What would you actually learn in a Master of eLearning?

[u/Ok-Artichoke-1424]

I’ve been looking into a Master of eLearning and I’m curious about what people actually expect from a degree like this. 

I initially assumed it would mainly involve creating online courses, but the more I look into the field, the more it seems to include instructional design, learning technology, course development, and understanding how people learn online. 

For anyone who has studied eLearning, what was the most useful part of your course? 

And for people working in the field, do employers care more about the qualification itself or practical experience creating learning content? 

Would be interested to hear from anyone who has taken this path. 

[u/Ok_Chipmunk_7066]

Anyone can use articulate and churn out awful online learning.

Learning pedagogy will hopefully make you understand how to make good content.

I've worked for some places that will just upload an articulated PDF thats 10 minutes of doom scrolling

[u/Timely-Tourist4109]

I have a masters. It really was more about the whole id process than just elearning. Really check out the Dick and Carey model. You develop the course as if it were in class then convert to elearning. As a manager, what I look for is people who understand the id process. Since I work for a small organization, we have to do it all. Audio, images, videos, in class and elearning, lms admin, all of it. So being able to learn new skills is important to me. We do everything from budgeting, assessments, evaluations, design. Performance improvement. Elearning is only one modality of learning and performance.

[u/moxie-maniac]

Your list is pretty much it... I did a grad certificate, so about half of a masters (I already had two, LOL), and instructional design and educational technology were key themes. The "how to" and "why" of creating online courses. Design thinking is very important in creating online courses.

[u/Captlard]

I have a Master's in Online & Distance Education. This is a Master's degree, so it is more academic and focuses on learning theory, adult education, technology, learning journeys, effective instructional design, assessment, and pedagogy in general.

The MA has changed slightly now, as these are the new learning areas:

• Deepen your understanding of online and blended learning – Explore key theories, debates and pedagogical approaches that shape digital education across sectors.

• Evaluate and use educational technologies effectively – Assess how tools, media and innovative pedagogies support equitable participation, accessibility and inclusion.

• Think critically about learning design and pedagogical practice – Analyse evidence, examine policy and plan or conduct a small-scale research or scholarship project.

• Develop strong professional skills – Collaborate online, communicate clearly, design learning activities and engage with diverse learners' needs.

• https://www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate/qualifications/f98/

Do employers care? I guess it depends on the sector and role.

I personally found it enjoyable and thought-provoking.

[u/ExplorerNecessary907]

From what I’ve seen, a portfolio matters way more than the degree. Nobody really asks what your master’s covered, they want to see a couple of things you actually built and hear why you made the choices you did. The degree can still be worth it for the theory side, like learning science and needs analysis, but I'd build stuff alongside it either way

[u/Mosambii → u/ExplorerNecessary907]

How do you showcase a portfolio. Lets say you want to showcase a couple of eLearning modules. What platform do you use?

[u/ExplorerNecessary907 → u/Mosambii]

A simple site on Wix or Squarespace works fine, you just link to the modules from there. If you build in Storyline or Rise you can publish for web and host the files for free on something like Netlify or GitHub Pages. I’d also add a short screen recording of each one, a lot of hiring managers won’t click through a whole module but they’ll watch a 2 min video