EDM310: A Case Study

Abstract

This case study of EDM310 at the University of South Alabama covers the transition of the class from a group of face to face courses, which covered Microsoft Office, to face to face classes of 20 students taught by different teachers, which emphasized, to varying degrees, the use of Web 2.0 tools, blogging, commenting on blogs; then to a set of face to face courses all delivering instruction using Web 2.0 tools, blogs, and commenting on blogs. Finally the chapter discusses a course of 170 students taught by one faculty member with assistance from graduate and undergraduate students’ course almost entirely on the Internet and in an open lab conducted by undergraduate assistants. A detailed description is provided, showing how projects are used as a central learning tool; how blogging and comments on blogs play a critical role in the course; how students react to these new instructional approaches. The case study also contains specific suggestions on how to organize such a course, and how it was implemented at the University of South Alabama with great success.