EdTech 503 - ID Job Posting

I. SYNTHESIS

Rockland Falls University is seeking an experienced instructional designer to create innovative educational materials including learning activities and assessments based on proven ID methods and theories. The designer will work with several departments and colleges to redesign programs and curricula. The objective is to create both online and hybrid courses that include interactive modules and lessons. The designer will manage course development through all phases of the instructional design process including analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. This detail-oriented, team player must collaborative with management and partners to determine appropriate learning outcomes. They will work closely with designated subject matter experts including RFU faculty, external experts and other stakeholders. A successful candidate will be have a passion for education and for instructional design tools that feature technology.

Assigned Duties:

• Provide consultation on effective instructional strategies
• Recommend and develop creative instructional curriculum for various types of university-level courses (e.g. MOOCs, non-credit courses, self-paced courses, online degree programs, etc.)
• Apply learning principles and theories to the development of instruction
• Ensure content and instructional strategies meet established learning objectives
• Plan and write evaluation components for online programs and projects
• Repurpose existing content or courses for online delivery and/or distance learning.
• Review, evaluate, and critique existing instructional designs
• Research creative strategies for incorporating academic technology solutions
• Identify, apply, and integrate the appropriate blend of pedagogy and technology into the course curriculum
• Conduct applied research and evaluation, interpret data, and recommend adjustments or solutions for effective learning and instruction
• Build relationships with partners, collaborators, and Subject Matter Experts to determine the needs of each course and the appropriate methods of delivery.
• Identify and communicate project expectations to faculty/staff and communicate progress to managers and other stakeholders.
• Work with technologists, programmers, media developers, and video producers to create multimedia components
• Ensure compliance with copyright laws for all materials prior to implementation
• Share and develop instructional technology resources that inform and support faculty
• Outreach initiatives may include consultations, presentations, and workshops as well as participation in online discussions and conferences
• Provide training and support to faculty in the use of the course management system as well as provide outreach and end-user support

Required Skills:

• Excellent written, visual, and verbal communication skills and interpersonal skills
• Able to generate organized documentation of instructional design process and evaluation activities
• Able to make effective oral and written presentations
• Able to interact effectively with instructors with varying abilities and knowledge of educational technology
• Prepared to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Highly organized and able to thrive in a deadline-oriented environment
• Strong project management and evaluation skills to deliver quality outputs on time and within budget
• Can coordinate the activities of multiple faculty and staff
• Can create project timelines, work plans, and storyboards
• Can monitor completion of milestones and deliverables
• Ability to work flexible hours as needed
• Actively encourages a collaborative approach to brainstorming, exploration and problem-solving

Required Knowledge/Background:

• Master’s degree in instructional design, education technology, learning design, curriculum development or similar
• Familiarity with a variety of instructional design processes, such as student-centered, backward design, Agile, and ADDIE
• Familiarity with various online learning experiences, knowledge platforms, competency frameworks, assessments, and online communities
• Current in latest research and trends in instructional design theories and/or educational best practices
• Interest in emerging academic technologies (e.g. mobile learning, MOOC’s)
• Experience designing and producing web-based course materials, including instructional websites, activities, and resources
• Experience in using and developing content for online course management systems
• Expertise in instructional tools such as Microsoft Office, Creative Suite, Google Apps for Education, multimedia production, survey tools, online community tools, and social media

Desired Skills/Experience:

• 3-5 years of instructional design and development experience, preferably in the field of education
• Portfolio samples of prior instructional design work
• Experience in the design of online and/or hybrid educational programs
• 2 years experience working with faculty in a higher education setting
• Experience in developing grant proposals
• Knowledge of technology solutions as they relate to various grant offerings
• Experience with graphic design
• Proficiency using multimedia hardware, software, and equipment
• Understanding of the software development process
• Bilingual (Spanish) written and verbal communication skills

