| General Information |
| Pre-requisites & Requirements |
Course prerequisites: ETC 547 & ETC 567.
Notes: It is highly suggested that students complete ETC677 prior to attempting ETC647. ETC 600 level course numbers generally do not reflect the sequence in which courses should be taken. Students will have more positive learning experiences if they take ETC677 first then ETC647. Students are not encouraged to both ETC647 and ETC677 in the same semester because they are both demanding courses. Both ETC647 and ETC677 are offered in spring and fall semesters; generally not during the summer session!
| Course Descriptions |
The terms "distributed education," or "distributed learning" have been applied interchangeably by many different researchers to a great variety of programs, providers, audiences, and media. Its hallmarks are the separation of teacher and learner in space and/or time (Perraton, 1988), where much of the control over the learning environment can be by the student rather than the distant instructor (Jonassen, 1992), and asynchronous communication between student and teacher, mediated by print or some form of technology (Keegan, 1986; Garrison and Shale, 1987).
Distributed learning technologies are expanding at an extremely rapid rate. Too often, instructional designers and curriculum developers have become enamored with the latest technologies giving less thought to: a) the underlying issues of learner characteristics and needs, b) the influence of media upon the instructional process, c) equity of access to interactive delivery systems, and d) the new roles of teacher, site facilitator, and student in the distributed learning process.
This course is designed to provide learners opportunities to explore various distributed learning systems, also known as learning management systems. More importantly, however, the course will provide learners with the opportunity to design and develop distributed learning units that take great consideration in those issues listed above and to employ the theory of distributed cognition or situated cognition (Collins, 1991; Salomon, 1990).
| Learning Goals & Outcomes |
Student Learning Expectations/Outcomes for this Course
The Goals of this course are for students to:
develop an understanding of distributed learning environments in terms of current learning theories
develop an understanding of the role of technology in distributed learning environments
develop an understanding of the importance and types of collaboration and community-building distributed learning environments
develop an understanding of the issues of diversity within a distributed learning environment
To determine if the course goals have been attained, students should be able to demonstrate the following outcomes:
utilize skills with course management systems
utilize skills with technology programs as they relate to distributed learning
utilize distributed/situated cognition to enhance online learning
describe issues of diversity that pertain to distributed learning
develop a distributed learning unit based upon current distributed learning theory for adults that includes the following elements:
Learner Interaction
Learner Resources
Learner Collaboration
Learner Planning and Publishing
Learner Assessment Compliance for Copyright
Course structure/approach
This course is VERY labor intensive. Each student is expected to engage in online participation in class discussions, group activities, assignments, and individual projects. There may be many times when you will need to be able to troubleshoot complex problems on your own -- be prepared.
A variety of instructional methods will be used in this class. They include, but are not limited to:
Assigned Readings,
Online Class Discussions,
Software Utilization,
Written Research Papers
Individual and Group Project Work.
| Course Materials |
Text and other Materials:
Recommended optional materials/references
Optional Textbook:
| Reading Resources |
ETC677 Learning Resources on Delicious (Include students' resources)
| Delivery System |
Course will be delivered on WebCT Vista at http://vista.nau.edu, not WebCT Campus Edition (CE).
| Notes |
This is a course description not a final syllabus for the course.
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Course Blog
This course integrates Blog as course activities and shared learning resrouces archive. Feel free to follow the course Blog. Course Blog.
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It is important for those interested in this class to consult their program advisor and the instructor before enrolling. If you have questions regarding this course, please e-mail the instructor, Chih-Hsiung Tu, Ph.D. at Chih.Tu@Nau.Edu or 928-523-0671.