X – January 2008 Distance Learning Course

An Online Continuing Education Course for Educators

INTRODUCTION TO PHOTONICS

COURSE GOAL
In this eight-week non-credit online course, scheduled for the winter semester of 2008, you will learn about the science and technology of photonics through reading, problem solving, hands-on activities and discussion with your peers. The overarching theme of the course is “How can I teach optics/photonics to my own students with the resources I have at hand?”

A successful online participant will engage in the hands-on activities, collaborate with others, and apply the material in a practical way.

For this course, we mean the successful participant will:

• Post a thoughtful comment, question or response to both the technical and implementation discussion threads each week.
• Complete the three unit quizzes with a passing grade.
• Submit a short description of how you will implement the material of the course in your classroom.

The course is taught at an algebra/trig level and some knowledge of physics (energy, power) is helpful but not required. The course includes online tutorials for most of the math and physics topics we cover, and is designed for high school and community college educators from both science and technology instructional areas.

TIME COMMITMENT
In the past, students have reported spending 4-6 hours per week on the course, depending on previous knowledge of optics/photonics. The course will have three 2-week optics/photonics units plus a “get acquainted” week and a summary week. Note that this course is not self-paced. Although you can work at your convenience, you will be expected to log into the course several times per week and to engage in timely discussions with class members. The course will be presented on WebCT Vista through the Three Rivers Community College.

CEUs
CEUs are available for successful completion of the course. Please note that an extra processing fee is required to receive CEU credit.

COST
The course tuition is $250. The CEU processing fee is $20. If you don't have the supplies for the hands-on activities you can purchase an Optics Discovery Kit from Edmund Optics for about $20.

SCHOLARSHIPS
Scholarships funded by a grant from SPIE are available from the New England Board of Higher Education. Scholarship funds are dispersed only after successful completion of the course.

Applications for the course and scholarships are available on the course website.

For scholarship information, contact Fenna Hanes at fhanes@nebhe.org.
For further course information, contact Judy Donnelly at jdonnelly@trcc.commnet.edu.