II. REFLECTION

Teachers and instructional designers are both tasked with the mission to help students learn.  They strive to do so by making the process efficient, effective, and appealing. Both professions look to techniques and models that are based on tested theories and ongoing research about human cognition and learning behaviors. Teachers focus on transmitting content to their students and exploring it within the classroom community. Instructional designers, however, are mostly focused on how to transmit content, that is, how to package up information into an effective, easy-to-digest bundle of learning.  Ideally instructional design should be a component of every teacher’s job description, to some degree.  At the same time, paying attention to best practices and innovative teaching methods would make any instructional design model more effective.  Nonetheless, there are a number of differences that distinguish the nature, focus, and duties of these two professional domains.

Teachers, unlike instructional designers, are interested in creating learning environments. They are frontline field-workers.  Teachers are caught up in the diverse and unpredictable antics of both eager and apathetic learners, but are expected to fill these students with knowledge (often using the products of instructional designers).  However, more than that, they are expected to create independent, critical-thinking, responsible, collaborative, skillful (young) adults filled with social grace, civic duty, and a strong moral backbone.  In my various K-12 teaching experiences, a big part of my job involved instilling soft skills that extended beyond the prescribed set of curricular objectives.  In every classroom, no matter the age or content area, I would manage behaviors, offer praise and encouragement, spark thoughtful conversations, and build rapport with my audience.  That is not to say I was not concerned with the content of my course.  More than might be required of instruction designer, I was expected to have solid background knowledge in each of my course’s topics.  I was expected to know my audience well enough to pace instruction, offer individual accommodations, and structure the classroom in a nuanced way.  In my opinion, teaching is more organic than instructional design, and encompasses many more, perhaps unpredictable, human components. All in all, the work of a teacher is directly in support of her students.

Instructional designers, on the other hand, are interested in creating learning products.  They work behind the scenes.  They are much more focused and prescriptive than teachers in the ways they seek to improve outcomes and content comprehension. The roots of this profession are in cognitive and behavioral psychology and use a prescribed systems approach to find problems and develop solutions.  Instructional designers generate coursework, which is a complete package of informational materials and modes of transmission. They are primarily concerned with choosing the most appropriate mode of delivery that transforms a student from a state of “not knowing” to “knowing”. The individual characteristics, emotions, behaviors, or background of the student body are of less concern to the designer than they would be to a teacher.  Although instructional design is similar to lesson planning, it appears to be much more elaborate and strategic in that it follows a model of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation.  In my own experiences with lesson plan development, these stages were desired but rarely fully attained due to time constraints, work load, or lack of reflective practice.  In addition, a large part of my lesson plan development involved researching content.  Whereas a teacher is expected to be well-versed in her own subject matter (or be prepared to research it on her own), instructional designers are expected to be well-versed in the learning of content in general, and therefore rely on a collaborative relationship with Subject Matter Experts to develop the content of specific course materials as needed.  In addition, an instructional designer’s plans would incorporate technology to a greater degree than a teacher’s might on her own. To an instructional designer, the medium is very important, and an important part of their role is to bridge pedagogy and technology.  All in all, the work of an instructional designer is directly in support of a teacher.

Three major differences between a teacher and an instructional designer are:

1) Instructional designers are more prescriptive, and their role reads more like a recipe.  Their products are developed by following tried-and-true models, and this formulaic approach is often quite successful.  Instructional design is more scientific and methodical. Working behind the scenes like a chemist, an instructional designers’ role lacks some of the “human” or soft side of teaching. Teachers, on the other hand, must be more flexible and creative in their dealings with their, often fickle, audience.  A teacher’s role is less prescriptive and more reactive, like a doctor’s might be.  For example, a teacher would need to adjust coursework based on the performance and interest of her students, as well as other external environmental variables.  A teacher also offers an emotional contribution to the learning process.  She provides encouragement, questioning, redirection, humor, empathy, immediate feedback. She also makes connections to her students’ background knowledge.  These variables are of less importance to the system’s model of instructional design. Alas, a teacher serves students, whereas an instructional designer serves teachers.

