College of Education
Georgia State's Education Graduate Programs Go Online
1/3/2008 – Liz Babiarz
Teaching class during the day and grading homework at night, educators have little free time in their busy schedules.
That’s why Georgia State University’s College of Education this spring will start offering self-paced,100 percent online master’s degree programs for teachers and professionals who would like to become educators.
Certified, in-service teachers can now apply for a Master of Education degree program in reading, language and literacy education, with a concentration in teaching English for speakers of other languages. A Master of Education program in mathematics or science will be available later this year.
Also, for provisional teachers and paraprofessionals in Georgia working with English language learners, the college is offering a Master of Arts degree program in reading, language and literacy education.
Each program is open to about 100 applicants and offers flexible, convenient scheduling. The application process is designed to be quick, allowing candidates to apply up until the day before classes start.
Although the courses are online, they will be of the same quality and rigor as traditional courses, said Michael Metzler, associate dean of academic programs for the College of Education.
“We want to see that these online master’s programs help teachers become better at what they do, improving teaching and learning in Georgia schools,” Metzler said.
Students will interact with their professors and other students in chat rooms, discussion boards, e-mail and video and voice conferencing.
“There will be opportunities for them to meet in real-time with video clips to provide feedback to each other, as well as to work on modules independently and apply that to their classrooms,” said Joyce Many, professor in the College of Education’s department of middle-secondary education and instructional technology, who helped develop the online curriculum.
Georgia State’s College of Education is one of five colleges in the University System of Georgia piloting the online graduate teacher education programs, as part of "Georgia ONmyLINE," a Web site launched in October by the Board of Regents. In addition to the online graduate teacher education programs, Georgia State is offering a doctoral nursing program on Georgia ONmyLINE.
The Web site also features a full array of distance-education offerings from the 34 other colleges and universities in the system. For the spring 2008 semester, students can access more than 2,000 courses in 73 programs. Students can register for courses and transfer credits among University System institutions on the Web site.
“Over the past years, Georgia State has worked diligently to offer programs that offer flexible learning options for the ever-changing student demographic,” said Karen Oates, interim director for University Educational Technology Services.
For more information, visit www.georgiaonmyline.org and click on, “Online Graduate Teacher Education Programs.”