy.

• Moodle access

• Active college email account

• Access to webcam or other videoconferencing capabilities

III. Course Description

This course is designed to introduce learners to the area of Distance Education. During this course, the learners will be exposed to a brief history and theoretical basis of Distance education. Furthermore, the learners will identify major concepts, principles, and topics in Distance Education and apply these to real-world settings.

IV. Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the learner will be able to:

• Comprehend the major concepts and issues in Distance Education worldwide

• Identify and make use of research findings in Distance Education

• Be familiar with and employ needs assessments, learner analysis, instructional design systems, and faculty development

• Comprehend the organizational, management, and financing issues related to Distance Education

• Utilize tools in distance education, including, but not limited to, print, audio, video, and computer usage

• Incorporate the use and application of various multimedia tools

• Be familiar with applicable copyright and regulatory issues

• Be familiar with and employ the use and application of videoconferencing technologies

• Understand Internet-based Distance Education

• Comprehend and utilize strategies for teaching at a distance

• Comprehend and utilize strategies for learning at a distance

• Grasp and incorporate assessment strategies within the context of Distance education

• Comprehend and incorporate policies for evaluating distance education programs

• Develop and employ appropriate strategies for the administration and control of Distance Education Organizations

• Determine the appropriate or inappropriate applications of Distance Education

V. Required Text

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., and Zvacek, S (2009) Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education, 4th edition. Boston. Allyn & Bacon.

VI Attendance Policy/Class Participation

Attendance at the first and last classes is mandatory, as are scheduled synchronous class meetings. Synchronous chat session will be held in the Moodle Chat room during regularly scheduled class times unless otherwise arranged. Instructions on how to login will be provided during the first meeting of class and emailed to those who need a copy. Excused absences include sickness, family emergency, or work related obligations’ In the case of sickness, a doctor’s note must be provided. In the case of work- related obligations or family emergencies, advanced arrangements can be made when possible, or a simple email at the earliest possible convenience. All other absences will be considered unexcused and will result in loss of attendance points.

Completion of online learning activities is a requirement. Assignments are to be and posted in the appropriate thread in “News Forum” on Moodle by midnight of the day prior to class the following week. This is to allow other class members the opportunity to reply to the post and offer peer review and reflection. Reflection papers will be submitted in the form of a Word.doc, or PDF file as an attachment, Class members must respond to postings by at least three different class members by midnight of the following Sunday. Posts must demonstrate analytical thinking and constructive comments, as well as online etiquette. Any assignment turned in after the scheduled time will receive a half letter grade deduction. Group presentations will be submitted to the instructor via email on the dates listed. Any suggestions for improvement should be reflected in the Final project.

Participation in class chats, OoVoo conferencing, and online discussions regarding posted assignments, and weekly projects are necessary part of online learning. This is an integral part of assessing your understanding of the material, as well as encouraging peer review of your work. Participation points will be assessed by quality of responses to posted assignments, amount and quality of participation in synchronous meetings, as well as demonstrated understanding of course content. Also, proper online etiquette and School Code of Ethics apply in this regard as well. Any incidents of infringements will be dealt with within the limits set by the SCE. Serious infringements will be dealt with immediately.

VII. Course Outline: Distance Education

|Week |Objectives |Assignment |Learning activity |Technology/Media Required|Assessment |

|I | |Initial Class |Introductions, Class Overview, |N/A |Attendance |

| | |meeting on Campus |Syllabus | | |

|1I |I, II |1. Read pp. 4-18 of |Provide a summarization of key |MS Word 2003, |Synopsis rubric. |

| | |Simonson, Svaldino, |points of text and how the |Internet/email access. |On time |

| | |Albrecht, and |arguments of Clark and Kozma | Account. |Completion |

| | |Zvacek. |influence Distance Education. Email| | |

| | | |to instructor as Word doc. | | |

| | |2. Read The Media | | | |

| | |Versus Methods Issue| | | |

| | |by Richard E. Clark | | | |

| | |(1994) | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | |3. Read Kozma | | | |

| | |Reframes and Extends| | | |

| | |His Counter | | | |

| | |Argument. | | | |

| | |Clark(1994) | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| |III, V,VI,VIII,IX |4. Research |Provide synopsis of one real world| |On time |

| | |Professional |example of Distance Education and | |Completion |

| | |Articles related to |how it is being used | | |

| | |Distance Education | | | |

|II |I, II,V |Read Ch. 2, pp. |Class Discussion via chat on major |Blackboard chat access |Class |

| | |40-56 |theories of Distance Education | |participation |

|III |I,II,VI,XV |Read Ch.3 |Provide reflection paper on Ch. 3. |Moodle access |On time |

| | | |Summarizing key points of chapter. | |completion |

| | | |and how influences DE | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | |Provide analysis paper describing | | |

