INST 7150 Syllabus Fall 2005

Facilitator
Name: David Wiley

Room: Ed 214

Phone: 435.797.7562

Email: david[dot]wiley[at]usu[dot]edu

iChat: educommons@mac.com

Face-to-Face Office Hours: Tuesday 3:00pm - 4:00pm

IM Office Hours: Throughout the day most days

Email Office Hours: I will try to respond within 24 hours

Purpose of the Experience
This course is designed to help you understand and apply advanced topics in the design, creation, and reuse of learning objects. The course is structured around a practical, hands-on project using learning objects, intermingled with readings and discussion on a variety of topics.

Required Textbook
The required textbook is Conversations About Learning Objects. You can read the entire text free online.

Reading Schedule
Since so many of you have asked for one, here is a suggested reading schedule. This will be updated as the semester goes along and more content comes online. Check back here each week if you're unsure what to read.


 * Week 01 (Aug 29) - Cast of Characters & How to Use this Book
 * Week 02 (Sep 05) - The Definition Debate
 * Week 03 (Sep 12) - How Big Should a Learning Object Be?: The Reusability Paradox
 * Week 04 (Sep 19) - That's Fitting, Somehow: Internal and External Context
 * Week 05 (Sep 26) - Things to Consider Before Using Learning Objects
 * Week 06 (Oct 03) -  Anything or Automating: Should Learning Objects be Strictly Structured?
 * Week 07 (Oct 10) - Tuples: The Three Kinds of Reuse
 * Week 08 (Oct 17) - Learning Object Metaphors and their Implications for Reuse
 * Week 09 (Oct 26) - Automated Assembly of Learning Objects
 * Week 10 (Oct 31) - The Sixth Sense Effect: Instructional Risks of Automation
 * Week 11 (Nov 07) - Providing Context for Reuse: Singing in the Rain
 * Week 12 (Nov 14) - Content, Strategy, and Discourse Objects

Required Meetings
All the requirements of the course can be completed asynchronously on your own schedule, so long as all requirements are met by end of term. See below for information about late work and incompletes.

Optional Socials
For those who enjoy face to face meetings and food, we will hold three optional, informal socials at times to be determined during the semester.

The Assignments
Post the address of your blog within the first week of class (by Friday 2, 2005) on the blog list. If you don't have a blog and don't know how to get one, see the directions on getting a blog. I will add your rss feed to a publicly accessible folder on bloglines.

Each week's reading (except for week 1) ends with a series of questions or points to ponder. You should respond to these weekly on your blog. These pieces of writing have no minimum or maximum length but will be graded according to the thoughtfulness of the answer. 10 points each for a total of 110 points.

Academics generally go by the motto "publish or perish." In this class we will live by the MIT Media Lab motto "demo or die." The main assignment, by end of course, is to produce an instructionally meaningful aggregation of learning objects. This assignment is worth 75 points. The aggregation must meet the following requirements:


 * There are no restrictions on the topic of your aggregation
 * You can use or build any software application or system you like
 * You can use or build any kind of interface you like
 * You can host the aggregation anywhere you like, as long as it is publicly accessible
 * You should use at least 50 learning objects
 * You should author no more than 10% of the learning objects yourself
 * All learning objects should come from the publicly accessible Internet
 * There are no restrictions on the amount of context you provide or where it comes from

You will also prepare a written piece describing the design decisions you made and the rationale for making them. You will receive a document describing the rubric that will be used to assess this document around November 1, 2005. To be brief, the document should reflect your careful study and pondering of the course readings. There is no minimum length. Make this document as thoughtful and as short as you can. This assignment is also worth 75 points.

Since these last two graded assignments account for approximately half of your grade, you should put a significant amount of effort into them - one worthy of a semester-long project for a three credit course. The aggregation and the design rationale will be graded on Monday morning of finals week. If you do not put these on your blog, you are responsible for determining that I actually receive it. See below for information on late work and incompletes.

Grading
Final grades will be assigned based on the proportion of points earned to points possible as follows:

1.0 > .95 A

.95 > A- >= .9

.9 > B+ >= .875

.875 > B >= .85

.85 > B- >= .8

.8 > C+ >= .775

.775 > C >= .75

.75 > C- >= .725

.725 > F

USU Honor Code
For information about the USU Honor Code, please see the USU Student Code Article 6 Section 5.

Late Work Policy
Late work will not be accepted. Period. If it's late, it's a zero.

University Policy on Incomplete Grades
Students are required to complete all courses for which they are registered by the end of the semester. In some cases, a student may be unable to complete all of the course work because of extenuating circumstances, but not due to poor performance or to retain financial aid. The term "extenuating" circumstances includes: (1) incapacitating illness which prevents a student from attending classes for a minimum period of two weeks, (2) a death in the immediate family, (3) financial responsibilities requiring a student to alter course schedule to secure employment, (4) change in work schedule as required by employer, or (5) other emergencies deemed appropriate by the instructor.

In other words, the odds of you being able to take an "I" for thise course are "extremely low." Finish your work on time.

Students with Disabilities
Any student in this course who has a disability that may prevent him or her from fully demonstrating his or her abilities should contact me personally as soon as possible, so we can discuss accommodations necessary to ensure your full participation in the course.