eLearning: Rotation of Courses / Course Descriptions

The Designing eLearning Environments (DeE) certificate program is a sequence of three fully online courses – there are no face-to-face meetings or scheduled activities. All three courses are required for the DeE certificate. One cohort starts every August and another cohort starts every January. You cannot join a cohort once it is underway.

This is a very intensive program. Each course is six graduate-level credit hours completed over 15 weeks. Learning these skills takes time and commitment. The three courses are outlined below:

First Semester

IT 5660: Designing and Teaching in eLearning Environments
Credits: 6
In this hands-on course, you will learn to use tools and strategies to design and teach in eLearning environments. You'll work with eLearning tools like Adobe Connect, Moodle and eCollege and will learn to facilitate online instruction through a team approach. The course covers critical aspects of designing and teaching an online course, such as:
- planning a successful online learning experience (both group-paced and self-paced instruction);
- designing eLearning materials and resources;
- being an effective online teacher, including leading, managing, and assessing online discussions (both asynchronous and synchronous);
- getting the most out of a course management system; and
- assessing course effectiveness.

Second Semester

IT 5670: Developing eLearning Instruction
Credits: 6
In this applied course, you will begin to build an online learning course (the one you planned during IT 5660) while developing basic skills with XHTML, CSS, and Web and multimedia eLearning authoring tools like Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Flash. You will learn how to enhance online courses by incorporating interactivity, content management, and multimedia design strategies as you expand your skills with Moodle and Adobe Connect.

Third Semester

IT 5680: Integrating Media in eLearning Environments
Credits: 6
You will acquire advanced skills with Web and multimedia eLearning authoring tools like Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Flash as you complete the development of the online learning course you planned during IT 5660 and developed in IT 5670. You will be involved in peer review of online learning course products developed by other students in the course.

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eLearning Design and Implementation (eDI) MA program

The first year of the eLearning Design and Implementation (eDI) MA program is composed of the the three online courses listed above that make up the Designing eLearning Environments certificate program.

In the second year of the eDI MA program, you will take six three credit hour courses as follows:

Fourth Semester for August cohorts; Sixth Semester for January cohorts

IT 5650: Policies and Planning for eLearning Programs
Credits: 3
This course provides the “big picture” of leadership for eLearning within an organization. You and your classmates will survey a number of trends, issues, and considerations related to planning, running, and evaluating programs. You will review and share current research in key distance-education journals; interview and complete a profile of an eLearning practitioner; complete a collaborative project investigating a trend of interest; and engage in or observe a change effort related to eLearning within an organization.
IT 5130: Instructional Message Design
Credits: 3
You will study the principles and practices for designing instructional messages based on cognitive sciences. The class revolves around the practice of multimedia including audio, graphics, and video. You will both critique instructional messages on their application of design principles studying principles of perception, attention, concepts, and persuasion. Not only will you critique, but you will work both individually and within teams to create instructional multimedia messages. For a major project, you will design an instructional unit utilizing multimedia.

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Fifth Semester for August cohorts; Fourth Semester for January cohorts

IT 6720: Research in Information and Learning Technologies
Credits: 3
Some problems of practice are important enough to warrant sustained inquiry. After articulating a problem and defining a set of guiding research questions, you will review professional literature, collect and analyze data, and interpret findings concerning a problem of practice. Based on your findings you will then recommend or implement a set of actions to improve conditions and impact local practice. Some possible areas of focus for research are:
- A usability study of the online course you planned and developed in the Certificate courses;
- Effectiveness/learning impact of the online course you created in the Certificate courses;
- The learning effectiveness of various eLearning strategies, tools (like Web 2.0 technologies), techniques and/or methods;
- The impact of policy changes your organization, company or unit is making on eLearning practices;
- Needs assessment for planned programs or supports; and
- Market, usage, or evaluation studies of eLearning programs.
IT 6740: Learning Processes in Instructional Technology
Credits: 3
You will examine learning processes while studying the application of new web-based, and media-based applications (e.g., blogs, RSS, wikis, video and so on). Each kind of application will provide you with a set of learning processes to meet the instructional needs of you learners. The basis of your study of the processes is the concept of social learning, building on the strengths of new web-based communication systems.

Sixth Semester for August cohorts; Fifth Semester for January cohorts

IT 5160: Managing Information and Learning Technologies Programs
Credits: 3
The focus of this class is on the management of eLearning projects. Through the project-based work you do as a member of a team, you will develop a number of skills including:
- management of time, personnel, and resources;
- meeting client needs and expectations;
- communication with team and client;
- information design;
- interaction design; and
- project problem solving.
Elective
Credits: 3
You will have a variety of options available to you from which to choose.

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