Module EFPM316 for 2020/1
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
EFPM316: Digital Futures for Education
This module descriptor refers to the 2020/1 academic year.
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
The precise structure of the module varies year by year, but in general, the first cluster of sessions will focus on some of the key concepts of digital education, such as computer-supported collaborative learning, communities of inquiry and affordance theory. We will engage with these theoretical ideas through engagement with a range of digital tools such as wikis, blogs, twitter and/ or games.
In the second cluster of sessions, we will reflect on some of the core dilemmas for technology in education, such as the promise of openness versus the threat of surveillance and cyber bullying, the promise of democracy versus the danger of control and the loss of literature versus new literacies. There will be further opportunity to discuss experiences and ideas with fellow students through digital media.
In addition, there will be some practical experiences, for instance through a school visit and a session on multi-touch technology, which will further enhance your understanding of the links between digital technology, practice and pedagogy.
Throughout the module, you will participate in online activities, and a host of online material and digital tools will be made available for both campus and distance students. You will be required to write and develop a blog, which will enable you to present your developing ideas to peers and to critically reflect on the module content in relation to educational practice and the wider literature. You will also need to comment on other students’ blogs and the feedback you receive will form the basis of a reflective and critical re-drafting of your own blog for the main assessment of the module.
Your final submission will be a referenced, theorized and critical reflective blog, containing various sections and topics, which will be explained in the module. The blog will be submitted near the end of the second term, to allow you to develop your blog in depth and to widen the scope of your blog as a result of experiences in other modules on the course.
Online discussions and contributions to the blogs as comments will also form part of the work that will be assessed. Formative assessment includes video blog (vlog) post in which you are asked to review an educational app. This video blog post will be peer reviewed. Moreover, there will be a variety of activities throughout the module, in which you will be asked to reflect, discuss and debate with other students, which will be formatively assessed by the course tutors.
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 270 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 30 | The teaching sessions will take on a variety of forms, including 9 weekly online and face to face seminars (1-3 hours) and pre-recorded lectures, additional online sessions via a range of collaboration tools (i.e. Adobe Connect, ELE), one practice based session (either in Exeter, or local to student) |
| Guided independent study | 120 | Engagement with specific online materials, readings and tasks, set each week in the seminars and on ELE |
| Guided independent study | 90 | Preparation for assignments |
| Guided independent study | 60 | Self-directed study related to module (additional guided readings and online discussions with staff and fellow students) |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
