EDCT-GE 2015 User Experience Design

Examines cognitive & cultural issues related to the design of learning environments and educational tools. Students will apply human-centered design methods, UX and HCI principles including conducting user research, ideating, sketching, prototyping, and iterating based on user feedback. Students study these methods through group work, critical examination & evaluation of examples, in discussions, and individual assignments.

EDCT-GE 2520 User Research Methods (* Research on Simulations, Games and Apps for Learning)

Introduction to user research design, using simulations, games, and other digital tools as products. Learn how to choose the appropriate approach (user research, evaluation, or efficacy research) & the appropriate methods (surveys, interviews, think-aloud protocols, video research, biometrics, user analytics, or A/B testing). Reading assignments, class discussions, & case studies will be used to discuss the purpose, design, & setup of these methods & to prepare students to design & execute their own user research for a product of their choice.

EDCT-GE 2500 Games and Play in Education

Games are becoming ever-present in educational settings, with classrooms incorporating both commercial & educational games in curriculum, & educational technologists becoming ever more interested in developing “serious” or educational games. However, there are still many unknowns, such as, what genres of games may best be used for certain kinds of learning, & how we can go about studying how games affect players & learners. This course will prepare students to: understand the history of educational video games, & what shaped the development of certain genres; identify theories of learning & play; & describe how they relate to the educational potential of video games; analyze & evaluate commercial & educational video games; & design educational video games with history, theory, learning outcomes, & learner characteristics in mind.

EDCT-GE 2158 Design Process for Learning Experiences

Students will gain experience using learning design processes to design effective and powerful learning experiences, including all phases of the design process and drawing from instructional design, human-centered design, design thinking and user research.  This course bridges theory and practice by examining the theoretical underpinnings that serve to inform the field, including perspectives from cognitive science, developmental and social psychology, and the learning sciences. Emphasis will be placed on real-world examples, case studies, and experiential learning.

EDCT-GE 2095  Capstone Thesis

Candidates for the Master of Arts degree conduct their MA Capstone Thesis project, required of all candidates for the degree in the LTXD and G4L programs. The purpose of the capstone thesis project is to give students nearing graduation the opportunity to integrate and apply what they have gained through previous academic coursework and field experiences to major culminating projects while being supervised by ECT faculty members. Options for capstone thesis projects include design and development projects, research studies, and scholarly inquiry papers. 

EDCT-GE 2116 EdTech Entrepreneurship

This course is a truly unique opportunity to learn from industry experts, case studies and through field work with an edtech startup. The course, taught by edtech entrepreneurs, Jonathan Harber and Betsey Schmidt. 

You will create a case study on a startup company, hear from guest experts including startup founders, education leaders, policy-makers and funders, explore already developed in-depth case studies and gain an understanding of the opportunities and challenges of the educational marketplace from early learning to lifelong learning. We are looking for a diverse mix of students across multiple disciplines and skills sets. 

EDCT-GE 2040 Social Media in Learning Environments (SMILES)

This blended (classroom & online) course introduces students to some of the important topics when using social media in learning environments. Key controversial topics related to social media in learning environments are examined, such as: privacy versus sharing public learning content; individual versus collaborative learning; “traditional” learning versus knowledge-building communities; & social engagement/activism within interconnected learning communities. This course introduces students to the conceptual frameworks, research literature content, & ideation required for deeper engagement with emerging & future tools for work & play in socially mediated learning environments.

EDCT-GE 2252 Theories and Principles of Learning Analytics 

Advances in computing, internet, and sensing technologies are changing our relationship to data in all areas of life, including education and learning. Large quantities of detailed information is now routinely collected as part of our interaction with digital learning tools and social media, and tools for data collection in physical spaces are rapidly becoming more affordable and less intrusive. This creates exciting opportunities to generate insight that can help us better understand and improve learning, but it also raises questions about data rights, validity issues for different data-based inferences, and more broadly concerns about what the utilization of this data may mean for education and society. Importantly, the increasing prevalence and pervasiveness of data means that in the near future, critically assessing and making informed decisions about data use will be part of every education-related occupation.

