r/edtech • u/Frankenstein106 • 16d ago

Interested in Education Technology

Hello, I have a BA in philosophy and I’m interested in doing my MA in Educational Technology or potentially getting into elementary education. Is doing that MA a good way to get in the door teaching? Any recommendations to learn more about it?

6 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

10

u/zimzalabim 16d ago

Just to disambiguate a bit: EdTech and Teaching are not the same thing. They have similar goals, but EdTech supplements and facilitates teaching.

Getting a masters should demonstrate that you have a good knowledge of EdTech, but I think it would have limited if any value in prepping you for teaching if that's what you want to get into.

What aspects of EdTech appeal to you? Are you interested in authoring content, managing LMSs, multimedia development, instructional design, training solutions architecture, or a bit of everything?

1

u/Frankenstein106 16d ago

I’ve done some teaching in a military instructing role with 18-20 year olds. I’m interested in teaching early childhood or elementary because it seems like it will be really rewarding. On the EdTech side, I’m really interested in watching the application of new/upcoming technology being integrated to help kids learn. It sounds really cool. Maybe a specific IT degree would be more beneficial and open up more avenues. But one of my old friends was in Ed Tech and made it sound like a great thing to do.

5

u/lioninawhat 16d ago

Sounds like you want to be a teacher more than an educational technologist, OP. Get a teaching certificate and then do PD on Google Classroom, PearDeck, Quizlet, etc. to buff up your technology literacy.

As an educational technologist, I am mostly a software dev, but also do curriculum dev and some teaching.

2

u/zimzalabim 16d ago

I second /u/lioninawhat on this. In my experience, EdTech focused on elementary education and will effectively be using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions. The "technology" here will primarily be around managing, administrating, and analysing platforms as they are in order to try and get the most out of the platforms to support better teaching outcomes. Most of what I've seen in this area for early years and elementary education typically tends to be around gamification of education (I'll leave it up to you to decide what you think of that).

If you're looking to get into serious education/learning/training solutions architecture (novel and bleeding edge EdTech solutions) then aerospace, defence, and security instruction (which you've clearly already got experience in) might be of more interest. Solutions in this area typically will be blended solutions (computer-aided instruction, computer-based training, simulations, exercises, assessments, etc.) that need to adhere to strict requirements and comply with various regulations. They end up being mashups of EdTech and VocTech which can make things more interesting.

You've also got to keep in mind industry budgets. Speaking from experience in the UK the average UK school has an IT budget of something like £50 per student per year, which means that they don't have the money for bespoke EdTech solutions, which will limit what you can do. Military training programme budgets can go into the $Bs.

FWIW I've spent many years working in EdTech and VocTech here in the UK covering primary and secondary (elementary and high school?) education, CPD and I now run a company providing training solutions to the aerospace, defence, and security sector (I incidentally also read Philosophy for my undergrad degree).

1

u/wingsstones 15d ago

If you want to combine technology with teaching, getting an MA in Educational Technology is a good choice. It can help you get jobs as a teacher or in curriculum creation. Depending on where you live, you may also need a teaching certificate to teach elementary school. For more information on EdTech, check out sites like ISTE and Edutopia!

1

u/LupeG101902 13d ago

Just do an alternative certification program to get your teaching certification. Schools have so much turnover right now that you don’t really don’t need a Masters to get a teaching job in most areas. There are receptions of course, but most areas are desperate for teachers.

1

u/Frankenstein106 12d ago

Looking to do a MA because I’m still active duty and tuition is covered but what alternative certification programs do you suggest?

1

u/LupeG101902 12d ago

Oh if it’s covered then definitely do that!

As far as the alternative certification program, it depends on your state and area. In Texas, they have the school districts organized by regions. We have one in Houston (Region 4) that provides professional development sessions on a variety of topics for educators, as well as an alternative certification program for those who have a 4 year degree that isn’t it education. That’s the one I did, but I know there’s some others in the state that also work.

Which state are you in?

1

u/Frankenstein106 10d ago

In Virginia right now but plan on ending up in Alaska in a few years.

1

u/jeuxdeuxmille 13d ago

Depends where you’ll be teaching I guess. In NY, that degree would not get you into a classroom setting. You need an elementary degree or a subject based 7-12 degree. I got Ed tech for my masters, but that was to earn my professional certification and keep my license. 

-4

u/BurnsideBill 16d ago

Just do an actual tech degree. It means a lot more.

6

u/teacherpandalf 16d ago

It’s a different skill set, but ok. It’s cool to dismiss an entire field.

-3

u/BurnsideBill 16d ago

I work in the field. An entire masters in it is a waste of money.

5

u/lioninawhat 16d ago

I work in the field. My Masters increased my skill set substantially.

1

u/BurnsideBill 16d ago

Is it a masters and educational technology?

6

u/lioninawhat 16d ago

Yeah.

3

u/rawcane 16d ago

Cool acronym

1

u/Frankenstein106 12d ago

That program looks awesome!

-3

u/BurnsideBill 16d ago

Damn I bet that was spendy.

7

u/lioninawhat 16d ago

Education is an investment.

-1

u/BurnsideBill 16d ago

Depending, yes. Are you getting paid enough to justify the cost?

6

u/lioninawhat 16d ago

Wouldn't recommend it if I wasn't.

4

u/teacherpandalf 16d ago

I also work in the field. It’s a big field. Not all EDTECH is about app development. I’m a k12 EdTech integrator. Pedagogical knowledge is crucial in my work. My masters certainly helped with that.

1

u/BurnsideBill 16d ago

In terms of what’s easily learnable, I’d say the non-tech stuff is learnable. Getting a deeper background in tech is more valuable.

5

u/teacherpandalf 16d ago

Well I guess I’ve made a huge mistake. I’ll go ahead and give my job to someone that finished all their codecademy js modules.

0

u/BurnsideBill 15d ago

That comment supports what I just said.

1

u/Frankenstein106 16d ago

Do you mean a STEM degree or what specifically do you mean?