Course Tools and Practices

EDUC2201

COURSE TOOLS
AND PRACTICES
EDUC2201: TEACHING WITH DIGITAL MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY

Teaching is two-parts planning, one-part reflection, and extra heavy on the

experimentation. ~ Rebecca Alber
It seems to me that that, finally, is what good teaching is all about.... Somehow or
another, skill and knowledge are integrated into some kind of a human
connection. ~ Mike Rose

This document is a companion document to the syllabus to help you grow and succeed in
this course. I am here to help you to succeed in this course and in the teacher education
program. Success in this class involves organizing and understanding these sources of
information. This document in particular contains a number of useful practices and tools to
draw on while working towards academic success in this course and beyond. As such, it is
worthwhile to read through this document and revisit it over the course of the semester.
Please feel free to come to my student drop-in hours or to schedule an appointment with
me if you have any questions about the information contained within this document.

image credit: http://www.contemplativemind.org

Get To Know Your Professor

Visit me during my student drop-in hours:
Dr. Jeremy Price
Office: Education 315 | 304.333.3686
Email: jeremy.price@fairmontstate.edu
Psst: email is the best way to contact me.

Monday
11am-12pm

Wednesday
11am-12pm
1pm-3pm
or schedule an appointment with me at:
https://jeremyprice.youcanbook.me/

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Friday
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Course Tools and Practices

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A Quick Note on Learning

This document contains a number of different resources, strategies, and suggestions for succeeding as a student in
EDUC2201 and at Fairmont State University. You are encouraged to look through these strategies and think about them
in terms of how you approach some of these activities and how you might adopt these practices into your routines. This
is the core of what is called learning, and it involves understanding a number of different things:

Sometimes learning is fun, exciting, and even easy. You might lose track of time as all of your
attention is focused on the task at hand. When you are in this state of mindreferred to as flow by the
psychologist Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiGO WITH IT.

Sometimes learning is difficult and involves slogging through tasks that you may not
want to do. KEEP AT IT, especially when you dont want to. You might want to try finding a reason for doing
this task, a reason that makes sense to you. If you are having trouble finding a meaningful purpose for
accomplishing a task, please come and see me or send me an email and we can work on finding a purpose
together. Welsh miners, some of whom eventually settled in West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania, have
a saying for times such as these: Dyfal donc a dyr y garreg, tapping persistently breaks the stone.

Sometimes you have to unlearn what you have learned. It may be that practices, routines, and

strategies that have been sufficient in other settings and classes are not sufficientor simply do not workin
this class. You might have to work on breaking old habits and learning new practices. This can be disorienting
and disappointing. When you feel this way, JUST DO IT. Breaking these old (and not entirely good habits) is
important to do in order to learn, as Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of
little minds (I know you all have big minds, so put aside some of those consistencies). You may not be
completely aware of what you are capable of doing until you get there and look back. I have set up structures
and activities to help you identify old habits and I will do my best to help you.

Learning requires that you approach your experiences with awareness. By approaching
experiences aware of what is going on inside your head, inside your body, and all around you, you will be better
able to engage the practices, strategies, and practices necessary to grow and learn. This is called metacognition
by cognitive scientists and mindfulness by psychologists and philosophers. This kind of awareness is not easy,
so PRACTICE IT. One of my favorite passages in any book is from Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett: First
Thoughts are the everyday thoughts. Everyone has those. Second Thoughts are the thoughts you think about
the way you think. People who enjoy thinking have those. Third Thoughts are thoughts that watch the world and
think all by themselves. Cultivating awareness means practicing the art of having Second and Third Thoughts.

You are not alone. Even though it may feel like you are the only one who is frustrated and confused, you are
not. Even though you may not feel like you need help or want help or getting help is a sign of weakness, SEEK IT.
As your professor, I am here to help you succeed. There are other resources on campus such as the Writing
Center, the Tutoring Center, and Disability Services. Make use of these resources. Your peers are also excellent
resources and building networks for learning will aid you at every step of your learning and teaching journey.

Quick Tips for (Re-)Learning

Here are some quick suggestions for getting you started. Notice how much is involved in the learning processits not
just your brain.

