Dr Emma Mercier
ATTENTION, LEARNING AND TECHNOLOGY
CI507 CLI CRN:56699 Wednesday 1-4pm Credit: 4 hours
Description
As the range and presence of technology increases in our world, more and more experiences are either mediated or interrupted by these technologies. Concerns about the effect of interruptions are coupled with enthusiasm for the potential of technology to radically alter the learning environment. In this class, we’ll look at the research on the relationship between attention and learning, recent work on the effects of multi-tasking and the influence that using technology in classrooms has on students’ engagement and attention. We’ll also look at arguments about how the changes in technology influences the speed (and depth) of thought and consider how the management of attention is a key tool for learners to develop.
CRITIQUES OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
CI499 CPC CRN: 39496 Online Credit: 4 hours
Description
Technology, from the overhead to the Internet, has played an important role in the history of organized education, often fueled by a romanticized view that it will somehow revolutionize teaching and learning. While many scholars believe technology can transform education, others have questioned its impact—intended or otherwise—on the social, economic, pedagogical, and political aspects of education. In this course, we’ll survey various arguments against educational technology in an effort to clarify our own understanding of its actual and potential value to the field. We’ll examine work skeptical of educational technology as a whole as well as research questioning specific tech-centric initiatives ranging from teaching machines to tablets. Students will leave the course with a deeper appreciation of the gap between practice and promise, while being well-positioned to influence future developments within the field.
DESIGNING SIMULATIONS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING
CI507DL CRN: 52329 Monday 5-7:50pm Credit: 4 hours
Description
Simulations have become an important tool in education. Simulations are interactive representations of real-life objects, systems, and events. Today simulations are often constructed in digital environments such as web browsers or virtual reality, but traditionally simulations also include activities such as role-playing games or thought experiments. In this class we will discuss simulations defined broadly, and we will investigate the properties of simulations that make them effective tools for learning and teaching. Simulations are most frequently utilized in science, math, and engineering education, but we will also discuss use of simulations for learning in other areas such as history, economics, and art. Throughout the course we will compile a list of effective simulation design principles, and each student will be required to design and build an original learning simulation and describe its rationale in a course paper. Familiarity with software platforms in which simulations can be built (NetLogo, Flash, Unity, etc.) may be helpful, but this is not required.
NEUROEDUCATION: MIND, BRAIN, TEACHING AND
LEARNING IN THE CLASSROOM
CI507 NEC CRN: 54369 ONLINE [asynchronous] Credit: 4 hours
This course will discuss the latest research on mind, brain, teaching and learning. Topics will include social emotional teaching and learning, learning principles of brain/mind and neuroscience. We will examine teacher and student social and emotional competence, and student learning and outcomes. This course is designed for teachers and graduate students.
EQUITY & EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
CI590 EET CRN: 52595 ONLINE [asynchronous] Credit: 4 hours
This course is a seminar, which investigates issues of equity and technology in the United States and Internationally. This course provides students with 1) a theoretical framework for understanding the dynamics of equity and technology 2) an opportunity to expand their awareness of specific issues related to gender and equity, race and equity, age and equity, digital divide, and ethics as they relate to technology and 3) a process to explore how the lack of or abundance of information technology can affect every aspect of our society. We will discuss social networks, the transformation of mind and technology, and social implications associated with the Internet, equity and opportunity.
COMPUTER ASSISTED INSTRUCTION
CI435 CRN: 44822 ONLINE Credit: 4 hours
In the age of complex digital media, we are faced with decisions once not known in our everyday lives. Our lives are changing at a rapid pace. Individuals are spending as much time online in virtual environments, if not more, compared to offline in the physical environments. What are the implications for teaching and learning within and among digital spaces? What is the difference between instruction and training? Does an individual facilitate, teach, instruct or train? This course will examine affordances, universal design for teaching, learning and cognition by exploring digital games and virtual environments.
