Course Syllabus
DIGITAL LITERACIES II
A seven-week online course designed for education professionals...
Welcome to your course. As part of its ongoing strategic plan for transforming learning, the San Diego County Office of Education offers educators this seven-week intensive course of professional development designed to improve your digital literacies.
You will explore:
- Digital citezenship and Internet safety
- Copyright law and 'Fair Use' clause
- The use of Creative Commons license
- The use of Web 2.0 tools
- Ways to apply Google Applications for EDU
- Using mobile technologies for teaching and learning
- Techniques for developing non-linear presentations
- Methods for using Quick Response (QR) codes in teaching and learning
- The use of digital cameras
- Developing blogs and websites
- Producing podcasts
The course is provided by way of Instructure's Canvas learning management system (LMS)--the website you are currently on.
Please begin by reviewing the course syllabus thoroughly.
LOCATION
Digital Literacies 2 is an asynchronous online course.
INSTRUCTOR PROFILES
| Dennis Danielson, Ed.D. | Jessica Love |
| Dr. Dennis Danielson is a Technology Coordinator for the San Diego County Office of Education. He works daily to integrate online and blended learning opportunities for K-12 school districts. Dennis has extensive experience in building comprehensive technology plans into working models that include 1:1 student access and the critical professional development opportunities that transform teaching and learning. | Jessica Love is an instructional designer and producer for the San Diego County Office of Education. She formerly served as a secondary school mathematics teacher in a variety of schools in San Diego County. Prior to teaching, Ms. Love worked in the field of online marketing specializing in search engine optimization. This experience combined with her formal training in visual arts, technology, and professional development in education has provided her with the skills to be a leader in digital literacies education. |
NOTE: Please use Canvas Conversations to contact your professors.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The goal of the Digital Literacy 2 class is to provide practicing and pre-service educators with the tools and knowledge necessary to enhance and enrich the educational experiences of students’ through digital technologies. Learners will explore ways to utilize web-based and other electronic tools as well as to deepen their understanding of the pedagogical approach required to integrate seamlessly the use of digital tools, digital literacies, and subject-specific content into units of study appropriate for their students.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Appraise and practice the use of a variety of online tools for communication, productivity, collaboration, analysis, and presentation.
- Prepare and produce lessons and activities that incorporate Web 2.0 tools and mobile applications.
- Develop and produce syndicated audio programs for distribution across the World Wide Web (podcasts).
- Build blogs and websites.
- Demonstrate basic knowledge of digital photography and videography.
PREREQUISITE CHARACTERISTICS & SKILLS
Learners should possess the following prerequisite characteristics and skills:
- Independent learner
- Self disciplined
- Average to advanced computer skills
NOTE: This course is a continuation of Digital Literacies 1 (check Canvas signup throughout the year). Although completion of Digital Literacies 1 is NOT a prerequisite for this course, learners should note that it is presumed that the they posses the skills and knowledge acquired in that course.
COMMUNICATION
DO NOT USE EMAIL TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR INSTRUCTOR.
Please use the 'Conversations' feature in the LMS to communicate with both your facilitators/instructors as well as your fellow learners. You may access the Conversations feature by clicking the 'Inbox' link in the upper right of the screen when logged into the LMS.
COURSE STRUCTURE
This course will be delivered entirely online through the Canvas course management system. In Canvas, you will access online lessons, course materials, and a variety of multimedia resources. Throughout the course, you will participate in a blend of self-paced and adaptive released (instructor-paced) activities using Canvas and alternative Internet-based technologies.
TEXTBOOK & COURSE MATERIALS
There is no required print textbook for this course.
Google Drive and use of Google Apps (Google Docs and Google Slides) are required for this course. Go to Google Drive and create your free account if you do not already have one. Click here to Create a GOOGLE DRIVE.
Everything you need will be available online in the links and e-text found in this course. Students do not have to purchase any materials, nor will any be sent. Additional free accounts with a variety of Web 2.0 tools will be needed as well. These will be referenced and accessible as you come to them in various modules throughout the course.
If learners do not wish to use an established email address to sign up for services demonstrated and required for this course, they may use dispostable.com or mailinator.com to create publicily accessible 'throw-away' emails to use.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Required:
- The ability to record audio on your computer via a standard microphone
- Free online accounts for Google, Vocaroo, Screencast-O-Matic, YouTube and other Web 2.0 tools that emerge in the course
- Current web browser with appropriate plugins (e.g. Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari)
- Flash Player
- Adobe PDF Reader
- Java Runtime Environment
Optional:
Web cam for expanding your “presence” within the course
File Formats Accepted:
DOC; DOCX; PDF; PPT; PPTX; XLS; XLSX; PNG; JPG; MPG4; MPG3; GIF
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
For support with using the LMS, please visit the Canvas User Guide website. Also, please review the Canvas Student Orientation page in this course which provides information about browsers, mobile apps and more.
COURSE SUPPORT
If you have a question about any course expectations, it is likely that many other students will have the same question - please post your question in the General Discussions (for course questions). If you need further help to successfully complete assignments or to meet a specific learning objective in our class, please send a message to your instructor(s) as soon as possible.
COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS & EXPECTATIONS
ALL ASSIGNMENTS AND QUIZZES MUST BE SUBMITTED IN A TIMELY MANNER. LATE ASSIGNMENTS/QUIZZES WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT. LATE ASSIGNMENTS/QUIZZES WILL RECEIVE A SCORE OF ZERO.
