Program Quickview
The Advanced Certificate in Digitally-Rich Teaching focuses on leveraging digital devices and other instructional technologies to improve student learning in K-12 schools, both in “normal” situations and during emergency remote teaching times as we are experiencing today. It is primarily intended for current and prospective teachers as well as school leaders responsible for technology integration.
- For current K-12 educators or students concurrently enrolled in a teacher education program.
- Combining Theory and Practice: Includes both coursework and practicum experiences focusing on how to capitalize on digital technologies in K-12 school.
- Rich Experiences as Learners: Students engage as a learner in innovative digitally-rich learning activities – both online, and face-to-face (when possible!) – to personally experience their power and limitations.
- Flexible: Program can be customized to be most relevant to your school setting and role, and to leverage courses taken in prior or concurrent programs.
- Fully Online Option: If desired, all required and elective courses in these programs can be taken fully online (meeting weekly in synchronous online sessions).
Warner Programs in K-12 Digitally Rich Teaching
Advanced Certificate in Digitally-Rich Teaching in K-12 Schools (OT3): 12 credits or less, including a practicum experience; for current and prospective K-12 teachers and school leaders who want to learn how to leverage digital tools and resources to better support student engagement and learning – both during emergency remote teaching situations and in the traditional classroom; can be pursued as a stand-alone program OR concurrently with another Warner program.
This advanced certificate program does not lead to licensure or prepare students for the practice of any profession in NYS. It is designed to give professionals additional insight and tools to promote Digitally Rich Teaching.
Combined Master's Program (TC5): If you are interested in a master level credential, you can pursue our customizable M.S. in Teaching and Curriculum concurrently with the Advanced Certificate in Digitally-Rich Teaching for only 33 credits. This combined program includes multiple electives that will allow you to further specialize in your areas of interest.
Customizable Doctoral Programs in Teaching: If you are interested in a doctoral program focusing on digitally-rich teaching and instructional technology, you can customize our flexible Ed.D. and Ph.D. programs to do so by choosing your specialization courses and pursuing your dissertation in this area. You can also add the Advanced Certificate in Digitally-Rich Teaching to either of these programs for only 3 additional credits, by appropriately choosing your electives.
NOTE: State certification is required for any teaching or administrative position in K-12 public schools across New York, as well as most other states.
Opportunities to Complement/Combine with Another Program
While an Advanced Certificate in Digitally-Rich Teaching is great on its own, it is also a helpful and marketable complement to an existing Warner program, especially if you are already enrolled or you are considering, one of the programs below:
To learn more, visit Master's in Teaching (Without Certification) and check the program requirements and enhancement options for the program of your choice.
Elementary and early childhood education students can add this advanced certificate for an additional 9 credits, and complete it part-time after graduation.
All secondary and TESOL students can complete this certificate program in just 15 months of full-time study (if starting in summer semester) by taking advantage of common required courses and electives when available. Adding this certificate will require only three to six additional credits depending on the area of specialization.
To learn more, visit Programs Preparing K-12 Teachers and check the program requirements and enhancement options for the program of your choice.
To learn more, visit Programs Leading to New York State Professional Certification and check the program requirements and enhancement options for the program of your choice.
If you are already pursuing a Warner program preparing for New York State certification as a school building leader (SBL) and/or school district leader (SDL), you should strongly consider adding this specialization to help propel you as an administrator.
If you are pursuing these certifications through a master’s degree, or need a few additional courses to meet your SDL requirement of 60 credits of graduate coursework, you can count courses taken to satisfy this advanced certificate toward those degree requirements.
To learn more, visit Programs Preparing K-12 School Leaders and check the program requirements and enhancement options for the program of your choice.
Warner offers a flexible master’s degree to prepare educational leaders who are not interested in New York State school certification* (only required for administrative positions in K-12 public schools). This master’s program requires only one year of full-time study or two years of part-time study. By choosing your electives strategically, you may only need three additional credit hours to earn an advanced certificate in digitally-rich teaching.
To learn more, visit Master’s in Educational Leadership.
By choosing your electives strategically, you may only need three additional credit hours to earn an advanced certificate in digitally-rich teaching.
To learn more, visit:
Our Approach
Preparing K-12 Educators to Leverage Online and Digitally-Rich Learning
At Warner, we see the use of technology in schools not as a goal in itself, but rather as a tool to be leveraged to improve student learning. To be effective, technology adoptions need to be accompanied by significant changes in curriculum, teaching practices, and expectations. We aim to prepare educators who understand the potential of online and digitally-rich learning and its implications, and are able to use instructional technology as a catalyst for school reform.

