Syllabus

Syllabus


 * Syllabus for //Using Google Docs and Voice Thread to Engage Students to Become Collaborative Learners// **


 * Faculty and Contact Information **

Miss Kristen Holliday

Kristen_r_holliday@mcpsmd.org


 * Course Introduction **

// Using Google Docs and Voice Thread to Engage Students to Become Collaborative Learners // is a class designed for elementary school teachers who are looking to integrate technology into their classrooms, in order to promote a higher level of learning, collaboration, and motivation within the learning community. See Course Description for more specific information regarding this course.


 * Course Description **

Engaging students to become life-long collaborative learners, and creating partnerships with students and their parents/guardians, are the main themes of this course. Utilizing web 2.0 tools, along with Google Docs, and Voice Thread to promote effective teaching methods are a main feature of this course. This five-day course offers teachers an opportunity to learn about, and use different teaching technologies to enhance teaching and learning within, and out of the classroom.


 * Course Goals/Objectives **

At the end of this course, students should be able to:


 * 1) Effectively use and implement technology to engage students in communicating with others from in school, and out of school.
 * 2) Use Google Docs and Voice Thread to foster collaboration between students.
 * 3) Identify ways in which you can incorporate various web 2.0 tools into their own classroom.
 * 4) Create activities, lessons, projects, and class set-ups that ensure collaboration between students.
 * 5) Demonstrate how to use these tools by simulating a classroom with colleagues.
 * 6) Use Voice Thread to communicate and collaborate with parents, and students, both in and out of school.


 * Course Materials **

There are no required materials for this course. All materials are provided throughout the five-day workshop.


 * Additional Readings/Materials **

Students will be provided with links and resources used throughout this course. Please visit the Resource Page to view tutorials for various web 2.0 tools that are examined and used in this class.


 * Grading Information and Criteria **


 * ** Assignment/Project ** ||  ** Grade % **  ||
 * Participation ||  20%   ||
 * Group Projects ||  20%   ||
 * Individual Web 2.0 Activity ||  20%   ||
 * Class Assignments Voice Thread ||  20%   ||
 * Reaching Out To Parents ||  20%   ||
 * ** Total Grade ** ||   100%   ||


 * Assignments/Project Descriptions **

Syllabus Scavenger Hunt Questionnaire: To begin the class you will complete a scavenger hunt by finding answers throughout the syllabus. The scavenger hunt is formatted in a crossword puzzle format.

KWL Charts: The KWL charts are intended for participants to identify background knowledge, question, explore, and keep track of previous, and new learning. These charts are used in discussion, and are meant to be used for reflective purposes.

Discussion Boards: You will be required to post to discussion boards throughout this course. You will share ideas, and collaborate with each other in order to brainstorm effective strategies and uses of the tools examined in class.

PowerPoint Upload to Google Docs: After exploring Google Docs in day one, you will be required to successfully upload a PowerPoint to Google Docs.

Voki Avatars: You will create two different Avatars by using Voki. The first Voki will be created on day one so that participants can get to know each other. On day four, you will complete the second Voki. This Voki requires you to summarize your group discussion on how Voice Thread could be used in the classroom to enhance learning, instruction, and collaboration. Then, you will upload this Voki response to your “Class Assignments” Voice Thread.

Google Docs Lesson From Grade-Level Breakout Session: On day one, you will work together in your grade-level breakout groups, and come up with an online lesson or activity by using the Google Docs feature. You will present your projects to the class.

Group Activity with Web 2.0 Tools: On day two you will pair up with another teacher in the class to complete this assignment. In pairs, you will pick a web 2.0 tool, and create an activity that can be used in your classroom. Then, you will upload your project to a Voice thread, and present your project to the class. Don’t forget to post your project to the day-two discussion board.

Individual Web 2.0 activities: On day three you will choose an unfamiliar web 2.0 tool to use, and create an activity or lesson to go with it. This should be something that you will be able to use in your class. Once you have created your activity, you will upload it to a Voice Thread, and you will email the document to your instructor.

Collaborating Through Voice Threads: You will respond to a given Voice Thread (on day 3) by using each collaborative feature. This will serve as a practice run for the main collaborative assignment using Voice thread in day 4.

Collaborative Voice Thread: On day four, you will be presented with one Voice Thread that includes all web 2.0 activities that you and your colleagues created from day three. You will use this Voice Thread to collaborate with each other, and discuss, comment, and question your classmates’ web 2.0 presentations. You will be required to use at least three different collaboration features, and you must respond to at least five classmates’ activities.

