Blackboard | Middle School | Mustangs Online Line | The American School in Japan |
 

Facilitator: Jim Erwin

Course Goals

Before reading further, please read the Student Learning Outcomes as the course is intended to help students exemplify the Student Learning Outcomes and the focus of the course is on each student's learning.

Explorations (Introduction) focuses on actively integrating information technology skills and media literacy with the students' school day.  Through class projects helping the student  be better prepared for the digital world. All projects are connected to their school day (selected by both the student and facilitator). These may cover an aspect of word processing, desktop publishing, web publishing, presentations, spreadsheets, digital imaging, multimedia development and basic network operations.

Explorations (Advanced) Students will have the opportunity to explore various multimedia technologies through the creation of an Information Communication Technology Company. This company will contract itself out to the school community to provide an IT service in a real world setting. The IT projects will be selected by both the student and Mr. Erwin. This could include working with digital audio and video, web site development, Macromedia Flash, programming, and/or digital image creation and manipulation. In addition to this students will propose one project of their own choosing with a clear connection to their school day.  Explorations (Adv.) students are also expected to provide assistance to others. The rational is for them to enhance their learning by not only being a learner but also a facilitator of information technology.

(This course can be taken multiple times.)

Electronic Portfolios and ICT Company Website

All Explorations (Intro.) students will keep an Electronic Portfolio which will act as a journal of their experience in the course. All Explorations (Adv.) students will develop a company website which will highlight their ICT project and the one project of their own choosing. Both the Electronic Portfolio and ICT company website will act as a launch pad to highlight the work they have done in class, a place to reflect upon their experience and a tool for assessment by both student and Mr. Erwin. These are managed and maintained by the student and will be internet based and viewable via password.

Class Reflections

Students will be expected to write 3 lengthy reflections of their experience in class of being a student of information technology. The Class Reflections will be a journal of their progress and provide part of the evidence of their accomplishments at the end of the quarter. These will be posted on their Electronic Portfolios and company websites and submitted in the class reflection page

Discussions and Media Literacy

All students will participate in one online discussion using Blackboard. The topics will be tied in to the Media Literacy issues we will cover in conjunction with the student projects. These online discussions will be assessed as part of their final grade.

Resources

Students will be expected to use those resources, as well as this web site, program manuals, help files, Internet sites, peer helpers, and others. Students are expected to work with others in the class and provide help to others.

Assessment

Students will be responsible for self-assessing their growth and learning, and documenting their progress in the Electronic portfolios/ICT company website and class reflection form. At the beginning off each project the students will propose a grade and support their proposal through in class project work based on class rubrics.  Peer assessments of projects will be encourage and facilitated. I will review their in class reflections, EP/ICT website development, work on individual projects, and class participation to assign the grade. The focus will be on how the student pursued and created opportunities to expand their understanding and knowledge.

Procedures and Policies

Students are responsible for their own learning and progress but they must also make effective use of the class time that is scheduled. I will provide assistance and demonstrate various techniques. We will discuss issues relating to projects and class topics both in class and on a discussion board. Students will be expected to support each other, use each other as resources, and together develop with me a community of learners. Students are expected to be both learners and teachers of Information Technology in class. Each student has a unique set of skills and talents which the class will tap into through out the course.

Specific Expectations of Accountability

Students are expected to follow the the acceptable use policy they signed when entering the Middle School and behave ethically at all times. Specific issues include not knowingly infringing on others' intellectual property or using their knowledge of computers or programming to disrupt the work of others. Students will treat others in the class with respect.

Please feel free to contact me at these below locations

Pages maintained by jerwin@asij.ac.jp    Based on a concept by John Mikton & Derrel Fincher Course Design and Facilitation: jerwin@asij.ac.jp Sunday January 29, 2006