OC adds two new online master's degrees in Education
OC adds two new online master's degrees in Education
Partnering with Bloomboard, teachers can earn credit for classroom experience.
In response to Covid-19 challenges and advances in online technology, Oklahoma Christian University will now offer online master’s degrees for teachers across the country.
Partnering with online teacher education company Bloomboard, OC’s new degrees are fully online in either Technology and Computer Science Education or Curriculum and Instruction. The TCS degree offers a concentration in K-8 Computer Science, with more concentrations coming soon in 6-12 Computer Science, Robotics and STEM. The C&I degree offers five concentrations in Teaching Students with Disabilities, Teaching English Learners, Computer Science, Blended Learning and Social Emotional Learning. The number of C&I concentrations is expected to double as the program grows.
Billie McConnell, associate professor for Education and program chair for Education at OC, helped design the new degrees, which consist of 10 courses each.
“I am thrilled about our two new M.Ed. programs,” McConnell said. “These degrees should meet the needs of many teachers. A majority of states, including Oklahoma, are starting to teach computer science concepts beginning in kindergarten. The CST degree is one of the first of its kind in Oklahoma and the country.”
OC’s new, self-paced degrees are designed for working teachers who will complete classes through the BloomBoard platform. BloomBoard offers teachers the opportunity to earn credit for classroom teaching experience, which speeds up the time needed to complete the degree and assists teachers in earning a higher salary sooner. McConnell believes the degrees will help retain more teachers in classrooms across the country.
“By helping teachers continually improve their craft, we should keep more teachers in the profession,” McConnell said. “BloomBoard is selling the programs to school districts in multiple states, so we expect our first few cohorts to come from Oklahoma, Texas, Indiana, Illinois, Arkansas and Wisconsin. We pray that we can use these degrees to expand OC's territory and find ways to uniquely meet the needs of today's teachers.”
BloomBoard’s micro-credential learning experience varies from most traditional graduate degree programs, as teachers learn-by-doing within their own classroom practices, working with their own students. Teachers can put their new knowledge to work immediately, while demonstrating their skills to earn their micro-credentials.
Micro-credentials are a form of certification earned by demonstrating competency in one specific area at a time. BloomBoard was created by educators, based on research and designed to meaningfully improve teachers’ instructional practices.
Through the new degrees, OC hopes to help school districts implement valuable and rewarding benefits that attract the best teachers.
“These new on-the-job learning programs deliver on our goal to make modern instruction accessible,” said OC President John deSteiguer. “Together with BloomBoard, we’re able to provide a much-needed incentive to keep talented teachers in the classroom through convenient and affordable access to quality master’s degree programs.”
To learn more about OC’s new degrees, visit BloomBoard’s website for the programs.