Welcome to LTS!
This semester most of
you will be taking
EDIT 760, 761, and 764
EDIT 760 vs EDIT 761 vs EDIT 764
*Only about half of you will be taking EDIT 769. You should only enroll in the course if you have completed EDIT 768 and 791.
Your instructors
Dr. Brianne Jackson teaches EDIT 760
Dr. Brianne Jackson is the Assistant Director of Professional Development at Virginia Commonwealth University, as well as adjunct faculty of Education at VCU and at Mason. Her research focuses on faculty education for online instruction, through the lens of diversity and social justice. She previously taught Spanish and Social Studies for 16 years at the high school level, both online & face-to-face. Outside of her career, Dr. Jackson is a distance runner and a mom of two teens, Will & Clare, who are online students.
Email: bjacks6@gmu.edu
Your instructors
Dr. Chawanna Chambers teaches EDIT 764
Email:
Your instructors
Dr. Whitney Keaton teaches EDIT 761
Dr. Keaton is a full-time teacher and advisor at the George Washington University Online High School and also designs and teaches online Chemistry courses at Lord Fairfax Community College. She earned her Ph.D. in Science Education Research with an emphasis in Instructional Technology from GMU in 2018 and has taught as an adjunct faculty in the BOLS and Secondary Education programs. She is a busy mom of three girls (5, 3 and 8 months old).
Email: wgarret2@gmu.edu
Course Structure
Deadlines and Late Work
Each module officially starts on Monday at 9 a.m. and ends on Sunday 11:59 p.m. but there may also be mid-week deadlines when collaborating with others.
Course may have slightly different late work policies for individual projects. However, all collaborative projects and discussions must be completed on time.
Learning Platforms
Mason has adopted Blackboard as a Learning Management System (LMS). However, not all of our courses will use Blackboard because we want to model multiple learning platforms. This allows you to experience different ways for delivering online courses and hopefully provide insights for how you would like to deliver your courses. For instance, this semester EDIT 761 and 769 will be using Blackboard but EDIT 760 and 764 will be using a combination of Google Sites and Classroom.
The EDIT 761 Blackboard course can be found at http://mymason.gmu.edu
Information regarding accessing the EDIT 760 and 764 Google Site and Classroom will be emailed to you by your instructor.
Mastery Based Grading
All courses will use a mastery based grading policy.
You must reach a specified level proficiency to pass off each assignment or project. If proficiency is not met, I will provide you with feedback and an opportunity revise your work.
You must complete ALL assignments to pass the class.
If you meet the published criteria (on-time) you receive all the points but you lose points by submitting work late.
Portfolio Based
There are no exams or textbooks this semester.
Assessments include weekly readings and videos, projects, and blog reflections.
Some projects and reflections will require a webcam with good audio
Authentic Problems
All courses are designed around authentic problems, needs, and tasks. As a result, we hope that you find a lot of overlap between your course work and your teaching.
Commitments
Our Commitment to You
Our Commitment to You
If you don’t feel like an assignment is valuable, let us know and we may be able to work out an alternative assignment that meets the same learning objectives.
Your Commitment to the Courses
Check your GMU email account daily
Participate in all of the readings, videos, discussions, and projects. Only some of the work can be turned in late with a penalty (see the course syllabus)
Your Commitment to the Courses
For every credit hour of a face-to-face (F2F) class students spend 1 hour in class and 2-3 hours outside of class.
In an online class you don’t attend a F2F class so you should expect to spend 3-4 hours working for every credit hour.
Because of the compressed calendar, EDIT 760 and 761 will feel like a single 3 credit course.
Tech Challenges
Why Challenges are Important
“Learning works best when new challenges are pleasantly frustrating.” --James Paul Gee
Many of the projects and readings will be challenging and that’s a good thing.
Remember that I’m here to support you along the way so that things don’t become “[un]pleasantly frustrating.”
Technology
When you experience technological difficulties:
1. PLAY--Take 5-10 minutes to just play around with the tool. Click on things that look like they could help. Don’t worry, you will not break your computer. Try switching Internet browsers or restarting the program.
2. SEARCH--Google the issue that you are experiencing. You’d be surprised how often you will find a video tutorial or discussion forum that has the answer you’re looking for.
3. ASK--If playing and searching doesn’t do the trick, send me an email. I may know the answer but if I don’t I can always help you to search for it.
Follow these steps in order. Skipping to step 3 (asking) is less effective as seen in this video.
Thank you for reading this presentation to the end and please email us if you have any questions or concerns.
Dr. Chawanna Chambers
Dr. Whitney Keaton wgarret2@masonlive.gmu.edu
Dr. Brianne Jackson bjacks6@gmu.edu