Course Description
Our intention is to help you develop a framework for exploring and understanding the foundations of elearning, educational technology, learning technologies, and new media as unsettled and lived by students and teachers. We will encourage you to examine your own biases toward the foundations of media and technology, and a major effort will be in providing you with a background for research into the foundations of e-learning, educational technology, learning technologies, and new media.
Reflection
ETEC 511, the Foundations of Educational Technology was my first MET course so not only was I learning how to be a successful post-graduate student, I was also learning how to be a successful online learner. I have always been fascinated by technology so the former was a bit more difficult than the latter. ETEC 511 introduced me to the exploration of educational technology through the lenses of anthropology, philosophy, history, politics, sociology, psychology, economics, ecology, and spirituality. I was also given the opportunity to construct a mind map demonstrating my understanding of the connections between these foundations. I found this activity quite difficult as with my computer science background, I haven’t previously completed a mind map. Unlike others in my class, I found the software easy to use; it was coming up with the materials that I found difficult.
Of the foundations examined in 511, I found I identified greatly with the sociology of educational technology and as a result, I decided that for my scholarly essay I examined the Gender Gap in Computer Science. As a technology instructor, I am concerned with the lack of girls that enrol in courses that are technology related; I examined why this occurs as well as what we can do to make technology more appealing to girls. I am currently working in collaboration with the University of the Fraser Valley to address this very issue and some of my research will be in partnership with Ora Steyn, the Department Head of the Computer Information Systems at UFV. This was my first attempt at a scholarly essay using the MLA My research was based on a book by Margolis, J. and Fisher, A. (2002). Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing; which looked at some of the reasons why women were dropping out of Computer Science in the last 1980s and early 1990s and what technology teachers can do to combat this. I have used many of these techniques in my classroom and have found that my female to male ratio has increased over the years. I will continue to employ these techniques in hopes that a fair and equitable distribution of males and females are apparent in my classroom and that my teaching is relevant to both genders.
Margolis, J. & Fisher. A. (2002). Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Artefacts
Scholarly Essay
Mind Map
Mind Map - ETEC 511 - Educational Technology