Intensive Masters Program: Concentrations

For Summer 2006, incoming students will choose between one of three Intensive concentrations. These "informal" concentrations, in the sense that their names will not appear on the degree. We arrange them solely to help guide participants in their progress through the program. Our programs offer two degrees: Computer in Education and Instructional Technology and Media. The first concentration below is in the program in Instructional Technology and Media, and the other two are in Computing in Education.

1) Multimedia Development

The Multimedia option is intended for those wishing to participate in the specification, design, construction, and evaluation of instructional multimedia applications, both stand-alone and Internet-compliant. The Multimedia option, which grants an M.A. degree in Instructional Technology and Media, consists of a core of courses that provide a foundation in instructional design and in the use of appropriate tools for the design of multimedia and Internet instruction.

Courses in this concentration have a strong emphasis on project work. The objective is to equip graduates to analyze and synthesize educational multimedia, based on both practical knowledge and a sound theoretical framework. The program is of potential relevance to school administrators, technology coordinators, and classroom teachers, as well as to those in the media publishing and software design sectors.

Although specific multimedia experience is not a prerequisite, competence in the use of personal computers is recommended, and a basic familiarity with the Internet is strongly encouraged, as is experience with commercial authoring tools.

2) Teaching and Learning with Technology

The Teaching and Learning with Technology option is for anyone interested in using technology with students, in learning more about how technology impacts teaching and learning, in developing curriculum that uses technology, or in leading educational programs. We believe that technology has played a key role over the past century in structuring formal education in this country, and that it will continue to play a major part in restructuring it. Teachers, administrators, curriculum developers -- indeed, all concerned with the fate of education -- should be aware of this history, and of the issues it raises for the present and future.

This concentration combines work in understanding issues in technology and school structure and change with study of the new technologies themselves -- how to operate them, and how to use them in curriculum. We focus on using technology throughout the grades for problem solving, communication, collaborative learning, skill building and standard reaching. Course work includes basic computer programming. Independent work during the school year may involve learning more about educational technology, planning for their use in educational situations, and researching issues related to this use. Prospective students need not have any background in technology. This concentration offers an M.A. degree in Computing in Education.

3) Technology Leadership

This concentration is for those who are already in leadership positions involving school technology (such as school or district level computer coordinator) or expect to be in this position in the near future. Technology leaders assume a variety of roles in schools - from technical expert to curriculum developer to staff developer, and more. Being prepared for these roles requires ongoing learning and reflection about how best to prepare students and teachers for the technological future. This concentration aims to prepare technology leaders and prospective leaders to play their roles with both expert theoretical and practical background. The concentration's courses and seminars focus on several key areas:

• Research: What does research in educational technology tell us about how technology benefits learning, and how can we use the results?
• Cognition: What does cognitive science tell us about human learning and technology and how can we best apply it to curriculum-building?
• Constructivism: How can the use of technology best support a constructivist curriculum in which students are active and collaborative problem-solvers?
  
• Networking: What new developments in networking, distance learning, and use of the Internet and WWW are likely to impact education, and how should we think about applying them?
• Staff Development: What does our experience with educating teachers about technology tell us, and what does this imply about future efforts?

Altogether, the concentration's goal is to provide its participants with a holistic picture of the current state of school technology, along with its accomplishments and needs, and ideas for future work. We will draw upon participants' (and others') experiences to inform our planning. Participants will work during the year on a wide variety of independent projects designed to further their own learning and work in their schools. This concentration offers an M.A. degree in Computing in Education.

The program this coming July will consist of about 15 courses and workshops. Courses meet twice a week for about three hours a session (Mondays and Wednesdays, from 3 pm to 6pm). Sesssions are scheduled from in the morning, afternoons, and evenings (6pm to 9pm). The program will include courses in programming (in Java), hypermedia creation, Web page creation and design, technology and school change, instructional design, telecommunications and networking, and more. All students in the program must take some programming, if they do not already have a programming background. The full July schedule will be available around March