Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- What is Educational Technology?
- For what kinds of jobs and positions does the program
train its students?
- Is a Bachelors Degree in Education needed
to enter the program?
- What undergraduate degree is needed or preferred
by the program?
- Some programs require completion of one or two
prerequisites before an applicant may be admitted. Does this program
have any such pre-requisites?
- If the GPA is below 3.0, or is not at all available,
how is the application evaluated?
- Does the applicant with the minimum 3.0 GPA need
to take the Graduate Record Examination?
- Are other tests required before being considered
for admission?
- What is the ratio of admissions to applications?
- How long does it typically take for a student
to complete the program?
- Can a part-time student accomplish all the requirements
by attending just the Summer Sessions?
- Are there educational technology courses offered
on the Internet, thus eliminating the problem of regular attendance
on campus?
- Are campus-based courses offered late afternoons,
evenings, and/or weekends?
- Are all courses for a grade A-F, or are some on
Pass or Fail basis?
- Is the coursework for a degree all pre-set, or
can the program be individualized?
- How many courses can be taken for credit through
internship?
- May assignments be submitted via e-mail or fax?
- What is the policy on transferring course credits
to the UH program?
- Do you accept online coursework done for other
institutions as credit transfer?
- Is there an organization of EdTech students, and
how can it be reached?
- Is the use of departmental equipment available
to students?
- Does a student need special equipment?
- Do you have lockers for students?
- Is free e-mail available to students?
- Are there any scholarships or assistantships available?
- A graduate planning to go for a doctorate would
want to know: what is this program's academic reputation?
- I understand it is difficult to find parking on
campus; does a graduate student have a chance to get a parking
permit?
- What about housing on- or off-campus?
- Will I be assigned to an advisor when I am
admitted to the program?
- Where can I find more about this program?
- What is Educational Technology?
Educational technology is a field of study of human learning
and deals with complex, integrated process involving people, procedures,
ideas, devices and strategies for analyzing problems and devising
solutions to those problems. It is technology because it is concerned
with a "systematic application of scientific and other knowledge
to practical tasks"; it is qualified as educational because
the practical tasks are within the context of all levels of education.
The field is officially defined as ... the theory and practice
of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation
of processes and resources for learning.
Educational technology has a total commitment to search systematically
for new and effective ways of organizing the teaching and learning
process; it is not a "bag of mechanical tricks" and
must not be thought of as being synonymous with technological
devices. It attempts to find ways of organizing, designing, implementing
and evaluating learning systems. The field is fundamentally concerned
with the best possible application of technological developments
to educational practices, and involves a continuing reconsideration
of all elements in the teaching-learning process.
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- For what kinds of jobs and positions does
the program train its students?
Educational technology prepares individuals to be knowledgeable
about learning resources, about the processes for analyzing and
devising solutions to those problems through research, theory,
design, production, evaluation, utilization, and about the processes
involved in organization and personnel management. Such an approach
leads to employability in a myriad of situations, so it is not
surprising that the positions for which the graduates of our program
qualify are listed under different headings, such as educational
specialists, instructional designers, educational software developers,
training specialists, and of course, classroom and resource teachers.
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- Is a Bachelors Degree in Education
needed to enter the program?
No, but some experience in teaching or training is very useful.
What is important is the applicant's understanding of, and commitment
to, the field of educational technology.
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- What undergraduate degree is needed or preferred
by the program?
A bachelor's degree in any field is acceptable, as long as it
has been earned at an accredited institution; the GPA (Grade Point
Average) of 3.0 on a 4-point scale is necessary to consider the
applicant for regular status admission. Majors in Journalism,
History, Political Science, and Nursing, among others, have successfully
graduated from the program.
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- Some programs require completion of one or
two prerequisites before an applicant may be admitted. Does this
program have any such pre-requisites?
Yes. At UH, they are called "pre-program deficiencies".
There are two areas which we want our applicants to be reasonably
well experienced in before taking the first program course. One
area deals with the knowledge and skills often designated by the
general term "media", and includes a diversity of channels
and materials used in the context of instruction. The other area
is specifically concerned with the applicants understanding
of, and ability to use, computers. The admission committee looks
for evidence in the applicants' transcripts that these have been
covered academically; often, however, more information is requested
from the applicants. There may be other evidence that the requirement
of one or the other of the areas may be waived. Because the EdTech
courses covering these two areas are lab courses (meaning that
there are hands-on experiences and tasks to be performed), their
acceptance cannot be obtained through "credit by examination"
process.
