MASTER OF ARTS, MA IN DIGITAL EDUCATION
The Master of Arts in Digital Education provides graduates with the knowledge and the skills to assume coordinating roles in the design, development, and delivery of educational content in digital formats. Students will advance their knowledge and skills in the use of technology to create engaging and effective learning experiences that meet the needs of diverse learning and learners in a variety of contexts. The Master’s degree in digital education also advances students’ education and training in several important, relevant areas, including the sociopsychological and pedagogical sciences, as well as philosophical, legal, and applied computer sciences. The St. Thomas MA in Digital Education responds to the ever-growing social and economic demands for continuous and progressive technological advancements associated with current and future educational issues and needs.
A minimum of 36 Credit Hours is required for graduation, which includes 6 Credit Hours for the Capstone Project.
General graduate coursework may include:
- Instructional design principles and practice
- Digital media and educational technology
- Distance learning and online education
- Multimedia design and development
- Educational research methods
- Technology integration in a variety of learning contexts
- Educational technology and leadership
The St. Thomas MA in Digital Education also offers students the opportunity to focus their study on one of two areas of emphasis:
Instructional Design
An emphasis on Instructional Design will advance students’ knowledge and skill to develop effective and engaging learning experiences for diverse learners in various learning environments. Instructional designers use various multimedia tools and technologies to create educational content that is engaging, interactive, and tailored to learning and learner needs.
Students who wish to emphasize Instructional Design may select courses such as:
- Instructional design theories and models
- Learning theories and applications
- Instructional media design and development
- Evaluation and assessment of learning
- E-learning and technology integration
- Project management for instructional design
- Adult learning
Psychosocial Educator in Digital Settings
An emphasis on psychosocial education in digital settings will focus study at the intersection of psychology and education to highlight how psychological and social factors influence learning and cognitive development. Students will advance their knowledge through the study of a range of topics related to psychology, education and the social sciences as they pertain to cognitive psychology, child development, educational assessment and counseling.
Students who wish to emphasize the psychosocial aspects of digital education may select courses such as:
- Educational psychology and human development
- Learning theory and instructional design
- Social and cultural factors in education
- Assessment and evaluation in education
- Counseling and therapeutic interventions
- Special education and inclusive education
Educational objectives and methodology
The courses of study for the MA in Digital Education at St. Thomas University provide students with a firm academic foundation. They also provide important learning activities so that students may acquire the relevant disciplinary and methodological knowledge and skills associated with the current state of the art in educational technology, as well as their functional integration. Upon completion of their studies a graduate will have also acquired an in-depth knowledge of communication languages and technologies, the techniques involved in the production, circulation and use of teaching and learning technologies and communication flow in digital systems. Graduates will have learned, practiced and developed their ability to use a wide range of communicative resources. These resources will be enhanced and mediated by
- online and offline technologies
- formal and informal learning pathways
- the design and evaluation of a variety of educational and training interventions, and
- through the development of a critical sense and awareness of communicative phenomena
in order to design, implement and enhance digital products for diverse learners in a variety of learning environments.
Job opportunities
Graduates of the MA in Digital Education at St. Thomas University may pursue careers in many different areas wherever there is a convergence between education and digital didactics and digital pedagogy. They will be well prepared to integrate themselves in formal and informal education and training environments, and in numerous public and private sector organizations. For example:
- Instructional designer
- E-learning developer
- Online course instructor
- Training developer
- Learning and development specialist
- Educational technologist
- Curriculum developer
- Educational researcher
- Consultant
- Nonprofit leader
- Government employee
In addition, careers and employment may be found in cultural entertainment and leisure sectors, in the work of risk prevention in adolescence, in the corporate and editorial sectors of media production, and in the training of trainers on media education issues in a variety of sectors.
Curricular program
- CORE CURRICULUM (18 CH) – The Core Curriculum is composed of 6 courses, each of which is a 3 Credit Hour course.
PED/560 – Pedagogy and Learning
PED/580 – Information Technology Methodologies for E-Learning
PED/600 – Design and Evaluation of Online Pathways
PED/610 – Digital Communication
PED/650 – Education in the Knowledge Society
PED/660 – E-Learning and Digital Education Research Methods - CONCENTRATION AREA (12 CH) – Students must choose an area of concentration and select four courses to complete their MA in Digital Education:
Instructional Design
PED/550 – History of Education and Communication Processes
PED/590 – Promotion and Monitoring of Digital Culture and Research
COM/575 – Conceptual Modeling for the Semantic Web
COM/635 – Ethics, Society, and Privacy
PED/665 – Reading and Conference – Independent Study
PED/670 – Research – Independent StudyPsychosocial Education in Digital Setting
PSY/600 – Educational Psychology and Multimedia Learning
PSY/610 – Machine Epistemology
PSY/620 – Social Psychology: Counseling Techniques for Education
SOC/600 – Sociology of Digital Media
PED/665 – Reading and Conference – Independent Study
PED/670 – Research – Independent Study - CAPSTONE PROJECT (6 CH)
- ADDITIONAL COURSES – Students who want to deepen topics can choose up to 4 non-compulsory courses from the ones below:
PED/570 – Innovative Tools for Teaching
SOC/610 – Digital Innovation and New Welfare
COM/555 – Natural Language Processing
HIS/600 – Digital Bibliography and Librarianship
LAW/600 – Information and Media Law
LAW/650 – Criminal Law of Information Technology
