Curriculum: Master of Education in Instructional Design and Technology

This course introduces the fundamentals of instructional design and guides students to develop a strong understanding of the systematic design of instruction. The course covers the complete process of instructional design, including needs assessment, goal analysis, learner/context analysis, instructional strategies, instructional materials, and formative/summative evaluation. Students will learn essential skills to conduct each component successfully and develop a holistic perspective on instructional design.

This course provides a fundamental understanding of learning sciences, an interdisciplinary field dedicated to studying learning and how learning may be facilitated in designed environments. Students will design a technology-based learning environment and conduct an evaluation of the embedded theories in an existing environment of their choice, such as digital media, games, or other innovative technologies.

Data is at the core of educational reform and should be used to inform teaching practice. The purpose of this course is to design assessments that allow instructors to make data-driven decisions to improve their instruction. It will include the evaluation and comparison of currently employed measures of assessment in online environments for their effectiveness in evaluating learner progress and underlying instructional methods. The course will cover the continuous improvement cycle of online assessments. Beginning with backward design, students will learn how to align learning outcomes, learning activities, and online assessments. Based on intended learning outcomes, students will design a variety of formative and summative assessments and learn how to use technology to improve the quality of those assessments. Finally, students will analyze the data generated from these assessments to create an instructional plan to improve student learning, enhance their instructional activities, and make adjustments to the assessments.

This course provides an overview of how the principles of Universal Design for Learning can be used to design online and blended learning experiences that meet the needs of diverse learners including those who are accelerated and those who are struggling for a variety of reasons. Special attention will be given to integrating technologies that support student engagement, authentic learning, and general accessibility supports.

This course covers the essential skills and techniques needed to create powerful multimedia products. Students will learn fundamental design principles and adopt a wide range of innovative technologies to generate new solutions for visual communication and multimedia representation. The course provides a dynamic interactive design space where students actively collaborate with peers, gain valuable hands-on experience, and exchange constructive feedback.

This course provides an overview of the increasingly complex array of digital media and technology-based resources available for use in blended and online environments. Students will apply theory to practice to truly redefine lessons to enhance learning through technology. Students will also learn practical skills, ranging from facilitation skills needed to manage a technology-based class to troubleshooting technology problems. The course also explores burning issues surrounding educational technology such as inequalities and accessibility issues, technology distractions, internet safety, and other ethical issues.

This course guides students through the process of designing and developing successful online learning. Students will explore a variety of learning environments, learn how to incorporate instructional models, instructional strategies, and digital media effectively into the design process, and create a complete instructional unit that promotes learner engagement and motivation.

Note: students must choose 3 of the 1-credit courses listed

This course assists students to acquire knowledge and skills in recent trends and issues with evaluating learning technologies. This course covers the evaluation and critique of instructional technology literature. Students become critical consumers of research in the area of instructional technology.

Note: students must choose 3 of the 1-credit courses listed

This course introduces students to the use of focus groups to help assess user experience (UX) in learning design. Focus groups can be utilized to help understand what learners want and build on that knowledge to create a design that meets their needs. Information from focus groups can be used in designing and enhancing a range of learning environments from online learning objects to educational games. In this course, students will learn how to carry out focus group methods both in-person and online, analyze results, and communicate findings to stakeholders.

Note: students must choose 3 of the 1-credit courses listed

This course helps students create a digital professional portfolio with select artifacts that represent their accomplishments. The course provides students with the technical knowledge to create a website to display their digital portfolio. Technical aspects covered include accessibility, usability, and visual design elements of website creation. The course will also introduce methods of using portfolios as an ongoing process of inquiry, experimentation, and reflection on professional development and growth. Students will leave the course with a digital portfolio that effectively communicates their achievements to their target audience.

Note: students must choose 3 of the 1-credit courses listed

Everyone has completed a questionnaire at some point in their life. Questionnaires provide a convenient and versatile way to evaluate learning technologies. The information gathered from questionnaires can be used for a variety of purposes, from informing learning design to assessing user experience. In this course, students will learn how to create and distribute online questionnaires, how to analyze results using descriptive statistics, and how to report their findings. A basic understanding of electronic spreadsheets is needed to be successful in this course. This course focuses on questionnaires in the area of learning technologies; however, students from other disciplines will also benefit from this course, as the methods and principles are general and can be applied to any technology-related discipline.

Note: students must choose 3 of the 1-credit courses listed

Usability evaluations provide a way to determine how easy or difficult it is to use a given technology. Results of usability evaluations can be used to improve the ease-of-use of products, which can range from websites to mobile apps to video games (and more). This course will teach students how to assess ease-of-use by conducting usability evaluations, analyzing the results, and using the results to suggest usability improvements. This course focuses on usability in the area of learning technologies; however, students from other disciplines will also benefit from this course, as the methods and principles are general and can be applied to any technology-related discipline.

Note: students must choose 3 of the 1-credit courses listed

Learning analytics is the process of collecting and analyzing data on students’ interactions and navigation through online learning environments in order to make informed decisions to improve learning. Students will be introduced to the underlying concepts, perspectives and theories of this emerging field and discuss the ethical implications of using data analytics. This course will teach hands-on techniques for collecting trace data on students’ activities through online environments and quantitative methods for analyzing this data. Students will learn how to interpret the data in order to make adaptive changes to the learning environment. To be successful, students should have a basic understanding of statistics and how to use statistical software for data analysis.

This is a culminating experience course. Students will be provided the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they gained through their coursework to the design and development of a capstone project.