Digital Media and Education

In this program, you will learn about the design of digital media for education and ways in which learning theory and media research inform those designs. You will explore a range of digital media and their applications to educational issues in different disciplines, such as math, science, literacy, etc. You will gain the knowledge necessary to evaluate digital media with respect to curricular fit and their impact on learning. Finally, you'll have the opportunity for practical experience with different digital media to explore the use and implementation of those media in contemporary classrooms and other educational contexts and settings.

The program offers:

• Menu-style course options that allow you to customize the program for your own aspirations
• Outstanding research and teaching resources
• Education relevant to today’s issues
• First-hand experiences
• Conscientious mentors
• Stimulating, motivated peers
• A community with multiple perspectives, interests, and backgrounds

The Digital Media and Education thread is one of four related threads leading to a master of arts in educational studies. These threads combine training and knowledge in emerging areas with expertise and hands-on professional experience. The threads represent broad areas reflecting both expertise at the School of Education and areas that are emerging and important for twenty-first-century career expectations. The programs are flexible and you can, in consultation with an advisor, switch from one thread to another during the course of the program or otherwise customize your experience. The other threads are:

• Teaching and Learning
• Educational Assessment and Evaluation
• Educational Policy and Leadership

In addition, You must select two electives within the School of Education and two cognates (courses outside the School of Education) to develop disciplinary expertise.

As a bridge to future employment, you'll participate in a one-semester internship in a professional setting.

Menu-style course options support customization towards expertise in both disciplines and key areas:

• Disciplinary expertise is developed through four elective and cognate courses. For example, a current middle school science teacher is interested in updating her knowledge of new discoveries in climate change and current knowledge about teaching science using digital media resources. She would select two cognate courses from University of Michigan graduate science departments (such as Global Change and Earth System Modeling), and two School of Education electives (EDUC 834: "Designing Science Learning Environments" and EDUC 831: "Theory and Research on Learning and Instruction in Science").
• Knowledge in emerging areas is developed through primary thread courses. For example, our middle school science teacher has enrolled in the Digital Media and Education thread to update her knowledge and skills of how to teach with technology. Therefore, she would select EDUC 603: "Design-Based Research for Assessing Learning Environments"; EDUC 602 "Videogames, Learning, and School"; and "Representations of Practice for Professional Development" as her three primary thread courses in the Digital Media and Education thread.
• One-semester internship in a professional setting. Our example teacher might pursue an internship in a school media center or an on-campus research/service center focused on technology-enhanced instruction.

Plan of Study

A course planning sheet outlines the School of Education course requirements. Also available is this list of regularly offered courses which may help you plan your program. (This list is subject to change.)

Professional Roles

The University of Michigan takes a strong pride in producing the leaders and best in all professions--people who are adaptive, transformational, and informed about contemporary issues in practice, policy, and research. In the professional roles of our master's programs, the experiences you select should help you understand how to strongly influence both the processes and outcomes of education in a variety of arenas: organizational structures, decision-making, human relations, and curricular and policy matters.

You will declare an intended future professional role that provides guidance or a bridge to your future direction. The role that you choose is not a formal programmatic designation, but rather a piece of information about your career goals that is intended to help you and your advisor determine relevant electives, cognate courses, and practical experiences to round out your full degree plan.

Designer

Students who select a designer role are interested in creating learning environments and their components. As a designer, the courses and practical experiences you select should help you learn about the range of conceptual, analytical, and methodological design thinking practices and how they can be applied to different educational contexts (e.g., classrooms, museums, etc). You should learn how to apply these practices to observe, describe, and understand learners, educators, content areas, and educational contexts in order to create different aspects of a learning environment, including new curricula and instructional approaches, students materials, learner-centered digital technologies and media, etc.

Educator

Students who select an educator role are interested in educating others and are committed to active student learning that values diverse talents and ways of understanding. As an educator, the experiences you select should help you improve your understanding of the challenges of classrooms in academic and other professional settings (e.g., museums, schools, corporations, etc.). You should select experiences that help you enhance your skills to prepare and teach coherent, cohesive lessons; integrate current ideas from research, technology, or practice into your work; communicate effectively with parents, students, and other educators; and continue to reflect on and refine your educational practice. You should also learn how to create and maintain an exciting, engaging learning environment. Note: this role does not lead to teaching certification.

Entrepreneur

Students who select an entrepreneur role are interested in being the creator and leader of new enterprises that bring educational products and services to the public at large. As an entrepreneur, the experiences that you select should help you understand the work involved in developing educational products and services and the issues involved in educationally oriented enterprises. You should understand issues of fund raising and fiscal models and the development of school-community partnerships.

Policy Maker

Students who select a policy maker role are interested in influencing or writing district, state, and/or federal educational policy or policy initiatives. Policy makers can include those who work with school boards, state or federal departments of education, professional organizations, or non-profit foundations, etc. As a policy maker, the experiences that you select should help you understand how educational policies are created, implemented, and evaluated. You should also understand the evolution and history of educational policy and the impacts that different policies can have on national and international educational systems.

