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  2. EDU T566

Learning Design for All
EDU T566

Course Information

Description

*Lottery-Based Enrollment* Innovations in education technology are making it possible to reach learners in ways that were once unimaginable. This course critically examines the complexity of navigating the affordances and limitations of technology to design global learning experiences that respond to learners' different needs, contexts, and lived experiences. We will explore the following questions: Can education technology effectively support learners with different backgrounds at scale? Can it foster meaningful learning across varied cultural, social, and economic contexts? Can it help ensure that learners who are often left on the margins have the support they need to succeed?
 
Students will examine how the design of human-centered technology-enabled education interventions involves a complex process of navigating cultural diversity (e.g., languages, spiritual beliefs), resource limitations (e.g., limited funding for contextualizing content for all learners), ecosystems (e.g., infrastructure affordances per country), and education theories (e.g., constructivism, instructivism) to advance learning. By critiquing existing technological interventions and working on collaborative projects, students will design technology-based strategies aimed at creating learning environments that are practical, responsive, and suitable for implementation across a wide range of settings.
 
The course will feature guest expert sessions and case studies that illustrate the practical realities of "designing for all," allowing students to gain a deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges in building learning technologies that serve a broad range of learners.

This course is ideal for students who are passionate about using technology to advance positive educational change and create more inclusive and equitable learning environments. It is designed for those who aspire to build thoughtful, learner-responsive solutions that reflect the needs, identities, and lived experiences of learners around the world.

Students will have substantial creative freedom to pursue ideas that matter to them while benefiting from a structured process that scaffolds steady progress, collaboration, feedback, user testing, and revision. By the end of the course, students will leave with a strong network of peers and experts, exposure to practical ideas and real-world approaches, a deeper understanding of how to design equitable, technology-enabled learning experiences, and a refined, evidence-informed solution developed through testing and iteration that they can continue to develop, adapt, or carry into their future work.

School Graduate School of Education
Credits 4
Cross Reg

Available for Harvard Cross Registration

Department Education
Course Component Regular Course
Instruction Mode In Person
Subject Education
Grading Basis HGSE Student Option (Letter Graded, Sat/Unsat)
Learning Goals By the end of the course, students will be able to: ● Explain key pedagogical frameworks and research on learning that can inform equitable learning experiences for learners with diverse identities, needs, and lived experiences. ● Analyze the affordances, limitations, and potential unintended consequences of using technology to support equitable learning across different contexts. ● Evaluate how cultural, economic, social, political, and infrastructural factors shape the design, delivery, use, and potential impact of technology-enabled education interventions. ● Critique existing education technology interventions based on their pedagogical quality, inclusivity, contextual responsiveness, feasibility, and potential for sustainability. ● Engage critically and constructively with experts and practitioners, evaluate their perspectives and assumptions, and draw on dialogue with them to inform students’ own thinking and design decisions. ● Develop and iteratively refine an evidence-informed, technology-enabled learning solution that responds to the needs and experiences of learners in a specific context. ● Apply relevant research, stakeholder feedback, and user testing to justify design decisions and improve a proposed intervention. ● Formulate actionable recommendations for adapting, implementing, or scaling technology-enabled learning interventions while strengthening their benefits and minimizing their limitations and risks. ● Articulate the trade-offs and complexities involved in designing equitable and sustainable learning experiences across cultures and contexts.
Career Focus

This course supports students interested in careers in education technology, learning design, product development, education innovation, policy, research, consulting, entrepreneurship, and program implementation across schools, governments, nonprofits, foundations, and technology organizations.

Students will strengthen their ability to evaluate technology-enabled learning interventions, engage critically and constructively with experts and stakeholders, translate research and user feedback into design decisions, and develop context-responsive solutions for diverse learners. They will also build relationships with peers and practitioners working across the field. The course is especially relevant for students who hope to design, adapt, implement, evaluate, or scale equitable learning experiences across cultural, social, and geographic contexts.
Competency E&O Electives
Pedagogy N/A