The University of Connecticut is dedicated to preparing educators who are capable of wisely-integrating technology, pedagogy, content knowledge, and learning theory across a diverse range of classroom, training, and other teaching and learning environments.
Housed within the university's broader Cognition, Instruction, and Learning Technology program—ranked among the Top 15 Educational Psychology Graduate Programs in the United States by Successful Student—the Two Summers Online Graduate Program serves as our pathway to a Master of Arts Degree (MA) or Sixth Year Certificate (SD) in Educational Technology.
Each spring, the Two Summers Program recruits a new cohort to begin in July.
The application deadline for this year's cohort (beginning 12 July 2021) is
Applications will continue to be accepted and reviewed until the cohort is filled.
Applications received after the 2021-2022 cohort is filled will be wait-listed, but there are often last minute openings as applicants’ plans change.
The University of Connecticut's Two Summers MA/SD Educational Technology Program is designed for the working educator. We target learning outcomes based on national standards and incorporate a variety of emerging technological/pedagogical tools:
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- Online / Distance/ Web-Based Learning
- Problem- & Project-Based Teaching & Learning
- Situated Teaching & Learning
- eportfolios / Artifact-Based Assessment
- Playful Teaching & Learning (e.g., Game-Based Learning, Simulations, "Serious" Games)
- Assistive Technologies
- Digital Literacies for Teaching & Learning
Although Two Summers typically features one week of on-campus classes and cohort-building during Summer Year 1, we will be moving to a fully-online format for the time being to accommodate current physical distancing guidelines. Plans for the final week of on-campus classes during Summer Year 2 will be announced at a later time.
UConn offers state-of-the-art facilities complete with a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) wireless environment, Smartboard-enabled classrooms, Blackboard-based course management software, and several custom mobile, online, and other tools for learning. Costs are consistent with policy set by the Graduate School, and online application is encouraged (assistance with the online application system can be found here). Two Summers Program course offerings are part of a standard Plan of Study for all cohort students.
Collaborative Worldbuilding - A Conversation with Drs. Trent Hergenrader & Stephen Slota
On 25 March 2021, the University of Connecticut's Digital Media & Design DMD3522: Interactive Storytelling and EPSY5266: Instructional Media & Game Design courses (led by Dr. Stephen Slota, UConn Assistant Professor-in Residence of Educational Technology) hosted a synchronous online conversation with Rochester Institute of Technology's Dr. Trent Hergenrader, professor of creative writing and author of the (2018) text Collaborative Worldbuilding for Writers and Gamers. Among topics discussed:
- Story breadth, scope, structure, and perspective;
- Pedagogical affordances of collaborative worldbuilding and roleplaying for K-12 and higher education classrooms;
- Use of collaborative worldbuilding as a lens for understanding history, policy, culture, and personal identity; and
- Comparisons of scripted vs. emergent narrative and affordances of both for teaching/learning and game design.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - Instructional Game Design with Dr. Stephen Slota
Dr. Stephen T. Slota, Assistant Professor-in-Residence of Educational Technology and Digital Media & Design at the University of Connecticut, explores ways in which learning theory is embedded throughout the Nintendo Switch game Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. This includes deconstruction of the game's behavioral reinforcement techniques as well as reflection on how Age of Calamity and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are useful metaphors for theories of thinking and learning like information processing/schema theory and situated cognition.
Dr. Stephen T. Slota, Assistant Professor-in-Residence of Educational Technology and Digital Media & Design at the University of Connecticut, shares eight quick tips for K-12 and higher educators in the process of transforming face-to-face instruction into online instruction.
