Course Description
The course deals with issues arising in application of instructional principles, strategies, and processes in international settings. Topics such as educational technology reforms, issues and challenges around multicultural learning, and the social aspects of designing, developing and evaluating instruction around the world are covered. By studying a particular country or region, and through discussion with peers on various other regions and countries, exploration of ways in which instructional technology is understood and practiced, and on how education projects planned and implemented, are made.
Project
The country that I choose was Nepal, my home country. I limited the region to South Asia, among countries that were comparable in terms of educational technology development.
Essay
Perception of the key factors to be taken into consideration when planning/implementing educational technology projects in Nepal were covered in the essay, linked below:
Region Picture
Views on the major regional similarities and differences in South Asia, with a focus on Nepal in particular:
Book Chapter
The chapter I prepared was on Education Technology in Nepal. It provides an educational consultant’s guide to effective use of education technology in Nepal, within the broader region of South Asia:
Final Chapter on Nepal within South Asia
Final Grade: A
Reflection
This was a very different course for me personally in this program, as I had not taken Technology for Instructional Settings (IDE 611- was waived). This was also a fully online course which was largely based on student lead discussions and the projects. I learned a lot from the assigned readings and got a good introduction to education technology the world over. I would have liked to have the opportunity to have (more) rubrics that precisely told of what was expected of the projects, and if draft submissions were allowed for the various projects- in order to receive feedback from the instructor (and peers) before working on the final product. I really enjoyed the region picture and book chapter, and the contents they covered. These projects provided me the opportunity to study the education (technology) in the areas that I chose, and to learn a lot. This course also provided a different perspective to the instructional design and development process from what we had done earlier on in this program, which was great in enhancing learning.