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source: http://learnstreaming.com/improve-your-learning-from-a-to-z/

More on Learning about Learning

The photo on the right is a statue of Manjusri, the Bhuddist god of wisdom, as imagined by
practitioners of Mahyna Bhuddism in Nepal. Manjusri is wielding the sword of wisdom in his right
hand and he seems to be pushing back against something with his left hand. I interpret these visual
cues as indicating that attaining wisdom (or learning) is an active process, rather than a passive one
where you just absorb things. Attaining wisdom, when reading this statue, means that you have to be
an active participant and cut out and push back on any distractors that may come your way. While it
need not necessarily be a violent activity, you do need to be aware of whats coming in and an active
participant in making connections and meanings.

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Active Reading Practices

Pretty much everyone knows how to read, right? Pick up the book or article, point your eyes at the words, and
occasionally flip the page or scroll down on the screen.
Countless research studies have shown that successful academic reading, however, requires active reading. In a sense,
you must engage in dialogue with the text. (If anyone tells you otherwise, they were probably in a state of flow and did
not recognize that they were tacitly engaging in dialogue with the text.) There are a number of strategies for actively
engaging with text, but the SQ3R method, first published in 1943, is pretty much as good as any for reading academic
texts.
SQ3R involves five steps: (1) Survey, (2) Question, (3) Read [notice that read is the middle step!], (4) Recite, and (5)
Review. The graphic representation below is an excellent visualization of the strategy in a good amount of detail.

source: http://sachachua.com/blog/2013/12/read-effectively-asking-questions-read/

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Academic Writing Practices

Writing for academic assignmentsand your writing assignments for this class are considered academic even if they
draw on your own experiencescan be difficult. In order to succeed as an academic writer, you need to adopt a certain
way of writing even if it doesnt sound like you (or sound like what you think you sound like). The important thing to
remember is that you can inject your voiceyour ideas, sensibilities, and approachesinto your writing even while
making use of the style that is appropriate for an academic assignment.
There are two academic writing practices I have found many students find challenging: showing (not telling) your ideas
and adopting the appropriate academic tone. We will be working on these practices over the course of the semester, but
here are some brief guidelines to get you started.

Showing What You Mean With Detail

It isnt enough just to tell your reader your idea, you have to show them what you mean. In your writing, you should be
showing your reader what your ideas look like.
For example, in Part I of your Living Document, I am asking you to define the terms learning, understanding, and
creativity. I am also asking you to provide examples of what these terms look like based on your own experiences or
based on a picture that you construct in your minds eye.
I have found it useful to think of it as Remembering and Reporting or Imagining and Reporting. Really get a clear
picture in your head of the event by asking yourself the questions:

Whos involved?
Where is it happening?
How is it unfolding?
What impact does it have on my thinking?

Once that picture is in your head, report on it: write down the details in a concise and compelling manner. Make sure you
include details to provide a sense of the full picture of your ideas. This is something we will be working on over the
course of the semester, so do not get too discouraged if it is difficult at first. I will work to provide useful feedback to
help you with this.

Resources
Here are some resources to provide more details, examples, and models:

Show, Don't Tell Explained In Language Grownups Can Understand (http://bit.ly/1g8iHbB)

More on Replacing Show, Don't Tell With Observe and Report + Examples (http://bit.ly/1lgyWas)
Showing vs Telling in Writing Video (http://bit.ly/1bGHyyE)

Writing with Appropriate Academic Tone

When you write with appropriate tone, you are indicating that you understand two basic things: what you are writing and
who you are writing to. Adopting the appropriate tone builds your credibility as a serious student and as a professional
teacher-in-the-making. As such, you should not write in a conversational manner or as you might write a note to a friend
or classmate. In all of your assignments (with the exception of the weekly exit tweets) you should be writing as if you
are writing to your professor or to a future employer.
Thats not to say that there is anything wrong with the way you speak. In fact, if you find it easier, you are welcome to
write a first draft in a conversational tone and then translate it into an academic tone. This is a generalizable practice
referred to as learning to be pragmatic in linguistics. Learning to communicate differently according to the context and
the audience (called code switching in linguistics) will help you succeed in many settings. Again, this does not mean

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that there is anything wrong with the way you speak, who you are, or where you come from; it simply indicates that you
understand how to communicate in different settings.
In order to adopt an academic tone in your writing, here a few things to be mindful of:

