Learning Technologies Minor
Program description
Learning technologies is a multidisciplinary field of study that fosters knowledge about the development, adoption, and diffusion of emerging online technologies to support education and learning in daily life and in diverse contexts and professions. Connected technologies and mobile devices are transforming the way we communicate with others, access information, curate and create media for generative, educational purposes. Active engagement in today's world and workplaces requires fluency and skill in interacting with and through these tools and a critical understanding of their social, cultural, and educational impacts.
Students in the learning technologies minor program will develop expertise in using digital media and online technologies for productivity and connected learning in their field and daily life. They will gain an understanding of connected learning and participatory culture, including the sociocultural implications of technological affordances and challenges, in order to be critical consumers and ethical producers of new media in its many forms and creative capacities.
Core courses introduce a variety of technology appropriation theories and online community integration models that help explain how technology influences social outcomes as well as the relationship humans have with technology and with each other through technology. These theoretical frameworks also serve as a lens through which to closely examine technology use in unique contexts. To this end, a variety of social media platforms are introduced in the core courses to effectively communicate ideas through the use of mobile devices, instant messaging apps, web conferencing, and other online collaboration tools in ways that are applicable to a wide variety of disciplines and fields of study. Both conceptual knowledge and practical competence are gained in the minor as students develop skills in digital writing as well as video and audio content creation to support collaborative multimedia work and authoring on the web for educational purposes.
They will also learn to leverage web technologies to construct and maintain an online presence and professional identity; to facilitate and sustain engagement of an online community of users around shared interests and goals; to design creative and responsive websites and online networks; and to address ethical issues associated with web-based technologies such as digital equity. Learning in this minor program goes beyond mere technical application in order to engage students in sociocultural analysis of how connected technologies shape our experience in the world, relationships among people, and the way businesses and organizations function.
This minor program will add value to a wide range of academic majors, positioning students to become technically, ethically, and socially skilled, media-savvy leaders in their professions.
Students in the learning technologies minor program will develop expertise in using digital media and online technologies for productivity and connected learning in their field and daily life. They will gain an understanding of connected learning and participatory culture, including the sociocultural implications of technological affordances and challenges, in order to be critical consumers and ethical producers of new media in its many forms and creative capacities.
Core courses introduce a variety of technology appropriation theories and online community integration models that help explain how technology influences social outcomes as well as the relationship humans have with technology and with each other through technology. These theoretical frameworks also serve as a lens through which to closely examine technology use in unique contexts. To this end, a variety of social media platforms are introduced in the core courses to effectively communicate ideas through the use of mobile devices, instant messaging apps, web conferencing, and other online collaboration tools in ways that are applicable to a wide variety of disciplines and fields of study. Both conceptual knowledge and practical competence are gained in the minor as students develop skills in digital writing as well as video and audio content creation to support collaborative multimedia work and authoring on the web for educational purposes.
They will also learn to leverage web technologies to construct and maintain an online presence and professional identity; to facilitate and sustain engagement of an online community of users around shared interests and goals; to design creative and responsive websites and online networks; and to address ethical issues associated with web-based technologies such as digital equity. Learning in this minor program goes beyond mere technical application in order to engage students in sociocultural analysis of how connected technologies shape our experience in the world, relationships among people, and the way businesses and organizations function.
This minor program will add value to a wide range of academic majors, positioning students to become technically, ethically, and socially skilled, media-savvy leaders in their professions.