About Digital Media Design & Making in Education – Online Graduate Certificate

Who should consider the Graduate Certificate in Digital Media Design & Making in Education?

  • Classroom teachers and higher education faculty who want to strengthen their ability to provide innovative, student-centered, technology-rich learning experiences.
  • Educators who are looking for ways to create accessible multimedia and multimodal materials for remote, online, and blended educational environments.
  • Librarians and higher education professionals who supervise, or are interested in developing, technology-enhanced design-based learning spaces, such as Makerspaces, Team-Based Learning Classrooms, and Digital Media Labs.
  • Instructional designers who wish to enhance their knowledge and skills to develop accessible student-centered digital learning experiences and educational multimedia (e.g., videos, podcasts, infographics).
  • Pre-service and in-service teachers who want to showcase their dedication to innovative teaching with technology to a current or future employer.
  • Recent college graduates who are looking to pursue a career in education or instructional design.
  • Current students in Master's or Doctoral programs, if their program of studies allows for flexibility in courses/ electives. The Certificate often can be done in conjunction to the degree.

Makerspaces are unique environments that facilitate learning through collaborative design, play, tinkering, and exploration, while Making is an iterative design process that results in the creation of an artifact (physical, digital, or blended physical/digital object). Makers are the individuals who engage in the act of creating.

Certificate Learning Objectives:

  1. Demonstrate an ability to embed student-centered digital media projects, design activities, and Making into formal, informal, in-person, remote, blended, and online educational settings.
  2. Think critically and creatively about teaching and learning with technology to develop innovative, engaging, and accessible learning experiences. 
  3. Describe the core values, principles, and theories that guide teaching and learning with digital media and Making. 
  4. Critique and use pedagogical practices and curricular approaches that facilitate creative thinking and design.
  5. Demonstrate an ability to use a variety of digital tools and technologies and integrate them into the design of educational materials and experiences.
  6. Design digital media, curriculum, learning activities, and artifacts that educate others about and positively impact social justice issues, including race, gender, and class biases as they are manifested in technologies and technological practices.

Instructions for Enrolling in Classes in SPIRE

Detailed instructions on the three step process for new students is locates on the College webpage, How to Enroll in Online Classes. A summary is below:

  1. Create a student record. (You should not need to do this step if you took a course in the previous semester) Go to spire.umass.edu (note: log-in page) On the right hand menu, under Apply/References click on Non-Degree Enrollment Application and fill out the form there. You will receive an email with your NetID and password (this may take 2-5 days.) *All new students must do this step but returning students may also need to do this after a significant time lapse.
  2. Create an enrollment appointment. Once you have received your NetID and password you can create an enrollment appointment by logging in to SPIRE (spire.umass.edu) with the NetID and password you received. *Most non-degree students will need to do this every semester, and all student must do this in the summer term.
  3. Register for classes. The enrollment appointment should be available immediately. Register for the class by logging in to SPIRE (spire.umass.edu) and go to Manage Classes > Add, Drop and Edit Classes > Class Search, Add and Enroll >Search for Class. Important tip: If you are non-degree or UWW/online, make sure you choose the Univ+ section. If you are in an in-person degree program, choose the University section.

Questions about how to register? Reach out to Annie at digitalmedia [at] umass [dot] edu (digitalmedia[at]umass[dot]edu) or Contact UMass University Without Walls at regoff [at] uww [dot] umass [dot] edu (regoff[at]uww[dot]umass[dot]edu), 413-545-3653 or 800-922-8211.

Completing the Program

Once you have registered for your fourth and final course, be sure to complete and return the Certificate Eligibility Form to digitalmedia [at] umass [dot] edu. Forms are due by the following dates for each degree conferral period:

  • September 1, 2024 degree: August 30, 2024 (August 16, 2024 to department)
  • February 1, 2025 degree: January 16, 2025 (January 3, 2025 to department)
  • May 16, 2025 degree: April 1, 2025 (March 18, 2025 to department)

When completing your Certificate Eligibility Form, be sure to:

  • Use your UMass email address on the form
  • Check your mailing address and name in SPIRE - these will be used for your certificate 
  • Mark your degree conferral period based on the date following your final class
    • Students completing their final class in the Fall semester should mark February conferral 
    • Students completing their final class in the Spring semester should mark May conferral 
    • Students completing their final class in the Summer semester should mark September conferral 
  • Use "Teacher Education & Curriculum Studies" for "Department" even if you belong to another department on campus
  • Use "Digital Media Design and Making in Education" for "Certificate Program"
  • Fill in your course information based on your unofficial transcript, writing in the courses in the order taken: Dept (EDUC), course number, name of course as it is listed, and grades. Leave the final grade blank for any courses still in progress - the Graduate School will fill this in
  • Send to digitalmedia [at] umass [dot] edu (digitalmedia[at]umass[dot]edu) for program approval

Tuition and Fees

University Without Walls (UWW/CPE) at UMass Amherst administers registration and payments for the graduate certificate.  Courses are listed as "Univ+ (UWW)" courses on SPIRE. 

Further information about tuition can be found on the Online Program Tuition and Fees page or through the Bursars Office at bursar [at] admin [dot] umass [dot] edu (bursar[at]admin[dot]umass[dot]edu) or call 413-545-0337.

Contact

For more information, contact Danielle Allessio, Program Coordinator (allessio [at] umass [dot] edu (allessio[at]umass[dot]edu))