Use of exclamation points (!): Typically exclamation points tell the reader that the author is enthusiastic about
something, which is great! Remember that your task in academic writing is to show, not tell. So leave out the
exclamation points and show your reader your enthusiasm.
Slang and sayings: We often intersperse some wonderful witty and folksy sayings, slang, and words when we
talk. These make for engaging and lively conversations. While a well-considered and well-placed witty or folksy
saying can really highlight your creativity and sense of identity (your voice), you want the focus to be on your
ideas. Use slang and sayings sparingly.
Clear, concise, and smooth: Essays written for academic purposes are typically written in a way that is clear and
gets your point across. Being concise in your writing is also valued, but make sure that you include sufficient
detail to report and show your ideas. Lastly, your writing should flow smoothly from one idea to the next.
Your professor is absent-minded: Remember those three- and five-paragraph essay assignments you had in
elementary school? While a bit reductionist, there was a reason for doing them. Its a great practice in academic
writing to let your reader know what youre going to talk about and then summarize what you talked about. This
is roughly your introduction and your conclusion from those essay assignments. This helps keep the focus
on your ideas.
Getting the right read-aloud: If you read your writing out loud and it sounds like you are having a conversation
with a friend, then your essay is probably not written with an academic tone. In a way, you want your writing to
sound pretty serious and somber when you read it out loud (but not boring). This allows your fascinating ideas
to pop and come to the forefront.

This is something we will be working on over the course of the semester, and I will work to provide you with helpful and
useful feedback to help you adapt the appropriate academic tone. Do not get too discouraged if it is difficult at first;
adopting the appropriate academic tone is something you grow into.

Resources
Here are some resources to provide more details, examples, and models:

Style, Diction, Tone and Voice from Wheaton College (http://bit.ly/1f3Ed4N)

Language, Tone, and Audience from St. Joseph College (http://bit.ly/JRZgJ4)
Using Appropriate Tone and Style from Dartmouth College (http://bit.ly/1dkGZM5)
The Importance of Tone Video (http://bit.ly/1cxf8re)
SOAPS-Tone Video (http://bit.ly/1lgBVj3)

Citing Your Sources

Giving credit where credit is due is something that is important to do when writing for University-level work. It helps both
you and your professors recognize how your thought process has emerged from other peoples work. I am asking you to
bring specific ideas from class discussions and lectures and from the readings into your Reflection Write-Ups. When
you do, you must cite these ideas.
In this class (and all of your education courses), you will be required to use the American Psychological Association
(APA) guidelines for citations. This is the standard for most academic work in education. For your purposes, you will
primarily be working with three different types of sources: journal articles, blog posts and class discussions/lectures.
APA involves two parts: in-text citations and a References list. The in-text citations are the markers that you use as you are
writing to show that you are using this source. Articles and blog posts (which represent most of what you read) follow
the same in-text citation format. Here is a reference to a post from John Spencers blog, Education Rethink:
There are many reasons why teachers are not using technology, including fear, lack of leadership and lack
of technology resources (Spencer, 2012).
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Note that it involves parentheses (), the authors last name and the year that it was published. The References list comes
at the very end of your essay, and you would give it the heading References. Here is an example References list that
includes both a blog post and a journal article:
Sekeres, D., Coiro, J., Castek, J., & Guzniczak, L. A. (2014). Wondering + online inquiry = learning. Kappan,
96(3), 44-48.
Spencer, J. (2012, July 14). 11 Reasons Teachers Arent Using Technology. Retrieved from:
http://www.educationrethink.com/2012/07/11-reasons-teachers-arent-using.html
In the References list, heres what you see: the authors (last name, first initial), year (article) or date (blog) it was
published, title of the article or blog post. Then, for an article, you see the title of the journal or magazine it is in, the
volume, the issue, and then the page numbers. For a blog you see Retrieved from: and then the link to the blog post.
Citing from class lectures and discussions are a little different because they are considered personal communications.
You need to include in-text citations, but you do not need to include it in the list of References. You just need to make
sure to include the name of the person who said what you are referring to. For example, if you are referring to something
that I said in a lecture, you would use J. Price; for a classmate, you would use their first initial and their last name. See
the table below for examples.
SOURCE

IN-TEXT CITATION

REFERENCES LIST

ARTICLE

(Sekeres, Coiro, Castek, & Guzniczak, 2014)

Sekeres, D., Coiro, J., Castek, J., & Guzniczak, L.

