Course Textbooks
EDUC 492/692: Educational Technology Capstone
You will be happy to discover that you do not necessarily need to purchase any textbooks for use in this course, because your course instructor has selected resources that are available online.
How People Learn
The book How People Learn, for example, can be read online, or you can purchase a printed copy that ships within 24 hours. Created by the National Research Council, the book How People Learn establishes the research base for making decisions about how technology should be used. After reviewing this research in Chapters 1-8, read especially Chapter 9, which deals specifically with educational technology.
CBT and Learning
The second textbook is a research synthesis published by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL). Written by a team of researchers led by Gilbert Valdez, its title is Computer-Based Technology and Learning: Evolving Uses and Expectations. You can download it from the ERIC Web portal.
Trends in Educational Technology
For all students in this course, required reading is the book by Donald P. Ely entitled Trends in Educational Technology. At the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), you can download the fifth edition, which was published in 2002.
Applying Technology to Restructuring and Learning
Another online text is Applying Technology to Restructuring and Learning, which is a research report published by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. You can download this text from the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC).
National Education Technology Plan
The United States vision for using technology to improve education is articulated in the National Education Technology Plan. Study the plan and come to class prepared to discuss its pros and cons.
The Dialogic Classroom
Optional but recommended reading that is available through ERIC is The Dialogic Classroom: Teachers Integrating Computer Technology, Pedagogy, and Research. Published by the National Council of Teachers of English, this book provides interesting perspectives on the role of networking and dialogue in education, both with others and between the learner and his or her self.
Computers
To complete the hands-on computer assignments, each student will need access to a multimedia computer (Windows PC or Macintosh) that is connected to the Internet via the latest version of either Netscape, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Computer Accounts
Every University of Delaware student automatically receives an e-mail account. You should visit www.udel.edu/network to manage your password, username, and quotas.
Computer Sites
All students registered in this class have the option of using the multimedia PCs and Macs in the campus computing sites. Because these are public, anything you save on the hard drive will probably not be there when you visit the lab again. You should therefore bring a USB drive, CD-R, or diskette to save your work between sessions. Please note that the use of the campus computing sites is totally optional in this course. If you have your own multimedia PC and Internet connection, you may never need to use the campus computing sites. For information on all the campus computing sites, use www.it.udel.edu/computingsites to link to the general access site schedule.
E-mail Addresses
Every student in this class must have an e-mail address on the Internet and read e-mail regularly. If you're enrolled in a University of Delaware course, and you do not have an e-mail account yet, go to the help center and follow the e-mail link for detailed instructions on how to activate your e-mail account. If you do not read your UD mail regularly, you should go to www.udel.edu/network and follow the instructions to forward your e-mail to your preferred e-mail address.
