Graduate Certificate in Instructional Technology Design
Plan of Study
All Certificate students should complete two introductory courses at the beginning of the program (6 Credits):
- INSDSG 601 Introduction to Instructional Design
Credits: 3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Course Description: This course provides an introduction to the cognitive and experiential content of the program. The course emphasizes the components of the instructional design model. Various models are analyzed and students are expected to complete, as a final project, a learning module micro-design.
- INSDSG 640 Planning and Designing of Educational Multimedia and Computer-Based Programs
Credits: 3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Course Description: This course provides an overview of the process of designing interactive multimedia instruction. Since instructional multimedia is created and delivered in a technical environment, the course covers a combination of technical and not-technical topics. We will discuss the technical environment and tools used to create and deliver multimedia instruction; the technical requirements and educational value of various media elements; how to structure multimedia experiences; and how to plan multimedia projects.
Multimedia development is a multidisciplinary undertaking. Throughout the course, we will discuss the role of the instructional designer in the process and the other forms of expertise required to create a successful project.
Educational multimedia can take many forms depending on such factors as the delivery environment and the involvement of an instructor. While the course will describe the spectrum of uses of multimedia in instruction, we will focus primarily on self-paced, interactive instruction delivered in the form of "CBT" or through a Web browser.
Prerequisites: INSDSG 601.
All students must also complete this assessment course during their program (3 Credits):
- INSDSG 650 Assessment of Educational Technologies
Credits: 3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Course Description: This course brings the students’ practical experience in computers and multimedia together with the issues of how these technologies get used in the training room. Specifically, students will examine the formative evaluation process for technology-based programs in corporate training programs. By obtaining feedback from representatives of the target audience in the early stages of a product’s development, the developer can assure that the courseware meets its stated goals while staying within budget. Formative evaluation plans are now a requirement by most funding sources and corporations. Students will learn these assessment procedures and apply them in a project based on a real-world application.
Prerequisites: INSDSG 601.
The Certificate Program should culminate with the Capstone course (3 Credits):
- INSDSG 655 Project in Multimedia
Credits: 3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Course Description: Students work with Umass Boston faculty, teachers in cooperating schools, or trainers in sponsoring corporations to make a prototype multimedia application or to produce a planning document for multimedia implementation in the client organization. Students may participate in projects pre-arranged by the instructional technology staff or may generate their own, working individually or on a team.
In addition, students should select two courses (6 Credits) that best meet their needs and match their interests. Technical elective courses are updated or added as necessary, to keep pace with the rapidly changing nature of technology.
Current course offerings include the following:
- INSDSG 605 Production of Media Materials
Credits: 3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Course Description: This course provides a systematic survey of a variety of media formats including visual displays, audio and visual presentations. Aspects of theory include psychological principles and research on media as a teaching mode. Students have the opportunity of applying knowledge and skills to selected areas of media production, especially as they provide solutions to instructional problems.
Additional Information: This course is a hands-on introduction to some of the latest and most powerful software tools available to instructional designers today. This fall we will be exploring and evaluating the vast array of both commercial and open source Web 2.0 tools.
- INSDSG 616 Production of computer Based Training
Credits: 3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Course Description: This is a basic course in developing computer-based training programs. The course addresses user interface design, the execution of common instructional strategies employed in training products, as well as techniques of graphics and sound production. The course is project-based: students work in teams to design, make prototypes, and produce CBT/multimedia programs.
Prerequisites: INSDSG 601.
- INSDSG 617 Advanced Computer Based Training
Credits: 3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Course Description: This course builds on the student’s basic knowledge of creating courseware and multimedia. Students learn techniques of advanced scripting and data architecture as well as methods of developing student tests and student tracking systems. Students create simple animations and interactive simulations. The course is project-based: students work in teams to design, make prototypes, and produce CBT/multimedia programs.
Prerequisites: INSDSG 601.
- INSDSG 619 Design and Instruction of Online Courses
Credits: 3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Course Description:This course is for instructors, teachers, trainers, or instructional designers who want to explore the critical success factors in designing and delivering online instruction. Through readings, discussion, and various activities, we will examine the pedagogical implications of technology-mediated learning, the dynamics of the virtual classroom, the elements of effective online course design, as well as the tools and technologies available to create and deliver online instruction and to assess student performance. Through group-based and individual project work, we will design and create online lessons. This course will use a range of interactive and collaborative instructional techniques, as well as synchronous and asynchronous lessons, in an effort to provide current or potential online instructors rich firsthand experience of what it is like to be a student learning in an online environment.
