Professionals in the field of instructional design and technology are responsible for configuring, creating, and assessing instructional process to ensure the successful creation of the instructional system.
If you are looking to upgrade your competencies in this field, Master of Instructional Design and Technology (MIDT) programme can certainly make a difference in your career.
Offered by Open University Malaysia (OUM), the programme focuses on applying theories of instructional design and technology into practice.
Programme director Assoc Prof Dr Zahari Hamidon explains, “Instructional design and technology is an area of education that focuses on creating an engaging and practical learning experience. It is the precise procedure of outlining, designing, evaluating, and dealing with the whole instructional system to guarantee success and competence in learning.”
According to Dr Zahari, learning can happen anytime and anywhere, thanks to the wide availability and accessibility of technology these days. With a comprehensive knowledge of instructional design and technology, learners will be able to create learning solutions in line with the teaching and learning needs of today’s scenario.
MIDT alumnus Josephine Wong Joy Lin, 36, can attest to the statement. She says, “The programme took me through a discovery of how to enhance teaching and learning to make it interesting and effective with the help of various technological applications.”
A senior IT officer at an engineering firm, Wong also tutors part-time at OUM, with a batch of 110 online learners currently under her care.
“The MIDT qualification opened the door for me to become a tutor. As an educator, I have applied what I learnt from the programme, and I can make my lessons more interesting, understandable and effective for my students,” says Wong, who previously graduated with a diploma, a bachelor’s degree, and most recently with another master’s degree, all at OUM.
She adds, “I appreciate that the programme is fully online and offers flexibility in my study schedule. Now that I am a tutor, I find that I enjoy teaching adult learners. Having been a former learner myself, I can also share with them how things work at OUM.”
The MIDT programme is uniquely designed for practitioners involved in teaching and learning.
Teaching and learning require careful planning, development, and implementation. Thus, Dr Zahari says that most of the courses focus on specific areas within the discipline, such as learning design, usability study, and mobile learning. All these topics are supported by research and developmental activities.
He adds that topics are organised according to a set of skills that will help learners plan, design, and develop an effective instructional system. The curriculum will also enable them to overcome any instructional issues.
Interestingly, the MIDT is one of the first of OUM’s programmes to be offered fully online. Consequently, MIDT learners come from diverse backgrounds and nationalities. “So far, teachers, lecturers, medical doctors, systems analysts, instructors, multimedia programmers, and even e-learning directors have enrolled into the programme,” says Dr Zahari.
Wong is a great example of how this unique programme can help educators become better at their craft. If you too want to step up your game in teaching and learning, MIDT is the programme for you.
Click here to find out more about MIDT!