DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

eLearning and Instructional Design Concentration

 

Concentration Description

 

The eLearning concentration opens a world of professional opportunity as the contemporary landscape of learning increasingly requires a digital component. eLID prepares its graduates to shape the future of any organization whose mission involves learning, including corporate, non-profit, higher education, K-12, and government.  Participants explore fundamental principles of learning, design engaging online and mobile environments, develop new models and strategies for motivating learners, and respond innovatively to societal and institutional changes that impact the field of online and mobile education.

Concentration Value and Distinctiveness

 

The eLID concentration is dedicated to the development of professionals who are creative and visionary leaders in the development of next generation eLearning. 

 

In her opening remarks at the 2013 Educause Learning Initiative conference, Educause President Dr. Diana Oblinger observed that


When many of us started in the field of education we were excited about the possibilities of online learning, and we still are, but online learning may be a term and a concept that's limited by history and perception … Initially online learning was about the digital dissemination of information.  We were in the information age, and e-learning allowed us to get more information faster and more conveniently. 

 

However, we've moved beyond the information age; we are in the connected age. Everyone and everything is connected.  Anyone can participate, and it isn't just about being face-to-face or online, it's a continuum … What does eLearning look like when it shifts from being about information to being about connections? The next step in next generation learning is connected learning.  Source: http://www.educause.edu/eli/events/eli-annual-meeting/2013

 

With this call to action in mind, eLID's forward thinking curriculum provides students with an opportunity to:

 

  1. Study and act upon current research regarding how people learn within networked, mobile, and blended environments;
  2. Design creative, authentic, and evidence-driven online and mobile learning environments that connect learners, resources, and educators; and
  3. Collaborate with diverse stakeholders to achieve results that are forward thinking, rigorous, pedagogically sound, and technologically savvy.

 

eLID: ePortfolios for Integrated Learning

 

eLID integrates coursework with workplace-based experiential learning, fostering connected learning among students, faculty, and employers.  Your work with ePortfolios in the eLID concentration takes place in four phases.  

 

During the first quarter of the program you will consider the program competencies and concentration outscomes, then develop your own individualized professional learning plan.  You will also incorporate signature assignment work into your ePortfolio, author reflections about your learning, and receive feedback from faculty and peers.  The program outcomes and concentration outcomes will serve as a guidestar for excellence; you will use them as a lens for assessing and improving your work.


At the program's midpoint you will take a course entitled "Connecting Theory and Practice."  This course provides you with the opportunity to look for connections across courses, consider opportunities for you to apply what you're learning in your workplace setting, and develop a proposal for an experiential learning project that you will carry out independently in your place of work during the second portion of your program.  If you are not currently employed, or if you do not wish to engage in experiential learning at your workplace, the program will help you connect with an employer,

 

During the second half of the program you will continue to document and reflect on your course-based learning within your ePortfolio.  You will also use your ePortfolio to document and reflect on your workplace-based experiential learning.

 

At the end of the program, during the Capstone course, you will revise your ePortfolio to create a showcase piece that you will present to the faculty and to other students in the program.  By the time you graduate, you will have a polished portfolio that represents your achievements and capabilities.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.