Use an authoring tool to design and publish Web based curriculum material. Consider the pedagogical approach you intend to use eg. you may decide to use different forms of representation (multimedia, animation) in order to enhance learning, or a problem based approach (webquest) to encourage independent learning or make more use of the Internet for authentic learning. You will find more on Pedagogy on the following web site. http://www.2learn.ca/Projects/Together/research.html .You should also draw upon the learning theory/pedagogy paper presented for the Computer Applications in Education module and/or extend this into your own thinking about the use of ICT in teaching and learning.

Each week, post your reflections to the Learning Diary discussion forum on WebCT. You should also explore other discussion forum (asynchronous) or chat group (synchronous) and participate in the ongoing debates on use of ICT in teaching and learning.

Before you start work on your assignment, complete the following question ‘How can I improve…….?

Decide what aspect of your practice you are going to investigate. You should relate this to your work, keep it focused and manageable. This term you will be developing the course material and may not have the opportunity to involve students therefore I have amended the action planner below. However, if you have the opportunity to involve the students through WebCT etc. then you can include this in your weekly journals.

You can use the following Action Research planner as a guide:

• What is your research focus?

• Why have your chosen this area of focus?

• What is happening now before your intervention? Which criteria/standards of judgement/values will you use to explain what you are doing eg. what is your approach to teaching and learning with or through ICT? What records can you keep to show what you are doing? - we can start with the weekly journal.

• What kind of evidence can you produce to show that what your are doing is having an impact? Do you have evidence to show that you have done what you say you have done? For example, is the courseware that you produce in line with your own standards of judgement/values?

• You are explaining what you are doing and can you justify what you are doing? For example, are there any particular learning theory or form of pedagogy that you draw upon?

• Act and gather data. This would be your weekly reflections along with the assignment work.

• Evaluation of effectiveness. Have you done what you set out to do?

• Modification of concerns, ideas and actions in the light of evaluation. Has your enquiry moved forward due to your own weekly reflections and feedback received on your reflections?

• Submission of descriptions and explanations of my learning in the educational enquiry, ‘How do I improve my practice?’ to a validation group. This would be in the form of the final presentations. Can you explain and justify what you have done to the group?