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Masters Coursework in Educational Technology at Michigan State University 

CEP 810: Teaching for Understanding with Technology

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Instructor: Melissa White
Semester: Fall 2010
Credits: 3
Grade: 4.0
MSU's Course Description: The use of the Internet is an integral part of the course, both because of its power to improve the effectiveness of the course and because of the importance of the Internet in its effect on education. One important benefit of the use of the Internet is the ongoing interaction it allows among participants and with instructors in between the weekend sessions.Assignments are designed to enable practicing teachers to apply their learning to immediate and actual application in their own teaching setting, often completing course work by using technology to do what they would have had to do independent of taking CEP 810.



CEP 811: Adapting Innovative Technologies in Education 

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Instructor: Emily Stone
Semester: Fall 2010
Credits: 3
Grade: 4.0
MSU's Course Description: In this course, participants learn to apply instructional principles and methods to educational problems; to develop individualized media and computer applications for use in a professional setting; and to adapt advanced software options to promote learning. Specifically, the focus is on the development of stand-alone instructional resources using the Internet and PowerPoint. Such development includes the description of the instructional problem, the development of instructional objectives and criterion measures related to solving the instructional problem, the development and testing of a technology-based solution to the instructional problem, and the final evaluation of the product. Participants will work both in small groups and individually to develop such instructional programs. In addition, participants will serve as evaluators of both group- and individually-generated instructional programs.

Classroom Application:  
This was one of the most useful products that I have created. I was very excited to incoperate this interactive PowerPoint into my lesson on genres.  This is a great  tool to allow the students to learn at their own pace, and do not have to listen to “The Talking Head” for an extended period of time.  This is also something that I have shared with my department, so they are able to use it or tweak it for their classrooms.

CEP 812: Applying Educational Technology to Issues of Practice

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Instructor: Carolyn McCarthy 
Semester: Spring 2011
Credits: 3
Grade: 4.0
MSU's Course Description: This course will focus on the identification of a significant instructional problem, the development of a detailed proposal directed at the solution to the defined problem, and the development of a desktop presentation designed at presenting the proposal. Participants will work both in small groups and individually to develop such proposals and desktop presentations. In addition, participants will serve as evaluators of both group- and individually-generated proposals and desktop presentations.


CEP 800: Learning in School and Other Settings

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Instructor: Dr. Cary Roseth
Semester: Spring 2011
Credits: 3
Grade: 4.0
MSU's Course Description: This course will acquaint students with several major psychological perspectives for appreciating learning that goes on in school and other settings. Students will also connect theories of learning to their own experiences as learners – inside this course, in other courses, on the job, and in other settings. By constantly examining the relationship between the ideas about learning introduced in this course and the learning situations in the students’ world outside of this course, students will find greater meaning and significance in both. We consider implications of these perspectives for practice, particularly the practice in your field. 

CEP 815: Technology and Leadership

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Instructor: Nick Sheltown Andy Saltarel
Semester: Fall 2011
Credits: 3
Grade: 4.0
MSU's Course Description: New technologies not only have the potential of changing what and how students learn, but they can also alter the task of teaching in significant ways. In this course, we will examine the complex charge of being responsible for managing relationships between technology, teaching and learning. We will look at technology from multiple perspectives to assess its potential benefits and challenges to different audiences. Professional development strategies, project management, planning, evaluation, relationship building, along with the ethical and social implications of technology integration will be examined.

Classroom Application: 
The tools that our group used to create and deliver the professional development tutorial was: PowerPoint, Audacity and Camtasia.  These tools allowed us to create a professional-looking video by adding sound and movement to our slides, and then record the final product to be viewed easily by others. This would a tool that could be used to create simple lessons to reiterate topics covered in the class, and could be used in conjunction with other online tools. 