2) Instructional designers are not an “expert” in one particular subject matter.  What they focus on is simply how people learn best, and therefore are highly trained in pedagogical and learning theories. Teachers, on the other hand, are expected to know their subject quite well.  In addition, they are expect to fulfill many other roles and duties such as marking papers, classroom management, discipline, classroom design and decoration, parent conferencing, administrative and secretarial tasks, resource management, etc.  Ideally a teacher should understand and be able and willing to follow the process of an instructional designer, but often the best a teacher can do is get to the point of “implementation”.  There are simply not enough hours in the day to develop course materials and teaching strategies as well as stay abreast of their subject matter, child development, behavior management, and latest teaching trends. The role of both teacher and instructional designer supports the other. Although they may overlap, the most effective and efficient use of time (and the best results) come from keeping the jobs separate.

3) An instructional designer gives structure and purpose to a classroom activity or a course.  They create a framework that, when followed, should lead to solid learning of a set of objectives. A teacher’s job is to bring this activity or curriculum to life. A teacher uses the framework of instructional design as a resource, but implements the lesson in her own fashion.  She may color outside the lines (by expanding or altering an activity), because education is messy business. It doesn’t always follow a succinct model.  In a child-centered classroom, for example, students themselves may be part instructional designers.  They may take a prescribed activity and alter it according to their interest or abilities.  Or they may come up with the entire project of learning on their own!  In many of my teaching experiences, I did not have the luxury of instructional-designed courseware or materials.  In some cases I did not even have an established curriculum!  Nevertheless, the students still learned quite a bit.  Instructional design is not a prerequisite to learning, but it certainly does appear to make the process more effective and efficient.  It keeps teachers and students on target and provides a level of standardization that is easier to manage and evaluate.  In addition, instructional designers give teachers a solid anchor to latch on to.

III. Job Posting URLs

1. Michigan State University Instructional Designer
2. Cal Lutheran Instructional Designer
3. University of Minnesota Instructional Designer

EdTech 541: Vision Statement

Technology Integration Vision Statement

From C to Shining C: In Support of Technology-Enhanced Education

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Technology is an indicator of change, indeed of progress.  It is the byproduct of our desire to solve problems, invent useful objects, entertain, and streamline our behaviors.  The integration of technology into our K-12 classrooms is certainly nothing new. Pencils and abacuses were once innovations in their time, and their purpose was to make learning more effective and efficient.  The same can be said for computers, social media, and online learning platforms.  These and other technologies are entering classrooms at an increasing rate and on a global scale due to the support of teachers, students, administrators, parents, lawmakers, and community stakeholders. The efficiency and effectiveness of educational technology on teaching and learning cannot be ignored.  However, more than that, technology is transforming the purpose of schools, the nature of the classroom, and the roles of teachers and students in innovative and welcome ways.

It is imperative that schools not only embrace but advocate technology-enhanced instruction because it has proven to yield improvements in students’ motivation and skill application, is able to address students’ individual needs, and creates an atmosphere of lifelong learning. Gone are the days of lecturing and memorization as a primary means of knowledge transmission. The goal of modern schooling is not simply to connect the dots.  Rather, it is to create hard-working, collaborative, thoughtful, and innovative 21st century learners.  Our students are “digital natives” because they have grown up in a “wired world”.  Information technology’s ubiquity is unquestionable and unwavering. Our role, then, is to “help young people learn how to use [it] more responsibly, reflectively, and effectively in different areas of life” (Jerald, 2009, p. 45).  In doing so, we are promoting the following great big “C’s” of efficient and effective learning.

