The application of developments in computer science and artificial intelligence to training and learning contexts to provide flexible and adaptable computer-based learning environments. The elucidation of current theories of collaboration and cooperation in training and learning contexts, and the provision of exemplar systems with consideration of issues underlying the selection of appropriate sociological, psychological and educational evaluations. The development of approaches to the provision of increasingly flexible and sophisticated support for alternative forms of assessment in line with the development of current theoretical approaches to evaluation and assessment. The course is intended for graduates who would normally have a first degree in computer science, cognitive science, information technology, or a related discipline and who wish to develop a career in learning technology. They may, of course, become teachers but we imagine that the majority will become courseware designers, consultants, educational advisors, and software engineers specialising in multimedia, the WWW, conferencing, and so on.
Advertisements show that there is a growing demand for 'learning technology professionals'.
This knowledge enables the propagation of a learning technology culture to provide a more secure foundation for the health of the learning systems industrial base. A postgraduate qualification from a recognised centre of excellence is seen as a worthwhile means of career development. They raise awareness of the potential of learning technology but are usually considered 'failures' in terms of achieving planned and predicted outcomes. Nowadays, there is a recognition of the need for a new kind of professional skill, that of a learning technologist, able to integrate knowledge of technical aspects with educational concerns to provide effective solutions. There is a considerable overlap in the concerns of users and designers of learning technology, which should lead to some beneficial synergies in the two MEd courses.