Welcome to the Learning, Design, and Technology Program, and to Penn State University! We are happy to have a diverse student population studying in our programs, including professionals working in K-12 and higher education, corporate, military, and community training, informal learning institutions, and many others who work to facilitate learning for others.
The Postbaccalaureate Certificate in e-Learning Design (code name: ELEARN) is a 12-credit professional development experience offered by the Learning, Design, and Technology Program via Penn State World Campus. The certificate is designed to prepare students for designing and developing digital and/or online learning resources, particularly course lessons (modules) delivered via an online course management system (CMS) like Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, etc. The coursework is focused more on the design and delivery of learning than it is on the technical processes related to programming or managing digital software and hardware. Professionals who work as instructional designers, training developers, instructors, trainers, or administrators of any such personnel would be able to immediately apply the lessons from this certificate into their daily work.
The program is straightforward: successfully complete the four required online courses for the certificate and students earn the certificate. The courses for this certificate have either the LDT or the ADTED prefix, and are 3 graduate credits each. The four required courses for the certificate are:
LDT 415A – Systematic Instructional Development
LDT 467 – Emerging Web Technologies and Learning
LDT 832 – Designing e-Learning Within Course Management Systems
ADTED 531 – Course Design and Development in Distance Education
Course Order
The courses may be taken in any order. There is no one course that must be taken first or last. Courses are available throughout the academic year, but each of the courses is not necessarily offered every term. The LDT Program generally recommends that you take a course when it is available. The course offering schedule is finalized 2-3 months prior to the start of the next term, and students accepted into the certificate program will receive newsletters and updates about registration timelines. The advisor for the students in this certificate is Dr. Josh Kirby, and you may contact him with questions. Note that most questions are answered on our blog for students (ldtonline.psu.edu).
Also note that other university publications, including LionPATH, may list “prerequisite courses” for courses listed above. The LDT Faculty has waived the prerequisites for students who are enrolled in our certificate or degree programs. To earn the certificate, take the four courses listed above.
Course Substitutions & External Transfers
As with all of the LDT postbaccalaureate certificate programs, no course substitutions are allowed, and no credits may be transferred into a certificate program. To earn the certificate, students complete the courses required for the certificate, and complete them with Penn State University. Anyone with credits from another university, or another program within Penn State, that they hope to transfer into an LDT program should inquire about our Master of Education in Learning, Design, and Technology.
Course Applicability to M.Ed.
All courses offered by the LDT program can be applied to the Master of Education in Learning, Design, and Technology. A student who completes one of our certificate programs with a GPA of 3.5 or higher will be able to request a waiver of the GRE or MAT score submission requirement. The ADTED 531 course can be applied to the M.Ed. in LDT by any student who successfully completes the ELEARN certificate.
How many courses in one term?
The majority of students in our certificate programs are working professionals. We find that students with full-time work obligations and family obligations do best when they take one course at a time.
The LDT Program faculty design our courses to expect about 10-12 hours per week for each student. However, individual student needs will vary: Some students will need more time, and some will need less. The amount of time needed to complete coursework will impact the number of courses a student can handle in one term.
Certificate students who are working part-time (or less), or those without significant daily family care obligations, may be able to complete two courses in one term without problem. Students whose full-time study and living expenses are fully sponsored (usually by a government, military, or corporate entity) can potentially complete three to four courses in one term—but doing so is significantly challenging.
Certificate Completion
When the grade for your 4th/final course required for the ELEARN certificate posts to your transcript, please notify Whitney DeShong and Dr. Kirby via email. Once we receive your notice we will initiate the process to verify completion of the certificate and then request for the university to print and mail your certificate. Your transcript (both unofficial and official) will reflect the completion of ELEARN prior to you receiving the printed certificate, so in cases where a quick record of completion is necessary, please refer to your transcript.
What else should I know?
Our blog for students (this site) has an abundance of how-to’s and other responses to frequently asked questions. New students should visit our New Student Info page for important details about how to start your education with the LDT Program at Penn State.
Students are expected to register for courses as soon as they are eligible to do so. Most students become eligible to register for courses about 2-3 months prior to the start of the next term. We post to this blog, and send newsletters, with notice about registration timeframes. It is highly recommended that students add their registration eligibility start date to their personal calendars as soon as it is known, and that they decide their next courses prior to that registration start date.
Thank you for choosing Penn State. The faculty and staff of the LDT Program are thankful for your hard work and your initiative to study in our field.