CEP 820: Teaching K12 Students Online

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Instructor: Michelle Hagerman
Semester: Fall 2011
Credits: 3
Grade: 4.0
MSU's Course Description: Examining ways in which K-12 teachers can bring the world into their classrooms with technology to better meet the educational needs of students. The course focuses on ways in which teachers and students can broadcast their ideas and information to the outside world for purposes of collaboration and communication. The course includes discussions of various online learning management systems including their functions, strengths, and weaknesses along with the exploration of various teaching methodologies and how they should be used in the online environment to ensure teaching and learning success.

CEP 805: Learning Mathematics with Technology

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Instructor: Dr. Ralph Putman
Semester: Spring 2012
Credits: 3
Grade: 4.0
MSU's Course Description: The course explores the interaction of school mathematics content, technology that supports mathematics teaching and learning, and the cognitive and social processes of learning. It is designed to serve practicing teachers at all levels (elementary, middle school, and high school) in their thinking about the interaction of technology and school content, particularly those who teach mathematics for at least part of their school day. No particular strength in mathematics or knowledge of specific technologies is required, only a willingness to explore and rethink standard assumptions about elementary mathematics and learning. The courses is structured into eight units, five of which explore a specific content area within school mathematics and a specific technology that hold promise for learning in that particular content area. One end product will be a personalized online library of resources indexed to particular mathematics content and issues in teaching and learning.


CEP 891: Online Literacy and Reading-to-Learn in the Digital Age

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Instructors: Paul Morsink, Michelle Schira Hagerman, and Dr. Rand Spiro
Semester: Spring 2012
Credits: 3
Grade: 4.0
MSU's Course Description:This course uses hands-on activities with a variety of web-based technologies (search engines, digital annotation tools, screen-capture tools, collaborative writing and idea-mapping tools, etc.) to explore the new landscape of reading and reading-to-learn on the Web. Time will be devoted to (1) illustrating what is instructionally possible with web-based technologies; (2) comparing reading/learning processes and outcomes across print- and Web-based environments; (3) developing students’ expertise and confidence with a variety of tools; (4) reflecting on the kinds of pedagogical and curricular factors and trade-offs that teachers need to weigh as they make decisions about using technology; and (5) developing at least one Web-enhanced lesson plan, syllabus, or teaching technique that is ready to implement in the classroom. No prior experience with advanced Web literacy and learning tools is required.

Classroom Application: I have found that many of my students have a very difficult time determining if an online source is reliable or not; they tend to just grab whatever information comes up first. It is so important that they know how to research and find reliable information rather than taking everything as the truth. In order to teach them how to make this determination, I plan to:
  • Provide basic information/criteria for evaluating information on the web
  • Create a Screencast showing my thought processes as I evaluate resources while searching for information on a topic
  • Develop a Guided practice using the information/criteria provided and a given topic & resources. Students will have questions to answer (like a quest) to practice the evaluation of the web resources.
  • Develop scenario exercises to provide practice that is not guided. These exercises will consist of stories where the students will have to decide how to search for information (determining the topic) and how to determine the accuracy of the information they find.
  • The final evaluation will require students to write a detailed explanation (from one of the scenarios above) outlining why they believe the sources they chose were credible.
This project is a way to implement research skills into any given research lesson. This is geared toward middle school students, and should be applied at the beginning of the year so the discussed topics can be referred to throughout the entire school year.  If possible, it would be ideal if all teaching staff implement the key terminology in all subject areas. Students will be able to see that this activity can be applied to any research that they take part in.

CEP 807: Proseminar in Educational Technology

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Instructor: Dr. Matthew Koehler
Semester: Summer 2012
Credits: 3
Grade: 4.0
MSU's Course Description: For the program’s required final evaluation, students prepare an online portfolio summarizing their work in the MAET program and present this work in a group setting. Portfolios and presentations will be evaluated by at least 2 MAET course instructors, including at least one MAET faculty. Work presented must demonstrate the student’s competence in using technology to support teaching and learning and for presenting work clearly and professionally.


CEP 822: Approaches to Educational Research

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Instructor: Dr. David Wong
Semester: Summer 2012
Credits: 3
Grade: 4.0
MSU's Course Description: Identifying researchable problems in education and developing a research proposal. Applications of descriptive and inferential statistics for analyzing and critiquing published studies.