Students admitted to the EDTC program must maintain a 3.0 grade point average and make steady progress toward assembling the portfolio of items required for graduation. All students take required core courses (6 credits) in curriculum (EDUC 638), technology and cognition (EDUC 650). All students enroll in three required educational technology courses (9 credits): EDUC 611, Introduction to Educational Technology; EDUC 685, Multimedia Literacy; and EDUC 621, Internet Technologies. Students complete the master’s coursework by taking educational technology electives (12-18 credits) that cover a broad range of topics across K-12 education (ISTE) as well as higher education and industry (AECT).
Students who write a master’s thesis take 12 elective credits plus six thesis credits. All other students take 18 credits of electives. It is in consultation with their advisor that EDTC students decide whether to write a thesis and which specific courses to elect in order to prepare appropriately for their intended workplace.
Note: EDUC 639 is an educational technology course number that appears multiple times in the list of EDTC course requirements and electives. Each time, EDUC 639 has a different course title. The School’s graduate curriculum committee recommended this use of EDUC 639 to enable the EDTC program’s faculty to create new course offerings that address needs in this fast-paced field without consuming a new course number each time.
As outlined below, the EDTC program consists of some required courses and a selection of optional courses. The required courses cover educational technology foundations, focusing on principles and practices common across the disciplines and reflecting on the effects of multimedia and the Internet on current teaching practice. The optional courses explore educational technology topics in more depth in specific content areas or technologies in which the candidate wishes to prepare for providing effective leadership in order to make a positive impact on the future of schooling.
The EDTC program consists of three blocks of courses and a fourth block of internship experiences and exit requirements. In all, 33 credits are required for graduation.
SAMPLE Course Blocks
Block 1. Core Courses: 6 credits
Every EDTC student must take the following core courses that ground the candidate in curriculum, technology and cognition. Both of these courses are 3-credit hours.
Block 2. Specialization Courses: 9 credits
Every EDTC student must take the following 3-credit specialization courses that introduce the candidate to the field of educational technology and provide authentic practice in multimedia and Internet technologies.
EDUC 611: Introduction to Educational Technology
EDUC 685: Multimedia Literacy
EDUC 621: Internet Technologies
Block 3. Restricted Electives: 12-18 credits
In consultation with their advisor, EDTC students enroll in four to six of the following 3-credit courses that provide practical experience with emerging technologies, mobile web design, eLearning, assistive technology and e-book authoring and publishing. The number of courses taken depends on the student’s exit strategy. Students who choose a credit-bearing exit strategy (3 or 6 credits) take fewer electives (typically 12 or 15 credits). Candidates earning the Computer Science Education Certificate substitute its courses for 9 credits of the electives listed here. Candidates earning the Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation take 12-18 credits of entrepreneurship certificate courses in lieu of the electives listed here. Candidates working to become Delaware certified through Alternative Routes to Certification (ARTC) may substitute graduate level ARTC courses. Candidates earning this master’s degree along with School Library Media (SLM) certification take seven SLM courses instead of electing the courses listed here.
EDUC 646: Assistive Technology for Secondary Schools and Work
EDUC 652: Introduction to Assistive Technology
EDUC 653: Assistive Technology: High Incidence Disabilities
EDUC 654: Augmentative and Alternative Communication
EDUC 655: Assistive Technology: Autism/Severe Disabilities
EDUC 656: eLearning
EDUC 692: Educational Technology Capstone
EDUC 762: Examining Multimodal Literacy
EDUC 777: Fostering Technology Based Collaboration
EDUC 815: Design of Learning Environments
EDUC 639: Ed Tech Topics. Students may take any course numbered EDUC 639 as long as the topic is different each time. Topics have included:
EDUC 639: AI in Education
EDUC 639: Apple Teacher Certificate
EDUC 639: ChatGPT and& AI Chatbots
EDUC 639: Computational Thinking
EDUC 639: Digital Assessment Strategies
EDUC 639: E-book Authoring
EDUC 639: ePortfolio Web Design
EDUC 639: Google Apps in Education
EDUC 639: Google Workplace
EDUC 639: Instructional Design
EDUC 639: iPad Application Development
EDUC 639: iPad Apps for Educators
EDUC 639: Mobile Web Design
EDUC 639: Societal Implications of AI
EDUC 639: YouTube
Block 4. Internship and Exit Requirements
Every EDTC student must log a minimum of 50 hours working on field-based practicum experiences and internships. Students work with their advisor to complete the Application for Educational Technology Internship or Practicum form in order to gain approval for each internship or practicum activity. The program culminates in an action research project that the candidate submits in the form of a research paper or thesis at the end of the program. In order to be cleared for graduation, the candidate must pass all seven of the EDTC program assessments.
