© 2006 Gary S. Stager

EDC 664 is a masters degree course, and as such, it is designed to advance the quality and efficacy of your teaching by expanding and updating your understanding of pedagogy and the psychology of learning. This class is designed as an opportunity for you to experience the ideas discussed in EDC 633. It should support, challenge and expand upon the theories taught in EDC 633.

The backbone technology for much of the course is the Internet. We will be using the World Wide Web, Tapped-In, newsgroups and email extensively. You are required to have ready access to the net. In addition to the Internet, you will use other software packages that support learning. Some software will be provided by the professor, other software may be the responsibility of the student.

It is impossible to understand the intellectual potential of learning technology or constructionism without a solid grounding in the work of Seymour Papert. We will read one of his seminal books as well as several papers, articles and video clips of recent speeches. Papert, a mathematician, artificial intelligence pioneer and protegé of Jean Piaget began talking about every child having a computer nearly forty years ago. His ideas were influential in the invention of the personal computer and continue to inspire intellectual debate around the world. Papert makes the case for computers as "objects to think with," but his revolutionary learning theories transcend the high-tech world.

We will also examine alternative learning environments that offer what Seymour Sarason calls, "productive contexts for learning." These environments demonstrate that some of the best learning occurs in non-school settings and without being taught.

You will mess-about with computers in ways that test your creativity, habits of mind and ability to reflect upon those experiences. These learning adventures will last a week or two at a time, be guided and helping one another is always welcome. Some assignments will be collaborative. Others are for you to tackle by yourself, but you are always free to ask for help, share your work and make contributions to the work of your classmates through constructive feedback.

Frank Smith, Seymour Papert and the learning environment books reinforce each other in incalculable ways. They also put some meat on the bones of the theories presented in your other class.

The role of technology in learning (even the role of schools in learning) is far from decided or agreed upon. This class is designed for risk-taking and no educational tradition should be safe from scrutiny, revision or elimination. The texts were selected to provoke reflection and discussion. Feel free to share your beliefs, opinions and expertise with the class class forum. This class is highly collaborative. Your educational success is inextricably connected to the learning of your peers.

You will be expected to eagerly embrace new knowledge and learn as much as you can. Most of the class assignments and projects can be personalized to explore a particular area of interest or to enhance the teaching of specific subject or skill set. Let your personality shine and most importantly, HAVE A GO! Be present, take some risks, stretch yourself.

This course's requirements include active online participation, timely completion of assignments, reading of assigned articles, a collaborative projects and a demonstration of technical fluency. Creative thinking, problem solving, risk taking, humor and joyful exploration will be valued highly.

This course is designed to provoke thinking, reflection and perhaps even argument. Feel free to share your views. This is expected.

My goal is to create authentic contexts for learning. This makes it neither desirable or possible to create a precise calendar of events, assignments and discussion topics in advance. We will seize the "teachable moment," engage in timely discussions and offer appropriate time necessary to do the job. The syllabus is a a blueprint - an invitation to engage in the social construction of knowledge. I appreciate your course-load, work and family responsibilities and will give as much notice as possible. Take a deep breath, walk around the block and then get back to work. Lots of students have handled the demands of OMAET.

You will receive all sorts of formative assessment throughout the term. The process of your learning is being assessed more than the product. Students are expected to share their work with classmates and the professor on a regular basis in order to receive feedback. This feedback is critical to your learning process.

It is always acceptable to ask for input and feedback from your classmates and the professor. This means that it is your responsibility to do the best work you are capable of. There is no excuse to hide your work from peers who may help you make it better. Your classmates are the first line of assistance and you are responsible to reciprocating when your colleagues request feedback.

Tapped-In sessions will be scheduled at appropriate times throughout the term and in rotation with your two other courses. You are of course welcome to schedule your own TI sessions.

Think of this class like a research and development facility or art studio where we collaborate, engage in discussion and learn to use specific software packages when a "teachable moment" occurs. Synchronous sessions will be spent, discussing the assigned readings and current events. There will also be opportunities to solve student problems. Do not wait until the last minute to begin research, project development or online communication!