It is not at all surprising then that individuals seeking teaching positions today are increasingly expected to use instructional technology and to integrate digitally-rich learning opportunities into their lesson plans. Similarly, school leaders need to develop a deeper understanding of the potential for and implications of digitally-rich learning, so they can make informed decisions about curriculum, assessment, and the strategic resources that will affect the use and effectiveness of implementing these instructional technologies in their schools.
Digital conversion in K-12 schools cannot be successful without significant transformations in learning expectations, curricula, assessment, and teaching practices. At the same time, we have also seen how using certain digital tools has helped teachers and administrators see what their students are truly capable of when presented with more engaging and accessible learning experiences. As a result, digital technologies can also be used to provide a catalyst for more student-centered, inquiry-oriented teaching practices.
To effectively include digitally-rich learning experiences in K-12 schools, it is first of all necessary to understand and apply many of the same principles and best practices required to design any good learning experience. It is also important to be aware of the unique strengths and limitations of digital learning, as well as the myriad of powerful digital technology tools being used in the online space, in order to design and implement the best possible learning experiences for students. Figuring out the instructional goals or learning activities best suited for online, versus face-to-face, learning is also an important skill for all teachers to develop.
While instructors have experienced traditional teaching as students themselves, not everyone has experienced digitally-rich learning in a formal educational setting. At Warner, we believe it is beneficial for educators to have this first-hand experience, so they can fully appreciate its potential for their own teaching, and we have created many opportunities to do so in the hybrid-online signature courses at the core of this program.
Consistent with this approach, our programs prepare graduates to:
- Gain a nuanced appreciation of the potential and limitations of digitally-rich learning.
- Develop foundational knowledge in the areas of motivation, learning, teaching, and instructional design, as needed to inform the design of high-quality, digitally-rich learning experiences for diverse learners.
- Gain awareness of and proficiency in using a rich set of online tools, technologies, resources, and best practices for enhancing teaching in K-12 schools.
- Achieve proficiency in designing and implementing high-quality, digitally-rich learning experiences for K-12 students.
- Learn how to evaluate digitally-rich learning experiences to improve future practice.
The Warner Advantage
Preparing Graduates to Innovate, Advocate, and Elevate.
- Learn to best utilize instructional technology to better serve your students today, while also expanding your career opportunities.
- Learn from experts in digitally-rich teaching and learning and become an innovator and a thought leader in this emerging field.
- Increase access to quality learning opportunities for underserved populations through attention to equity issues related to online learning.
- Leverage the reputation of a leading research university to give your degree even more recognition.
- Shorten the pathway toward your doctoral degree by earning transferable credits.
- Use your electives to specialize in your area of interest.
- Take advantage of online learning options to significantly reduce trips to campus - even after the pandemic.
- Start the program in any semester and go at your own pace.
- Are you a University of Rochester employee? Make sure you make full use of your tuition benefits.
All About Experience

Center for Learning in the Digital Age (LiDA)
Benefit from faculty who were involved in transformative uses of digital technology to enhance teaching and learning well before COVID19. LiDA collaborates with various educational partners to leverage the potential of digital technologies for education.

K-12 Digital Consortium
Established to support collaboration among local school districts engaged in technology innovations, the K-12 Digital Consortium gives Warner students the opportunity to visit schools that are members of this consortium, participate in Consortium events, and make use of information shared through the Consortium website.

Connecting with Edtech Companies in Boston
Warner School faculty and students had the unique opportunity to connect with two Boston-based edtech companies as part of the Learning in the Digital Age (LiDA) strategic initiative.
Career Opportunities
Advancing Education and Your Career to the Next Level.
Our graduates are well positioned to advance their career by taking on special roles related to instructional technology and teaching innovations within K-12 schools. These opportunities include: piloting new instructional technologies or approaches; serving as a technology mentor to other teachers; leading a professional development effort; serving on school- or district-wide innovation teams; and other opportunities to advance teaching and learning technologies.
Some of our graduates also choose to pursue job opportunities outside of K-12 schools, such as an instructional designer in an educational publishing company and other non-traditional roles.

Faculty
An Accessible, Supportive Faculty of Researchers and Accomplished Practitioners.
Scholarships
Making Warner Affordable.
The Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester is pleased to offer a number of merit-based scholarships to eligible students who enroll in the Advanced Certificate in Digitally-Rich Teaching program.
Byron Williams Teaching Scholarships – Guaranteed 50% Tuition Savings
All students starting a master’s or advanced certificate program in teacher education leading to New York State teaching certification are guaranteed a minimum 50 percent tuition scholarship, provided they commit to teach in a U.S. school for a minimum of two years after graduation.
Special scholarships for the Advanced Certificate are also available for employees of districts that are members of the K-12 Digital Consortium.

Try Us Out
Get a Taste of What Warner Has to Offer.
Another valuable course, offered every semester, is EDE484: Online Teaching and Learning, which focuses specifically on designing and facilitating online modules, and can be used as the instructional technology elective in the program.
Contact admissions to arrange for a visit or learn more about opportunities for non-matriculated students.
