This document provides an overview of topics to be covered in an education technology course. It includes links to resources on getting acquainted with course tools like the course website and VoiceThread for asynchronous discussions. Key questions around the appropriate use of technology in education are also presented, such as whether the focus should be on connecting students or simply exposing them to information. The document suggests students begin participating on the course site, setting up accounts, exploring educator blogs, and practicing with VoiceThread.

1. ED628: Computer Applications for EducatorsFebruary 24, 2011http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenstein/83314170/

2. Map for Class

3. Getting To Know Us

4. Why Technology in Education?http://www.flickr.com/photos/wfryer/268980698

5. A Vision of K-12 Students Todayhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8

6. To use technology or not to use technology…Sink or Swim?Missing the Boat?Us vs. Them?http://www.flickr.com/photos/24443965@N08/2649932391/http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalmaritimemuseum/3837184514/http://www.flickr.com/photos/taylorhood/59867611/…should not be the question.http://www.flickr.com/photos/purplemattfish/3141017889/

7. http://www.flickr.com/photos/extraketchup/408727666/http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianglanz/2383687233/The Important Questionshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/darwinbell/3036866674/http://www.flickr.com/photos/17258892@N05/2588347668/

8. Claude Shannon, a father of Information Science, had to call the differences that move through telephone wires something. He picked “information,” a term that had meant, roughly, something that you hadn’t known, or the content of written tables. Had he called it “data,” or “patterns,” or “differences,” or “Arthur,” we would have skipped right past one of the false continuities:from information to knowledge.

9. We would have had the Age of Patterns, characterized by an abundance of patterns of difference, and we wouldn’t have thought that that has anything much at all to do with knowledge. But, because traditional information had something to do with expanding what we know, we tricked ourselves into thinking that our modern technology is about making us smarter. With an abundance of information, it seems we must be gaining more knowledge.

10. The new age is one of connection. This is less misleading, for it has us looking for its effect on how we connect with one another, how we connect our ideas, and how we connect our connections. And these are, I believe, the right places to be looking.David Weinberger, http://www.hyperorg.com/blogger/2011/01/13/if-we-had-called-it-the-age-of-patterns-instead-of-the-age-of-information/

11. The Syllabushttp://www.flickr.com/photos/davidsilver/4275611246/

12. Any Questions?http://www.flickr.com/photos/drachmann/327122302/

13. TechTime

14. The Course Websitehttp://ed628-2011.grouply.com/

15. Following Educator Blogshttp://catandgirl.com/?p=535

16. Keeping Up With RSShttp://www.flickr.com/photos/petrilli/524469845/

17. VoiceThread

18. Any Questions?http://www.flickr.com/photos/drachmann/327122302/

19. What To Do NowJoin the ED628 GrouplySign up for a Google account (if necessary)Find and subscribe to an educator blogSign up for a VoiceThread AccountWalk through VoiceThread tutorial(s)Try out VoiceThreadhttp://bit.ly/ed628-1http://www.flickr.com/photos/rog2bark/3437630552/