| | | |specific examples of real life, | | |

| | | |professional experiences. of four | | |

| | | |technologies discussed in readings|Moodle access | |

| | | |Provide links to two examples | | |

| | | | | | |

| | |Read Ch.4 pp 92-119 | | |On time |

| | | | | |completion |

| | |Read Reiser, Robert | | | |

| | |A.(2001) A History | | | |

| | |of Instructional | | | |

| | |Design and | | | |

| | |Technology: Part I | | | |

| | | | | | |

| | |Read Reiser, Robert | | | |

| | |A. (2001) A History | | | |

| | |of Instruction and | | | |

| | |Design: Part Ii | | | |

|IV |JV,V,VI,X,XI, |Read Ch. 5 and 6 of |Online class chat |Internet access, Moodle |Class |

| | |text. |Who learners are and how to |chat room access. |participation |

| | | |determine ability, | | |

| | | |characteristics, and interactivity | | |

| | | |issues, | | |

| | | |How to determine course content, | | |

| | | |including goals. objectives, and | | |

| | | |course design and development | | |

| | | |Key influences on students in the | | |

| | | |distance education environment. | | |

| | | |Adult vs. p-12 learners, factors | | |

| | | |influencing attitude, and | | |

| | | |experiences. and specific | | |

| | | |responsibilities of the distance | | |

| | | |learner | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | |Assignment on of Group Projects, | | |

| | | |which include results of mock | | |

| | | |needs assessment, analysis of | | |

| | | |learners and their general | | |

| | | |characteristics, contextual | | |

| | | |analysis, and a beginning course | | |

| | | |outline that addresses course | | |

| | | |description, course goals, | | |

| | | |technologies to be incorporated, | | |

| | | |and learner expectations regarding | | |

| | | |class attendance and participation,| | |

| | | |class meetings, assignment | | |

| | | |completion and submission, as well | | |

| | | |as minimum technological | | |

| | | |requirements.. | | |

|V. |VI, VIII,IX |Read Ch 7 pp 184-195|Class small and large group |OoVoo Video Conferencing |Class |

| | |of text, |discussions major point of | |participation |

| | | |readings. | | |

| | |.Read McGraw, K. |Some key topics include: Course | | |

| | |How to Develop A |structure | | |

| | |Comprehensive |tools: | | |

| | |e-Learning Strategy | | | |

| | | |Group project RFP Due | | |

|VI |X,XI |Read Ch 8 |Learners will provide an analysis | | |

| | | |paper describing various tools that| | |

| | |Read The Design, Use|can be incorporated into DE | | |

| | |and Evaluation of |courses | | |

| | |Hypermedia | | | |

| | |Flashcards as a | | | |

| | |Teaching Tool. Tech|Group project Needs analysis, | | |

| | |Trends. Mar/Apr 2005|Leaner analysis, contextual | | |

| | | |analysis due | | |

| | |Read Use and | | | |

| | |Delivery of Learning| | | |

| | |Objects in K-12: | | | |

| | |The Public | | | |

| | |Television | | | |

| | |Experience Tech | | | |

| | |Trends July/Aug. | | | |

| | |2005 | | | |

|VII |V,X,XI,XII |Read, Ch.9 |Provide summary paper discussing. |Moodle access. | |

| | | |Specific tools: |Word 2003 | |

| | | |Discussion boards, | | |

| | | |Synchronous//asynchronous | | |

| | | |environments. | | |

| | | |Use of Handouts, study guides and | | |

| | | |visuals in DE | | |

| | | |Various aspects of Web Based DE, | | |

| | | |and in course assessment tools | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | |Group Project Course Design | | |

| | | |Document Due | | |

|VIII |XII |Read Ch. 10 |Learners will provide reflection |Moodle access | |

| | | |paper on various DE assessment |Word 2003 | |

| | | |tools and how these might impact | | |

| | | |project | | |

|IX |VII |Read Ch7,195-205 |OoVoo video conference video chat |Access to OoVoo Trial | |

| | | |covering staffing and professional |version. Moodle access. | |

| | | |issues related to DE materials and |Word 2003 | |

| | | |technologies. | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | |.Individual class members will | | |

| | | |provide summarization of on article| | |

| | | |relating to specific copyright | | |

| | | |issues, as well as an attached copy| | |

| | | |of the article. | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | |Group Project Detail Document due. | | |

| | | | | | |

|X |IVX |Read Ch.11. |Individual class members will |Moodle access | |

| | | |provide reflection paper of major | | |

| | |Copyright and You. |topics discussed in chapter and | | |

| | |Protecting Your |impact on DE project. | | |

| | |Intellectual | | | |

| | |Property. Tech |Individual class members will | | |

| | |Trends. Sept/Oct |provide summarization of research | | |

| | |2005 |article dealing with one topic | | |

| | | |addressed in chapter. | | |

| | |Research articles | | | |

| | | |Group Project Detail Document Due | | |

|XI |XIII |Read Ch 12 |Individual class members will |Moodle access. | |

| | | |provide reflection paper of major |Word 2003 | |

| | |Research articles |topics discussed in chapter and | | |

| | | |impact on DE project. | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | |Individual class members will | | |

