Adult Education and Communications Technology, M.A.

Overview

The Future is in Distance Adult Education

More businesses, organizations and schools rely on distance education to reach more people effectively. And all indications are that this trend will only grow.

Become a Leader in the Process

Our unique technology track gives you the expertise to be an instructional designer so you can develop as well as teach courses through an intranet or the Internet.

Expand Your Possibilities

No other program prepares you better to be an educator and trainer in today’s technological world. This degree prepares you for careers in distance education, instructional design and development of online courses for companies, organizations, government and higher education.

Evening Classes

The technology track combines theory and practice, and is a collaboration between Department of Adult and Community Education and the Department of Communications Media. Take evening classes from IUP’s internationally-recognized educators at a fraction of the cost of a private institution.

Faculty

Gary Dean

Adult and Community Education

Dean is a professor in the Department of Adult and Community Education, and is chair of the department and coordinator for the online master’s program in Adult and Community Education. He has been at IUP since 1987, and has given over 70 regional, national, and international presentations on adult and community education. He’s authored or coauthored four books and 60 articles and edits the PAACE Journal of Lifelong Learning.

Jeff Ritchey

Adult and Community Education

Ritchey is a professor in the Department of Adult and Community Education, and is coordinator for the master’s program in Adult Education and Communications Technology. He has been at IUP since 2005, and teaches courses in learning theory and program planning, as well as special-topics classes addressing technology's impact on community and identity. His research focuses on community capacity-building, nonformal learning, distance education, and adult development.

Allen Partridge

Communications Media

Partridge has written numerous books and articles on topics ranging from 3-D game development to instructional design for new technologies. He is a specialist in immersive learning as well as multimedia-enhanced eLearning and rapid eLearning. Partridge is also the eLearning Evangelist for Adobe Systems, working with Adobe software development teams.

Dennis Ausel

Communications Media

Ausel is an authority on instructional design and digital imaging. As the founding director of the Instructional Design Center, he played a major role in developing IUP’s technology-based learning environment. He has created productions, written grants, and done presentations on information literacy, online writing centers, multimedia in the classroom, and distance education. He was also the co-principal investigator on the $600,000 Advancing the Development of Educators in Pennsylvania to Teach with Technology grant.

James Lenze

Communications Media

Lenze has written extensively on virtual worlds, curriculum development, instructional technology, distance education, communications media, and synthetic writing. He is the director of VERGE (Virtual Environments Research Group in Education), which is developing a virtual world to provide grade-level-specific instructional games that reinforce math and science content using collaboration, mentoring, competition, and stories. He codeveloped the Communications Media and Instructional Technology doctoral program and authored the curriculum proposal for the B.S. in Communications Media online.

Zachary Stiegler

Communications Media

Stiegler’s research addresses the intersection of communications law and policy; community media; and theoretical notions of community, publics, and localism. These interests converge in his current focus, low-power community radio broadcasting. Stiegler is also interested in critical approaches to popular culture, especially popular music, and is the advisor to the student radio station, WIUP-FM.

More Information

Programs of Study

Adult Education and Communications Technology Track

Instructional Technology Specialist Certification

Facilities

Admission Requirements

International Students

Funding Information

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Assistantships