Learning Analytics & Data Science in Education provides an introduction to uses of data in education that will help students develop their ability to evaluate data sources, perform analyses and critically evaluate applications of data use in real world educational situations. The course weaves together three strands of focus: a conceptual concern with selecting and interpreting data-based information, a technical emphasis on working with data and performing analyses, and a societal lens on understanding the opportunities, challenges and concerns that such data use presents. There are no prerequisites for this course and no previous experience in statistics, computer science or data manipulation is expected; however, students will be introduced to and asked to work with a selected set of data analysis tools and techniques during the course.

EDCT-GE 2200 Digital Design for Museum-Based Learning

Examine digital media for learning in museums (e.g., XR, games, mobile apps, and more). Activities include hands-on exhibit design projects (group and individual), student presentations, museum visits, and case studies. Apply learning theories and design frameworks to analyze an existing museum exhibit, or design your own. Home skills in user research, rapid prototyping, public piloting, iterative design, and securing resources. Accept the challenge of stepping out of your academic comfort zone and developing your own professional success measures.

EDCT-GE 2197 Media Practicum: Field Internships

Students are placed in field internships in a variety of professions related to Digital Media Design for Learning including product development, user experience, instructional design, educational technology, media design and development and educational research. . Students learn through supervised participation in professional settings including corporate, cultural, communications, non-profit, health, K-12 and Higher Education., among others.

EDCT-GE 2211 Professional Applications of Educational Media and Technology

This course provides an overview of the field with a focus on identifying personal and professional goals and career pathways. Through guest speakers, site visits, reflective learning, and career-building activities (e.g. resume, portfolio, and networking workshops) students will gain an appreciation for the types of qualifications, skills, and mindsets related to various careers in the field. This is an intensive exploratory hands-on course.  

EDCT-GE 2554 EdTech UX Studio: Design for a Client*

(*pre-requisite EDCT-GE 2015 User Experience Design)

Working with a real-world client, students will work collaboratively on an integrated design project to imagine creative solutions to emergent problems, think critically, communicate effectively & manage both human and material resources. On teams with graduate student peers, faculty, and external clients students will develop skills to understand, empathize & ‘frame’ client challenges & opportunities. Students will present solutions to problems and opportunities, and iterate based on feedback. This class builds on topics and skills (UX tools and methods) covered in EDCT-GE 2015 User Experience Design; students will engage with industry experts, site visits and case studies.

EDCT-GE 2510 Narrative, Digital Media, and Learning

This course addresses the role of narrative when designing serious games, simulations, multimedia, emerging media, learning materials and social media. Narrative forms have been used for teaching and learning given their role in memory, cognition, the engagement of learners, as well as in case studies for learning, teaching, and research. This course explores the design principles and constitutive elements of narrative-centered learning through a variety of authoring tools and platforms.

EDCT-GE UE 1041 Fundamentals of Information Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence (“FITAI”)- undergraduate course

Analysis of the exponential expansion of digital communication and computation and the resultant impact on social interaction, cultural creation, education and business enterprise. Key topics include: cyber security, artificial intelligence, machine learning, neural network architectures, natural language processing, viral information dynamics, block chain technologies, data mining and data analytics. No prerequisites.

EDCT-GE 2113: Learning Design for the Digital Age

Learning designers must take the changing expectations of digital natives with extensive experience with social media, immersive media, and interactive video games and simulations into account in their approach to design. Topics include the dynamics of social media, participatory interactivity, the potential of information overload, peer-linkage processes, the special character of mobile technologies and social networking.

EDCT-GE 2114: Experience Design and Artificial Intelligence

Analysis of the exponential expansion of digital communication and computation and the resultant impact on social interaction, cultural creation, education and business enterprise. Key topics include: artificial intelligence, machine learning, neural network architectures, natural language processing, viral information dynamics, interactive immersive displays, data mining and data analytics.

Tech Studio: Digital Skills for Learning Designers

Digital technologies are now an integral part of the design of a growing number of learning experiences.  Modern learning designers need to master several digital skills to effectively and efficiently embed these new technologies into their designs.  Through modular and personalized learning paths, this course will provide practical training and practice to acquire basic skills in graphic design, audiovisual production and interactive multimedia for novice students or to attain higher levels of mastery for students with previous experience. 

This is an online course with SMALL ZOOM GROUP MEETINGS 1 x per week on Wednesday (the time will be determined by the instructor, based on his and your schedule and which module you choose).