| | | |provide summarization of research | | |

| | | |article dealing with one topic | | |

| | | |addressed in Ch. as well as | | |

| | | |attached copy of article | | |

| | | | | | |

|XII |IVX |Read Ch 13 |Class Chat Discussion on various |Moodle chat access | |

| | | |tools of Course evaluation | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | |Group Project Requirements Document| | |

| | | |Due | | |

|XIII | |Thanksgiving Break | | | |

|IVX |IV, VI,X, XI | |Final Group Projects Due | | |

|XV |IV, VI,X, XI | |Presentation of Group Projects. In| | |

| | | |Class activity. | | |

| | | | | | |

| | | |Course/Instructor evaluations | | |

|XVI | |Finals Week | | | |

VIII. Course Grading/Evaluation

Grades will be based on successful and timely completion of weekly reflection postings, each phase of Group projects, final project, and active class participation using the following scale:

• Group Project 50%

• Reflection papers 20%

• Participation in Peer Analysis and Review 20%

• Attendance/Participation in Online Meetings 10%

Grading Scale:

• 93% to 100% A

• 85% to 92% B

• 77% to 84% C

• 69% to76% D

• 0 % to 68% F

Grading Rubrics

This grading rubric is for reflection/analysis papers, and research articles

|Criteria |Exceeds Expectations (4 points |Meets Expectations (2-3 Points) |Does Not Meet Expectation (0 -1 |

| | | |points) |

|Knowledge of Concepts|Demonstrates complete knowledge of key |Demonstrates knowledge of concepts. |Demonstrates little or no |

| |concepts. Includes several logical |Includes examples of logical |understanding of topics. |

| |examples of application to |examples of application |Incorporates little or no |

| |professional, real life situations |professional, real life situations |examples of application to real |

| | | |life situations. |

|Writing Style |Writes clearly and logically. |Generally writes clearly and |Writing style is short and |

| |Incorporates all of key topics in |logically. Incorporates most of key |disjointed |

| |orderly, logical form. |topics in less orderly, logical form| |

|Grammar and Spelling |Scholarly presentation style in |Slightly weaker presentation style |Presentation style is poor in |

| |expressions used, no spelling and |in expressions used, minimal |expressions used. Several |

| |grammatical errors. |spelling and grammatical errors |spelling and grammatical errors |

This rubric will be used to grade Group Projects

|Surpasses Expectations (14-16|Meets Expectations (10-13 points |Achieves Minimal Expectations (5-9 |Fails to meet Expectations|

|points ) | |Points) |(0-5 Points) |

|The project can be produced |The project can be produced, but |Before this project can be produced, |With absolute certainty, |

|as is, with minimal or no |requires some correction, (such as|extensive content revisions, |this project will not be |

|additional correction The |content restructuring, additional |significant grammatical errors, or |able to be produced or |

|intended audience should be |information or content or |logical sequencing must be corrected. |used by the intended |

|able to achieve the goals |information.) with these |Other considerations maybe copyright |audience |

|with the project |corrections, the intended audience|and other legal/ethical violations must| |

| |should be able to achieve the |be addressed. The intended audience for| |

| |goals with the project |this project will not be able to | |

| | |achieve the goals of this project | |

Distance Education Group Project Proposals

I. A major national restaurant/retail chain has decided to transition their Management Professional Development coursework from a traditional correspondence format to a Web-based, intranet, Distance Education format. This program encompasses such areas as labor management, employee training and retention. Food inventory control and management, supply inventory control and management, and guest relations. They are requesting a proposal including detailed plans and technologies to be incorporated.

II. A large, suburban school district has announced plans to develop virtual, interactive coarse work for their freshman level World Civilizations courses at their three high schools. They seek proposals and detailed plans that establish this goal within in State Educational Objectives.

General Assignment Descriptions.

For each of these projects, the group will provide the following information;

I. Learner Analysis

This document should identify the general characteristics of the learners for proposed project. This includes general age range, learning capabilities, computer skills, etc. The group should include two personas to help identify samples of their learners.

I. General introduction of proposed project.

This document will provide an executive summary of the proposed project outline the general goals of the entire project to be proposed.

II. Course Design. Document

This document will include an executive summary of the proposed project, general description of course goals and objectives, schedule/outline, learning activities, interactions between users. For this project the users are defined as teachers/presenters, learners, and in some cases, organizational supervisors who would need to be included in the assessment/evaluation portion of learners for promotional purposes.

.III, Detail Document

This document will provide two sample lessons to demonstrate learning activities, a specific description of the learning environment, and a detailed technology plan. The technology plan should describe the technologies to be incorporated into the entire project.

IV Requirement Document

This document will detail functional requirements of the project, the proposed approach to the learning environment and the curriculum scope and requirements for the project. The functional requirements should include a brief overview, Session Structure/Schedule, proposed time and grouping schedule, roles and responsibilities of each user. The description of the learning environment should include proposed activity types and descriptions, proposed instructional assessment activities, proposed learner engagement tools. Finally, the Content requirements section should include the specific timeline of activities, specific objectives being addressed and types of learning content and activities, and the assessment tools for each activity, as well as the technological resources that will be incorporated.

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