Attempts will be made to invite guest speakers to meet with the class at the guest's convenience.

You should assume that all coursework and communication is public and archived. Act accordingly.

Any work you produce in this class should reflect the fact you are a candidate for a Masters degree and be ready for publication outside of the university. If it is not your best work, do not submit it.


We will also watch Comedian, a fascinating documentary with Jerry Seinfeld, later in the semester. In the past, some students have had a virtual film festival and agreed to chat while watching the film at the same time. You may rent or purchase the film during the week I will announce later in the term. Warning: There is adult language, even a bit of profanity in the film. Therefore, nobody is required to view it, especially if you are offended by R-Rated films. There is no nudity or violence whatsoever. The educational value of the film and it's ability to generate serious discussion contextualizing the theories we learn in OMAET makes Comedian a worthy modern text. Again, you are not required to watch the film if you have moral objections to it, but it is well worthwhile. The R-Rating may be overkill and is based on the language used by professional comedians when they hang out with one another socially.

The dominant form of communication in this course will be asynchronous. We will use the forum in Blackboard constantly. While I would not recommend that you post yes, ditto... as a response to every message, I do expect that you will maintain a presence in key discussions. Post when you have a question or something to say, but without some artifacts of your thinking (e.g... a message in the forum) it is impossible for me to gauge you participation.

I expect frank, thoughtful and polite exchanges in the forum and TI. The discussions may get a bit heated and that is fine, but we must strive to maintain civility. If you disagree with a point made by me or a classmate, speak up! Your personal opinions are much more valuable when supported by evidence or citations from the work of others. Hunches, intuition and feelings are welcome too, but must be labeled as such. Thinking out-loud is a good learning strategy in a community of practice. I will work hard to inspire you to make your thinking public. I expect deliberate thought, cheerful participation and a willingness to try new things.

My 24 years of experience in this field and slightly askew world-view often lead me to ask provocative questions and challenge you to support your thinking. This should be viewed in the spirit in which is offered, to help you learn, think about thinking and grow as a professional. There may be perspectives offered that never occurred to you. I was recently asked, "do you play devil's advocate online?" My short answer is, "No. I don't play rhetorical games." When I say something that seems outrageous, it's probably an idea I have struggled with for a long time. Take a moment to consider what I said. If I do play devil's advocate, I will announce it. I will do my best to make my thinking transparent.

Many years ago, a colleague announced that "This is not a cocktail party. All of your postings need to be pithy, scholarly and purposeful." In other words, the forum does not belong to all of us and this is School (the capital is for emphasis). My response to her was, "Apparently you don't go to cocktail parties with smart people." Parties and all sorts of other casual events offer wonderful contexts for learning. Feel free to share good and bad news, interesting information found online and other trivia (in moderation) in the forum. This is the glue that binds our community. If it takes too long to read every posting, just skim the unimportant ones. Do not impeded the rights of others to express themselves.

You might imagine the forum as a book club in which you are expected to share thoughts, questions and topics of discussion inspired by the assigned books and articles. You do not need the professor to initiate such discussions!

Know that I read EVERY posting even if I don't respond to each of them. Sometimes I want to leave some wait time for you to talk before I weigh-in. I often ask more Socratic questions and will try and remember to respond to everyone on a regular basis so you know that I'm engaging with your contributions. Just remember that I'm reading everything.

This class requires active participation through collaboration, discussion, design, research and development. Any work you produce should provide evidence of participation in the intellectual life of the course.

I'm passionate about the issues in this course, including: creating more productive contexts for learning; offering greater learning opportunities for all; cutting through the polarization of education; the unprecedented ways in which technology can enhance learning; community of practice and creativity. I do not mess around when issues may affect the welfare of children. I neither care nor expect you to agree with me on every issue. I do expect you to speak up when you disagree. My feelings will only be hurt (and your participation evaluated) when you fail to make your voice heard.

One of my primary goals is to help you refine what you think so you may effectively articulate your beliefs and experience in more precise language.

