eSyllabus
synonyms: electronic syllabus online syllabus teaching homepage
The eSyllabus provides all the information of a traditional syllabus but can also link to online materials used in a course. Typically the eSyllabus is written in HTML and posted on the www.
The advantages of the eSyllabus lie in its inexpensiveness and ease of distribution, its visibility beyond the course participants, and the inexpensive, effective and well-organized distribution of class materials such as lecture notes or overheads.
The author, and inventor of the eSyllabus, Dr. Andreas Schneider suggests dividing eSyllabi into two major parts: The contractual part that will not be changed during te course and the content part which is flexible to facilitate dynamics in the course.
The portion describing exams, grading, policies and content can be seen as the contractual part of the syllabus that stays fixed. The dynamic or noncontractual part can be updated with changes in scheduling and timing of course topics. Here current events, students’ contributions, and newly discovered sources, can be linked during the course. While the dynamic part allows the course to incorporate current events and ongoing work of students, it provides the structure necessary to effectively administer a course.
Ideally, the contractual part is laid out on the fist level of the HTML document, while the dynamic part hides in the links provided to the actual course content. These linked files might contain overheads or their electronic representation) used by the instructor or they can incorporate the notes of the instructor.
Experiences in the Classroom
editStudents are less occupied scribbling down the visual information provided in the classroom and find more time to participate. Mistakes in the transfer into student’s notes are eliminated. If the notes are provided before the class sessions, students can print them out as a basis for their additional notes.
History
editIt was first invented and used 1994 by Andreas Schneider, at that time a German Graduate student instructor at Indiana University.
The Internet Teaching Homepage located at http://ezinfo.ucs.indiana.edu/~aschnei/ was awarded 1995 by Indiana University as an outstanding example using networked computers for teaching.
1995 Schneider wrote the article “The Internet as an extended Classroom” reporting his teaching experiences he had with new media and the student’s evaluation of the new teaching technique. Especially critical at this time was the acceptance of students of this new media.
Due to the poor organization at the Journal “Teaching Sociology,” Schneider’s article was lost, delayed, and after an editor change rejected. It was published three years later in the Social Science Computer Review.
Following the refreshing standard of the early Internet, copy things that you like and ignore others, the eSyllabus developed into a widely used teaching tool. While during the 90s Dr. Schneider still received occasional thank you letters or even email requesting to copy the eSyllabus principle by institutions, it is de facto standard today.
1999 Dr. Schneider became the editor of the Electronic Journal of Sociology, the first peer reviewed journal of sociology. He is associate professor at Texas Tech Universtity and currently teaches a course on ePublishing at Université Paris X.
Examples
editUndergraduate course “Introduction to Sociology” [1]
References
editSchneider, Andreas. 1998. "Sociology: The Internet as an Extended Sociology Classroom." Social Science Computer Review 16:53-57.