A. (2014). Wondering + online inquiry =
learning. Kappan, 96(3), 44-48.

BLOG POST

(Spencer, 2012)

Spencer, J. (2012, July 14). 11 Reasons Teachers

Arent Using Technology. Retrieved from:
http://www.educationrethink.com/2012/07/11reasons-teachers-arent-using.html

CLASS
LECTURE/
DISCUSSION
(WHEN THE
PROFESSOR
SAYS
SOMETHING)

(J. Price, Educational technology lecture,

April 3, 2014)

You do not put anything in the reference list for a

class discussion or lecture.

CLASS
LECTURE/
DISCUSSION
(WHEN A
STUDENT SAYS
SOMETHING)

(I. M. A. Student, Educational technology

discussion, February 15, 2014)

You do not put anything in the reference list for a

class discussion or lecture.

Resources
Here are some resources to provide more details, examples, and models:

APA Exposed! (http://goo.gl/h1W3SF)

College of St. Rose APA Resources (http://goo.gl/MFjSdW)

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Using Tools of the (Learner) Trade

Reading a Rubric
I will be evaluating your performances of understanding using rubrics, which are available to you through the
performances packages I will distribute with each project, as well as on TaskStream. Learning to translate what is in
the rubric to an artifact (project, essay, etc.) is an important skill.
According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubric_(academic)):
A scoring rubric is an attempt to communicate expectations of quality around a task. In many cases, scoring rubrics are used to delineate
consistent criteria for grading. Because the criteria are public, a scoring rubric allows teachers and students alike to evaluate criteria, which
can be complex and subjective. A scoring rubric can also provide a basis for self-evaluation, reflection, and peer review. It is aimed at
accurate and fair assessment, fostering understanding, and indicating a way to proceed with subsequent learning/teaching. This integration
of performance and feedback is called ongoing assessment...

Rubrics are composed of three main parts: criteria, scale, and descriptors (see the image below, a screen shot of the
rubric for Part I of the Living Document). The criteria are those things I will be looking for when reading your essays or
going through your projects. The scale is the range of levels that I will use to guide my evaluation. Most rubrics (if not
all) in this course will use a three-point scale: Beginning, Developing, and Succeeding. I have chosen this scale because I
believe that coursework is an ongoing process over time. Lastly, the descriptors are the kinds of evidence I will be
looking for in your work.

In order to make the translation from rubric to figuring out how to structure your work, lets take the first criterion from
the example rubric, Definitions of Terms:

Read through the descriptors for each level on the scale. Notice that for Beginning, the descriptors indicate two
possibilities: the definitions are vaguely defined or they look like theyve been copied from a dictionary or encyclopedia.
You may use these definitions as a starting point to help you come up with your own definitions, but copying and
pasting these definitions indicates that you are just beginning on your quest to define learning, understanding, and
creativity in a personally meaningful way that you can use in your own educational practice.
Now note that there is something in common between Developing and Succeeding, that the terms are defined in the
authors own words. You now know that an important task to accomplish in your essay is to use your own words in the
definition, and to be clear in your words. Moving forward, notice that for Succeeding, your writing is expected to draw
on references to course readings or course activities, and you are welcome to use resources from outside the course
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(although its not necessary, and it should be something other than a dictionary or encyclopedia). To demonstrate that
you are really succeeding, bring in a reference from the readings or something weve done or discussed in class.
There is logic to the trajectory from Beginning to Developing to Succeeding. A beginning-level performance would not
involve high levels of critical thinking and synthesis, so the definitions might be vaguely defined or copied from a source
such as a dictionary. A developing performance would involve more critical thinking, so that the definitions are more
clearly defined and in the authors own words; the author owns those definitions. Lastly, full success would involve not
only critical thinking, but also synthesis: bring together different sources such as course readings, course discussions
and activities, or outside resources. This is real success in developing meaningful definitions: writing them up in your
own words while connecting your definitions with others ideas, perspectives, and approaches.
Move through each of the criteria and then sit down and complete the performance. When you have finished creating
and writing, run through the criteria again to make sure that youve hit all the criteria.

