Fermilab LInC II is designed to develop school/district leadership teams that incorporate engaged learning and effective technology integration into their student's learning environments. This is an intensive leadership course where participants create an engaged learning project for/with their students and a plan to work with other educators in their school/district to disseminate what they have learned. The project work focuses on creating an environment where students direct their own learning to investigate a real-world issue using the Internet to communicate and collaborate. The course is open to classroom teachers of all grades and subjects as well as library media specialists, technology coordinators, staff developers and curriculum coordinators. [5 Semester Hours]
The LInC course is intended for educators who are already connected to the Internet and want ideas and support for integrating it effectively into their existing curriculum. They will communicate and collaborate with other participants and course facilitators as they design, develop, and implement a project-based "engaged learning" curriculum unit using Internet tools.
We believe that the skills and strategies students need to be successful today and in the future are effectively taught through Engaged Learning projects. These projects are structured in such a way that students are responsible for their own learning. The projects are collaborative, student-driven, and are technology-dependent. When skillfully applied, technology can enhance learning in new and powerful ways.
LInC course topics include: constructing best practice indicators from your own best learning or teaching experiences, creating a vision for effective technology use, creating a technology-supported engaged learning project; developing strategies for assessment and classroom management of these projects; using a Web page editing software; using a listserv, bulletin board and chat tool to collaborate electronically, using FTP to upload and download files and software; learning about acceptable use, citation, netiquette, safety and copyright issues; and creating a dissemination plan.
The purpose of the course is to develop participants' ability to:
This course will be offered in a face-to-face, partial-online, or full-online format. If there are no face-to-face meetings or very few, there will be substantial interaction online. Participants will use online course materials and online discussions to communicate and collaborate with other participants and course facilitators. E-mail, mailing lists, discussion forum software, and chat software will be used. Participants will be required to be available for electronic meetings at designated class times established by course facilitators. They are also required to participate extensively in bulletin board discussions and via e-mail.
The program incorporates engaged learning, a participant project, Web authoring, and a dissemination plan. Participants will experience a variety of learning techniques including: facilitated and independent computer use, projects, discussions, and individual and group work.
Note: LInC has been offered as a face-to-face 4.5 credit course for nine semesters starting in the fall of 1995. Participants met at Fermilab for eighty hours and also spent substantial time outside of class completing assignments and project work. The same amount of work (or more) is involved in the online course. The participants in the online class must complete the same (or more) end products and assignments that the participants in the face-to-face class completed. The participants will spend ninety-six to one hundred and twenty hours in their online work and class time. LInC has been offered in an online format for eight semesters starting in 1997.
Core course materials (/lincon/intro_overview.shtml) are published on the Fermilab Education Office Web server. Supplemental readings may be assigned by URL or handed out as hard copy. For example, students will be required to read Plugging In: Choosing and Using Educational Technology, 1995. Students also read a selection of materials addressing effective staff development and adult learners. In addition, manuals or instructions for technical skills are included in readings. Some flexibility is required due to the constant flux of current, relevant information.
Topics of study fall into three basic areas: Engaged Learning, Technology Resources and Skills, and Dissemination. The units will be woven together as participants produce an online project. The Engaged Learning component will provide the backbone structure for the class. Technology Resources and Skills are units that are flexible, and may be self-guided. The following topics will be covered:
Electronic Communication
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Browser Info
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Finding Resources on the Web
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File Transfer
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Authoring Web Pages
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There will be weekly assignments on the topics covered above. The assignments will culminate in the completion of an engaged learning project on the Web and the creation of a dissemination plan. Participants will be expected to complete assignments by the due date established by their course facilitators. Assignment completion may be adjusted to the needs and abilities of the participants of the course.
For more information, see the LInC assignments page for your course. Examples of typical assignments are:
Participants will be graded based on the quality of their work with components weighted as follows: finished project (35%), scenario page (20%), presentation page (10%), participation (25%), and dissemination plan (10%). Grades are differentiated on the basis of quality. Quantity alone is not a significant factor for grade differentiation.
A total of 100 points are possible in the course. Final grades will be:
Participants projects will be assessed based on their incorporation of engaged learning, effective use of technolgy, and demonstration of technical skills. Please click on the four rubrics linked below for a detailed description of the criterion. These rubrics are also included in this document in appendices A through D. Participation is assessed based on participation in all modes of communication that may be used such as class meetings, chats, bulletin board, listservs, e-mail, and online course evaluation forms.
Course Task |
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Project Rubric |
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Scenario Rubric |
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Presentation Rubric |
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Participation |
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Dissemination Plan Rubric |
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At the end of the course, letter grades are awarded as defined:
A (4 quality points per course unit) Excellent. Denotes work that is consistently at the highest level of achievement in a graduate college or university course.
B (3 quality points per course unit) Good. Denotes work that consistently meets the high level of college or university standards for academic performance in a graduate college or university course.
C (2 quality points per course unit) The lowest passing grade. Denotes work that does not meet in all respects college or university standards for academic performance in a graduate college or university course.
F (0 quality points per course unit) Failure. Denotes work that fails to meet graduate college or university standards for academic performance in a course.
Bibliographic references are incorporated into the online materials for each class which are on the Fermilab Education Office Web server at /lincon/intro_overview.shtml. Course materials are continually being revised based on participant feedback and new technology developments.
Participants are required to attend all class meetings (whether they are online or face-to-face), to give a presentation of their project, and to participate in online and/or face-to-face discussions and activities.
Participants are expected to maintain academic honesty and integrity as students at Aurora University by doing their own work to the best of their ability. Academic dishonesty (cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, etc.) will result in the participant receiving a zero for that test, assignment or paper.
Participants will give a presentation about their Internet project to the facilitators and class. Participants will use the computer to display their Web (HTML) pages. The content of these pages will include a project overview, scenario, assessment/evaluation plan, rubric, unit description before LInC, Internet resources for the project, and pages to guide student participation in the project. Participants must transfer (publish) their Web pages to a Web server so that facilitators can review them and other educators can view them for resources and project ideas.
In compliance with ADA guidelines, students who have any condition, either permanent or temporary, which might affect their ability to perform in this class are encouraged to inform the instructor at the beginning of the term. Adaptations of teaching methods, class materials, including text and reading materials or testing may be made as needed to provide for equitable participation.
Purpose: The purpose is to evaluate project scenarios and to give some feedback to the participants for further project development.
This rubric was designed to evaluate the engaged learning scenarios. It will also be a handy tool for you to assess your own work. If you would like a more detailed rubric, please view the project rubric that will be used for the final assessment. Sharing project rubrics or having students generate criteria for these rubrics can ensure a deeper understanding of the expectations.
**Note: A successful project does not need and probably won't contain every single indicator listed in the above chart.**
The guiding questions support the criteria identified in this assessment tool.