Tuition and Fees

Students completing this certificate pay the following tuition and fees:

Federal financial aid is not available unless concurrently matriculated in a master’s degree program.

Graduate Certificate in Instructional Design and Emerging Technologies

This certificate prepares students for collaborative leadership positions in industry and education where instructional design expertise is needed. Students will develop project management and problem-solving skills, apply learning theory to their projects, integrate media and technology tools with online platforms, and ensure accessible content while reinforcing their abilities to communicate clearly and work productively in teams.

Program Design

This certificate consists of 15 credits (five, 3-credit courses). Courses are taught through online instruction and may include teleconference or onsite instruction.

Required Courses and Suggested Sequence

EDET 6015 Instructional Design for Online Learning Environments (3 Credits)

The collaborative potential of online tools requires instructors to consider shifts in their pedagogy - to more mindfully plan, facilitate and guide. This represents a change in the roles and relationships between teachers and learners, and requires more attention to the instructional design and interactive communicative strategies of virtual learning experiences. In this course, students are introduced to instructional and digital design principles in order to apply them in a project that can be used as a component for their advanced design portfolios, or final capstone projects . Consideration is given to effective visual communication in digital environments. The course explores stages of the instructional systems design (ISD) process, and strategies for designing and developing multimedia instructional materials. An important aspect of online instructional design is understanding and responding to the context in which instructional materials will be delivered, and the needs, expectations and capacities of the participants. Students will explain their thinking during the creation of a project and demonstrate their understanding of these expectations.

EDET 6035: Advanced Instructional Design with Multimedia (3 Credits)

This course focuses on the advanced instructional design techniques and related practices necessary to complete an independent online project in collaboration with a subject-matter-expert. The course will also consider approaches to organizing, scaling and administering instructional design with content developers. The culminating project will demonstrate capacities to work with a subject- matter- expert and to provide potential learners with a collaborative learning environment. Instructional design, project planning, accessibility and universal design principles will be covered and applied in the development of a pilot version of the project. In addition, the project will be contextualized within a larger environment of managing multiple instructional design projects. For students without a connection to a subject-matter-expert, opportunities will be provided for projects.

EDET 6080: Evaluation, Assessment and Data-Driven Decisions (3 credits)

Due to shifting and emerging professional standards, educators and administrators will need to use tools that will better allow them to gauge the effectiveness of instruction at the student, course, program and institutional level. This often requires the use of data collection or mathematical models and measures to assess effectiveness an educational activities. This course will address the tools instructors and educational assessment professionals use to assess learning, processes for evaluating educational programs, and resources to help make data driven educational decisions with particular emphasis on technology mediated learning environments and tools. This course will also provide an overview the 'big data' driven field of learning analytics and how this may shape the field of educational assessment.

EDET 6075 Accessible Design and Assistive Technologies (3 credits)

This course is an introduction to the study of Assistive Technology. Students will examine the use of Assistive Technology as it relates to education, communication, vocation, recreation, and mobility for individuals with disabilities. Students will investigate types of assistive technologies, functional assessments, resources, ADA compliance, legal issues, and school and workplace responsibilities. Students will discover the latest technologies to help individuals who struggle with communication, literacy, and learning. The course will feature tools that improve and compensate for challenges relating to speaking, understanding, reading, writing, and thinking and remembering, as well as an examination of strategies to help individuals become more organized and efficient. It will present an overview of the uses of technologies to help students explore specific resources they can use to enhance success in the classroom or workplace. The use of tablets and cloud-based products will be highlighted. Online resources and social networking tools are presented to enable students to learn about innovative products as they become available. Students complete a research project demonstrating their understanding of assistive technology.

EDET 6135 Practicum in Emerging Technology (3 credits)

Advisors and students may arrange a practicum at Empire State University or another site of practice. The practicum requires at least 100 hours of applied work. Practicums may be arranged in instructional technology, educational technology, online teaching assistantships, educational technology management or other related areas. Supervisors and instructors to be determined based on intern's learning needs. Practicums should be arranged at least one term in advance

Admission and Advisement

Admission to the certificate program requires the applicant to submit an official transcript of his or her bachelor’s degree along with a complete application. Advising will be provided by the certificate program coordinator.

While the 15 credits of this certificate may be transferred into the M.A. in Educational Technology and Learning Design*, acceptance will require candidates to apply to the master’s degree program and complete the full admission process. Completion of the graduate certificate does not guarantee admission to the master’s program.

Advanced certificates may be incorporated into a related master's degree for those meeting the program admission requirements.

Apply online or request information for more details on the certificate in Instructional Design and Emerging Technologies.

*As of Fall 2023 the MA in Learning and Emerging Technologies will be offered under the new title of MA in Education Technology and Learning Design.