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Students

Citizens of the 21^st Century

According to the P21 Organization (Partnership for 21^st Century Skills), to be successful in the modern workforce and in life, students need knowledge and skills that go beyond the classic 3 R’s. They must also “learn how to learn”, think creatively, and reason effectively (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 26). Information literacy, media literacy, and ICT literacy are areas of expertise that students must know how to access, use, manage, create, evaluate, and apply (P21, 2009, p. 5).  Educational technology can make these literacies interesting, authentic, and achievable.  In addition, technology can address other essential objectives of 21^st century learning, which are summarized by the following C’s:

Creativity – Digital technologies enable students to think and create in innovative ways.  They can easily ask “what if” questions, test theories, design models, and construct products that reflect their learning of content and process.  The pride that comes from sharing a unique and thought-provoking project is also motivating to the learner.

Collaboration – Students are eager to work cooperatively on multimedia projects and project-based learning experiences that feature technology.  Learning as a team, they divide roles according to their interests and talents, share responsibility in a diverse environment, and communicate clearly and respectfully with each other.

Communication – When students are sharing their work with a broad and authentic audience, they are more concerned with putting forth their best effort (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 25).  Publishing work to a personal website, for example, increases interest and motivation and adds a real-life connection to a learning task.  Using digital tools, students can create media to communicate particular messages that are tailored to specific audiences.  Technology can aid them in “articulat[ing] thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts” (P21, 2009).

Critical Thinking – Technology can assist students in developing problem-solving abilities to tackle novel or perplexing situations.  They need to be able to use higher-order critical thinking skills to reason effectively, use systems thinking, make judgments and decisions, and solve problems (P21, 2009). Students can digitally manipulate variables, explore simulations, and connect ideas graphically with software and apps that promote complex project-based learning.

Career-Readiness – Other 21^st century learning skills put forth by P21 include flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-direction, social and cross-cultural skills, productivity and accountability, and leadership and responsibility (P21, 2009).  Other literacies include Global awareness, Financial, economic, business and entrepreneurial literacy, Civic literacy, Health literacy, and Environmental literacy.  These learning goals can all be achieved through a technology-enhanced program that aims to create real-world contexts and scenarios.  This in turn makes students more flexible and better equipped to enter a career with a toolkit of relevant knowledge.  What they have learned in school is practical, not theoretical.  The types of projects, resources, and materials they have used are present in variety of professions.  Educational technology in their schooling has clearly helped prepare them for the next step.

Consider this example from Craig D. Jerald’s publication “Defining a 21st Century Education”:

In 2006, the Conference Board surveyed 431 employers about the skills they believed most important for new entrants to succeed in the workplace. The survey asked about “basic skills” related to school subjects like reading, math, science, and social studies as well as “applied skills that enable new entrants to use the basic knowledge acquired in school to perform in the workplace.” The results showed that while employers still view basic skills like reading comprehension to be fundamental to success on the job, some broader competencies—such as the ability to communicate, collaborate, thinking critically, and solve problems—are considered even more valuable. In addition, when the survey asked employers to look into the near future, four applied skills topped the list by a comfortable margin—critical thinking and problem solving; applying information technology; teamwork and collaboration; and creativity and innovation. (Jerald, 2009, p. 46)

Teachers

Constructivism – Technology can foster a constructivist approach to instruction, wherein the teacher serves as facilitator and the students are responsible for creating their learning (i.e. the process of learning uncovers knowledge).  Hands-on, inquiry-based activities are directly in line with the purpose of many educational technologies.  In a constructivist classroom, video-based scenarios, graphic tools, instructional games, website projects, and simulations can foster creating problem-solving and metacognition, can help build mental models and increase knowledge transfer, can foster group collaboration skills, and can allow for multiple intelligences (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 50).

Captivating – If we engage their interest and evoke the joy in learning, our students will be more motivated and primed to recall the information and skills they learn in our class.  Educational technology, such as multimedia, can put the “wow factor” into any lesson.  It can help both teachers and students make intricate models or representations of invisible events come to life in visually exciting ways.  This also means learning is more authentic and connected to the real world by eliminating some of the abstract or theoretical.