Class Assignments Voice Thread: Students will create a Voice Thread and upload the following assignments (on day four):
 * Google Docs lesson from Grade-Level breakout activity (from day 1)
 * Group activity with web 2.0 tools (from day 2)
 * Individual Web 2.0 activities (from day 3)
 * Voki group discussion summary (from day 4)

Sharing Links and Embedding Onto Personal Websites: You will embed your class activities into a website on day five. If you do not already have a website up and running, then you will use a free website generator, such as [|www.yola.com].

Reaching Out To Parents: (Ex: Voice Threads and Google Docs for digital story telling, for displaying student work, activities, and portfolios, for book reviews, important parent information, rubrics, homework help, etc.) You will create documents via Google Docs and Voice Thread to ensure effective communication between home and school. Then, you will embed these documents into your personal classroom websites. Time will be given to present/share materials with colleagues.

Reflection Activities: Throughout this course, you will be asked to reflect on your learning. During each reflection activity or discussion, be thinking about any questions, new ideas, or thoughts you have about the tools and materials that are used in class. This is a time when you will think about how you can integrate these new resources and strategies into your class, in order to promote a higher level of thought process and collaboration.


 * Additional Information **

-All major activities and assignments will be completed in class.

-Understanding how to successfully navigate through the wiki space is essential for this course. If you have any problems click on the help button, or you may message me, or post a question to the questions area of the wiki space.

-Please adhere to all deadlines, as many of them are essential for the following day’s assignments.


 * Academic Policies **


 * Grading Guidelines **

90-100 = A 80 -89 = B  70-79= C  69 or below = F (fail)

Students must earn an “A” or “B” to earn CPD or college credits for this course. A grade of a “C” is passing, however is not satisfactory for the purpose of credits toward certification renewal or salary advancement. An “A” demonstrates outstanding comprehension of material taught in class, and a “B” demonstrates a clear grasp of concepts taught in class. A “C” is unsatisfactory, and anything lower than a “C” is considered failure of the course.


 * Withdrawal: ** Students who withdrawal from this course within at least two weeks of the first day of class, will earn a “W” which stands for “withdrawal”. The “W” is not taken into account when calculating the grade point average. However, if a student withdrawals after two weeks from the first day of class, he/she will earn the grade received as is, and it will be calculated into the grade point average.


 * Writing Standards ** : It is important that you are communicating effectively through writing. All effective teachers must be effective communicators, both in speech and in written text. All assignments and projects must demonstrate outstanding communication skills. Please take careful notice to spelling, punctuation, and content of your assignments. Assignments should comply with the 6th edition of the APA manual. Remember to edit your work before submitting assignments.

You may visit the [|VAIL tutorial] provided by UMUC to learn more about how to avoid academic dishonesty and plagiarism.
 * Policy on Academic Integrity and Plagiarism ** : There is no tolerance for cheating or plagiarizing of any kind. Be sure to cite any outside references, to include articles, quotes, images, videos, and more. Students who fail to comply with the academic integrity and plagiarism rules, will be expelled from the class with a failing grade.

All students will be required to complete an end of the class evaluation. The primary purpose of this evaluation is to assess the effectiveness of the classroom instruction and structure of the course. You will be asked to answer questions and provide specific feedback, in order to ensure that the best teaching and learning experience is provided for current and future classes. Please take this time as an opportunity to provide detailed recommendations about potential areas that could use improvement, as well as praises for what you thought worked well throughout the course.
 * Course Evaluation **


 * Course Schedule **


 * ** Day ** ||  ** Assignments/Projects **  ||
 * ** 1 ** || -Syllabus scavenger hunt questionnaire

-Introduction Vokis and discussion board

-KWL

-Google Doc accounts

-Discussion board

-PowerPoint upload to Google Docs

-Google Docs lesson from grade-level breakout session

-Reflection ||
 * ** 2 ** || -KWL

-Voice Thread accounts

-Group activity with Web 2.0 tools and Voice Thread

-Discussion board

-Reflection ||
 * ** 3 ** || -Individual Web 2.0 activities

-Brainstorm ways to integrate Web 2.0 tools into your classroom

-Collaborating through Voice Threads

-Discussion board

-Closure activity ||
 * ** 4 ** || -Collaborative Voice Thread

-Class assignments Voice Thread

-Voki Voice Thread Summary from breakout groups ||
 * ** 5 ** || -Sharing links and embedding onto personal websites

-Reaching out to parents

-Collaborating with Colleagues

-Create additional material

-Course Evaluation/Class reflection/Next steps ||

*The format of this syllabus was modified from various UMUC syllabuses