In this course you’ll focus on how “smart” devices have changed how we interact with others in personal ways, impacting how we stay connected in our increasingly mobile society. This will be done through a series of paired teaching sections, exploring a specific “Impact of Computing” in your typical day and the “Technologies and Computing Concepts” that enable that impact, all at a K12-appropriate level.
This course is part of a larger Specialization through which you’ll learn impacts of computing concepts you need to know, organized into 5 distinct digital “worlds”, as well as learn pedagogical techniques and evaluate lesson plans and resources to utilize in your classroom. By the end, you’ll be prepared to teach pre-college learners to be both savvy and effective participants in their digital world.
In this particular digital world (relationships), you’ll explore the following Impacts & Technology pairs --
Impacts (Keep me connected in a mobile society):, personal relationships, facebook, circle of friends
Technology and Computing Concepts: algorithms, software engineering evolution, heuristics, computer runtime, big O notation, P vs NP
Impacts (Making geography-based connections): findings friends, maps, geolocation
Technology and Computing Concepts: data and binary, image encoding, pixels, how color pickers work, filters, blurs
In the pedagogy section for this course, in which best practices for teaching computing concepts are explored, you’ll learn about the current CSTA K-12 CS Standards and practice using them to review and apply to lesson plans, as well as how to apply the ICAP framework to connect your students’ engagement to active learning outcomes, such as through peer instruction.
In terms of CSTA K-12 computer science standards, we’ll primarily cover learning objectives within the “impacts of computing” concept, while also including some within the “networks and the Internet” concepts and the “data and analysis” concept. Practices we cover include “fostering and inclusive computing culture”, “recognizing and defining computational problems”, and “communicating about computing”.
This course is part of the Teaching Impacts of Technology in K-12 Education Specialization
Teaching Impacts of Technology: Relationships
Offered By
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week
1Course Orientation
Welcome! Are you interested in teaching about the impacts technology has on our relationships? To learn more about the computation and computing concepts that underlie those technologies? We'll be using a problem-based approach to explore interesting ways to teach concepts of networks and the internet, data and analysis, and even algorithms and data representation. Finally, we'll evaluate, critique and improve/personalize two lesson plans -- one of your choice and one on pixels. Specifically, we'll be looking to improve these lesson plans by increasing the amount of interactive learning time for students.
2 videos (Total 11 min), 3 readings, 1 quiz
3 readings
Are you wanting UC, San Diego transcript credit?5m
Engagement and Assessment Goals5m
Using Googledoc Templates in this Class5m
1 practice exercise
Orientation Quiz - Make Sure you Know the Score7m
Keeping Connected in a Global Society
How has your ability to connect with friends and family changed since social media has become so ubiquitous? What different groups of people are you connected to? Besides looking at the impact of social media on our lives and society, we'll also take a detailed look at the history and development of the Facebook newsfeed algorithm -- learning a bit about software engineering , user experience, and heuristics. From interacting with a Facebook visualization tool we'll be curious to investigate what causes programs to take a long time to run and how computer scientists categorize how long it will take for programs to run.
11 videos (Total 22 min), 9 readings, 9 quizzes
11 videos
In Your Experience1s
Your First Interactive Reading11m
Check Your Knowledge2s
Why Facebook?3m
Check Your Knowledge2s
Vicarious Lost Circles (if you didn't run it)2m
Explore Your Circles of Friends (and tell us about it)1s
Check Your Knowledge2s
What is Teacher Powerup?2m
Check Your Knowledge2s
9 readings
Activity Prep: Finding your "Lost Circles" of Friends10m
Where's my interactive reading grade?3m
Wow -- Lost Circles took a LONG time to run!20m
Other Reasons Your Computer Runs Slowly3m
Heuristics vs. Algorithms5m
Career Exploration: User Experience Designer10m
Big O Notation10m
P vs NP (What's the difference?!)10m
Optional: Extra Teacher Resources1m
3 practice exercises
Mastery Quiz Part 116m
Mastery Quiz Part 220m
Mastery Quiz Part 320m
Week
2Making Geography-based Connections
With so much more knowledge being collected about our physical location, we have new ways we can find friends and support relationships among those "close" to us. We'll look at several apps that leverage this and dive into digital image representations needed to support filters like those found in Snapchat.
4 videos (Total 2 min), 7 readings, 7 quizzes
4 videos
Check Your Knowledge2s
Check Your Knowledge2s
Check Your Knowledge2s
7 readings
How Snapchat's filters work7m
Digging Deep: Data and Binary15m
Encoding Image Basics7m
Find Out How Color Picker Works!15m
Advanced Image Encoding15m
How Blurs and Filters Work10m
Optional: Extra Teacher Resources
2 practice exercises
Mastery Quiz Part 113m
Mastery Quiz Part 217m
Week
3Impacts of Computing and Supporting Interactive Learning
This week we'll introduce the Computer Science K-12 Framework and the Computer Science Teachers Association K-12 Computer Science Standards which are starting to frame state K-12 Computer Science standards in the US. We'll guide you in finding and developing a lesson plan for a particular grade band around a resource for learning about the impact of technology on culture. Next we'll learn a bit about further differentiating and defining "active learning" using the ICAP (interactive, constructive, active, passive) learning framework and see how Peer Instruction can be used to scaffold interactive learning experiences.
