Learning technology design is a small, but influential field. Good designs can impact thousands of young learners and, ultimately, shape the future of our society. Graduates of LTD courses have gone on to practice learning technology design a variety of settings.

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Backgrounds

Professionals involved today in LTD come from a wide variety of backgrounds. This is not surprising, given that LTD is not a formally recognized speciality encumbered by training requirements. Here is a selection of backgrounds of people we know in the field:

B.A. Cognitive Science B.A. in Fine Arts B.A. with Teaching Certification

M.A. Learning Sciences M.B.A M.S. in Computer Science M.S. in Education M.S. in Physics

Ph.D. in Cognitive Science Ph.D. in Computer Science Ph.D. in Education Ph.D. in Learning Sciences Ph.D. in Mathematics

Settings

• Commercial software company (e.g. The Learning Company, Lucas Learning)
  • Conceptualize new or derivative titles for home or school
  • Be part of a software development team creating learning titles
  • Develop curricula to integrate with or accompany software
• Commercial hardware company (e.g. Leapfrog, Apple)
  • Develop learning gadgets for home or school
  • Develop learning software that will drive hardware sales
• Start-up company
  • Rapidly develop a more radical idea for a learning technology
  • Target a completely new market for learning technologies (e.g. home schooling)
• Testing company (e.g. Educational Testing Service)
  • Develop new technology-based approaches to accurately assessing student understanding
  • Use technology to enable students with disabilities to be tested fairly
• Academia (e.g. Stanford School of Ed, Dpt. of C.S., Univ. of Colorado at Boulder)
  • Teach LTD to undergraduate and graduate students
  • Lead graduate-level research in LTD
  • Study learning and how to improve it through technology
  • Use theories of cognitive science to guide the design of experiment new learning technologies
  • Explore emerging technologies (e.g. 3D, handheld devices) for relevance in learning technology design
• Independent research institute (e.g. SRI's Center for Technology in Learning, Concord Consortium)
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of learning technologies
  • Do much of the same research as academia, often as part of collaborations that include universities
• Government Agency (e.g. National Science Foundation, U.S. Dpt of Education)
  • Create funding programs that guide the national research agenda in the most promising directions
  • Inform policy makers about the potential and liabilities of technology in schools
  • Broker new connections between islands of research (e.g. neural science and learning science)
• Private Foundation (e.g. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation)
  • Solicit best-of-class ideas for educational improvement through technology
  • Do work similar to government agencies, but usually with less bureaucracy
  • Sponsor high-risk pilot initiatives (e.g. at charter schools)
• Subject matter-specific organization (e.g. The Math Forum, The Shodor Foundation)
  • Identify innovative technologies to transform how people learn a particular subject area (e.g. mathematics)
  • Organize distributed digital resources for a particular subject
• Publishing Company (e.g. Scholastic, Key Curriculum Press)
  • Identify/develop software or digital resources to complement printed matter
• K-12 School
  • Coordinate building-wide technology use
  • Create new technology-based curricula for your class
  • Advise a technology company or research institute on classroom needs
  • Evaluate/select technologies for system-wide adoption
• Any Organization
  • In-house corporate training design