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eLearning: Overview of Programs

Welcome!

This is an exciting time for instructional design and technology professionals – there is a growing demand for people with eLearning expertise and few people with the knowledge and skills to meet the demand.

The Information and Learning Technologies program offers two options for people who are interested in acquiring eLearning expertise:

These two programs are connected.

The three classes that make up the first year of the eLearning Design and Implementation (eDI) program ILT MA degree are the same three classes that students in the Designing eLearning Environments (DeE) certificate program take.

DeE certificate students can choose to continue into the eDI MA program after they complete the certificate program.

  • The eLearning Design and Implementation (eDI) program offers an ILT MA degree that is specifically designed to meet the needs of practicing professional educators as they confront the increasingly important role electronic and online technologies are playing within post-secondary, K-12, and corporate education. This program focuses on both course-level and program-level planning and development.
  • The Designing eLearning Environments (DeE) certificate program focuses specifically on the skills needed to design and facilitate online learning opportunities for learners in K-12, higher education, and corporate settings. This program is perfect for educators who are not interested in a graduate degree. This program focuses on course-level planning and development.

For a more in-depth description of the eLearning program, read an article written by three of our instructors published in Innovate: the Journal of Online Education.

Why these eLearning Programs?

  • Graduates of our eLearning programs assume educational leadership positions in school districts, organizations, and higher education institutions. The eLearning programs will prepare you to work in these settings as an eLearning Specialist, Online Instructional Designer, Online Curriculum Manager, and other positions that require eLearning expertise.
  • The eLearning Design and Implementation MA program builds on a highly successful Designing eLearning Environments certificate program that we have been offering since 1999. We have solid experience designing and facilitating eLearning solutions – experience reflected in our program and course design, learner support services, and advisement. We have served students from the United States, Canada, England, Japan, and India.
  • The design of our programs is based on extensive research and examination of existing graduate programs that emphasize eLearning design and development. Based on this analysis, we are confident that we have created a unique educational opportunity for which we have no competition.
  • We believe that to be good designers of eLearning solutions requires experience as eLearning students and facilitators. In these programs you will receive ample opportunities to experience both.
  • We practice what we preach. We believe that great eLearning solutions involve social interaction and the development of a supportive learning community. To this end, we form students into a cohort of colleagues who progress through the program together. After years of experience, we have found this structure leads to a more rewarding experience for students and faculty. Our course designs also reflect this belief, involving students in a number of collaborative work experiences that reflect the nature of eLearning professional practice.

Who’s teaching it?

Our faculty is comprised of experienced online instructors who have worked in university, corporate, and K-12 settings. Our online instructors have also been the primary developers of the eLearning courses, which means they have an intimate knowledge of the course content as well as online course design.

How does it work?

The eLearning programs will involve you in applied, hands-on projects that develop your eLearning knowledge and skills. Individual professional experiences are highly valued and will form the basis for most of the student projects developed in our programs. Throughout the 36-credit hour MA program or the 18-credit certificate program, you will develop an online portfolio of your work that professionally highlights your expertise.

Besides employing appropriate online instructional and teaching approaches, these programs take advantage of leading eLearning technologies. In either of these programs, you will be exposed to a variety of communication, collaboration, document sharing, multimedia, and course/learning management system technologies, and learn to incorporate them into your own eLearning solutions.

Students in the MA program typically take 6-credit hours per term (fall, spring, and summer), completing their Masters degree in 2 years. Students in the certificate program a take 6-credit course each term (fall, spring, and summer), completing the DeE certificate in one year. The first year of DeE certificate courses are exactly the same courses that students in the eDI MA program take, so certificate students can easily opt to continue a second year of studies to earn their MA.

Program Coordinator

If you have any questions about these programs, please contact Joni Dunlap (email is preferred) or 303-315-4964.

Additional Information About Our eLearning Programs