M-Th, 1-4:45 p.m., May 13-30. Location: the SIRLS Building, 1515 East First Street.

A problem-based approach to discovering and assessing current directions and challenges involved in using electronic technologies for teaching and training. A few brief initial lectures will provide an overview of the e-learning territory. Students will choose a loosely structured problem to work on throughout the course, with opportunities to formulate questions, seek answers, and share their findings with other students. The instructor will facilitate discovery by serving as a consultant to each group.

• formulate questions to guide exploration;
• find and use a variety of information gathering methods;
• demonstrate their understanding of key e-learning trends and issues;
• solve open-ended problems, collaborate with peers, and present the results of inquiry.

Students will work in groups of 2 to 4 on a scenario of their choice, selected from a number of possibilities devised by the instructor. Each student will be responsible for contributing to the group's work and each student will receive individual evaluations of his or her contribution (no group grades).

Assignment # 1: At the end of the first week of class, student groups will present the questions they've formulated, given the scenario they've chosen to work on. 25 points

Assignment # 2: At the end of the second week of class, student groups will present and assess the methods used to answer the previously formulated questions and will discuss any new questions that may have arisen. 30 points

Assignment # 3: Final reports, both in-class and in a tangible form for the instructor. The product turned in should be presented as a coherent whole with each individual student's contribution clearly indicated. 45 points