100% online MA Education Technology

This module invites students to re-think teaching and learning with digital technologies. It evaluates the divide between ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’, exploring how the lack of boundaries in online spaces changes the ways in which we communicate with and teach our students. The module also focuses on the impact of digital technologies in education on our identities as teachers, students and on our educational institutions, as well as considering the responsibilities educational institutions have in relation to online safety.

This module foregrounds the significance of reflective practice in enabling practitioners to develop informed insights and perspectives on key philosophical, social, cultural, and political debates about education/workplace settings. Students engage actively with a variety of associated theories and methods – with more thoughtful reflection posited as the key to effective practice – and consider an aspect of their own activity, as well as developing an action plan. Students are assessed through a reflective assessment developed over time, related to critically analysing an aspect of their practice.

This module explores changing patterns of education and work, the dynamic relationship between these two institutions, and how it has developed over time. It examines the wider social, cultural, and economic contexts that shape both educational and work institutions, and how these affect the lives and identities of those involved in them. It considers how wider changes linked to globalisation, post-industrialism, education reform and marketisation, and related social and economic shifts, have affected people’s experiences of education and employment, their social relationships, and their sense of self. It draws upon a range of concepts and approaches, including: globalisation; post-industrial society; credentialism; human capital; gender; and theories of self and identity. It critically examines evidence about the changing labour market, and its impact upon educational institutions.

This module examines the changing world of education in the context of social, political, economic, and cultural globalisation. It reflects on the ‘nature’ of international identity, both for teachers and students, and critically explores what ‘international’ means, educationally, in this context. The module aims to enable students to understand, and reflect critically on, the expansion, origins, tensions, and challenges experienced in international education. It invites them to critically examine the primary aspects of globalisation and their impact on education in any setting, and to explore the concept of professional identity in the context of a globalised education policy and practice.

This module explores a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods, acting as an introduction to the advantages and pitfalls of these as research tools. Students are supported throughout to reflect on their own understandings of the social world and how it can be known, and the implications of these for developing justified strategies for carrying out a research project. The module aims to enable students to develop concrete plans for the development of the methods and approaches for researching in relation to their proposed thesis topic.

This module introduces students to key issues and methodologies underpinning research in the social sciences. It explores how to construct a research project, including how to develop and build research questions and how these might be operationalised in individual study. Students are encouraged to begin close planning of their own projects. This module also looks at a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods, exploring the advantages and pitfalls of these as research tools. Students are supported throughout to reflect on their own understandings of the social world and how it can be known, and the implications of these for developing justified strategies for carrying out their research projects.

This module introduces the principles of learning design for online and blended education courses and activities. Students engage with pedagogical and course design literature, as well as selected learning theories to develop an understanding of the learning process and of suitable teaching strategies to create engaging and pedagogically rigorous online materials. The module engages students in debates on different design approaches and educational theories to develop their knowledge around the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ of teaching and learning with digital technology. Students build their own learning designs, justifying the proposed use of technologies to support learning in a variety of contexts for learners with a variety of needs.

This module introduces students to selected educational technologies to help them design technology-supported teaching and learning activities and assessments. Students explore approaches to, and the applications of, selected education technologies (e.g. video production, collaborative tools such as wikis, Padlets, Miro, Mentimeter, quizzes, etc.) within an educational context. It aims to develop skills in the operation and practical applications of these technologies for teaching and learning purposes as well as enhance understanding of the situations and types of learning activities where these technologies may be used. At the end of this module, students design and develop their own activities using educational technologies of their choice.

In this module, students specifically focus on the structure of their final dissertation. They are supported to develop specific sections of their dissertation which include: writing an introduction; conducting a literature review; writing a methodology chapter; choosing an appropriate approach to data analysis; and drawing conclusions. Students are also introduced to research ethics and supported to complete a research ethics application which is compulsory to start data collection.

The dissertation module provides you with the opportunity to carry out and write up an original piece of research at master’s level. You will draw on the knowledge you developed in the Research Methods module, as well as knowledge and skills gained throughout your postgraduate study in other modules, to conduct your research. The project could be empirical, text-based or a combination of both approaches. You will design and undertake your project in close collaboration with your supervisor and submit a dissertation upon completion.