EDCT-GE 2350 Designing Online Learning in Higher Education

Designed for students interested in the evolving fields of online and technologically enhanced pedagogy in all academic and professional disciplines. Course focuses on post-secondary teaching and reviews the fundamental theories & best practices in online instruction including instructional design, assessment techniques, models of peer instruction, learning management systems, evaluating learning modalities, gamification, & interaction design

EDCT-UE 1010 Being Digital: How the Internet Works and Why It Is Important

This course is designed to prepare digital-era students in all fields of study for professional achievement in a technologically sophisticated, global, networked environment. The course is structured around three central elements of “digital literacy” -- 1) human perception & cognition, 2) computers & electronic intelligence, & 2) the network architecture of the digital web. It is a rigorous intellectual introduction to the fundamental principles on which these technologies are based. There are no perquisites & those from the technologically challenged to the techno-geeks are welcome. Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of human attention, how sound waves, light waves & electromagnetic waves work & what computers and routers do. . This is a “flipped course” – what would normally be in-class lectures and demonstrations are available online as curricular modules & can be viewed at students’ convenience (& reviewed as appropriate) much like traditional reading assignments. In-person class sections are used for dialog, discussion & Q & A with the instructor. 

EDCT-GE 2018 Integrating Educational Technology in Teaching & Learning

Prepares students to integrate digital media and technology into learner curricula. Through demonstrations, hands-on use, and application projects, students gain experience with the roles digital tools play to support teaching methods and learning strategies associated with a continuum of learner- and teacher-centered educational approaches and goals. Students develop skills in HTML, podcasting, digital storytelling, use of Web 2.0 tools (e.g., content management systems, social networks, e-portfolios), digital video, and virtual worlds, and common software packages in order to design and formatively assess engaging learning communities.

EDCT-GE 2031 Educational Technology in a Global Context

This course is designed to review how design issues interact with the dynamically evolving global context. Topics include: What does it mean to think globally? How do global dynamics affect career trajectories? What are the key cultural and curricular differences that divide the world? Globalization positives and negatives. The cultural homogenization thesis. The neocolonialism thesis. How educational norms and institutions vary across the globe. Are there lessons to be learned from the global commercial gaming industry? Communicating across cultural boundaries. NGOs and the future of global networks. Rethinking design issues in a global context including the “Digital Divide,” mobile technology in the developing world, the ICT4D and appropriate technology initiatives. Course activities include individual and collaborative design projects applying key concepts from course materials.

EDCT-GE 2174 Foundations of Cognitive Sciences

Introduction to cognitive science applied to teaching, learning, and the design of instructional media. Readings include developments in cognitive science and analysis of instructional programs developed in a cognitive science framework. The design and implementation of cognitive learning and teaching strategies are examined through class demonstrations, discussions, online activities, readings and projects. 

EDCT-GE 2175 Foundations of the Learning Sciences

This course focuses on the social and cultural issues of learning as they relate to individual and group cognition in the context of media-rich technology learning environments. I The course delves deeply into constructivism/constructionism, scaffolding, apprenticeship, distributed cognition, computer-supported collaborative learning, knowledge-building communities, the learning sciences, perspectivity and identity formation as they relate to the creation of successful and equitable learning environments for diverse populations of learners. 

EDCT-GE 2197 Media Practicum: Field Internships

Students are placed in field internships in a variety of professions related to digital media design for learning including product development, user experience, instructional design, educational technology, media design and development and educational research. Students learn through supervised participation in professional settings including corporate, cultural, communications, non-profit, health, K-12 and higher education, among others.

EDCT-GE 2211 Professional Applications of Educational Media and Technology (J Term)

This course provides an overview of the broader field of educational media and technology with a focus on identifying personal and professional goals in relation to various career pathways and trends in the field. Through guest speakers, site visits, reflective learning, and research activities students will gain an appreciation for the types of qualifications, skills and mindsets related to various career pathways.

EDCT-GE 2300 Independent Study

An independent study requires a minimum of 45 hours of work per unit. Independent study cannot be applied to the established professional education sequence in teaching curricula. Each departmental program has established its own maximum credit allowance for independent study. This information may be obtained from a student’s department. Prior to registering for independent study, each student should obtain an Independent Study Approval Form from the adviser.