We will use Tapped-In throughout the course, but not as often as the forum. I hope to have a graduate assistant who may also help with TI sessions. You will receive notice of a few days to a week before a TI session and they will always be on the scheduled night for this course.

I read and respond to email quickly. Since I travel a great deal email is the best way to communicate with me. You can also call in an emergency.

Participation is the major activity in this course. Candor, honesty and insight are appreciated nearly as much as humor.

Rather than large terminal assignments, we will engage in a number of shorter learning adventures designed to provide NEW learning experiences that form the basis for reflection and connection to the assigned readings. There will be roughly one learning adventure per week. Some will naturally run longer than intended, so the precise number of learning adventures is impossible to predict. There is a lot to learn in the world and we'll tackle as much as we can :-)

Participation includes posting, online class participation, homework, readings and reflective practice. Students are strongly advised to read educational journals, books, computing magazines, and any trade publications that would enhance their understanding of education, educational computing and school design. Such information makes a welcome contribution to the learning environment and student projects.

Participation includes attendance in synchronous sessions, sharing ideas in the forum, cooperation, and the quality of effort expressed in our learning adventures.

All students are required to share ideas and skills with their classmates and to expand their own personal knowledge in ways beneficial to their classmates. Simply put, you need to learn whatever is necessary to support the learning and growth of your peers. Students are expected to not only complete all individual and collaborative tasks, but be active discussants.

Highly successful students are distinguished by vigorous participation, in the forum and synchronous (Tapped-In) participation, homework and assigned readings. Students are strongly advised to read educational journals, books, computing magazines, and any trade publications that would enhance their understanding of education and educational computing. Such information makes a welcome contribution to classroom and online dialogue.

I have strong reservations about both grades and rubrics. I believe that both practices have a prophylactic effect on learning. Doing the best job you can do and sharing your knowledge with others are the paramount goals for this course. I expect excellence.

Therefore, I am trying a new experiment this term. You should evaluate each course artifact you create according to the following “rubric.” The progression denotes a range from the least personal growth to the most.

We will discuss whether this reflective self-assessment should be shared publicly or just with the professor.

Average work will receive a B. This includes meeting the minimal requirements for each assignment and regular class participation. Exceptional work will earn an A and work failing to meet Pepperdine's requirements for graduate level quality will receive a lower grade. Enthusiasm, risk-taking, questioning curiosity, creativity, sharing, mentoring, ingenuity and imagination are qualities often exhibited in A caliber work.

Students are expected to check their email and class newsgroup every day in order to keep up-to-date with class assignments, discussions and news.

A Few Course Principles..

Learning is not a spectator sport.
Constructionists do not subcontract the construction.
You must allow for serendipity.
Do a lot with a little.
What are you learning? Why are you learning it?
How does "this" benefit the learner?"
What’s the big idea?

These habits should be in evidence in your work and discussions!

Feel free to ask yourself why what you are thinking, planning or doing is important. Relevance is a major component of learning.

1.We are all WiReD...
We all have an Internet e-mail account and will read our email/newsgroups regularly. Students are expected to share resources and raise topics for discussion as well.

2. We assume responsibility for our own learning...

Students will seek and indulge in relevant experiences. People who rely upon just passively sitting in class (or online) will shortchange their learning and grades.

5. Part of living it is reflecting about it with others...

6. We will ask three before me (Gary). Students should ask questions of classmates, peers and use other resources before automatically asking the teacher for help.

Class dates will be more fluid than in other classes, but there will be a reading sequence in the course syllabus. This will NOT be like any other class you have ever had. We will talk a lot, do things and take some risks. This will have an impact on our course sequence and schedule. My job is not to dispense knowledge in predetermined chunks at specified intervals.

The reading of additional articles will be assigned as necessary. Articles without links will be placed in BlackBoard.

There will be a new learning adventure every 7-10 days, depending on the needs of the class.

Reading assignments should be read & discussed beginning with the date listed.

September 4-11 - Read and discuss the following ice-breakers: