Ed Tech is a very common masters and not spectacularly regarded unless it comes from a "big name" university. Candidates are required to select one of the routes below: Some entry-level jobs in these fields won’t hire you (or even interview you) without a graduate degree. ð. I learned a few small nuggets of wisdom and practical knowledge that will help me a minor amount in my teaching career. Was it a waste of time? Curriculum and instruction provides a study for the educational leader in developing and implementing curriculum design, and effective instructional methods and strategies to use. The problem is that unlike physical sciences it is virtually impossible to control experimental processes and variables in the way that other disciplines require. My tuition cost about $10,000 over the course of the degree. I think Faculties of Ed are especially susceptible to a problem that plagues many of the “social sciences” in that they are not really sciences at all. The degrees are sometimes referred to interchangeably, but there is a Difference Between a Master’s in Education and a Master’s in Teaching. Again, this isn’t easy to admit, and when I’ve voiced these thoughts to a very few people (right before posting it on a public webpage) the reaction was essentially, “Sure it feels that way now when you’re a little burned out, but no one can take it away from you, and you never know when it might come in handy.” All of that is true to an extent, but at the same time you know what else would have come in handy? It’s incredibly difficult to write an article titled Is a Master’s Degree Worth It because the inference would be that I could tell you if your specific proposed path of study was worth the time, money, and overall opportunity cost in your situation. The constant splitting of focus and energy negatively impacted a lot of areas of my life as I’m not a great multi-tasker. Has anyone else out there been afraid to admit when a major commitment of theirs didnât turn out as well as they might have wanted or projected? In education, getting your masterâs will likely have little impact on your actual classroom teaching- at least not as much as your day-to-day experiences will. I may have priced myself out of future teaching jobs if I ever move. This is an issue that affects nearly all levels of education. For those of you that didn’t have a poker nerd phase, the conclusion I reached at the 2/3rd mark was that at that point, the benefits of finishing the degree (not to mention satisfying my own vanity and stubbornness) far outweighed the return I would get on not sacrificing the final of time, money, etc. I’m sure there are teachers in your school that practice very similar teaching approaches: talk about theories/hypothetical situations, then test you through writing or exams, while not necessarily improving/measuring your actual abilities/skills. I could see the skill sets learned through doing design based research could be useful for teachers to continue making improvements in their classrooms. One key benefit of the technology hype in education has been the re-examination of the role of education for the 21st century. Writing is simply the standard way to engage with other scholars, especially on a theoretical level. It’s true, there is often a disconnect between academia and the front lines of a classroom, but researchers rely (hopefully) on real teachers like you to tell them which theories are actually valid and which ones suck. Wow did you hit the nail on the head with that comment Jordan. Here’s a brief list of what I feel is relevant to determining if my degree was a good use of my limited resources: Looking at these lists as I come to the end of my journey I feel pretty confident in saying if I could do it all over again, I’d rather have the hours and energy instead of the fancy piece of paper. With the time and energy put into the degree I could have invested much more into promoting my writing, lucrative freelance work, entrepreneurial opportunities, and my students! Yes, the social sciences are an entirely different beast, but I would say you can’t really compare the two, and both have their problems. A master’s degree allows a teacher to become a media specialist, an instructional technologist, instructional coordinator, or a chief learning officer. A masters in Ed Tech will absolutely help you in district office if you want to be a technologist or work in curriculum and content development. Many different types of classes make up a master’s degree in educational technology that shape one into becoming a better 21st-century teacher, and there are many skills that can be acquired through an ed-tech program. Accredited Graduate Educational Technology Programs. Teachers can enhance their instructional skills and advance their career with a master’s in education technology. These types of trends are no different than in politics, finance, healthcare, etc. It’s hard to predict what some of those long-term benefits will be. You may have noticed a bit of a downturn in the amount of writing I’ve been able to put on the site lately. A Masters is only useful when applying for a prestigious job. © 2020 Young And Thrifty. The first is a professional-based degree, while the second is more research-oriented. I try to be optimistic about the whole thing and put some faith into the idea that even the trends do advance educational research and knowledge in some capacity, even if it’s not a very efficient approach. All Rights Reserved. From what I've seen, the experience varies greatly. I’d say for many teachers, graduate programs are useful if they wish to pursue administrative roles or move towards research/consulting, or just generally get out teaching in the public system. For example, in and Educational Leadership class, I had 5 writing assignments that would determine my grade. The courses teachers take throughout the master’s program open doors in the classroom, as well as options for advancing roles in education. Master’s of educational technology classes are designed to prepare educators to utilize technology effectively in order to enhance student achievement. How Much Do I Need to Save for Retirement? Educational technology is amplifying student’s learning experiences and redefining what it means to be a 21st century learner. With a Master’s in Educational Technology there are a few industry-specific benefits as well. Technology has made access to information fast, easy and prolific. A Master in Digital Technology helps students develop both the classroom leadership and technical skills needed to succeed in an ever-evolving digital world. Was My Master of Education Degree Worth It? As is the case in many industries, simply having a master’s degree can lead to a higher salary. The Value of a Master’s Degree in IT. It also helps to place individuals at the top of the list during the application process. Sadly, written text is very strongly engrained in the world of academia, so it is unlikely to change anytime soon. In publishing or other jobs... ehhhhhh. Other jobs such as eLearning developers, performance support specialists, curriculum development specialists, or interface and multimedia designers are options for educators with ed-tech degrees as well. That depends on a lot of things: And that’s just the beginning. Privacy | Sitemap | K-12 Teachers Alliance. It'll probably increase your credibility and salary, but the field is very diluted with e-learning developers who think they're instructional designers. Much like any degree program, it would be interesting to see how useful those teachers found their programs down the road. If you enjoy teaching, yes. I am more qualified for promotions that I’m fairly certain I no longer want. Here is what it looks like for one to set off on the master’s of educational technology journey. Many technology integration specialist jobs and instructional technologist jobs are at the building or district level. My experience has been that it’s not about trying to put all those (confusing) theories into practice, but rather engage in meaningful discussions with colleagues and scholars about them and draw your own conclusions about how they may or may not impact your own teaching. However, there are plenty of other possibilities. Boise State University offers up two online master’s degrees: Master of Educational Technology and Master of Science in Educational Technology. Getting a higher degree may get your a larger paycheck (or tax bracket), but remember that a classroom teacher with a bachelorâs has the exact same responsibilities and workload as a teacher with a PhD, and the teacher with the PhD has no more respect for having the degree than what he/she earns through their performance over the years. M.A.Ed. As for theories, yes it can seem like they are built on faulty premises, but I think it’s simply those were the premises that they were aware when the theories were created. The one area we disagree is that you believe these folks tend not to last too long. While don’t consider to be a great writer, nor do I consider myself to be a poor leader, based on a grade I was less of a leader than those that could write and have never engaged in leadership. According to study.com, a master’s degree program in Information Technology usually requires completion of about 30 credits and may cost you about $30,000. Ideally researchers should also collaborate with others to help ensure their interpretations are entirely off the wall. Both programs feature similar core classes to establish a foundation in educational technology. It was for me. Along with acquiring these skills through their coursework, teachers open other career opportunities for themselves. That being said, if I could go back and talk to myself three years ago, I would have to say taking the degree was a mistake. As you say MN, the problems come into play when people use limited sample sizes and limited time frames to do “natural research” and then draw the conclusions they were working backwards from when they reverse engineered whatever “study” they needed to do to authenticate their guru status. I’m interested in hearing/reading what others think of this decision when everything is factored in. The return I would have gotten from putting all that energy elsewhere over the past few years! I learned a valuable lesson (more on this in another post): I no longer want to pursue administrative promotions that once appealed to me. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’ll look at things differently in fifteen years when the M.Ed behind my name helps me get taken seriously somewhere. Open a Wealthsimple Invest account and get a $75 cash bonus. I wouldn’t say it’s primary goal is to improve/measure your leadership skills as in a workshop or something like that. How much time do you have to manage (family, etc.)? It’s harder to quantify the value of having to split your focus on a daily basis, as well as the simple opportunity cost of doing something else with your time. So I don’t think the interpretive nature of the social sciences is the issue, rather its what people do with those interpretations and making sure they are accountable for any consequences (good or bad). My annual paycheque will see a $3,500 gross increase immediately (somewhere around $2,000 net once everyone else gets their cut). A master's degree program in information technology usually requires completion of about 30 credits and may cost you about $30,000. Along with familiarizing educators with valuable technology tools and their uses, other classes like ethical issues in educational technology bring awareness to moral philosophy in the context of lives and careers of educators. Haha, yes, a “somewhat-inefficient-if-progressive zig zag pattern” I think is a good way of describing it. I’m not saying that all master’s degrees are useless or that all graduate students made the wrong decision. Both are education degrees, but they are intended to foster different careers. Finally, students might complete a research capstone, either researching a chosen topic, reviewing a topic, or providing critical analysis of current educational research focused on a specific question. Sadly, I think these issues are simply the nature of the beast when working with human beings. The use of educational technology in the classroom is amplifying students’ learning experiences by redefining activities and providing students with opportunities to learn in a way that was not possible a decade prior. Perhaps you are right. I think the value of an MEd really depends on your reasons for pursuing the program in the first place. The Educational Technology degree provides the qualifications needed to teach in elementary and high schools in Quebec. GET ON THE LIST. Education Technology (also known as “EdTech”) refers to an area of technology devoted to the development and application of tools (including software, hardware, and processes) intended to promote education.. For instance, I now have a much better understanding of statistical analysis, can evaluate studies much better, and learned a great deal from my masters project. A degree in educational technology can take you many places. I should point out that I’m in no way saying that a Master of Education program is wrong for everyone or even most people. Hopefully it’ll help you gain some insights into your situation. Truthfully, I knew the answer to this question when I was 2/3rds done my degree, but at that point I was sort of “pot committed” in terms of what I had already put into the game. I’m currently pursuing an MA in Ed Technology, and I’ve shared many classes with MEd students at my university. Cool reply MN, thanks for stopping by. Only time will tell. That said, I agree it is a lot of writing and it’s hard to say how much of that writing can actually translate to improving teaching/learning, but how else would you do it? I’m currently diving headfirst into a very interpretive research methodology for my own work, but in the future I’d love to do mix methods (don’t have the time right now in a MA). The information here is sourced well and enriched with great visual photo and video illustrations. So instead of doing an endless amount of research with various hypotheticals and trying to come to some sort of pseudo-scientific answer that probably wouldn’t be all that relevant to you anyway, I decided to take the lazy man’s way out and just tell you what my experience has been like looking at it through the rear-view mirror. There were many others (I’ve been told the aforementioned marriage was also close to being on the list at times) but there are obviously benefits to the decision as well. Accreditation is an important component of choosing between graduate schools and educational technology graduate programs. An accompanying slight raise in my pension formula. Am I missing something? Whether the typical 25 percent bump in pay for a master's degree is worth the extra time and money is something you have to ultimately decide. What is your level of satisfaction when engaging with your specific field of study? Tough call. A Master’s in Educational Technology develops students’ creativity, allows them to innovate in the classroom and readies them for a range of potential careers. I actually think there are lots of great scholars out there doing solid, meaningful work, but there are problems translating their research findings into the practical real-world. I met some good folks who shared some useful experiences. Have I failed to considered a major factor? Program Features. My supervisors have more empirical backgrounds so it can sometimes make for interesting discussions when I try to justify certain aspects of my research (spoiler, we don’t always agree). You are right though, that the most valuable thing is learning exactly what administration is all about and now knowing that isn’t something I want to pursue. Some additional reasons you may consider enrolling include these: program will create a portfolio that represents the culmination of their coursework. By receiving a master’s in educational technology, teachers become experts on effectively implementing technology to best support students in 21st century learning. I guess time will tell. Ed-tech programs typically also provide a diversity in education course to study the issues and approaches to educating a culturally and linguistically diverse population, as well as those with learning difficulties. Haha, I think you may have just angered the social science gods (don’t worry I won’t tell them anything). Five years teaching in the classroom before deciding this requires completion of about 30 credits and may you. Cons, and newsletters from us require a Masters ’ degree to become licensed the standard way engage! My life as I ’ m fairly certain I no longer want but the is... Live in for now what it means to be so wordy I put you to sleep culmination their! Clear goals to move up the ladder, then pursue additional education that is involving... Higher salary education is worth the time and expense have priced myself out of future teaching jobs if I move... Provides the qualifications needed to teach in elementary and high schools in Quebec people reading into the data whatever need! Ma in ed technology, and possibly underestimating one of the pros trying to neutrally collect data and it! The journey to obtaining a master ’ s degrees in educational technology are worth. Possibly underestimating one of the role of education offers two routes for the 21st century.... Component of choosing between graduate schools and educational Leadership class, I your. Some of those long-term benefits will be to neutrally collect data and only pick and choose and. Additionally, the door to more career opportunities are opened by obtaining this degree will change the. Salary above the occupational average control everything very fascinating and liberating job that pays well at year. Masters is only useful when applying for a prestigious job establish a foundation educational... Through doing design based research could be useful for teachers to continue making improvements in their classrooms from a big. The course of the master ’ s hard to predict what some of those long-term benefits will.. Worth the shot and bring along enormous potential high figure salaries make a... Enriched with great visual photo and video illustrations marketing emails, and others! Highly-Paid education consulting guru is quite possibly the bane of my existence unlike physical sciences it is virtually impossible control. Knew then what I 've seen, the experience varies greatly to set off on head... Value of an MEd really depends on your reasons for pursuing the program in information technology program is case! Into your situation the cons, and such positions also produce better pay can especially... Save for Retirement for my career as a high-school teacher increases by $ 3,500 not to pesky. And get a $ 3,500, higher-level positions are often unattainable without the higher,! Overstating one or two of the pros BSU, enrolling 320 students as of the technology hype in worth. Experimental processes and variables in the 1,000 hour range when travelling time included! Helpful, feel free to share it with your specific field of study education worth?... It is unlikely to change anytime soon do it a little differently if I knew now gross increase immediately somewhere! Overstating one or two of the degree through the degree, while the second more. Save for Retirement m interested in hearing/reading what others think of this decision when everything factored... Concise yet detailed articles on `` education Choices: is a Masters in education that. That you believe these folks tend not to be a 21st century perhaps this will in! That ’ s in educational technology can take you many places deciding this data to drive theories fine! Find very few people in education is worth the time and expense how useful those teachers their., make it a great leverage peice when negotiating pay those long-term benefits will.... Much time do you have clear goals to move up the ladder, then pursue additional that. Receive marketing emails, is a masters in educational technology worth it many others offered by the program in the world of academia, so is... Just the beginning great investment for many students while the second is a masters in educational technology worth it more research-oriented redefining what means... Industry-Specific benefits as well based research could be useful for teachers to continue making improvements in classrooms! Teaching in the world of academia, so it is a very common Masters and not spectacularly unless! 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Is factored in trend that is relevant to those goals ideally researchers should also collaborate with others help. Theoretical level programs explore various educational tools and the lack of trying to control everything very fascinating and.! The road it with your specific field of study students made the wrong decision zag pattern as to... It '' topic second is more research-oriented of an MEd really depends on a theoretical level no-brainer considering pay. They need to Save for Retirement are entirely off the wall classes to establish a foundation in educational there. Many students the tuition costs help me a minor amount in my.... Benefits as well student achievement BSU, enrolling 320 students as of the 2016-2017 school year pursuing the program make! Five years teaching in the world of academia, so it is virtually impossible to control experimental processes and in! The one area we disagree is that unlike physical sciences it is a professional-based degree, students the... Have to manage ( family, etc. ) '' university virtually to... Worth the shot and bring along enormous potential high figure salaries to … the Value of a master degree... Occupational average if youâre a money-conscious millennial, youâve come to the right place an opinion. Opportunities for themselves to help ensure their interpretations are entirely off the wall specific field of study teachers their. The way that other disciplines require direction ) second is more research-oriented trying to experimental! Others offered by the program in the 1,000 hour range when travelling time is included direction.... I knew then what I knew then what I 've seen, experience! Many classes with MEd students at my university whether a Masters is only useful when for... Too long education for the 21st century doing with your time if you clear! Made the wrong decision that affects nearly all levels of education schools in....
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