Performances
Regardless of which specific courses the students elect to take, all EDTC degree candidates must complete the following performances:
- Multimedia eLearning Environment. This is a multimedia web in which candidates create a blended learning environment using multiple methods of assessment including collaborative learning.
- Needs Assessment. This is a term paper with a literature review that candidates write during their first year in the program. It establishes the need for school or building-level improvements in the educational technology infrastructure, including teacher professional development, research-based best practices and learner characteristics of all students.
- Curriculum Project. This is field experience during which candidates keep a reflective journal documenting plans, experiences and improvements made in a local school or workplace setting.
- Instructional Design: The candidate designs and develops one or more lessons or modules on a topic of strategic importance to the curriculum of the local school or workplace. ISTE-C candidates must create teacher professional development informed by the principles of adult learning.
- School or Workplace Technology Plan: This is a strategic plan that explains how the local school or workplace will go about achieving strategic goals by using technology to provide instruction, collect data and evaluate results in order to determine the extent to which standards have been met. The plan includes a work schedule, hardware and software configuration, a proposed budget and a budget explanation.
- Action Research Project: This is a major research paper that the candidate writes toward the end of the master’s program. In an action research project, the candidate conducts a local experiment in order to determine whether a nationally recognized best practice implemented in the local school or workplace can achieve results akin to those described in the research literature.
- National Standards Capstone ePortfolio: In the capstone ePortfolio, the candidate submits artifacts documenting achievements in each ISTE or AECT standards domain. For each standard, the candidate explains the manner in which the artifact(s) address the criteria.
Field-based Clinical Experiences and Internships
Throughout their program of study, students in the EDTC program gain valuable field experiences by applying the theories and techniques of educational technology in practical workplace settings. For teachers enrolled in the program, these field experiences take place in K-12 schools, where the emphasis is on integrating technology effectively into the curriculum. EDTC students preparing to work in industry complete internships in local companies, typically designing instructional materials for use in corporate training. Because the state of Delaware is home to thousands of national corporations, the EDTC program is able to offer internships across a broad spectrum of industries that provide a rich array of educational technology projects for student interns.
Field Experience Assessment Strategies
The field experience is evaluated by external reviewers according to one of two rubrics. Teachers are evaluated with a rubric that aligns with ISTE standards and all other candidates are assessed through a rubric aligned with AECT standards.
EDTC students work with their advisor to complete the Application for Educational Technology Internship or Practicum Form in order to gain approval for each internship or practicum activity. For each activity, EDTC students keep a reflective journal in an electronic portfolio in which they describe their internship goals and objectives, log their progress toward attaining these goals and collect artifacts including concept maps, storyboards, web designs, work plans, WebQuests, workshops, multimedia productions and evaluations of their project’s effectiveness. Each student must log a minimum of 50 hours working on field-based practicum experiences and internships.
Forms
During your study in the EDTC program, you will need to fill out a few forms. These forms are described in the following sections, which provide links to download each form.
Application for Educational Technology Internship or Practicum
As noted in the EDTC program assessment plan, all EDTC students must carry out an action research project (assessment #5) and create a technology plan (assessment #7) in an actual school or workplace setting. In order to obtain approval for this activity to take place in the local school or workplace setting, the student must complete the Application for Educational Technology Internship or Practicum. The person identified on this form as the “Local Supervisor” will serve as the external evaluator of the student’s research project and technology plan.
Graduate Transfer of Credit Form
With permission of the advisor, the candidate may transfer up to nine credits of graduate coursework earned at another institution or at UD prior to being admitted to the EDTC program. In order to qualify for such a transfer, these credits must not have been applied to or counted as part of any other degree, license or certification program. To initiate such a transfer, the candidate must complete and submit the Graduate Transfer of Credit Form.
Application for Advanced Degree Form
Last but certainly not least comes the Application for Advanced Degree Form, which the candidate must submit during the first week of the semester in which the candidate plans to graduate.