Introduction to the Academic Master's Programs in Educational Technology

Jiangnan University's discipline of Educational Technology was established in 1994. It relies on the advantages of being a key university under the National 211 Project and Double First Class Initiative of Jiangnan University. By refining the direction of the discipline and innovating talent cultivation models, the quality of talent has been continuously improved, and the discipline has demonstrated distinct characteristics and advantages.

In 2007, the discipline began to admit master's students. In 2010, it was approved as a featured specialty in Jiangsu Province, and in 2013, it was approved as a key specialty in Jiangsu Province. In 2019, it obtained the national first-class specialty construction project and was awarded the brand specialty project in Jiangsu Province. The discipline currently has two key research bases in philosophy and social sciences at Jiangsu universities: the "Internet Plus Education" Research Center and the "Educational Informatization Research Center".

This discipline attaches importance to the innovation and applied research of educational technology theories. It adheres to the academic goals of "international perspective, information thinking, Chinese standpoint, and localized research". With the aim of meeting the needs of educational informatization and the development of digital learning industry, it conducts strategic development and application research around the major theoretical and practical issues of educational informatization and the demands of national education modernization strategy. It has developed a teaching theory and practice system that promotes deep understanding in the information environment, known as "Future Intelligent Education". In terms of research on precise teaching supported by the sharing and application of digital educational resources, online learning analysis, and assessment big data, it has reached a leading level in China and has achieved fruitful research results with significant impact.

The discipline has an abundant and well-structured faculty with high levels of teaching and research. All master's courses are taught by professors or associate professors. In recent years, it has undertaken more than 50 national and provincial projects, including the National Social Science Fund, the National Natural Science Fund, and the Ministry of Education's Humanities and Social Sciences Fund. It has received over 30 awards at the provincial and ministerial levels. It has a national-level college student humanities education base, a primary and secondary school teacher national demonstration training base, and a Jiangsu Province research base for principal and teacher training. It has also been awarded two national-level excellent courses and three provincial-level excellent courses.

The master's program in Educational Technology has first-class research and experimental conditions. It has graduate laboratories for digital resource design and development, learning analysis and evaluation, maker education, and educational robotics. It also has 10 shared laboratories for undergraduate and graduate students, with a total equipment asset value exceeding 20 million RMB. It has established interactive exchanges and cooperative research with renowned universities such as the University of Maryland, Purdue University, the University of Surrey, the University of Hong Kong, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, the University of Alberta in Canada, and the University of North Texas in the United States, providing excellent conditions for international student exchanges.

The Objectives of the Academic Master's Programs in Educational Technology

This major aims to cultivate high-quality and versatile talents who love our socialist motherland, possess a good political ideology, have a strong foundation in humanities and sciences, possess a broad international perspective, and have sharp thinking abilities. They should grasp the development and frontier of educational technology both domestically and internationally, have a solid theoretical foundation and research capabilities in educational technology, and be able to utilize information technology to carry out educational teaching and meet the needs of educational modernization.

The Research Directions of the Academic Master's Programs in Educational Technology

1. Basic theory of information technology in education

2. Design of information technology in teaching

3. Design and development of intelligent learning environment

4. Data mining and learning analysis