M. Ed. in Educational Technology Leadership

Louisiana State University

Program Description

The M. Ed. in Educational Technology Leadership Program at LSU focuses on preparing quality educational technology facilitators and leaders who can serve at the school, district, state and national levels.  The program’s goals are as follows.

• Develop in candidates the ability to incorporate relevant educational theory, knowledge from research, and professional practice expertise into their work as leaders in the field of educational technology.
• Prepare graduates to become change agents who can affect student learning by collaboratively developing and implementing technology-enhanced programs, initiatives, and teacher support services.
• Develop in candidates the habits of inquiry, reflection, and professionalism that are essential components for leadership in organizations and service systems that facilitate teaching and learning.

These goals are consistent with and supportive of the primary tenets of the College of Education’s conceptual framework---reflective practice, inquiring pedagogy, and effective professionalism.

 

The redesigned program will enable graduates to meet the Louisiana Educational Technology Facilitation and Educational Technology Leadership endorsement requirements.  The objectives of each course are aligned with the ISTE standards for educational technology facilitation or educational technology leadership, as well as with the Louisiana Components of Effective Teaching.  Each course is taught by faculty members with expertise and experience in educational technology and leadership.  The primary faculty are noted researchers and practitioners who embrace and model connectivity between research and practice, content and pedagogy, and action and reflection.  Candidates are expected to know and demonstrate the most effective educational technology practices and engage in action research in their own educational settings.  They are also expected to be able to think critically, engage in meaningful dialogue about technology and learning, and help initiate changes in education – at the classroom, school, district, regional, and national/international levels.  Finally, candidates are encouraged and expected to present and/or publish their work and serve on leadership teams in their schools and districts.

 

Most candidates are classroom teachers. However, some are technology leaders in other fields such as public health.  Upon completion of the program, candidates typically return to the K-12 classroom as instructional leaders, assume K-12 school-wide or district-wide responsibilities for technology leadership, or transition to higher education, agencies, or other non-profit educational settings.

Admission Requirements

There is a two-tiered system of admissions that includes applications to the Graduate School and the Department of Educational Theory, Policy, and Practice.  Graduate School requirements for graduate admissions are:

 

• a bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. institution or the equivalent from a foreign institution.
• a grade-point average of at least 3.00 (“A”=4.00) on all undergraduate work (or at least half-degree requirement) and a 3.00 GPA or better on any graduate work already completed. International applicants must have at least a 3.00 GPA, or equivalent, on all college-level work previously attempted.
• acceptable scores on the Graduate Record Examination or GRE (in some cases, a high GRE may be used to compensate for a low GPA); and
• acceptance by the graduate faculty in the applicant’s area of study.

 

Candidates for the Educational Technology Leadership program are assessed and screened for leadership and academic success potential and educational technology expertise.  Requirements for admission to the program include the following:

• Documentation of educational technology expertise
• Candidate statement of interest explaining his or her vision for educational technology leadership
• Three letters of recommendation addressing candidate potential for the rigors of graduate work and dispositions for technology leadership

 

Basic criteria for acceptance into the program include:

 

• A combined score of 1000 or better on the GRE; or, lacking that, other definitive evidence that the student is likely to successfully complete the academic and writing requirements of the program.  We do not use flexible admissions standards that are different for different groups.  We do use equitable admissions standards that allow students to demonstrate their strengths in different ways.  We evaluate the student’s application portfolio as a whole rather than setting cut offs for any specific component.
• Evidence of leadership potential and/or previous successful leadership experience.
• Successful articulation of vision and goals through written and interview (if available) data that indicate the program would be appropriate for the student.

Application Procedures

All students must enroll in the LSU Graduate School.

Complete application
Attach $25. Processing fee
Send sealed copy of transcript(s) from undergraduate institution(s)

The Graduate School will send a letter of acceptance to you. The Graduate School will also forward your application to the Department. If you meet the Department's criteria for admission (stated above) you will be accepted into the program.

Program Coursework and Sequence

The redesigned program enables all graduates to meet the endorsement requirements for licensure in both Educational Technology Facilitation and Educational Technology Leadership.  Courses are organized into three major clusters to give candidates a better sense of the three essential aspects (i.e., conceptual, practical, and empirical) of the educational technology program.  Within each component, courses are sequenced according to content, from lower level to more advanced.  Thus, candidates will typically complete courses required for the “educational facilitation endorsement” before moving on to take courses for the “educational leadership endorsement.”  At the end of the program, candidates will complete a field-based capstone project.  The three clusters correspond to the three elements of the College of Education’s conceptual framework:

 

              Program Cluster                         College Conceptual Framework

                Conceptual                                     Reflective Practitioner (RP)

                Practical                                         Effective Professional (EP)

                Empirical                                        Inquiring Pedagogue (IP)

 

The program is sequentially organized with phase 1 experiences coming before phase 2 and so on.  Further, an introductory course on educational technology (ELRC 4507) or the equivalent is a pre-requisite for this program.  Applicants who have not had this course as undergraduates (or who have not acquired the content and skills covered in the course) will be required to complete it during their first year in the program.  However, it will not count toward graduation from the program.

Sequence (Phase)	COURSE Numbers and Titles	Conceptual/RP Practical/EP Empirical/IP	CREDIT HOURS
Prereq.	ELRC 4507 Computer Technology in Education (or Equivalent)	Practical
Req. 1	ELRC 4000 History of Education (or Equivalent)	Conceptual	3
Req. 1	ELRC 4535 Educational Telecommunications and the Internet ^	Practical	3
Req. 1	ELRC 4006 Applied Statistics in Education OR ELRC 4249 Understanding and Applying Research in Education	Empirical	3
Req. 2	ELRC 7500 Technology and Educational Leadership ^	Conceptual	3
Req. 2	ELRC 7503 Instructional Design	Conceptual	3
Req. 2	ELRC 7505 Design & Development of Multimedia Instructional Units  ^	Practical	3
Req. 3	ELRC 7420 Administration of Technology Programs^^	Practical	3
Req. 3	ELRC 7515 Implementing and Evaluating Technology-Supported Instruction *	Empirical	3
Req. 4	ELRC 7525 Professional Development for K-12 Technology Integration^^	Practical	3
Req. 5	ELRC 7516 Practicum in Educational Media	Field-Based	3
Electives	ELRC 4545 School Technology Infrastructure Setup and Troubleshooting (3) *^ ELRC 7240 Critical Analysis of Current Research in Educational Media(3) ELRC 7502 Principles of Distance Education (3) ELRC 7504 Educational Technology and the Law (3) ELRC 7509 Authoring Systems for Educators (3) ELRC 7520 Technology and Collaborative Learning (3) * ELRC 7535 Advanced Telecommunications and Electronic Learning (3)^^     EDCI 7904 Education and Cognition (3)		6
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* New Courses, which may appear as ELRC7890 on PAWS for Spring 2007.

^ Courses required for Educational Technology Facilitation

^^ Courses required for Educational Technology Leadership