Specializations
Educational Technology Graduate Pathways
Educational technology is graduate study in how schools use digital tools, learning platforms, and media to improve instruction. It can support coach or specialist roles. It does not automatically grant a teaching license or a principal credential.
Reviewed by Brittnie Vargas, School principal, M.Ed.Editorial processKey takeaways
- Educational technology is graduate study in how schools use digital tools, learning platforms, and media to improve instruction. It can support coach or specialist roles. It does not automatically grant a teaching license or a principal credential.
- They overlap. Educational technology is often K–12 and school-system focused. Instructional design is used across K–12, higher education, and workplace learning. Read the program’s published outcomes rather than the title alone.
Common degree homes include M.Ed. concentrations in educational technology, learning design and technology, or digital leadership. Coursework often covers instructional design, data privacy, accessibility, and change management for technology adoption.
Some states offer an educational-technology or instructional-technology endorsement added to an existing teaching license. Those endorsements are state-specific. If your goal is a building administrator license, start with educational leadership and the principal credential page.
Online programs are common in this field. Still confirm any field-experience or portfolio requirements if you need a state endorsement.
Educational technology can sit beside a principal intern’s improvement work, but it does not replace SLLA, TExES 268, FELE, CalAPA, or any other leadership assessment the board names.
An educational-technology endorsement, where a state issues one, is usually added to an existing teaching license. It is not a shortcut around administrator preparation.
Principal credentials by state
Licensure rules differ by state. Open a published Principal guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is educational technology the same as instructional design?
They overlap. Educational technology is often K–12 and school-system focused. Instructional design is used across K–12, higher education, and workplace learning. Read the program’s published outcomes rather than the title alone.