Master of Arts in e-Learning

UTS course code: C04188
Testamur title: Master of Arts in e-Learning
Abbreviation: MA
Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Lynette Schaverien
Course fee: $208.33–$250 per cp (local); $7,700 per semester (international)
Total credit points: 48

Master of Science in e-Learning

UTS course code: C04193
Testamur title: Master of Science in e-Learning
Abbreviation: MSc
Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Lynette Schaverien
Course fee: $208.33–$250 per cp (local); $7,700 per semester (international)
Total credit points: 48

Overview
Course aims
Admission requirements
Advanced standing
Attendance
Course duration
Course structure
Course program
Assessment
Articulation and progression
Other information

Overview

The Master of Arts in e-Learning and the Master of Science in e-Learning recognise the emergence of electronically mediated learning as a new force in Education. The Web is now increasingly utilised by a technologically literate population that lives and works in an information society, expects access to lifelong learning, and leads a lifestyle in which flexible delivery is essential for formal learning to take place. Electronically mediated teaching and learning are now central to contemporary education and training delivery methods. This course is designed to provide a rapidly growing graduate group with the capacity to enhance learning, in their diverse workplaces, through new technologies, specifically, but not exclusively, web based. The course has been collaboratively developed and is jointly taught by academic staff from the Faculty of Education and the Institute for Interactive Media and Learning. Catering for professionals in a wide range of formal and informal educational environments, including primary, secondary and tertiary institutions and commercial, government and community organisations, the course:

• familiarises professionals working in a variety of settings with what is currently possible in e-Learning, highlighting exemplary practice
• assists them to develop educationally coherent and powerful ways of thinking about these approaches to learning, and
• helps discern and operationalise wise, sustainable directions for e-Learning so graduates can take an influential role in the future of e-Learning in communities and workplaces.

This course is positioned at the leading edge of this emerging field. It seeks to furnish you with state-of-the-art knowledge and expertise in e-Learning, while also preparing you to move beyond that knowledge, in educationally principled ways as technological development proceeds. It is distinctive in adopting an innovative, problem-oriented approach to learning: you are immersed in and encouraged to reflect upon a series of e-Learning environments. This series is tuned, wherever possible, to meet the needs of student groups and to include a balance of the actual experiences of academic teaching staff and reported cases from the expanding literature of the field. It respects and exploits your potential to contribute to this field through your diverse experiences of it, assisting you to develop an accumulating set of perspectives: first, as an astute elearner; secondly, as a sensitive and principled edesigner; and thirdly, as a wise eteacher and/or trainer. A key feature of the Master's degree is the 12-credit-point e-Learning Research and Development Project, designed to provide an opportunity for you to conduct and report on a small, authentic e-Learning investigation in a particular context of special interest to you.

Course aims

Over the duration of the Master of Arts in e-Learning and Master of Science in e-Learning, you are expected to:

• develop your understanding of the structures, functions and dynamics of a variety of e-Learning systems, both locally and internationally
• become familiar, as learners, designers and teachers, with a range of e-Learning environments in different disciplines, designed for different educational purposes and with different underlying values
• gain confidence in describing and analysing learning and recognising it when it occurs in e-Learning contexts
• develop the ability to detect implicit educational principles in e-Learning contexts and become more discerning critics of e-Learning
• gain insights into e-Learning design and development, from concept to prototype, including basic familiarity with a range of technical solutions to particular educational problems
• deepen your understanding of the educational support required in e-Learning, including how to nurture individual learners and learning communities
• explore the value bases of obstacles to e-Learning, together with any ethical implications and consequences for the sustainability of e-Learning initiatives, and devise possible ways of addressing these in your organisations
• deepen your understandings of the multimedia industry within which e-Learning is developing, and of the interplay between it and the embryonic field of e-Learning itself
• develop your appreciation of a specific education-, technology- or workplace-related field, through a relevant, approved elective subject of your choice
• become familiar with key approaches to the embryonic field of e-Learning research and development
• increase your understanding of how to operationalise aspects of an e-Learning design which addresses an educational problem or issue
• develop expertise in formulating and justifying educational investigations of e-Learning systems and in conducting, analysing and reporting their outcomes, and
• pursue implications of your own project for the role of e-Learning research and development in generating educational knowledge in your workplace or other settings.

