WELCOME TO:

EDUC 59701- Making the Best Use of Internet Resources
                        for K12 Instruction

Click here for the Course Flyer

Self-Directed Learning Format Opportunities:

In a self-directed class, what you get out of the experience will be in direct proportion to what you put into it. There is an implied contract between instructor and learner that you will put forth the energy and self-discipline to produce quality lesson submissions and to apply yourself toward your own learning for your own benefit. We all learn best by direct hands-on experience.

The self-directed "constructivist" format allows us to keep costs down and to provide optimal convenience for the learner by allowing the learner to decide which lessons they will do, and when, within a one year timeframe from the date of the beginning of the semester in which they register for the course.

The very first thing you will need to do is decide on your timeline for completing the lessons and send the completed timeline template below to your instructor.  If one draws the class out over a full year, it typically becomes harder to remember skills and details from previous lessons if months have passed in between lessons. We strongly encourage participants to complete the lessons within a three month timeframe! APU requires a minimum of 30 days between the date of registration and the date a grade can be submitted for the course.
Click here for the Timeline Template!   Note that this template is NOT interactive. Just email a note with your preferred timeline to your instructor! Use cut and paste to put the timeline into an email message. If you don't know how to cut 'n paste, see lesson one as this is very important to know!

Class Format:

All participants are required to define their own schedule for completion of the lessons by sending the timeframe to their facilitator. While the lessons are already presented in the recommended logistical order, you are welcome to complete them in any order you wish. A 38 hour minimum of work is required for this course and suggested times are listed under all course activities. There are eight four-hour lessons, totaling 32 hours, plus a six hour minimum required for work on a special project. It is likely you'll spend far more time than the recommended minimum, learning on your own behalf.

Your Special Project:

Throughout the course you'll see how others have creatively used web page authoring to create instructional materials and resources for others. This "special project" is your opportunity to create something of interest and value to yourself and others. Before you begin your special project you are asked to describe what you'd like to do and get approval from your instructor. This allows an opportunity for the instructor to offer you suggestions and perhaps to refer you to similar work that has already been done such that you can build upon, or incorporate, the work of others.  There is virtually no limit to what you can do as a project. Your project should clearly demonstrate the minimum time investment of six hours. You will need to submit documentation of your project to your instructor.  This might take a variety of forms depending on your project - a directory of web sites, a collection of web pages, a one to two page summary of your project and what you learned, etc. It is important to choose a project you can get excited about; make it fun!

Here are just a few project ideas:

    1. Create an instructional Web Tour to guide others through a unique learning experience. 

    2. Create a quality hotlist/clearinghouse in an area of need and interest: special education,
         multiage curriculum, health, suicide prevention, etc.   Free space on the Lone Eagle web
         site is offered for quality listings. Your web pages will be free to all and will only be
         incorporated in printed publications with your written permission.

    3. Conduct a classroom web project, project-based learning unit, or curricular
        component of your own design

    4. Acquire a new skill such as how to add sound and video files to a web page   

Here is a listing of dozens of web curriculum units created by past teachers through this course
http://lone-eagles.com/teachercreated.htm  
Don't be intimidated by the quality as you'll be doing work at this level soon yourself, guaranteed!

Grading:

Grading for this course will be PASS/FAIL. Each of the eight lessons will be worth 15 points total. It is expected all required submissions will be sent for each lesson, from which a minimum of 70% of the points available will be needed to pass the lesson. 8 lessons times 15 points equals 120 points. 20 points for the special project bring the total to 140 points for 70% of the total available points for this class. The remaining 30% of the available points for this course, or 60 additional points, will be given for participation in the class listserv. (While not absolutely required to pass this course, it is strongly recommended you make a genuine effort to expand your online collaborative confidence, and skills, by interacting with the other participants through the listserv and web conferencing system.) 120 points for the lessons and 20 points for your special project, plus 60 points for listserv participation brings the grand total to 200 points, of which a minimum of 140 points will be required to pass this course.

Alaska Pacific University gives you one year from the date you register to complete the class. APU requires a minimum of 30 days between the date of registration and the date a grade can be submitted for the course. A N/C will go on your transcript if you do not complete the class, but this doesn't impact your GPA. You can extend this one year deadline for a $90 re-registration fee, only within 90 days of the deadline..