9 videos (Total 60 min), 2 readings, 3 quizzes
9 videos
K-12 CSTA Computer Science Standards13m
Check Your Knowledge2s
What makes "good" active learning?5m
The ICAP Framework10m
Scaffolding Interactivity Example: Peer Instruction16m
Peer Instruction for Impacts of Computing Lessons5m
Check Your Knowledge2s
Impacts: What we'll learn and how4m
2 readings
Before Standards: The K-12 Computer Science Framework5m
Optional: Additional Teacher Resources
1 practice exercise
Pedagogy Mastery Quiz26m
Week
4More lesson plans for interactivity: Impacts and Encoding Images
This week is all about giving you the time and excuse to develop lesson plans you can use (and/or share with colleagues!) We'll be improving lesson plans (including the one you created last week) to increase the amount of "interactive" learning in them. Additionally, we'll try to align these lessons with CSTA standards -- recognizing that these may have been produced before the CSTA standards existed. However, the process of seeing how they fit (or don't fit) with the standards may help give us ideas on how these lessons could be modified.
1 video (Total 2 min), 1 reading, 3 quizzes
1 video
1 reading
Optional: Share your lesson plan with others
Instructor
Beth Simon
Teaching ProfessorEducation Studies
About University of California San Diego
UC San Diego is an academic powerhouse and economic engine, recognized as one of the top 10 public universities by U.S. News and World Report. Innovation is central to who we are and what we do. Here, students learn that knowledge isn't just acquired in the classroom—life is their laboratory.
About the Teaching Impacts of Technology in K-12 Education Specialization
2% That’s the estimate of how many high school students in all of California took a Computer Science class in 2015. And yet, computers and data are everywhere. Just consider a typical 24 hours in your life … how many different computer devices do you use? We all live in multiple digital worlds that are changing rapidly with new apps, devices, and data analyses offering a constant stream of innovations and technology integrations for our lives.
As it's an integral part of our lives, we’re working towards computer science for all - making it possible for every student, every future member of society, to understand computing and technology. To do so, we need teachers. Teachers prepared to both teach computational concepts and use best practices so kids enjoy and see they can be successful in computer science. This is where you (and this Specialization) come in!
In this Specialization you will both learn about the impacts of computing in our world and how to teach these impacts to K-12 students. We offer both the technical knowledge and also the pedagogical approaches for teaching these concepts. Along the way you’ll engage with freely available materials you can use in your own classroom, as well as learn from teachers currently teaching these concepts in their classrooms.
In short - in this Specialization we'll teach you the computing concepts you need to know and then help you explore and evaluate lesson plans and resources to prepare you for your classroom.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Once you enroll for a Certificate, you’ll have access to all videos, quizzes, and programming assignments (if applicable). Peer review assignments can only be submitted and reviewed once your session has begun. If you choose to explore the course without purchasing, you may not be able to access certain assignments.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
What is the refund policy?
Is financial aid available?
What will I be able to do upon completing this course?
How have your abilities to connect with others changed because of Facebook, Instagram or FaceTime? In this course you’ll explore how our ability to stay connected and make connections in a mobile society have been enabled or inhibited by technology. You’ll explore technical concepts including software engineering processes, heuristics, algorithmic running time, and digital image encoding and processing. After successfully completing this course you will be able to:
[1] Debate various ways in which ubiquitous and connected technologies have benefited or inhibited our ability to maintain and create new relationships.
[2] Explain how design decisions have influenced the Facebook news feed algorithm, the value of heuristics, how algorithm’s running time is analyzed, and be able to model image encoding, represent colors in multiple ways, and explain image modifications such as filters and blurs.
[3] Enact pedagogical knowledge in computer science-specific contexts, including interactive and active learning. Utilize the CSTA Computer Science K-12 standards and interactive learning suggestions for CS to improve a lesson plan of your choice.
Can this course help me get the California Supplementary Authorization to teach Computer Science?
Yes! This course is designed as component of a Specialization that is 1 of a set of 4 Specializations (all will be offered on Coursera) that will support the requirements of the California Supplementary Authorization. Additionally, the Specialization may support credentialing or authorization in other states. However, most states require a transcript from an accredited institution of higher education. See the FAQ question on “Will I earn university credit” to find out how to get such a transcript.
Will I earn university credit for completing this course?
Yes, you can earn UCSD credit for completing this course, but only by completing the full Teaching Impacts of Technology in K-12 Education Specialization. In addition, you will need to (1) Enroll in an additional UCSD Extension course before completing the capstone ($500) and (2), complete part of the capstone project via an online proctoring service. After this is done, your Specialization course grades will be accumulated and a transcript with your final grade (both letter grade or pass-only supported) will be issued from UCSD with 4 graduate-level units. These are eligible to count towards the California Supplementary Authorization.
What background knowledge is necessary to succeed in this course?
There is no background knowledge, neither in education nor in Computer Science, required to take this course - just an interest in learning computational concepts about the technology that surrounds us and how to best teach those concepts to others.
Basic proficiency in the use of Googledocs will be needed to complete assignments within the course. Google help documentation will be provided, and with some extra attention, first time use of Googledocs should not be a barrier to successful completion of the course.
What is the value of taking this course online?
By providing this course online, our goal is to enable you to master all the material in the course at a pace that is appropriate for you, rather than the typical processes of picking a specific date and measuring how much you can learn by that date of in-person courses. Instead of the relatively bigger chunks of learning work found in traditional courses (e.g. go to class, read the book, do homework, study for the test) this course has a lot of smaller and more diverse activities that guide your learning experience. We use a lot of online features to
Break learning into smaller chunks
Engage you more in thinking and discussing content with others
Better integrate and more frequently test your knowledge (with a focus on mastery, allowing you to go back and learn what you missed then come test again)
Give you practice in teaching-specific skills you will need as an educator (finding and evaluating online teaching resources, critiquing and modifying lesson plans)
We hope you enjoy and learn a lot!
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.
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