Design and Development of Educational Technology

To be effective, educational technologies must be designed based on what we know about how people learn. Through interviews with experts in the field, this course explores educational technologies, outlines the theories that influence their development, and examines their use. Participants will both give and receive feedback from others in the class forums as part of this course. To synthesize main ideas, participants will work towards creating a pitch for a new educational technology. In Unit 1, we will talk about the history of educational technologies and how these technologies have influenced how we learn. In Unit 2, we will explore what it means to learn something and different approaches to deepen learning. In Unit 3, we will focus on active learning and take a closer look at simulations that can foster learning. Unit 4 introduces the idea of collaborative learning and considers communities of practice. Unit 5 provides an overview of different types of assessment and delves into how technology is changing the field of assessment. Unit 6 is all about design-based research, a methodology for research and design of educational innovations.