EDCT-GE 2505 Designing Simulations/Games for Learning

Examines the potential of various genres of simulation and games (both analog and digital) as learning technologies through readings, discussion, play, design, and research. Literacy, identity, genre, interactivity, play, story, emotions, presence, and information visualization are among the cultural and cognitive concepts covered in this course. Student-selected assignments typically include reflections on game and simulation play, integrating games and simulations in formal learning environments, designing and developing prototypes of educational games and simulations, and conducting short exploratory research.

EDCT-GE 2510 Narrative, Digital Media, and Learning

This course addresses the role of narrative when designing serious games, simulations, multimedia, emerging media, learning materials and social media.. Narrative forms have been used for teaching and learning given their role in memory, cognition, the engagement of learners, as well as in case studies for learning, teaching, and research. This course explores the design principles and constitutive elements of narrative-centered learning through a variety of authoring tools and platforms. 

EDCT-GE 2251 Introduction to Coding for Learning Designers

In this course, students will learn HTML, CSS, and Javascript while gaining hands-on experience with issues that are specific to coding and designing educational applications and web-based instructional materials. Students will learn the skills required to develop websites and design applications that work across devices. Furthermore, students will explore the affordances that the web and multimedia offers a learning designer, how to apply various perspectives on learning and how to build interactive prototypes and wireframes. No knowledge of programming is assumed.

EDCT- GE 2260 Building Artificial Intelligence Applications for Education

In this course, students develop the technical and computational skills needed to create artificial intelligence applications that respond to real educational needs. The course explores the computational approaches needed to design and use algorithms to capture and automatically analyze data produced during online or face-to-face learning activities and to implement applications that provide feedback to the stakeholders of the learning process. As part of the course, students independently create a prototype AI application to address a real educational need.

EDCT-GE 3311 Doctoral Content Seminar

This seminar examines the challenge of artfully framing research questions and hypotheses and then matching them to appropriate qualitative and quantitative methodologies. In addition to common readings, students identify and individually research articles related to their research interests and critically assess the studies. The major task is to develop a research proposal that informs the direction of the student’s candidacy papers and serves as an initial draft of their dissertation.

This seminar is designed to draw together doctoral students at the level of pre or post candidacy paper, dissertation proposal and dissertation-in-process to share their experiences. The seminar title: “When Theory Meets Data” is designed to signal the centrally important challenge of artfully framing research questions and hypotheses and then matching them to appropriate qualitative and quantitative methodologies. 

The seminar has two parallel tracks each addressed in each class meeting. The first track is a semi-formal curriculum addressing theory and method in the learning sciences. The second track is an opportunity for doctoral students to present their work in progress to be critiqued and reviewed by the class and instructor. The two tracks will be coordinated as closely as is practical given the distribution and development stages of student projects. Additional class activities will include active review/evaluation assignments for actual journals and conferences.

DM-GY 9103 Tangible Electronics for Teaching & Learning

Students will gain an understanding of theoretical frameworks and best practices for undertaking a practice-based research project in educational technology, including analyzing a learning context, identifying learning objectives, conducting primary research, and working collaboratively with a “client” in the field to develop and iterate on their designs. Further, students will learn techniques for rapid prototyping and gain an overview of physical computing, including how to use microcontrollers to interface with sensors and actuators, in order to implement their designs and gain feedback.

EDCT-UE 1010 Being Digital: How the Internet Works/Why It Is Important (undergraduate course)

This course is designed to prepare digital-era students in all fields of study for professional achievement in a technologically sophisticated, global, networked environment. The course is structured around three central elements of “digital literacy” -- 1) human perception & cognition, 2) computers & electronic intelligence, & 2) the network architecture of the digital web. It is a rigorous intellectual introduction to the fundamental principles on which these technologies are based. There are no perquisites & those from the technologically challenged to the techno-geeks are welcome. Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of human attention, how sound waves, light waves & electromagnetic waves work & what computers and routers do. . This is a “flipped course” – what would normally be in-class lectures and demonstrations are available online as curricular modules & can be viewed at students’ convenience (& reviewed as appropriate) much like traditional reading assignments. In-person class sections are used for dialog, discussion & Q & A with the instructor.