Next (Summer 2009)

Instructor
Name: Dr. David Wiley

Room: MCKB 150-E

Phone: 801.422.7071

Email: david[dot]wiley[at]byu[dot]edu (I will generally respond to email within 24 hours)

Instant Messenger: educommons@mac.com (AIM)

Course Purpose
Instructional Technology is largely a responsive / reactive field. While we work proactively to discover and apply useful ways to use technology to support learning, the overwhelming majority of the technologies we study and use are produced by other fields. The purpose of this course is to help you think systematically about technologies that will become available in the not-too-distant future, and to begin to understand what the impact of these technologies will be for our field.

Science

 * Brain-Machine Interfaces
 * Wolfram|Alpha

Books

 * Vinge, Rainbow's End
 * Stephenson, The Diamond Age
 * Card, Ender's Game Quartet

Video

 * The Matrix
 * I, Robot
 * Serial Experiments Lain

Future Studies

 * Forecasting access to:
 * devices
 * bandwidth
 * processing power
 * storage capacity
 * content
 * Vinge and Kurzweil on the Singularity

Resources that Need Review
http://spring09.wetpaint.com/page/Visions+of+the+Future

Grading Scale
Everyone starts the class with a B. The only way to receive a lower grade is to fail to complete the weekly assignments with a degree of quality comparable to your ability. In order to earn an A in the course, students will need to make an excellent contribution to book, including both chapter authoring and chapter reviewing duties.

Honor Code Standards
In keeping with the BYU Honor Code, students are expected to be honest in all of their academic work. Academic honesty means, most fundamentally, that any work you present as your own must in fact be your own work and not that of another. Violations may result in a failing grade in the course and additional disciplinary action by the university.

Students are also expected to adhere to the Dress and Grooming Standards. Observing these standards demonstrates respect for yourself and others and ensures an effective learning and working environment. It is the university’s expectation, and my own expectation in class, that each student will abide by all Honor Code standards. Please call the Honor Code Office at 422-2847 if you have questions about those standards.

Preventing Sexual Discrimination or Harassment
Sexual discrimination or harassment (including student-to-student harassment) is prohibited both by the law and by Brigham Young University policy. If you feel you are being subjected to sexual discrimination or harassment, please bring your concerns to the professor. Alternatively, you may lodge a complaint with the Equal Employment Office (D-240C ASB) or with the Honor Code Office (4440).

Students with Disabilities
If you have a disability that may affect your performance in this course, you should get in touch with the office of Services for Students with Disabilities (1520 WSC). This office can evaluate your disability and assist the professor in arranging for reasonable accommodations.

Diversity
The David O. McKay School of Education and Brigham Young University are committed to preparing students to serve effectively in a diverse society. In this course students will learn methods and material that may be adapted to various settings and contexts. Students are expected to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to effectively apply the course content when working with individuals and groups with varying abilities and with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Late Work Policy
Late work may or may not be accepted and may or may not be harshly penalized at my completely subjective, mood-influenced, and possibly biased discretion. If this makes you uncomfortable, please turn in your work on time.