What Is Ed Tech? A Guide for International Students

As more schools and businesses switch to hybrid and virtual attendance, ed tech (education technology) is becoming a highly sought-after degree by education technology companies. By definition, this field makes learning and successful outcomes possible by seamlessly combining IT practices with educational tools.

Read on to explore all aspects of ed tech, including programs offered at Shorelight universities, optional careers, and your earning potential.

What Is Ed Tech?

At its most basic, ed tech is anything that can fit in the category “education technology.” It’s how we improve learning and working conditions by integrating technological tools into daily life. It has been used in schools for years, including online courses, virtual classes, and computers or tablets as teaching tools, among others. It’s increasingly used in business, government, and nonprofits, and became vitally important during the pandemic, as videoconferencing tools became part of daily work life. 

Those with an ed tech degree or certification are in high demand and many available careers can earn attractive salaries.

How to Study Ed Tech

As technology is increasingly integrated into education and business, more organizations need people who understand how to build, maintain, and update it – and are able to help others do the same. Ed tech provides an opportunity for students to create a career path out of two different interests. For instance, a student can combine their interest in humanities courses with their technical skills to become an instructional designer, or someone who creates materials on paper or screen to help others learn. There are several different ways to earn expertise in this area, including an undergraduate double major, a concentration, a master’s degree, or a certificate. Let’s take a closer look at each path. 

Undergraduate Double Major

If you are an undergraduate student considering combining your interest in education and/or humanities with a STEM field, a double major in these fields can be a great option. A double major allows you to study two different specializations simultaneously. It is different from a dual degree since you will only receive one degree upon graduation, but you can specialize in two different fields at once. This can be ideal as it combines both educational and technological curriculum. 

Possible double major combinations that could qualify for ed tech roles could include:

• Education and software engineering

• Music and data analytics

• Human development and information systems

• Foreign language and AI/language learning models 

• Interdisciplinary studies

Concentration

Another option for international students interested in a career in ed tech is to pursue a concentration alongside their major. This allows you to enhance your specialization with knowledge in a different area of focus, without having to commit to the full academic requirements of a double major or dual degree. 

For example, at the University of Nevada, Reno, Hinako from Japan decided to turn her original human development and family studies (HDFS) major into a minor and instead major in information systems. “I realized that being in technology and data would be good for me in the future, because the knowledge of how to utilize technology in business — or in my personal life, too — [was] important,” she said. Hinako created an ed tech career path by focusing the majority of her studies on technology, but using her concentration to create expertise in a humanities field that also interests her. 

Master’s Degree 

By obtaining a master’s degree in ed tech, students can enhance the specialization they acquired in their undergraduate degree and bolster their resume to potential employers. A master of arts (or MA) in ed tech typically focuses on the effect technology has on education and beyond. The degree can typically be earned in two years, with many courses offered at night. Students who are currently undergraduates but would also like to earn an MA may want to consider a dual degree, where both degrees can be earned simultaneously.  

Certificates

Many Shorelight universities offer students the opportunity to earn an ed tech certificate while they are also earning their undergraduate or graduate degree. Many programs require fewer course hours (about 15) and can be an easier way for a busy student to add a new skill set to their resume.

The Benefits of Earning a Degree that Qualifies for Roles at Education Technology Companies

Ed tech is becoming an increasingly popular field of work, with 65,200 annual job openings and 6.5% job growth projected between 2019 and 2029 (Lightcast, 2023). With more people now than ever working or studying remotely, the need for technological skills has become a necessity. Those who broaden their skill set beyond the practical tech use of daily life will find themselves uniquely qualified for essential roles at high-earning companies. There are many benefits to preparing for a professional role while still in school, including future job security, versatility, and the opportunity to inform governmental policy. 

Let’s take a closer look at several ed tech programs offered at Shorelight universities.

Shorelight Universities Offering Ed Tech Programs

As mentioned above, there are many paths toward achieving a degree in ed tech and students can opt for a double major at whichever college they choose. These Shorelight universities, however, offer a specific program for a master’s or certificate in education technology, or are a leading university for STEM.

Adelphi University

Adelphi University offers an MA in educational technology that combines “state-of-the-art curriculum with hands-on experience.” Students can choose to earn their degree by studying on campus or fully online. The school is located just 40 minutes outside of New York City, which provides easy access to leading tech experts and internship opportunities. Among the technical skills students will acquire are programming, multimedia editing, web design, and data mining. A 32-credit non-certification track is also available. 