Making Sense of Models

In addition to the rubrics, I will be giving you models of successful work. These models will be drawn from previous
student work, my own creations, and examples found online. Learning to read and use models for success is an
important practice to cultivate. Here are some steps you can follow to help you with this:

Look over the Project Package and rubric and make sure you have a sense of what is expected of you.
Look at each model and ask yourself the following questions:
o How does this model fulfill the requirements for the project?
o How does this model not fulfill the requirements for the project?
o How would I score this model based on the rubric?
o What are some things that I like about this model?
o What are some things that I dont like about this model and feel I could do better?
Start thinking about how you want to adapt what you have seen into your own project.
Create your own project and compare and contrast with the models, the Project Package, and the rubric; revise
your own project as you see fit.

You should not be seeking to copy what someone has done, but instead using the models as guidelines to work within
and ideas to adapt and make your own. Providing examples of work as models of success has a long and proven track
record in educational research. This is something you should consider doing when you become an educator.

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How Did It Get So Late So Soon?

The title for this section is a quote from the inestimable Dr. Seuss. College can be challenging in terms of organizing
your time to get everything done. You may be on your own for the first (or second or third) time, and you are still getting
used to the lack of structure that academic life brings. You might be involved on campus with clubs, activities, and
leadership opportunities that demand your attention and time (good for you!). You may work part- or full-time (or more)
in addition to going to classes. You might have parenting for family obligations that you have to fit your school work
around.
Working with students (and having experienced a busy and obligation-filled academic career myself), I have learned that
communication, attendance, and sustained effort (that means you, procrastinators and last-minuters!) are the most
effective ways to get everything done well and on time. This is the rationale behind many of the policies that are a part
of this course as outlined in the syllabus.
In order to help you keep track of upcoming classes and assignments, in addition to the detailed schedule in the
syllabus (which includes the generative topics and understanding goals as well), I have put the course calendar in a
Google calendar. You can view it on the course website at https://educ2201.wikispaces.com/Course+Calendar, where
you can add it to your own personal Google calendar if you have a Google or Gmail account. You can also add the
course calendar to your personal calendar by starting up a QR code reader app (such as QR Droid for Android, QR
Reader for iPhone, and QR Code Reader for Windows phones) and pointing it at the image below:

Once you have added the course calendar to your own, you can use Google calendar to set reminders for yourself, to
remind you of upcoming assignments and class sessions. See How To Create Reminders for Events in Google
Calendar (http://bit.ly/JABrpq) on the FreeTech4Teachers blog.

Setting Up a Master Schedule

One thing to remember is that you have pockets of time during the day. You do not have to wait until the evening to work
on projects or get some reading done. Grabbing an hour or two during the day between classes or between class and
work can sometimes make all the difference.
One way to find these times is to adopt the practice of creating a weekly master schedule. Sit down with a weekly
calendar set up at half-hour intervals (such as the one on the following pages) and write in all of your responsibilities,
such as class time, eating time, work time, family time, activity time, and dont forget about exercise time. You should
see open blocks of time in between these obligations. In these blocks of time, write down tasks for classes that you
need to accomplish, such as reading, writing, editing, creating, etc. And hold yourself accountable to doing these tasks
during these times.
I am more than happy to sit down with you to help you set up your first master schedule. Just send me an email to set
up an appointment or come to my office during Student Drop-In Hours. If you are consistently late with your
assignments or if you miss some assignments, I will ask you to visit me and we will construct a master schedule
together.

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Mind Like Water: Workflows and To-Do Lists

There are three things that you should be doing on a regular basis: writing things down, reviewing what
youve written down, doing what youve written down.
One of the simplest ways to accomplish this is to keep a to-do list. How To Write To-Do Lists from Fast
Company (http://bit.ly/194pWlG) is an excellent overview of writing effective to-do lists. Heres what
they recommend in a nutshell:
1. Break projects into tasks, dont succumb to the Zeigarnik effect

2. Prioritize ruthlessly
3. Plan aheadadvice for which Charles Schwab paid $25,000
4. Be realistic in your planning
A more involved process of capturing, reviewing, and doing is the Getting Things Done (GTD) method.
This method advocates for writing everything down and engaging in a series of daily and weekly reviews
to putting things into different categories. This is a graphic representation of how it works:

For more information on the idea of the review (and a more simplified version of it) see Weekly
Review: Key to GTD and achieving goals at http://bit.ly/1ho3czW.
The key is to be flexible and adapt what you need to accomplish what is important to you.

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