Computers in Education (EDUC 3412) is a semester-long undergraduate course designed for pre-service teachers from elementary through secondary education.  This course is required for the major and counts toward the Educational Technology Certificate offered by the University of Minnesota – Duluth.

This course has two major objectives:

  1. Expand the technical proficiency of students with computer programs and tools used in the workplace and the classroom – such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Smart Boards, etc. – and introduce them to new developments in social and digital media.
  2. Introduce students to the theory behind educational technology integration and encourage critical reflection on how technology will be best used in their own practice

 This is a lecture and classroom discussion based class with online support for the course provided by our Moodle site.  We also do classroom activities, including playing with new technology (like the iPad and the SMART Board) and educational computer games.  My class syllabus lays out the term from the third week on, since I took over the class on short notice and had to scramble a bit.

This little section of pages is designed to be an example of a website that the students might create in order to show their technical proficiency with web development tools such as WordPress, Google Sites, etc.  Students can also use other tools such as Dreamweaver or hand-code HTML to complete their project.

Class Resources and Assignments By Week

Reminder – all assignments should be submitted in Moodle unless prior arrangements have been made.  To complete this course, you will need not only to use the University’s Moodle site but also a variety of Google apps, which should be part of the campus Google apps suite.

Week & Topic Tools and Resources Assignments Due
 3 – Concept/Mind Mapping  Pre-assessment paper
 4 – Digital Imaging and Drawing
  •  Photoshop/Photoshop Elements, GIMP, Picnik, Google drawing tools
  Ideal computer system concept map
 5 – Spreadsheets and Gradebooks
  •  Excel, Google spreadsheets
  Word processing assignment
 6 – Drawing
  •  Photoshop
  Spreadsheet assignment
 7 – Accessibility, assistive technology and universal design
  • iPad and iPhone apps (we will use iPads in class)
  • Voice to text, text to speech, zoom text
  • JeopardyLabs – online quiz review
  Mid term exam
 8 – What’s new in educational technology?  Digital image or drawing assignment
 9 – Website development, blogs, list-servs, RSS readers
  •  Google sites, WordPress, Weebly, webs.com
  Online discussion about new technology tools and pedagogy
 10 – Social media, participatory culture, collaboration
  • Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, Wikispaces, Blogger, Posterous, Ning, Vimeo, podcasting
  • Everyone a Teacher
  Website assignment
 11 – Interactive displays
  •  SMARTBoard
  Paper – what’s new in educational technology?
 12 – Presentation software  Conduct your technology-enhanced lesson to the class
 13 – Video and video editing
  •  iMovie
  Continuing teach backs
14 – Games, simulations, and virtual worlds
  •  Second Life, Quest Atlantis, Active Worlds/Rivercity
  iMovie Assignment

Week 15 will include the final exam, turning in your portfolio (and meeting with me to debrief), and your post-assessment.  We will do the Jeopardy game review again, like for the mid-term; so add your questions to the class wiki (that way you know the answer to at least SOME of the questions.)

ePortfolio Instructions

See these instructions on how to upload files to the U of M ePorfolio.  Remember, you do not need to create a portfolio electronically or use the official UMD portfolio software for this course, although I do recommend that you get in the habit of uploading your best work each term so you are ready for job hunting and final review of how your courses have met accreditation requirements!  I will accept a paper portfolio, but I strongly recommend you try one of the online porfolios or use Google sites to create a professional portfolio.

Website Design Assignment Pages

Annotated List of Educational Technology Resources

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