Trends and Issues in Educational Technology – EDUC 639

CG • Section 8WK • 11/08/2019 to 04/16/2020 • Modified 09/05/2023

Course Description

Trends and Issues examines current trends in the research area of educational technology, having students engage literature to understand theoretical underpinnings of the field, current research projects in effect, and future trends as technology in learning evolves as a practice and as a research interest. The course uses foundational concepts of learning in the fields of psychology, sociology and educational research to understand critical implications of the current body of literature.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

Leaders tasked with managing and designing learning using educational technology must critically engage the current literature in this rapidly evolving field of study. The accepted practice of leaders in this field must be understanding theoretical underpinnings while looking at the research process and, eventually, practical implications. This course seeks to finalize the candidate’s experience in this program by focusing on these very skills.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings, presentations, articles, websites, and additional readings

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the candidate is required to provide a thread in response to the provided prompt for each discussion. Each thread must be at least 400 words, demonstrate course-related knowledge and be supported by at least two scholarly sources. Citations and a reference list are required in APA format. In addition to the thread, the candidate is required to reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be at least 150 words. (CLO A,C)

Blogs (7)

Blog assignments and Video Presentation assignments are to be placed on a blogsite. You may use a site of your choice (e.g. Blogspot, Edublog, Wordpress, etc.).  The candidate will create a new blog on a blog site or use the blog from a blog site that you have created in a previous educational technology course. The candidate will provide a link to the blog and a screen shot of the blog in each assignment.  (CLO B,C,E)

The Past: "Blockers, Barriers, Boundaries" Paper

The candidate will write a paper that will use what has been seen in prior decades to interpret what is being researched (last 5 years) and project future research.  Students should focus on moving from the “information age” (what’s next?) such as the 5 points suggested in the article, Beyond the Information Age. The paper will be 4-6 pages in addition to the title, abstract and reference pages and be supported by at least 3 scholarly sources in addition to the textbooks. The paper must be submitted as a Word document in APA format. (CLO B,C,D)

Present Possibilities: "Can We Get There From Here?" Paper

The candidate will write a paper that will focus on the present state and potential of Educational Technology. The paper will be 2-4 pages in addition to the title, abstract and reference pages and be supported by at least 3 scholarly sources in addition to the textbooks. Sources should be within 5 years. The paper must be submitted as a Word document in APA format. (CLO C,D)

What Is Next? Future of Educational Technology Paper

The candidate will write a paper that will focus on projections regarding the future of Educational Technology. The paper will be 4-6 pages in addition to the title, abstract and reference pages and be supported by at least 3 scholarly sources in addition to the textbooks. Sources should be within 5 years. The paper must be submitted as a Word document in APA format. (CLO B,C,D)

Social Media Reflection Paper

The candidate identifies four or more Educational Technology professionals who are influencing the field in creative and positive ways through the use of leading social platforms. The candidate thoroughly validates his or her section of field influencers, providing evidence on all key factors: reputation, knowledge and expertise, regularity, relevance, quality, and originality of posts. The candidate identifies important benefits and common pitfalls for using social media tools in professional practice, and these are supported by the literature. The paper will be 2-4 pages in addition to the title, abstract and reference pages and be supported by at least 3 scholarly sources in addition to the textbooks. Sources should be within 5 years. The paper must be submitted as a Word document in APA format. (CLO B,C,D)

Video Presentations

The candidate will submit video presentations that analyze and critique three websites or blogs dealing with Educational Technology. At least one should deal with one of the characteristics of the Digital Citizen. The presentation should be created as if it would be used at a professional conference of peers. The presentation will be submitted as a 6 to 10 minute video. The video should be recorded as narration accompanying the use of a presentation software such as PowerPoint, Prezi, Keynote, etc. The presentation must be supported by the literature; however, citations can be in the form of simply mentioning the source in the narration. A reference list must be provided at the end of the presentation. The video recording of the presentation must be submitted by embedding it in the candidate's blog. To do this, the video must first be uploaded into a video sharing service such as YouTube or Vimeo. The candidate will need to research how to embed the video in the blog. This is normally done with the URL or an embedding code. The video will be graded on content and production quality. (CLO B,C,D,E)

Educational Technology Tools Journal Critique

The candidate will write a 2-4 page comparative critique of 5 scholarly articles dealing with the subject of Educational Technology Tools. Articles should be no more than 5 years old. Either a basic or lens hole approach may be used. In the basic (or classic) approach each article is given equal weight. The lens hole approach weighs heavily on one (or two very similar) article(s) to critique the others. Good practices of writing comparative critiques should be in use. The candidate should get thoroughly acquainted with the articles, build a frame of reference from which to write, and form a thesis statement for the paper which captures the main focus of the argument. The thesis should reflect that the focus of this paper is the articles, not the topic. Therefore, each article should be identified when it is introduced. The comparative critique must be 2-4 pages in addition to the title and reference pages. The critique must be submitted as a Word document in APA format; however, an abstract is not required. (CLO B,C,D)

Report of Benefits of AERA

The candidate will prepare a report that will be a report of the benefits of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) containing explanations with charts and/or graphs. The paper will be a 2-4 page in addition to the title, abstract and reference pages and be supported by at least 2 scholarly sources in addition to the textbooks. The paper must be submitted as a Word document in APA format.. (CLO B,C,D)

Topics for Exploration from Dissertation

The candidate will prepare a report that will list 10 topics found in the "recommendations for future research" of dissertations published in the last 3 years on the subject Educational Technology. Each entry will include the topic, a 2-3 paragraph explanation of how this topic could be developed, and at least ten sources from the Reference list of the dissertation that could be used to support the topic. A title page and reference list should be included. The Reference list for the paper will be an APA listing of all ten dissertations. The project must be submitted as a Word document in APA format. (CLO B,C)