Admission requirements

For entry into this course, you need to have completed an undergraduate degree, or equivalent qualification. If you do not have an undergraduate degree, you may be able to apply for special entry into the Graduate Certificate in e-Learning, provided you have workplace experience that is equivalent to an undergraduate degree. You may subsequently be able to proceed to the Graduate Diploma and to the Master's degree on merit. The Master of Arts in e-Learning and Master of Science in e-Learning is available to international students wishing to study locally.

It is expected that applicants have standard computing skills including word processing and knowledge of email and web browsers. While shared computing facilities are available on campus, students are strongly advised to arrange their own access to the Internet.

Advanced standing

Since the four e-Learning subjects that comprise the core of the Master of Arts in e-Learning and Master of Science in e-Learning are distinctive in their orientation, advanced standing in them is rarely granted. Nor can advanced standing be granted for the e-Learning Research and Development Project. However, students can apply for advanced standing and each case is considered on its merits. With respect to advanced standing in the two relevant approved electives, student applications are considered on their merits

Attendance

The course is offered in mixed mode. Most coursework is online but work in these subjects is supported by two to three compulsory weekend block workshops per semester. In 2004, this will require Friday and/or Saturday and/or Sunday attendance at the City campus of the Faculty of Education. Attendance requirements also vary depending on students' elective subject choices. The mode of delivery for 95560 Multimedia Industry and Process and 95561 Multimedia Products and Technologies is currently face to face. Completion of the e-Learning Research and Development Project requires regular consultation with an academic mentor, much of which may be conducted by email, although face-to-face meetings may also be necessary depending on students' progress.

Course duration

The Master of Arts in e-Learning and Master of Science in e-Learning is normally completed in two years of part-time study or one year of full-time study. Normally there is no mid-year intake for this course but students interested in enrolling are advised to check with the Faculty in April 2004 in case circumstances change.

Full-time students can complete their course in one year of study by taking two relevant approved electives, in addition to the first two core e-Learning subjects, in the first semester, and completing the e-Learning Research and Development Project with the second two core e-Learning subjects in the second semester.

Course structure

The Master of Arts in e-Learning and Master of Science in e-Learning comprise 48 credit points each and are offered part time over four semesters.

Course program

Spring semester
013708 e-Learning Technologies 6cp
013709 e-Learning Design 6cp

Spring semester
013710 e-Learning Research and Development Project 12cp

Footnote:
1. Offered by the Institute for Interactive Media and Learning.
2. To be taken from the Master of Education or other approved courses.

Assessment

All subjects are criterion-referenced. This means that you are assessed on whether you meet certain criteria and marked accordingly. Assessment tasks typically include individual and group assignments.

Articulation and progression

The Master of Arts in e-Learning and Master of Science in e-Learning are part of an articulated suite of e-Learning courses. (Refer also to the entries for the Graduate Certificate in e-Learning (C11171) and the Graduate Diploma in e-Learning (C07096). The four core e-Learning subjects constitute the Graduate Certificate in e-Learning.

Subject to availability of places, Master of Interactive Multimedia (C07096) and Master of Business in e-Business (C07096) students can choose to do a set of e-Learning subjects as an e-Learning module. Master of Business in e-Business students can do three e-Learning subjects, while Master of Interactive Multimedia students can choose one, two, three or four e-Learning subjects. It is anticipated that other faculties will also set up degree courses delivered online or addressing the impacts of e-Learning and e-Commerce for their disciplines and professional practice. It is likely that a package of some or all of the e-Learning subjects outlined here will be offered as elective modules in such qualifications.

Other information

For further information about these courses, contact:

telephone (02) 9514 3900
email education@uts.edu.au