Collecting Data – Teachers must constantly seek to improve their craft by collecting, analyzing, and modeling data they receive from student outcomes. The National Education Technology Plan 2010 encourages teachers to use measure student achievement in more complete, authentic, and meaningful ways.  “Technology-based learning and assessment systems will be pivotal in improving student learning and generating data that can be used to continuously improve the education system at all levels.” (NETP, 2010, p. 7).  With accessible technology, teachers can design innovative and effective assessment options and track results with efficient database tools.

Connectivity – Not all expertise, research, and data can be found within one school.  Educational technologies such as the Internet, blogs, and online courses (such as MOOC’s) widen the frontier of professional information exchange and enhance our database of collective knowledge.  This is the ultimate in teacher collaboration. “Technology will help us execute collaborative teaching strategies combined with professional learning that better prepare and enhance educators’ competencies and expertise over the course of their careers” (NETP, 2010, p. 7).

Capabilities – Students who need extra support or enrichment opportunities are able to complete tutorials or distance learning courses that go beyond the walls (and limitations) of the school and its teaching staff.  Technology also assists students who may have learning or physical disabilities that require adaptations to gain access to information and achieve success. Digital tools for accommodating impairments to vision, hearing, and manual dexterity give all students equal access. For these reasons, technology infusion is often a Cost-effective option for schools that are balancing budgets and resources but still keeping individualized instruction at the forefront of their mission.

Convenience – Technology in the form of online, self-directed learning means that students are able to learn at own pace.  Instead of rushing through a sequence of objectives the whole class is expected to master at once, online learning allows students to master content in their own time before moving on.  If a student misses school or needs review, teacher communication, resources, and opportunities for practice are a few clicks away. By supporting focused and individualized skill practice, many software products offer privacy and immediate feedback that students prefer (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 25).  Educational technology use is also convenient in that it helps students focus on high-level skills by eliminating low-level or repetitive skills (such as writing by hand, looking up a work in a dictionary, or adding up numbers) (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 25). This kind of time and effort-saving means class time can be spent achieving more varied objectives.

Conscientious Consumer – Consumable materials can be replaced by paperless, digital copies of worksheets, textbooks, display boards, posters, and reports.  This is also beneficial because it is easy to access up-to-date, rare, or primary source materials.  Increasing, many teaching resources are available free of charge as well (through the OpenContent movement).  Educational technology can support environmental awareness and conservation while keeping materials current, relevant, and accessible.

Cultural Change – Access to technology in school decreases the “digital divide” in our society.  For various reasons, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status have traditionally created impediments to access and understanding of technology, which has put minority groups at a disadvantage.  This cultural trend can change, however.  Giving all students opportunities to explore traditional and emerging digital technologies at an early age ensures a greater population will be confident in their use of these items in social, educational, and professional contexts in later life.

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The preceding great big “C’s” of technology integration in the classroom should encourage any school to adopt policies and resources that allow for its seamless incorporation. “Seamless integration is when students are not only using technology daily, but have access to a variety of tools that match the task at hand and provide them the opportunity to build a deeper understanding of content” (Edutopia, 2007).  Students and teachers will experience the benefits as outlined above if technology use is routine, accessible and available, supports curricular goals, and helps the students reach their goals (Edutopia, 2007).  Creating a 21st century school means adopting 21st century learning habits and viewing technology as progress.

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References

Edutopia. (2007). What is technology integration? Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-description

Jerald, C. D. (2009). Defining a 21st century education. Center for Public education. Retrieved from http://www.cfsd16.org/public/_century/pdf/Defininga21stCenturyEducation_Jerald_2009.pdf.

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2009). P21 Framework Definitions. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/P21_Framework_Definitions.pdf

Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2013). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

 U.S. Department of Education. (2010) National Education Technology Plan 2010 Executive Summary. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/technology/netp-2010.

 ~ Extra Credit Illustrated Slideshow ~