Practitioner/Instructional Leader

Students who select a practitioner role are interested in either developing or enhancing expertise as facilitators or advisors (e.g., superintendents, curriculum directors, museum educators, school principals, literacy coaches, consultants, staff developers, technology coordinators, etc.). Practitioners see themselves as supporting or leading other educators or professionals in a variety of educative contexts. As a practitioner, you should select experiences that will help you support educators in becoming more thoughtful and knowledgeable about their practice. You should also select experiences that help you translate theory into practice, enhance your knowledge in a given area, and develop mentoring and communication skills.

Researcher

Students who select a researcher role are interested in being a discoverer of new knowledge and a constructor of innovative solutions to educational problems. As a researcher, the experiences that you select that should help you explore the type of work involved in academic research and give you a more detailed understand at the issues involved in educational research. Additionally, taking a researcher role can give you a taste of research work to help you decide whether you would like to pursue doctoral work or other research activity in the future.

Register as a prospective studentand obtain a UMID (University of Michigan ID) number. Having a UMID number will aid in the processing of your application. Complete the Rackham online application.Review the application checklist to ensure your submit a complete application. Please note the academic statement of purpose, personal statement of purpose, resume, and letters of recommendation must be submitted using the online application system. Hard copies will not be accepted.Submit your GRE scores. Test scores must be sent electronically to Rackham Graduate School (institution code: 1839) through Educational Testing Service (ETS).Submit your transcripts. All applicants are required to mail one set of transcripts (in their sealed institutional envelope) for all previous bachelor’s, master’s, professional, and doctoral degreesIf you've earned a credential at a school outside the U.S., then you should review the required credentials from non-U.S. institutions.Check your application status. Use the Wolverine Access system to verify your application information, check the status of your application, and update your email address, home address, and telephone number. English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 TOEFL paper-based test score : 560 TOEFL iBT® test: 84

Scholarships

• Alumnae Council Scholarshipsare available to you when you're a second-year student. Note: You will find the scholarship listing under the section Scholarship Notification and Renewal (fourth listing from the top under the heading Scholarship Name).
• Brownlee Forgivable LoanThe loan was established by Donald S. & Floydene Beardslee Brownlee to provide need-based student loan support to exemplary full-time master’s students who attend the School of Education (SOE) at the University of Michigan. The loan obligation is cancelled if the recipient fullfills an obligation to teach full-time at the kindergarten through 12th grade level. Documentation that the recipient taught for a period of one year must be presented to the Univrsity's Loan Collection Office within two years of graduation from the University of Michigan. Additional information about the loan wil be presented upon offer of our forgivable loan.
• The International Institutelists numerous fellowships and awards for students interested in foreign languages and international studies.
• Levi L. Barbour Fellowship for Women from the OrientIn 1914 the bequest of Levi L. Barbour established a scholarship program at the University of Michigan for women of the highest academic and professional caliber from the area formerly known as the Orient (encompassing the lands extending from Turkey in the west to Japan and the Philippines in the east) to study modern science, medicine, mathematics and other academic disciplines and professions critical to the development of their native lands.
• Private ScholarshipsMany private scholarships for college students are offered each year by a variety of organizations. These scholarships can range in amount from small honorariums to thousands of dollars. To be considered, students must meet the eligibility criteria specified by the donor or sponsor and complete a scholarship application (if required). Additionally, the Office of Financial Aid at the University of Michigan has a listing of their private scholarship awards.
• Rackham Graduate Schooladministers fellowships, grants, and scholarships for which you may be eligible.
• The Rackham Master's Awardis a competitive award open to newly admitted students in a Rackham graduate degree program; it provides three semesters of funding that includes tuition, two full semesters of fees and living expenses, and an academic year of health and dental insurance.
• The Center for the Education of Womenmay have funding for you if you've been out of school for eight months or longer.

Travel Grants

• Travel Grantsmay be available from the School of Education if you're traveling to present a paper or participate in an out-of-state conference.
• Rackham Travel Grantshelp students defray traveling expenses incurred to present a poster or paper at a conference.

Research Support

• Rackham Research Grantsare designed to support students who need assistance to carry out research that advances their progress toward their degree. If you are a doctoral student, you may qualify twice for these funds, once before candidacy and once as a candidate. If you're a master’s student, then you are eligible to receive one of these grants.
• School of Education Mini Grants for Student Researchmay help cover research-related expenses not covered by fellowships, grants, or other sources of financial assistance.

Emergency Funding

• The Center for the Education of Womenoffers Critical Difference Grants for students in emergency situations.
• Rackham Graduate Schooladministers a Student Emergency Fund to help in case of medical, dental, or mental health emergencies for yourself or, in some circumstances, for your immediate family members.
• The School of Educationmay have resources for students in emergency situations.

Financial Aid

• A Child Care Subsidymay be available to you if you're a parent with child care expenses.
• The university's Office of Financial Aidhas information about various loan programs for which you may be able to apply.