Week One - Online Research & Media Skills in Today's Classroom ORMSMOOC
Hello all, welcome to the latest version of the Online Research and Media Skills (ORMS) Mentored Open Online Community (MOOC). The ORMS MOOC has run in different iterations over the past two years since the development of the ORMS model and the MOOC. You can check on the development of the community by following this tag.
The purpose of this version of the ORMS MOOC is to examine ways to effectively integrate skills and strategies needed to support all literacies in the classroom. This will involve objectives deemed appropriate by Common Core Standards, but accelerated while focusing on the Mozilla Web Literacies. The model focuses on the nature of information on the Internet and its implications for how teachers think about reading comprehension, critical thinking, and learning in a digital information age.
Typically this MOOC is offered in the summer as a way to build up the skillset for students in the IT&DML program. I teach the class here at UNH, and have students working openly online to build and share work. In this current version, I'm teaching a technology elective for students in our pre-service education program. We'll build up some other skills during our 13 weeks together. I do hope you'll follow along as we learn together.
creative commons licensed ( BY-SA ) flickr photo shared by opensourceway
The Syllabus
In a typical course, during the first week, we expect to see and discuss a course syllabus. To that end...here is the syllabus.
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There are no course materials to purchase for the class. All materials are included on the ORMS MOOC. There are also a couple of extra links that I share on the syllabus. I'll also include more info in weekly Newsletter. To follow the Newsletter, you can follow the ormsmooc or ed6671 hashtag I'll use on all Newsletter...and content shared on social media. In your work, you're expected to also post your work to your blog...and share out to social media using the ormsmooc and ed6671 hashtags. More on that later.
Assignments
There are two major threads of work in this class. The first involves completing all five modules of the ORMS MOOC and applying for the digital badge for each module. The second thread involves you completing the networked learning project. All of your work is to be shared out on your blog. I'll weekly post (on this blog) guidance and expectations...and my reflections of your work. It is your responsibility to follow the posts...and keep up with the work. If needed, we can set up some open office hours using Google Hangouts-on-Air.
Your 100% of course credit is doled out in the following fashion:
- Online reflective blogging (15%) - You are expected to create your own blog and post openly for this course. You will be posting openly online, and we will discuss the expectations of ramifications that exist as you complete your work openly online. You should expect to post a minimum of twice per week to your blog. Each post should be around 300 to 400 words long and include relevant multimodal content. If you feel like you're writing too much for one post (much like I will for this post) please break your ideas up into smaller, meaningful posts. You should also plan on reading, and responding to the posts that your colleagues share. No one likes to post in silence. :)
- Philosophy statement (10%) - You will write and publish a philosophy statement of your thinking about teaching, learning, and thinking. You might consider writing and publishing a traditional philosophy statement like the one I completed for my comps. I would urge you to think a little outside of the box and try something new. Check out the two examples of my credo that I completed using Mozilla Popcorn. The best idea might be to start with a simple written piece...and then try something new using digital texts and tools. By all means...please don't write something as long as the philosophy statement that I wrote. :)
- Complete all elements of the ORMS MOOC (40%) - To complete the work for each module you'll read and reflect the materials listed on the MOOC. You select the materials that you want to read. I also think you should look outside and find other work online to read. Search and sift through online text to help you explore the ideas. We'll talk more about this later on.
- Networked learning project (35%) - In this activity you are to teach yourself something new using the Internet as a text. I honestly don't care what you decide to teach yourself. Pick something that interests you...and you've always wanted to learn it. You will use the Internet as text, and assess your own learning. We'll have more on this in future posts.
Learning together openly online
In this class we will learn together using the Internet and social spaces as our classroom. I want you to forget expectations of online classes as we identify new opportunities for teaching and learning. I want you to have fun and play with these new paradigms as we consider what the future of your classroom should hold.
Keep in mind that we're all learning and interacting together openly online. I'll post all course materials openly on this blog and share it out through social networks to my personal learning networks. There might be a couple of people that join in our learning...or merely keep an eye on us and lurk in the classroom. That is awesome. You will also be posting to your blog and building up your digital identity. Other learners might also check out your posts and learn from you. That is awesome squared.
creative commons licensed ( BY-SA ) flickr photo shared by opensourceway
All I ask is that you make decisions about the digital identity you want to create online, and the digital footprints you'll leave behind as you create this identity. If you decide at any point that you do not want to share something...please contact me. If you want to talk more about the decisions made as you create and share online...please also get in touch. These are discussions that we could and should be having.
Thanks again. I'm looking forward to learning together with you all.
Cover image creative commons licensed (BY-SA) flickr photo by opensourceway: http://flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/5393579026