My MET suggestions
From my experience so far, and as a result of my research about the educational technology programs in Canada and the US, the MET Program at University of British Columbia is one of the best educational technology master programs today in North America, and provide an excellent, leading edge dynamic and transformative learning and growth environment.
For further enhancements of the program, I feel free to suggest some WIN-WIN improvements, as follows:
Due to dynamics in the field of educational technology, most of the courses should follow the dynamic and transformative pattern of ETEC 565M, allowing the students to actually research and request the up to date content topics, to synergisticaly contribute to the leading edge development of the up to date course curriculum, therefore keeping it 100% current in every new cohort. It is demanding, but appealing for new MET students.
The elective course ETEC 565A- Learning Technologies: Selection, Design and Application, is of crucial importance for educational technology practice of every MET student, therefore should definitely be designated as a CORE course,
Also the elective course ETEC 520 - Planning and Managing Learning Technologies in Higher Education, is also of essential importance in today's connected world of e-learning, therefore, should be redesigned to cover Planning and Managing Learning Technologies, not only in Higher Education, but also cover the Primary and Secondary, and should also be designated as a CORE course,
As a result of those changes, the MET Program would have 6 core courses, and better streamline the generic profile of the Master of educational technology.
Currently, we have only 4 mandatory core courses, and when I analyze the courses I taken, and compare it with my colleagues who did not take those essential courses (565A and 520), I feel that by not taking those courses, they did not recognize and missed the opportunity to learn about the important topics covered in those courses, essential for every Master of educational technology.
All of us educational technology professionals who finished the MET Program, and work in (especially) Higher Education, and would like to continue educational technology studies in the doctoral program, feel somehow disappointed that so far, that the UBC as a renown Canadian university has no doctoral program in educational technology. I did some research of availability of doctoral programs in North America, and would like to suggest an accelerated online doctoral program (either Ed.D, or Ph.D) for all of us finished MET students who fulfill the requirements and would like to continue doctoral studies at UBC. That would be a WIN-WIN solution for both, the UBC and finished MET students.
Thanks in advance for your consideration.
As always, the comments, further discourses and suggestions are very welcome!
Regards,
Milorad Zivkovic, MET