Kai Williams, who received an MA in educational technology from Adelphi, said, “the educational technology program at Adelphi allowed me to get hands-on experience from my instructor and their network of professionals in the industry. It provided me with skills that I continuously use in my current work as an academic technologist.”

Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University (LSU) Online offers an MA in education with a specialization in Educational Technology and is “accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related.” The degree requires 36 credit hours and is designed to “prepare leaders and practitioners in cutting-edge areas including technology integration, digital transformation, technology-enabled academic innovation, online education, training, and professional development.” An online graduate certificate in educational technology is also available through LSU Online and requires 12 credit hours.  

Missouri University of Science and Technology

As one of the top universities in the US to study STEM — ranking #75 in the best undergraduate engineering programs and #82 in graduate engineering, according to U.S. News & World Report — Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a great place to prepare for growing careers. Students can choose to double major or support their major with a concentration from a wide variety of specializations in technology and the humanities. Additionally, the college hosts the annual Innovation in Learning and Teaching Conference, with this year’s focus “on any new ideas and pedagogy in teaching and learning.” The conference provides a forum to share ideas and learn about any new IT practices being utilized in the classroom. 

University of Utah

Located in Salt Lake City, University of Utah offers a 30-credit Instructional Design and Educational Technology (IDET) master’s degree program that is structured to be completed in two years. The college ensures that “students pursuing this degree will learn the theoretical issues associated with technology-supported instruction and the applications of technology to support best-teaching practices.” Courses are available at night and during the summer, and include Leadership in Instructional Design & Educational Technology, Multimedia Learning, and Human-Computer Interaction & Emergent Technologies, among others. Students can earn an MS degree by completing an additional six credits and developing a research thesis.

Let’s now take a look at several job roles you could qualify for after earning your degree.

Career Pathways with an Ed Tech Degree

A career in ed tech is a way to combine an interest in tech jobs with a desire to change systems, educate others, and manage a team, among many other activities. There are a variety of ways to combine the two passions into a successful role; it simply depends on which fields interest you most and how you intend to bring technology to your workplace. 

On the surface, several roles we’ve featured here may not seem like ed tech, but you will soon discover that many careers incorporate technology into streamlining or improving the workplace or classroom. 

Here are several ed tech job options you can consider:

• Technical Program Manager (TPM) – A TPM is responsible for delivering a project smoothly and on time. Roles include working within an allotted budget, maintaining a strategically planned schedule with team members, communicating with stakeholders, and delegating tasks as needed. This requires incorporating IT tools that could be used for organization, time management, project overview, communication, and more. 

• Analytics Engineer – The main responsibility of an analyst engineer is to transform, test, and collect data and then deliver it in digestible terms so that all employees within a company can understand it. People in this role will decide which tools would be best for ETL/ELT (extract, transform, and load/extract, load, and transform) data and how to integrate them into the company. This position requires a data-driven mind with good communication skills. 

• Solutions Architect – A solutions architect is tasked with assisting in the design and implementation of an IT architecture practice within a business. Responsibilities include communicating effectively about IT architectures with colleagues to ensure understanding and thereby efficient outcomes. The ability to see issues and offer solutions is vital to this role, as well as being able to educate those who may not be familiar with certain software, hardware, or other technologies.

• Instructional Designer – An instructional designer finds creative ways to educate and train people from all backgrounds. This includes researching, experimenting, designing, and delivering materials that will be the most effective in a specific situation. This could be anything from printed manuals to e-learning tools. A vast knowledge of educational tools and IT practices is invaluable to this position. 

• Strategy Consultant – A strategy consultant is, in essence, a problem solver. They are hired when businesses require a new way of approaching an issue. These types of consultants are experts in their field and have a vast knowledge of industry practices and how to assess issues with objectivity. They then provide innovative advice on how to solve the issue. This role requires an analytical mind and someone who keeps up to date with new technologies and business trends.

Check out possible ed tech careers along with annual earnings estimates in the US, Brazil, China, and India:

Source: Payscale, 2023

With the world becoming more dependent on technology to help educate, organize, and manage our lives, studying to qualify for an ed tech job is a wise choice for the future. Talk to one of our Shorelight counselors to decide if an ed tech degree is best for you and your career goals. 

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