Putting the Educational in Educational Technology

For the last year, I've been teaching EME 2040, Introduction to Educational Technology at the University of Florida. The sections I teach are blended, that is my students have a lab period each week with me and then complete the rest of the course online using the Moodle LMS. I've finally been given the "go ahead" to revamp the course and turn it on its head whereas for the last year I've been working with a curriculum designed by others that, to me, didn't really make a lot of sense.

So now the big question is how to define the course (other than just by the standards set forth by the DOE as it is a teacher prep course) and what exactly is educational technology and what tools should we be giving these students. Although 2040 is in the College of Education, the majority of students come from other colleges within the university as it is cross-listed and known as an "easy" alternative to a "real" computer course in the computer science department. With this in mind, I think it is essential to help students understand that the tools we're considering and talking about are applicable across the disciplines. While, in the past, we have focused on using Dreamweaver and Photoshop and helping students understand how they could use them in their future careers. Philosophically, I am pleased to have the opportunity to move the curriculum towards understanding the purpose of tools and programs rather than specific programs themselves.

With today's economy and record cuts to school budgets, teachers are increasingly being demanded to be resourceful. I'm excited about the possibility of bringing open source and web apps to the masses. I'm hoping that this shift in content and philosophy will cement for students that technology is ever changing and how to teach with technology rather than educating about a specific technology. Possibilities....possibilities...