School of Education
M.Ed. in Educational Technology
Open to educators and non-educators alike, the M.Ed. in Educational Technology (EDTC) program provides a theoretical and practical grounding in educational technology methods and techniques, emphasizing theories of teaching and learning that support these methods. Electives provide practical experience with emerging technologies, mobile web design, eLearning, social media, assistive technology, virtual reality, and e-book authoring and publishing. Career trajectories for graduates include eLearning Developer, Instructional Designer, Curriculum Development Specialist, Instructional Technologist, Training and Development Specialist, and Technology Coach.
To demonstrate mastery of the program’s goals, all candidates for this degree complete seven assessments, including an action research project. Depending on the candidate’s career path, these assessments are evaluated by rubrics developed according to standards of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) or the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). Candidates who hold a basic teaching license follow the ISTE standards, while candidates from higher education, government, and industry are assessed via rubrics based on the five AECT standards.
This program is offered in-person or online. The School of Education online education programs are ranked among the top 30 programs nationally by US News & World Report.
Background
In 1998, the University of Delaware created an educational technology specialization within the Master of Education program in Curriculum and Instruction. Since its inception, the educational technology specialization has been a popular program that is growing in importance as all levels of education, especially K-12 schools, work to integrate technology across the curriculum.
In 2005, the University of Delaware elevated the educational technology specialization to the status of an M.Ed. concentration, not only to recognize the increasingly strategic importance of this field in our society, but also to respond to the students’ most frequent request related to this program, which is to have the title “Educational Technology” appear on their transcripts as evidence that the candidates completed a degree program in educational technology.
In 2015, the Faculty Senate approved a program revision that aligns the EDTC program with new educational technology standards issued by both ISTE and AECT.
National Educational Technology Standards
Both the ISTE and AECT standards are informed by a knowledge base of books and articles from the scholarly literature on educational technology. This theoretical grounding in scholarship fits the School of Education’s view of its faculty and students as reflective practitioners who learn from the experience of others in developing their own reflective practice. Appropriate readings from the ISTE and AECT knowledge bases are assigned and interwoven throughout the various courses in the EDTC program.
In preparing their program performances, candidates who hold a basic teaching license follow the ISTE standards, which are assessed via rubrics through which K-12 teachers exhibit the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to teach technology applications, support student learning, and prepare other teachers to use technology effectively across the curriculum. Candidates from higher education, government, and industry are assessed via rubrics based on the five AECT standards involving content knowledge, pedagogy, learning environments, professional skills, and research.
Learn more about these standards:
- ISTE Standards for technology coaches
- AECT Standards for ed tech specialists
- Additional information on national standards
Facilities
The University of Delaware provides an excellent base of library and instructional media services in support of the EDTC program. As first-place winner of the national EDUCAUSE award for campus networking, UD offers EDTC students one of the nation’s finest technological infrastructures. All classrooms are wired for high-speed Internet access and are equipped for multimedia computer projection. Wireless hotspots cover the campus, and state-of-the-art computer labs make computer access ubiquitous. The award-winning Morris Library houses one of the country’s richest print and electronic research collections enhanced by a state-of-the-art multimedia production facility to which all EDTC students have access. The University of Delaware houses computer labs that are freely available to students in the EDTC program. An increasing number of EDTC students, however, are acquiring laptops and tablets to use in lieu of computers in the campus labs. Students with mobile devices appreciate the UD network registration infrastructure, which enables each device’s MAC address to be registered for use on campus with the same level of network access as computers in the labs.
The EDTC master’s program has two formats: face-to-face or online.
Face-to-face classes meet weekly in a physical classroom space on the University of Delaware’s main campus in Newark, Delaware. Classroom attendance is required for students enrolled in the face-to-face program.
Online classes take place on the Web. Most of the courses are asynchronous, which means that there are no scheduled times when students must meet together online. A few of the courses, however, have occasional synchronous meeting times when all of the students log on to UD’s videoconferencing network. These weekly Web meetings happen in the evenings, typically on Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday. Specific dates are listed each term in the schedule of courses.
Note: The University of Delaware is required to comply with state and federal laws regarding the delivery of distance education. For more information, follow this link to the University’s State Authorization page.
Program Requirements
Students admitted to the M.Ed. in Educational Technology (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 6 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.
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.
- EDUC 638: Learning Technologies Across the Curriculum
- EDUC 650: Technology and Cognition
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 & 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 656: eLearning
- EDUC 692: Educational Technology Capstone
- EDUC 639: ePortfolio Web Design
- EDUC 639: Google Apps in Education
- EDUC 639: Google Sites in Education
- EDUC 639: iPad Apps for Educators
- EDUC 639: iPad Application Development
- EDUC 639: Mobile eBook Authoring
- EDUC 639: Mobile Web Design
- 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 762: Examining Multimodal Literacy
- EDUC 777: Fostering Technology Based Collaboration
- EDUC 815: Design of Learning Environments
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.
Regardless of which specific courses the students elect to take, all M.Ed. in Educational Technology (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 M.Ed. in Educational Technology (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.