If any pre-program deficiency is identified, the applicant must
indicate his or her intent to remove it by enrolling in the appropriate
course or courses prior to (usually during the summer) admission.
The university rule states that pre-program deficiencies must
be removed not later than during the first semester of admission.
The department prefers that the removal is accomplished before
the first semester, and makes sure that space is available in
scheduled classes to new students.
Applicants with one or both deficiencies but otherwise qualified
may be admitted on a conditional basis, which means that the student
must remove them by the end of the first semester. Failure to
do so will result in denying the student to register in the subsequent
semester.
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- If the GPA is below 3.0, or is not at all
available, how is the application evaluated?
The Graduate Division, which evaluates applicants' meeting the
overall university graduate admission criteria, recommends resubmission
of the application after at least 12 credits of graduate courses
are earned with a B or better average. These courses cannot be
in the field of study to which the applicant is seeking admission.
If the applicant's GPA is not available (as is the case when
the degree had been granted by an institution whose grading practice
does not generate GPAs), the university will require that GRE
be taken; the departmental criterion of scores at least the 50th
percentile rank in each of the three parts of the GRE will be
applied.
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- Does the applicant with the minimum 3.0 GPA
need to take the Graduate Record Examination?
Not if the GPAs from previously attended institutions are available;
as additional information about the applicant, good scores (indicating
at least 50th percentile standing on each of the three parts of
the examination: verbal, quantitative, and analytical) will be
viewed favorably by the admission committee.
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- Are other tests required before being considered
for admission?
Yes, but that requirement applies only to students from foreign
countries where English is not the main language. Those students
need to submit TOEFL (Test of English as a Second Language) scores;
the composite score of 650 (representing about the 87th percentile
rank) is expected, though a lower score may be accepted if other
criteria are exceeded.
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- What is the ratio of admissions to applications?
With the stringent requirements that are in place, the number
of serious applicants is approximately 15-20 percent of the total
number of inquiries about the program. From among that number
of applicants, the program accepts roughly between 50 and 60 percent.
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- How long does it typically take for a student
to complete the program?
Typically, these days most students are part-time students, their
main time being devoted usually to income-producing employment.
It is, therefore, quite clear that a typical length of time needed
in the educational technology program is more than the absolute
minimum of two years (from Fall semester of one year to the Spring
Semester of another) &emdash; non-stop. Minimum is 2 years,
and that requires being a full-time student. A major part of being
a full-time student is carrying a full load of 9 credits in each
sequential regular semester, and at least 3 credits in the intervening
Summer Session only. (Each course must be an ETEC course of 600-
or above level.) Another, also major, part consists of the student's
other responsibilities The two-year plan, therefore, cannot be
met, and certainly not easily, by any student who either:
- shall need to remove the pre-program deficiencies
by enrolling in one or two 400-level courses, and/or
- has other commitment (work, family responsibilities,
etc.). A reminder is apropos here: we are talking about the
completion of a program, not about taking the minimum of 13
3-credit courses. There is a difference, especially when you
consider that this is a graduate program, requiring a graduate-level
performance.
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- Can a part-time student accomplish all the
requirements by attending just the Summer Sessions?
No, for at least two reasons: 1. The Summer Session class periods
are condensed into just a few weeks, with instruction going on
daily. That does not permit most of the graduate courses to be
taught or be learned from. Such a schedule does not allow for
absorbing and internalizing the knowledge and skills that are
the expected outcomes. 2. Not all regular faculty members are
available during the summer when many of them need to engage in
research and/or professional travel. Right or wrong, the expectation
that faculty do research and publish the results of that research
militates against making summer-only plan viable for many programs,
including educational technology.
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- Are there educational technology courses
offered on the Internet, thus eliminating the problem of regular
attendance on campus?
Faculty is actively exploring the ways in which graduate courses,
in a right sequence, might be made available to students on the
neighbor islands. Currently, the program occasionally offers one
course (ETEC 602) as a web-based course; at other times, it is
offered as a campus-based offering. Many other courses are web-enhanced,
meaning that they utilize instruction on the web to support regular
instruction.
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- Are campus-based courses offered late afternoons,
evenings, and/or weekends?
All required graduate-level courses (600-level and above) are
offered on a once a week basis at 4:30 to 7 p.m. during the regular
semesters; summer session offerings of graduate courses are on
a M-F schedule for 3 weeks, though not necessarily in the late
afternoon. Pre-requisites, however, are usually offered during
the daytime (before 4:30 p.m.), though sometimes, there are exceptions.
