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Technology for Educators
MSEd - Technology for Educators
This Master of Science in Education (MSEd) concentration prepares educators and related professionals to use a broad range of technologies in their multiple roles as teacher, mentor, facilitator, researcher, change agent, as well as lifelong learner. The program is aligned with national and state standards for educational technology, as well as learning theories from the National Academies of Science's initiatives on the new science of learning. The knowledge base within the Technology for Educators program comes from both existing and emerging methods for effective technology training, including policy, practice, research, wisdom, theory, and legislation. Hands-on experiences and classroom activities help participants understand and apply research and best practices on how technology can be used to improve schools and organizations and increase student achievement. Candidates gain competencies in instructional leadership, systems change, integrating technology into instruction, and universal design for learning.
Throughout the program, candidates develop an electronic portfolio that showcases the technology artifacts created in each course and within their own professional work. The artifacts are mapped to competencies and standards established through the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), the Maryland State Department of Education, and additional technology competencies identified by faculty at the Johns Hopkins University. Candidates follow a defined course of study with an individualized internship developed around current work schedules and collaboratively designed to provide an opportunity to pursue a specialized skill set. Participation in online forums, web-based learning communities, collaborative projects, and professional mentoring experiences are an integral part of the program.
This program, which has been approved by the International Society for Technology in Education, does not lead to initial teacher certification by the Maryland State Department of Education.
Program Plan
Number of Credits Required: 36
Core Requirements (9 credits)
893.601 Evaluation and Research of Technology Supported Interventions and Programs
In this course students learn and practice the skills necessary to evaluate the use of instructional technology in educational settings. The course covers a range of alternative and mixed methods for data collection, such as observation, interviewing, the use of surveys, and analysis of data. Students develop an evaluation plan that can be implemented in their own educational settings and demonstrates their ability to select and/or develop appropriate metrics to identify the impact of technology in the teaching-learning process. Students use empirical methods to describe, explore, and/or explain the relationships between technology and program and/or individual outcomes.
893.800 Graduate Internship in Instructional Technology
The graduate internship provides students the opportunity to individualize their program experience, to sharpen existing skills, to gain new skills, and to pursue their technology interests. The internship is designed to produce a professional, customized learning experience that stretches the student through his/her participation in the development, design, implementation, or evaluation of high-quality technology products, projects, or services. Internships are aligned to individual student’s schedules and can include collaborative opportunities with public and private sector organizations and agencies that have local, regional, national, or international interests.
893.701 Advanced Seminar in 21st Century Skills
The graduate seminar is the capstone course in the Technology for Educators and Technology in Special Education master's degree programs. The seminar reflects students' individual mastery for using technology with 21st Century skills and the new science of learning. Capstone projects showcase the products and skills developed in the core courses through the development of an electronic professional portfolio. Student seminar projects may be an article submitted for publication, a research or grant proposal, a technology product, or any other approved product. The goals of the seminar are to engage and support participants in collaborative spirited discussions that lead to understanding the historical, cognitive, technical, political, and sociological issues involved in the effective use of computers in education and particularly in the integration of technology into instruction and/or the application of assistive technology devices and services. The course concludes with multimedia presentations of students' projects before a panel of their peers and faculty.
Concentration Requirements
893.515 Hardware, Operating Systems, and Networking for Schools
Students in this hands-on course will examine major computer hardware, operating systems, and networking used in educational settings and address issues related to computer ethics and network security. Topics include system architecture, central processing unit capacities, communication standards, storage mediums, features and functions of operating systems, applications of electronic mail and databases, and the fundamentals of networking and the uses of classroom computers connected to local area networks and wide area networks. Students learn how to design, manage, and evaluate a variety of hardware configurations for individualized access to computing in labs, classrooms, and media centers.
893.508 Technology and the Science of Learning
New technologies are part of the intellectual landscape in which new kinds of knowledge are breaking down the boundaries of previous distinct disciplines. The design and use of new technologies make possible new approaches to learning, new contexts for leaning, new tools to support learning, and new understandings of the dynamics of the learning process itself. This course examines the role of technology relative to the key concepts of active learning, metacognition, and transfer of knowledge from multidisciplinary perspectives on learning. Based on the new science of learning, students will develop and implement technology related strategies that align instructional technology to standards-based instruction, teach problem solving and higher-order thinking skills, promote cooperative learning, and use reflective teaching and inductive approaches to increase student achievement.