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.
The University of Delaware Conceptual Framework for Professional Education Programs explains that the University “prepares educators with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that are required to fulfill the responsibilities of an uncompromised commitment to serving the needs and interests of students, families, and communities”. The M.Ed. in Educational Technology (EDTC) program embodies this framework by empowering students to use educational technology to improve teaching and learning across K-12 (ISTE) as well as higher education and the corporate enterprise (AECT). By assigning appropriate readings from the ISTE and AECT knowledge bases throughout the curriculum, the EDTC program incorporates a rich scholarly resource to which participants turn to discover best practices, recommendations, and results from the field’s leading researchers and practitioners.
By mentoring students through all five stages of the instructional systems design (ISD) process, the EDTC program creates graduates who are able to (1) design, (2) develop, (3) utilize, (4) manage, and (5) evaluate solutions to educational problems. Through this process, EDTC students learn that understandings are constructed, not given. By experiencing all five stages of the ISD process in the EDTC program assessment plan, students discover that what works under one set of circumstances does not necessarily work in another. Instead, these understandings must be continually adapted, revised, and evaluated.
Inclusion and Diversity
Inclusion and diversity are key words in the SOE conceptual framework. The EDTC program supports these goals by fostering the belief that educational technology can and should be used to meet the needs of all students, regardless of special needs, age, race, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. The School’s assistive technology faculty participate actively in the EDTC program. Many EDTC students take one or more special education technology electives, and all EDTC students learn to observe the accessibility standards of the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Section 508 Web Accessibility Standards. EDTC students create online learning communities that reach beyond classrooms to local and global communities in order to foster continuous growth and reflection.
Scholars, Problem Solvers, and Partners
In summary, the EDTC program embodies the SOE conceptual framework by producing graduates who are (1) scholars grounded in the ISTE and AECT knowledge bases of best practices, pedagogical content knowledge, and knowledge informed by state and national standards; (2) problem solvers knowledgeable and skilled in designing, developing, utilizing, managing, and evaluating solutions to educational problems; and (3) partners experienced in forming relationships through mutual support, respect, and the shared enjoyment that comes from solving problems together.
The M.Ed. in Educational Technology (EDTC) program contains two tracks. Each track is aligned with national educational technology standards. The program tracks are:
Approximately half of the candidates who enroll in the EDTC program are K-12 teachers. The other half consists of candidates who aspire to educational technology careers in higher education, government, and industry. In order to accommodate the needs of both constituencies, the EDTC program has two rubrics for each performance. One rubric is based on the AECT standards, and the other follows the ISTE standards for coaches. ISTE is recognized as a specialized professional association (SPA) by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), which is the agency that accredits the teacher education programs at the University of Delaware and other leading schools of education.
AECT Standards
AECT stands for Association for Educational Communications and Technology. The AECT was founded in 1923. The AECT maintains a knowledge base of educational technology. Readings from this knowledge base are incorporated throughout the courses in the EDTC program.
A quick way to review the AECT Standards is to review the EDTC alignment matrix for AECT. This matrix depicts graphically the manner in which the EDTC program embodies the AECT standards. More detailed information is provided in the EDTC rubrics, which list the specific performances required of EDTC candidates for each AECT standard.
ISTE-C Standards
ISTE stands for International Society for Technology in Education. It is a major non-profit association that is working to advance the effective use of technology in K-12 education and teacher education. ISTE maintains a knowledge base of educational technology that is incorporated throughout the courses in the EDTC program.
A quick way to review the ISTE Standards for Coaches is to review the EDTC alignment matrix for ISTE-C. This matrix depicts graphically the manner in which the EDTC program supports the ISTE-C standards. More detailed information is provided in the EDTC rubrics, which list the specific performances required of EDTC candidates for each ISTE-C standard.
CAEP Standards
The University of Delaware’s teacher preparation programs are accredited through the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).
To apply to the M.Ed. in Educational Technology program, complete the steps of the UD online graduate application process. Specific admissions requirements are:
- A bachelor’s degree in a field relevant to the applicant’s proposed program.
- An undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
- GRE scores are NOT required.
- A minimum TOEFL score of 100 (iBT), 600 (paper-based test) or 250 (computer-based test) from applicants whose first language is not English, or a minimum IELTS score of 7.0. The program also accepts a minimum score of 4.5 on the iTEP Academic Plus test. This program participates in the Graduate Conditional Admissions Program, and students who have close to the required language proficiency scores can elect to enroll in CAP prior to admission in the master’s program.
- Three letters of recommendation testifying to the applicant’s academic abilities.
- A complete program application including a written essay describing goals and objectives.
Deadlines
Applicants must submit completed applications by:
- Fall: August 15
- Winter: December 10
- Spring: January 23
- Summer: May 27
The EDTC master’s program has two formats: online or face-to-face. In both formats, candidates pay the same graduate tuition rate. In 2022-23, this rate is $773 per credit.
For information about graduate tuition, visit CEHD’s graduate tuition page.
During your study in the M.Ed. in Educational Technology (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 (9) 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 intitate 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.