Assignments:
The Digital Literacies 2 course is a 30-hour (approximate) course of study spanning a seven-week period. To complete the course, you must successfully complete all coursework and assignments in accordance with the course calendar. Each assignment has a set of criteria. Course instructor(s) and your fellow learners will review your assignments and provide you with feedback. Please remember to check for feedback comments from your course instructor(s).
- Each assignment includes an attached rubric. Click on the individual assignments (below) to access its rubric.
- Participants must complete all assignments by the end of the course (no extensions available). The participants that usually have the most success in this virtual environment set aside a specific time for their work each week.
- If at any time you are feeling unsure of what is expected for an assignment, refer to the rubric to get the best sense of what to include in the assignment. Also feel free to use the discussion boards to ask the class questions.
- All assignments for this course will be submitted electronically through Canvas unless otherwise described. Assignments must be submitted by the given deadline or special permission must be requested from the instructor before the due date.
If an assignment submission does not meet its specific word count requirement, it will not receive credit (i.e. the assignment will receive a score of zero).
If you find that you have any trouble keeping up with assignments or other aspects of the course, make sure you let your instructor know as early as possible. Make sure that you are proactive in informing your instructor when difficulties arise during the course so that they can help you find a solution. Under emergency/special circumstances, participants may petition for an incomplete status in the course, and resume at a later date.
Please note that due dates for assignments are irregular for week seven.
Discussions
Throughout this course, you will be engaging your fellow learners in virtual discussions. All discussion assignments should show a thoughtful consideration of the topic. They are expected to be written in standard English, and are typically 150-500 words in length. Your responses must substantively address issues posed (may include questions posed to extend the discussion). Although responding to your colleague's submissions is not required, it is encouraged.
All initial discussion assignment submissions that are either less than 150 words in length or more than 500 words in length will not receive credit (i.e. the assignment will receive a score of zero).
Please note that your initial discussion submission (for credit) must be written (i.e. cannot be a media message) and posted as online text (not an attachment).
Re-submission
Your course instructor may choose to allow you to resubmit some, all, or none of your assignments in order to receive additional credit for the given assignment. Please note that re-submission opportunities are solely provided at the discretion of the course instructor. However, in all cases, submissions and re-submissions MUST be made by the established due date of an assignment.
Quizzes
ALL QUIZZES MUST BE SUBMITTED IN A TIMELY MANNER. LATE QUIZZES WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT. LATE QUIZZES WILL RECEIVE A SCORE OF ZERO.
All quizzes are graded by percentage. Quizzes vary in number of items.
Learners are encouraged to visit Grades tab in the course menu to stay abreast of their weekly progress.
Final Project
During week 7 of the course, your final project is to create a presentation (using slide deck - Google Slides are recommended but you can use PowerPoint, Prezi, etc...) about how you can support the digital literacies of students. Cite specific ways in which you can guide your students as they hone their skills with the six verbs found in our definition of digital literacy.
For quick reference, digital literacy is defined as:
...using digital technology communication tools and/or networks to access, manage, integrate,evaluate, create, and communicate information in order to function in knowledge societies.
Then, you will compose a screencast of your slides as you narrate the presentation. Your screencast should be no longer than five minutes in length.
Finally, you will upload your presentation to YouTube, Screencast-O-Matic, or other such streaming service and ensure that your narration is closed captioned.
NOTE: YouTube's automatic captioning is NOT acceptable for this assignment.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Academic integrity is vital in all forms of learning. All assignments submitted must be original work unless otherwise cited. All media must be cited in some way; a specific format may be required by your course instructor(s).
KEEPING YOUR COURSEWORK
You will have access to the course from the start date until a few weeks after the course ends. After this time you will no longer be able to access the course or related materials. We strongly recommend you retain copies of all your completed coursework and crate a list of all the web site URLs that you might want to retrieve at a later date.
GRADING AND RUBRICS
Learners must receive a minimal overall score of 90% in order to receive credit for the course work.
At the end of the course, a score below 90% will receive a grade of NC (no credit). A NC grade translates to a grade of F for learners who will be applying for graduate-level professional development units from San Diego State University.
Learners’ grades will be composed of work completed in two categories:
Assignments- 60%
Quizzes- 25%
Final Project- 15%
DATE/DAY REFERENCES
Each week begins at 12:00 a.m. on Monday and is referred to as day 1. Each week ends at 11:59 pm on Sunday and is referred to as day 7.
DROP POLICY
As you may know, you can drop this course at any time. However, please note that if you elect to enroll with the San Diego County Office of Education and the San Diego State University for graduate units (CEU), you will need to abide by their drop policies. Additionally, please note that if a learner is not active for a two week period, the course facilitators reserve the right to drop the learner from the course. Activity is measured by graded content submission. That is, logging into the system or viewing pages is not considered activity. To be considered active in the course, at least one quiz or assignment or graded discussion submission must be recorded in the grade book over the course of two modules (two weeks).
DISCLAIMER
Throughout the course, you will be introduced (and in some cases, re-introduced) to a series of tools and services that have educational value which, when used appropriately, can yield engaging learning and teaching experiences. However, please note that IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO VET THE USE OF THESE TOOLS AND SERVICES THROUGH YOUR DISTRICT'S POLICIES. That is, please review your district's policies and regulations to ensure that the tools and services you are exposed to meet your professional obligations to your local educational agency.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
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