Hey all,
Thank you very much for your time and help, first and foremost.
I am going to be applying for an MA in Education, in Educational Technology or Instructional Technology. I am interested in how technology can facilitate classroom learning at the K-12 level (mainly elementary education).
As a California resident, I want to stay in California and preferably find a suitable CalState school with affordable tuition. My priorities are ranked in this order:
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Must have a practicum/field work/ internship component. This is important to me so I can have some industry experience and knowledge (which may lead to a job offer at the end of the program, but not so important to me).
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Practical application and technical courses (such as courses in website making, video animation, and other e-learning authoring tools). Would also be good to have a focus in K-12 education too, and not just educational/instructional technology in general for all learning levels.
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Affordability- all CalState schools are quite affordable, so they shouldn’t be a problem unless I decide to go to a private school.
4)School campus/prestige. The school needs to have good facilities and mostly a good multimedia lab, so I work on projects at school, as I do not want to pay for the software myself.
I am looking at the following schools:
CSU San Bernardino- Pros: Focus on research/ design and development, Practicum Field study, Can be completed in 1 year, E-Learning authoring tools. Cons: Small faculty, their backgrounds aren’t really in instructional technology. Also, being in San Bernardino, I am not sure what kind of internships I can get for the practicum unless I work at school or university helping them on their website.
San Francisco State University- Pros: Can be finished in 3 semesters, close to Silicon Valley, good program courses that are very techy like website building and animation/multimedia, fieldwork component. Education faculty is huge and diverse. Cons: Bay Area is expensive. Campus is outdated, BUT there is a brand new library. (I did my undergrad here)
CSU Long Beach- Pros: Options for additional credentials, Summer study abroad in Costa Rica, Internship requirements. Cons: Small faculty. Also, limited internship opportunities being in SoCal. Based off what I see online, courses aren’t that practical and tech-focused, but more theory and instruction.
CSU LA- Pros: Options for credentials, only 3 semesters, Added bonus: Certificate in Computer Applications in Schools, courses in technology authoring tools, mandatory practicum. Cons: Small faculty and not that into tech, but other education fields. Also, internships for the practicum may be limited in LA.
They are all similar in price. Do you know of other schools in CA with an educational technology or instructional technology program? I am interested in an on-campus program or hybrid, not all online learning.
Again, thanks for your time and help!