Certificate Series: Wayne State University

Earlier this week I mentioned that over the course of the month (and maybe spilling into next month), I would be doing a series of entries describing and discussing each of the certificates in online teaching that are focused on the K-12 environment.  The first one I wanted to discuss was the Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching at Wayne State University (my own institution).

The certificate was introduced about a year and a half ago, and is housed in the Instructional Technology program.  It contains three required courses:

IT7130: Facilitation of On-Line and Face-To-Face Learning (3 credit hours)
Planning, presenting, facilitating on-line learning, in blended, on-line, and face-to-face contexts. Includes topics such as leading discussions, creating and using formal and informal assessments of learning, use of course management system features and functions.

IT7210: Foundations of Distance Education (4 credit hours)
Exploration and demonstration of technique of designing and delivering instruction and two-way interactive video and audio technologies. Analysis of the theoretical foundations and principles of designing and delivering instruction over distance.

IT8120: Practicum in Instructional Technology (2 credit hours)
Students design, develop, use and evaluate instructional systems and subsystems in an educational, business, industrial or human service setting. Offered for S and U grades only.

It is actually two courses and a practicum where students are actually paired with an online instructor and expected to be mentored and have opportunities to teach online.  The certificate has reached agreements with the Illinois Virtual School (IVS) and the Florida Virtual School (FLVS) to allow students to complete their practicum (or portions of it) within a K-12 online learning program.  In addition to these three required courses, students must also complete two electives from the following list:

IT6140: Designing Web Tools for the Classroom (4 credit hours)
Design, development and evaluation of learning experiences using the World Wide Web. Student creates and evaluates learning activities using the Web; creation of personal learning portal. Basics of HTML and common authoring tools.

IT6230: Internet in the Classroom (4 credit hours)
Students will use a variety of tools from the read/write web and explore their potential in K-12 education. Students will also examine the use of online learning in the K-12 classroom.

IT7140: Web-Based Courseware Development (4 credit hours)
Design, development and implementation of Web-based courseware. Characteristics, advantages and limitations of the Web as an instructional delivery system. Appropriate instructional strategies for the Web. Use of contemporary development tools to create engaging, interactive, instructionally sound Web materials; design and development teams create and test a Web-based instructional module.

IT7220: Multimedia for Instruction (4 credit hours)
Instructional design and development applied to multimedia instruction, such as games and simulations. Instructional strategies for higher-order learning, including problem solving. Alternative design and development methodologies. Essential multimedia production tools and techniques. Students form design and development teams to create and test instructional modules.

IT7230: Advanced Multimedia for Instruction (4 credit hours)
Advanced topics in multimedia and web-based learning, including topics such as design, planning, production and editing of digital audio and video for use in multimedia websites and CD/DVDs used for learning.

IT7310: Learning Management Systems (4 credit hours)
Design and implementation of systems to support e-learning and traditional delivery. Implementation of courses in a generic LMS; interface of course materials to standards-based management systems, reusable learning objects, standards, and collaborative learning.

The IT6140 and IT6230 courses come from the K-12 technology integration emphasis area and are generally the electives chosen by students interested in K-12 online teaching.  IT7140, IT7220, and IT7230 come from the interactive technologies emphasis area, and have more of a focus on adult learners.  IT7310 is an elective within the Instructional Technology program.

The certificate does not have a specific K-12 focus, but it does have a sequence of courses that are focused on the design, delivery and support of online learning at the K-12 level (i.e., the IT6140 and IT630 option, along with the IVS or FLVS practicum).