893.634 Technology Leadership for School Improvement
Education leaders need to understand the use of technology for teaching, learning, and managing their school environment. These skills include schoolwide technology planning and leadership that incorporate instructional design, curriculum integration with standards, logistics of technology implementation, professional development, and evaluation. Students will develop an understanding of how to create and support technological change through a systems approach. Topics include sources of resistance to change, tools for planning, decision making and change, creating and supporting a culture for learning and change, and managing and institutionalizing change systems.
893.563 Multimedia Tools for Instruction
Students examine applications of multimedia, including video image capture and multimedia production tools. Students investigate storage issues, standards, security, networking capabilities, data compression, animation, and incorporation into existing applications. Participants develop projects that integrate multimedia applications into effective instruction.
893.628 Gaming and Media Design for Learning
This course provides an overview of the learning theories behind game and simulation design, and how emerging technologies found in the commercial gaming arena can be applied for educational effect. The past and present application of virtual environments and 3-D modeling in education will be explored, with a view toward the projected future use of these technologies to engage students in tomorrow's schools. This course brings together cultural, business, government, and technical perspectives on developing and integrating electronic gaming techniques and technologies to enhance and enrich learning. Course participants will develop an understanding of the current trends (technical and sociological) in computer and console gaming, and what can be learned and applied from the world of gaming to positively affect teaching and learning.
893.545 Integrating Media into Standards-Based Curriculum
Participants explore the possible ways technology can be integrated into the core standards being developed on a national level. Technology enhanced progress tracking, evaluation and measurement tools are explored from both a hardware and software perspective. Online resources utilized to enhance curriculum and classroom learning are investigated, evaluated and discussed in an open forum. Students explore untapped technology resources and work collaboratively to develop instruction that utilizes technology in the K-12 classroom.
893.550 Emerging Issues for Instructional Technology
This course will provide students with an overview of emerging issues in instructional technology. Participants will be exposed to emerging issues for Internet-based education, including captology, digital libraries, data mining, and the use of neural networks for enhancing instructional delivery by bringing information to teachers, working with meta-tagging and objects in virtual Web-based environments, and using data as a base for making instructional decisions in schools respectively.
893.632 Data-Driven Decision-Making for Schools and Organizations
The increasing impact of a knowledge economy and globalization has been a catalyst to the fields of knowledge management and organizational decision-making. This course is designed to introduce knowledge management concepts into an educational context and to provide an in depth focus on data-driven decision making in educational organizations and institutions. Participants investigate how decisions and strategies are developed and how tacit or explicit knowledge can be identified, captured, structured, valued and shared for effective use. Course topics include leadership and strategic management relative to organizational decision-making, managerial and organizational structures, organizational learning, and decision support systems. A related intent is to develop an understanding of data mining metrics that can be used to create predictive models that support systemic change in schools. Opportunities are provided for participants to use online and electronic tools that can assist in facilitating meaningful conversations about instruction and learning among their school's faculty and staff.
893.645 Designing and Delivering E-Learning Environments
This course explores how educators use online collaborative technology tools in the classroom and in professional development so that all learners achieve at higher levels. Online collaborative tools provide a new set of technologies that focus on the social collaborative aspect of the Internet. These tools include, but are not limited to: learning management systems, wikis, webinars, image repositories, document sharing, and bookmarking tools. The collaboration and interaction aspect of these tools provide novel opportunities for K-12 students to understand rigorous content, think critically, solve problems, collaborate, communicate effectively, and become responsible for their own learning. In addition, the infusion of online collaborative technologies into professional development allows educators the opportunity to utilize methods and strategies for effective collaboration beyond the walls of the schoolhouse. This class will introduce online collaborative tools and, together, participants will explore instructional implications, best practices, and learning activities and objectives that benefit students in the K-12 classroom setting and teachers in their professional development.