One big advantage of self-directed instruction is that as an educator, my posting SDL activities on the web, you could potentially help hundreds, even thousands of students learn, worldwide, with maximum flexibility and choice regarding conducting their own learning. Unmotivated students are those who most need a classroom teacher to help them attain a "love of learning" so they will become self-directed lifelong learners, one day, themselves! Learning to be a self-directed learner, using the Internet, is an important survival skill for the constantly changing information age. We all have different learning styles, and self-directed learning (SDL) is not necessarily intuitive for everyone.  Many educators find they are new to SDL online, but truly appreciate this new skill once they experience it. The skills required to become a successful self-directed learner are to be able to follow the instructions carefully, step-by-step, exercising patience and perseverance, and asking questions of your instructor, and other class participants, whenever you feel frustrated or 'stuck!" The most common problems in a self-directed course are 1. procrastination, and 2. giving up in frustration without have asked for help.

Internet access, your own email account (available free at http://hotmail.com or http://yahoo.com or http://gmail.google.com ), and use of a computer (Mac or PC) are required. The Netscape Communicator browser (versions 4.7 to 7.0 ONLY) which includes the Netscape Composer web authoring tool, is highly recommended. You should be able to get copies from local computer stores, computer labs, and/or can download the program from many download sites.

You should already have basic computer literacy skills such as the ability to create, edit, save, and move files, as well as the ability to create folders for storage of your files. It is strongly recommended you identify, and make use of, any local technical support that may be available to you!

Our Class Listserv and Web Conferencing System:

        We'll have two options for online communications for this course;

                1. Private email to/from anyone we wish; this will be used primarily for
                    asking questions of the instructor which don't need to be shared with the other participants.

                2. Public messages via the listserv to/from class participants, and instructor,
                only;  This will be used to informally ask questions which might be of value to others in
                    the class, to share your  lesson submissions, and to share ideas, humor, and resources.

       * All listserv messages will be automatically archived on the listserv archive web page,
          viewable by anyone at any time at  http://netpals.lsoft.com/archives/ 
          Select TEACH-L and you'll see the options.

You can join the class listserv by using your browser to go to http://netpals.lsoft.com/archives  and selecting the TEACH-L listserv. Just follow the instructions to subscribe.

PLEASE NOTE: The listserv will first send me a message requesting authorization, so you'll have to wait until I receive this message and respond before you'll be able to post messages to the listserv. You'll receive a message from the listserv once this process is completed! Usually, this takes less than a day unless I'm on the road.

Once you've received an email message telling you you've successfully subscribed, you'll be able to post messages to the listserv for all class participants and the instructor to read. Be sure to save the instructions on how to unsubscribe to this listserv for when you finish the class and wish to unsubscribe!  To post a message to the listserv after you've subscribed, just send it to teach-l@netpals.lsoft.com Your handbook includes links to tutorials about using listservs. Look in the Handbook's Table of Contents for "Mailing Lists Handout" and "Ten Collaborative Internet Tools."

Important: When you post a message to the listserv you'll know you've been successful when you receive a copy of your message with TEACH-L in the subject line. If you also receive one or more error messages stating your message could not be delivered - ignore them. These are usually related to individual mailboxes which are full or email addresses which are no longer active. You're welcome to forward any error messages to your instructor for interpretation.

Subscription to the listserv is required, with the understanding if the volume of messages is high, you may only be able to scan the messages for relevant resources. The listserv is your opportunity to interact and share resources and ideas with peers. A minimum of participation is required and constitutes 30% for the points for this class.

Interactive reading and writing is a new communications medium which has never existed before. It’s importance for building reading, writing, and thinking skills is only beginning to be appreciated!

Your handbook is divided into four successive levels for the Internet Style of Learning. The handbook is online at http://lone-eagles.com/guide.htm allowing you to conveniently click through the various Web Tours and online activities. The handbook does NOT contain the 8 lessons for this class!
A printed copy of the handbook will be mailed to you upon registration. Additional copies of the handbook are available for $15, plus shipping costs of $3. For additional options, such as customized title pages for district workshops, and/or reprinting rights, see; http://lone-eagles.com/services.htm

The Instructor’s Role:

Your instructor, sometimes referred to in the lessons as "facilitator," Frank Odasz, frank@lone-eagles.com, will regularly post new resources to the listserv discussion, respond to any and all questions, maintains the handbook resources website, and scouts for new resources. The ability of the instructor to interact directly with each participant will depend on the number participants. Generally we have around 60 educators signed up for the class. As you can understand, interacting with 20 participants would be far easier than 200 or 2,000! That said...Frank welcomes messages of any type, from anyone, for any reason.

Alaska Staff Development Network's Role:

Send a message to asdn@ptialaska.net  if you have questions regarding registration or administration of this course, or call 907-364-3802. The course flyer is at https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1240708    ASDN's website is http://www.asdn.org/

Introductory Reading:

Read the article "Teaching in the New Millennium" at http://lone-eagles.com/articles/millennium.htm. You're invited to read/ review the additional related articles at http://lone-eagles.com/articles/articles.htm .