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Concentrations

The opportunities in learning technologies are vast. Many professionals are generalists in the field and you can choose to select a more general approach to your LTMS degree through an open elective structure. As the profession evolves and new techniques and technologies create new opportunities, there are benefits to developing your skills in a concentrated area. The Learning Technologies Master of Science (LTMS) program offers five (5) concentrations that allow you to focus your elective coursework on a specific career outcome.

Instructional Technology Specialist (ITS)

The ITS concentration prepares you to receive the Instructional Technology Specialist certificate through the PA Department of Education (PDE). The certificate signifies skills in integrating technology into the K-12 classroom and the leadership capabilities and confidence to guide others as they implement technology. Development as a thought leader through the ITS concentration will also allow you to demonstrate the ways in which school districts should consider learning technologies, especially as tools for change in the classroom and the district. As the interest and dependence on technology-supported education increases in school districts, the ITS concentration will support expansion of your career potential in the K-12 education environment.

Instructional Design

As an instructional designer in higher education, government or business you’ll most likely wear many hats and have any one of many titles that exist for instructional design professionals (e.g. Instructional Designer, Learning Designer, eLearning Specialist, Instructional Strategist, Learning Architect, Training Producer, . . . ). Regardless of your title or learning environment, you must be skilled at identifying the appropriate performance improvement solution, analyzing instructional materials to determine the best approach and writing scripts and storyboards to design the learning experience. Often, instructional designers are also called upon to develop learning materials including electronic user guides, performance support tools and online tutorials. Courses in instructional design, learning theories, assessment, writing for learning, online facilitation and eLearning authoring will prepare you for a successful instructional design career or expand your current career potential in the training and development field.

Instructional Development

Instructional developers in higher education, government or business use authoring tools and scripting languages to create eLearning solutions. As an instructional developer you’ll integrate graphics, audio, video and animation into learning solutions. You’ll work with instructional designers to determine the best technical approach for interactive learning solutions and you’ll coordinate user testing and feedback as part of the development process. Known by many job titles (Multimedia Developer, eLearning Developer, Learning Technology Specialist, Instructional Technologist, Instructional Developer, . . .), instructional developers often coordinate the use and integration of enterprise systems into learning solutions as well. Courses in instructional design, learning theories, eLearning development, scripting languages and enterprise integration will prepare you for a successful career in instructional development or expand your current career potential in the eLearning field.

Games and Simulations

There is an increased use of games and simulations in education, government and business for learning. Games and simulations for learning, or serious games and simulations tap into our inherent nature as humans; playing to learn. As a designer and developer of serious games and simulations you’ll have an opportunity to work on unique learning solutions that put the learner in control of their learning environment as they apply concepts and experiment with outcomes to solve real-world problems in simulated or virtual environments. From simple games for attention and assessment to cause-and-effect games and simulations to device and software simulations, you’ll create learning solutions that motivate learners, engages them in problem solving and prepares them for real-world application. Courses in instructional design, learning theories, game design, 3D modeling, game development and development for virtual worlds will prepare you for a successful career in serious games and simulations or expand your current career potential in the eLearning field.

Integration and Leadership

The increased use of technology to support learning in education, government and business creates a need for leaders who understand how technology-supported learning solutions can impact and support other functions in the organization. As a learning technologies leader you’ll manage project timelines and resources, integrate learning technologies with Human Resources functions and evaluate the effectiveness of learning activities in the organization. Learning leaders can have a large impact on the organization as education, government and business look for innovative ways to do more with less and still achieve success and growth. Courses in instructional design, learning theories, project management, managing technology resources, learning management systems and data protection in learning solutions will prepare you for a successful career as a learning technologies leader or expand your current career potential in the eLearning field.

Choose Your Own

You can also build your own elective structure to fit your personalized educational needs and career goals. You can select from any of the elective courses in Learning Technologies, Project Management and Information Systems Engineering and Management to fulfill your elective requirements to create a personalized graduate experience.