All scheduling must consider the availability of appropriate
facilities and resources. At present, there are no weekend-only
offerings of Ed Tech courses.
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- Are all courses for a grade A-F, or are
some on Pass or Fail basis?
At the University of Hawaii, graduate courses, in order to be
applicable to a degree program, require A-F grading, unless they
have been approved as mandatory C/NC (credit/no credit) courses.
(Pass/Fail designation had been changed to NC/NC basis years ago.)
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- Is the coursework for a degree all pre-set,
or can the program be individualized?
All students must first take the five core courses. Electives
are what the name implies, restricted only by the time they are
offered &emdash; each student will be selecting five electives.
Three additional required courses lead toward the program completion.
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- How many courses can be taken for credit
through internship?
There is a lot of confusion about internship, and what role it
plays in an academic program. "Internship" in the Educational
Technology program at the University of Hawaii is not an equivalent
of work experience that other institutions count as replacement
for a to-be-determined number of credits. In this program, internship
is a culminating experience arranged by the students, in consultation
with their respective advisors, and serves as a means for students
to "profess" what they have learned, and to add to their
knowledge and skills through that experience.
While an internship is an individually arranged activity, a practicum
is a group activity in which students close to their program completion
plan workshops for faculty or other college students. A faculty
member closely coordinates the practicum.
Both the Internship and the Practicum are required of all majors.
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- May assignments be submitted via e-mail
or fax?
This will depend on the instructor's instructions, and definitely
on the type of assignment. Work that requires special formatting
will not transmit dependably in its original format by either
fax or e-mail &emdash; even when sent as e-mail attachments.
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- What is the policy on transferring course
credits to the UH program?
Generally, only 6 credits of courses with A or B grade are transferable,
but it depends on the type and content of the courses. In order
to be considered, the courses must be completed by the time student
intends to enter the UH EdTech program, and their completion and
grade documented by official transcript(s). In order to be transferred,
a course must fit logically into the EdTech degree program.
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- Do you accept online coursework done for
other institutions as credit transfer?
Though the ultimate approval is lodged in the Graduate Division,
the departmental program bases its recommendation on the same
criteria as indicated in the item 18 above.
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- Is there an organization of EdTech students,
and how can it be reached?
Yes, there is an active organization called ETEC HUI, and its
officers may be reached by e-mail at etec-hui@hawaii.edu. It is
an officially recognized organization. Inquiries by prospective
applicants are welcome by Etec Hui members.
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- Is the use of departmental equipment available
to students?
Yes, but only for instructional purposes stemming from courses,
and then only during the instructional time. Classrooms and other
facilities do not serve the purposes of "open labs".
Several computer labs, outside our Department's purview, are available
to students while on campus. Coin-operated copy machines are available
in the libraries (one is just across the street from the department).
The program expects all students to have their own computers
with necessary peripherals, and appropriate software to accomplish
the required work.
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22. Does a student need special equipment?
Yes, in a program dealing with technology, appropriate equipment
is absolutely essential.
Students need to have their own computers, though they do not
necessarily have to bring the equipment to classes. The department
does not prescribe the brand or model of computers, but the students
need to know the basic "system requirements"; to illustrate,
the recommended items for a Windows-based computer should have:
- Fast processor
- Sizeable hard disk (40 GB perhaps)
- Big enough RAM (128 is probably the minimum)
- CD-ROM (or DVD-CD combo) capable of recording and perhaps even
re-writing CDs
- High-speed modem and NIC (network interface card)
- Capability of expansion (via additional bays, USB ports)
- Internal or external removable drive (e.g., ZIP)
- Good audio and video cards
- A good printer (a scanner might come handy at times).
Of course, good applications, such as MS Office suite (PowerPoint
is almost a necessity), and ability to augment the installed base
of other software applications are a sine-qua-non of the package.
UH Bookstore offers well-discounted prices, and acts as an official
Apple computer store for students, faculty and staff.
Besides the computer, students are expected to build a solid
base of professional resources, starting but not ending with textbooks
and reference materials.
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- Do you have lockers for students?
Unfortunately, with space being at a premium, we do not have
lockers or other storage space for students. The department, however,
maintains open mailboxes for every major, where students can find
materials and messages from their instructors, from the office,
or from other majors. Students are expected to check the mailboxes
at least on a weekly basis.
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- Is free e-mail available to students?
