Course Requirements
EDUC 439/639: Augmented Reality
This is an ed tech special topics course that uses a new Apple Teacher curriculum built around 9 freely available AR apps for the iPhone and iPad. Students learn to design lessons incorporating AR across the full range of PK-16 content. There will be an exciting project for everyone in the course and students will get to decide what they want to do. Students will make presentations of their chosen apps and thereby form a powerful learning community in which they learn from each other and share their experiences in the course discussion forum.
In the sidebar is a list of the specific assignments and how much they count toward your grade in the course. Detailed explanations of these assignments appear below.
Assignment #1: Goal Statement
Your first assignment is to state the reasons why you enrolled in this course. Please tell why you decided to take this course and state briefly what you hope to get out of it. If you have only a general idea, go ahead and describe your goals in general terms. If you have more specific goals in mind, please enumerate them. I will use this information to help advise you and guide you through the appropriate course materials.
Assignment #2: Weekly Discussion Forum
Every student in this class is required to participate actively in the course discussion forum. To enter the discussion forum, log on to the course and follow the link to the Discussions. The forum is an excellent place to network with your fellow students and help each other solve any problems you may encounter while exploring augmented reality apps and working on your projects. To earn all your discussion points, write a thoughtful message at least once per week during the course. Creating a new discussion post counts the same as responding thoughtfully to an existing post.
Assignment #3: Presentation Topic
During the course of the semester, you (individually or with a partner) will be responsible for presenting one of the augmented reality apps that this course comprises, or one of your choice if approved by the instructor. In response to the Presentation Topic assignment, please indicate which app you would like to present, and give one or two preferred class dates when you would like to make your presentation. If you are taking the course online, you have the option of presenting remotely via pre-recorded video, but all of you are encouraged to come to class and present via Zoom on the evening when you present. As you prepare for this activity, here are some things you need to keep in mind:
- Provide an overview of your chosen app including hardware requirements, appropriate age-level, pricing, publication date, etc.
- Download and install the app on your device and acquire all necessary passwords.
- Identify the key features of your chosen app and discuss how they support (or do not support) the principles of how people learn.
- Try to prepare an interactive presentation. For example, you can create some role playing activities for your classmates, pretend that you are introducing the tool or environment to a group of teachers who are considering adoption, have your fellow students actually try using your app, etc.
- In your presentation, be sure to make citations from the scholarly literature you studied about your chosen app. Some readings are in the "From the Literature" section of the app's module but you should use the search engines to find even more.
Assignment #4: Presentation Delivery
This is where your instructor will grade the presentation of your chosen augmented reality app. Your grade will be determined as follows:
- Provides a clear description of your chosen app
- Articulates the connection between learning theory and the design of your chosen app
- Is coherent, organized and professional
- Is interactive and involves the audience
Assignment #5: Final Project Idea
For your final project you are required to create a plan for using your chosen augmented reality app in order to help people learn in one of the following settings: (a) a formal learning environment (e.g., school or college); (b) an informal learning environment (e.g., museum or after school club); or (c) a corporate setting (e.g., organization or company). When submitting your final project idea, take these considerations into account:
- Think of a specific instructional unit you would be interested in developing. Make it be something you feel passionate about doing.
- Before submitting this Assignment, prepare one paragraph that outlines your idea. Unless your project needs to be kept confidential, post your paragraph in the Canvas Discussions and invite your fellow classmates to comment and provide suggestions about your idea. Note: Posting this paragraph in the Discussions is only part of this Assignment. In addition to posting this paragraph in the Discussions, you must also respond to the submission prompt in the Assignment itself.
- Provide some background literature on the chosen topic. Identify the professional standards or learning principles that inform your project's design.
- Be sure to make citations from the scholarly literature you studied about your chosen app. Some readings are in the “From the Literature” section of the app’s module but you should use the search engines to find even more.
- Describe the characteristics of the target audience, its needs and any prior knowledge required.
- State your educational objectives, i.e., what you expect learners/users to learn or experience as a result of using your project.
- Be sure to check out the example lesson ideas at https://apple.co/ARLessons to see if there might be something there to inform your plan. If so, you should cite it in submitting your final project idea.
Assignment #6: Final Project Submission
Final versions of your augmented reality projects must be submitted in Canvas for Dr. Hofstetter to review and grade. If you created your project with a learning management system, create a login for Dr. Hofstetter and when you click Submit Assignments to submit your project for a grade, submit the HTTP Web address of your project's login page along with login instructions explaining how Dr. Hofstetter should log on to your project. Note: If you are an EDTC major, consider developing a project that can meet the requirements of one of your master's degree program's required performances.
Assignment #7: Course Evaluation
Your final assignment in this course is to evaluate it. Toward the end of the course, you will receive an email from the School of Education sent to your udel.edu email address. This email tells you when the course evaluation window is open. You must log on to the course evaluation system within this window of time. The Web address of the course evaluation system is www.udel.edu/course-evals. After you complete the course evaluation, your instructor will give you credit for completing it. The responses you give are completely anonymous. While your instructor will be able to see the ratings and comments, it is impossible for your instructor to identify the person who gave a certain rating or made a given comment. Once you complete the evaluation, your grade on this assignment will be an automatic A.
