2014-12-14
Dear All,
We have just released all of the modules for the MOOC (week 5 onwards) as well as all the bonus materials. We wanted to release the first half initially so that it could give everyone time to settle in and network. Please work through them at your own pace. You have up until the end of February if you would like to receive a Certificate of Participation.
We may have new educators continue to join the MOOC up until the end of February. If you see someone new introduce themselves in the networking section and start to complete the tasks, we encourage you to say a little "hi"!
We have enjoyed seeing the resources being shared in the Google+ community.
For those who have just joined us, "welcome"!
Wishing you all a happy and safe end to the year! If you need anything, please don't hesitate to let us know.
Regards,
The CSER Team
2014-11-30
Welcome to the CSER Digital Technologies MOOC - the December to February cohort of 2015! We are so happy that you will be joining us and we look forward to working with you and learning from your ideas and feedback.
The course has officially opened today and you can begin to work through the modules until the end of February. You may also notice that new people will enrol and join throughout this time as it is an open and flexible course - so it's not too late to get your colleagues on-board! Don't forget to revisit the Google Map (in the pre-launch activities) to see if there is someone local or online who you might be able to buddy-up and collaborate with during the course.
For this MOOC, we will be joining the F-6 Google+ Community, where a whole community of like-minded educators are excited to have you join and will be sharing resources too. We will have some key Mentors who have volunteered for this round, who will provide additional support and advice for the new cohort. Mentor names will be announced in the G+ community.
We have opened up the first half of the MOOC and the second half will open in a week. You will notice that three main topic modules are 'core'. This means that for the Certificate, you will need to complete all of the content and the #cserTasks in these modules, plus one additional module of your choice. However, you are welcome to complete as much of the course and as many tasks as you like! We know that many of you have also joined just to browse the resources - welcome!
The course content and community will remain open and accessible after February - we have just listed a deadline so that you can go through the course with a community & receive participation certificates.
If you have any questions at all, please let us know in the Google+ MOOC community or email us at cser@adelaide.edu.au
And remember - all questions are good questions and it might be that someone else is wanting to know the same thing, so don't hesitate to ask!
All the best,
The Computer Science Education Research Group
The University of Adelaide
2014-11-01
Will the course cost me anything?
No, this is a free course developed by the CSER Group at the University of Adelaide, with the kind support of Google and the teaching resources and feedback from teachers, experts and organisations working in this space.
Where will the course be held?
The course is completely online, hosted in Course Builder and the CSER Digital Technologies Google+ Page.
How much time will I need to invest?
We have estimated between 2-3 hours per module and you can complete the modules at a time that suits you. We realise teachers are pressed for time and want to make this work for you. You may work through modules at your own pace.
Will there be an assessment?
For each module, you might be asked to complete a short online quiz or practical activity that is aligned with the module concept. Final assessment will involve a peer-reviewed mini-portfolio of lesson plans.
Will I receive recognition?
Certification of completion can be achieved by completing course modules and activities.
If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to contact us at cser@adelaide.edu.au
2014-11-01
Welcome everyone!
The CSER Digital Technologies MOOC is almost ready to launch, and we are looking forward to working with all of you. I thought it would be timely to share some more information about the MOOC, as we prepare for our first lessons.
In this course we will be covering fundamental concepts from the Digital Technologies Curriculum, focussing on F-6 and their associated learning objectives. The course will be taught across a series of units or modules, which each contain a series of lessons, which may be individual videos, or in some cases, web resources that refer to multiple videos and examples. We aim to include a wide range of possible example activities that could be used to explore the new learning objectives in the Digital Technologies curriculum, including some that do not rely on technology, and others that do. Our goal is to enable these learning objectives to be addressed in a flexible manner, regardless of the technology available in your classroom, and with reference to other knowledge areas.
Importantly, this course is self-paced, which means that you can study it in whatever order you wish and at your own pace.
There will be small activities associated with each unit, some will be multiple choice questions based on the content covered in the unit, while others will be less formal activities designed to spark creativity. The main assessment for this course will consist of a peer reviewed lesson plan portfolio, where during the course you will select and complete at least two lesson plans from an area of your choice, and a year band of your choice to be peer reviewed.