Yes, the University provides that service to all its enrolled
students without additional costs. Use of e-mail is mandatory
in this program, and only the name@hawaii.edu style of e-mail
address is used in departmental communications. Students may have
other e-mail services for personal correspondence. The same policy
applies to faculty and staff. E-mail addresses are made available
to all majors, but not revealed for any non- departmental use.
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- Are there any scholarships or assistantships
available?
To start with, it is necessary to distinguish between scholarships,
tuition waivers and similar awards, which are direct grants to
students, and teaching or research assistantships that are awarded
for specific work to be performed by the recipient.
Furthermore, the source of the funds for either type of financial
assistance determines whether it is available in this program.
Scholarship monies most often come from private donors, and in
that category, the College of Education (CoE) has been quite successful
in recent years: several of ed tech majors have obtained sizeable
CoE scholarships. The deadline is well publicized, but the applicants
must be enrolled as majors in one of the many programs of the
College and have a recommendation by one of the college faculty.
The current distribution of state-funded assistantships at the
University of Hawaii does not provide such positions for Educational
Technology. However, some outside grants allow such appointments.
When available, these are also well publicized, and qualified
applicants are selected on the basis of how well suited they are
for a particular grant.
Tuition waivers are state-funded grants, of which the department
has been allotted one in each of the last few years. The administration
of the tuition waivers allows the waivers to be split and thus
provide some financial help to two rather than just one major.
Because in Educational Technology awards of tuition waivers are
based primarily on academic merit, only continuing students are
eligible. Additionally, applicants also need to provide information
on financial need.
Finally, there is the Financial Aid Office (956-7251) that administers
campus-wide scholarships, grants, and loans, and the Student Employment
and Cooperative Education Office (956-7007), which coordinates
the Federal Work-Study program.
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- A graduate planning to go for a doctorate
would want to know: what is this program's academic reputation?
Very good &emdash; but that is the faculty speaking. While
some fields are ranked by their professional organizations, there
is no ranking of programs in the field of educational technology.
We can offer as evidence of the program's reputation what our
graduates who pursued doctoral program on the mainland have told
us: they considered their preparation through our program's Master's
degree to be better and more comprehensive than of many if not
most of their new doctoral classmates from other institutions.
The Educational Technology program at the University of Hawai'I
is since October 2001 nationally accredited. Accreditation is
from the Association for Educational Communications and Technology
(AECT) in association with the National Council for Accreditation
of Teacher Education.
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- I understand it is difficult to find parking
on campus; does a graduate student have a chance to get a parking
permit?
It is true that parking is very limited on campus, especially
during the day. It gets a little better after 4 p.m. (and that
is when EdTech graduate courses are offered), but unless you obtain
an "evening parking permit" ($18 a month, renewable),
or pay daily fee of $3 to park in the parking structure or the
visitors parking zones (Zone 14 next to Sinclair Library,
or Zone 10 next to Kennedy Theatre), you may need to hunt for
a spot in the vicinity. Alongside Metcalf Street are metered stalls,
but be forewarned: the City "meter maids" check those
places quite frequently. The Parking Zone 1 next to Wist Hall
is off-limits without a permit, and there, too, the checks are
frequent and violations can be costly.
For an evening parking permit, you will need valid drivers
license, valid car registration, valid no-fault insurance card,
and valid safety check.
Some students (and some faculty) rely on the city bus system,
which serves the campus with Routes 4, 6, and 18.
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- What about housing on- or off-campus?
The University of Hawaii has been functioning as a computer
college, not as a residential campus, though that may well change,
if the current president (Evan Dobelle) succeed to bring his
ideas to fruition. The advice is to consult the following web
sites: http://www.housing.hawaii.edu/
for housing on campus, and http://www.housing.hawaii.edu/och
for off-campus housing.
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- Will I be assigned to an advisor when
I am admitted to the program?
The Department Chairperson serves as an interim advisor to all
students until they are advanced to candicacy and their proposed
final project is approved. At that point, project advisors are
appointed to help the students to carry out the project, and
to stay on course toward program completion.
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- Where can I find more about this program?
For detailed description of the program, admission requirements
and procedures, and to initiate an application for admission,
click on www.hawaii.edu/edtech.
Our website contains links to the application forms. To find out
what currently enrolled students and recent graduates think about
the program, send a request to etec-hui@hawaii.edu.
If you wish to talk to the department spokesperson, send an e-mail
to edtech-dept@hawaii.edu,
or call (808) 956-7671.
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