Megan Poindexter
EDTECH 503
Position: Instructional Designer for community college level course in the San Joaquin Valley
Part 1- Synthesis
Job Description
The primary role of the instructional designer is to act as support for all faculty so as to ultimately create a better online learning environment for students. Instructional designers will engage with educational technology tools and outside parties to create academic curriculum appropriate for the community college level. Moreover, the position calls for designers to work closely with faculty in the design of curriculum and develop a trustworthy system for the evaluation of online teaching practices. The position also requires an individual that is willing to be on the frontlines of managing internal affairs in the development of courses.
Duties:
- Contribute to the editing and revising of existing curriculum material.
- Designs course curriculum that seamlessly integrates technology. This would include developing assignments, quizzes, formal assessment, projects, activities, etc.
- Develop a technology plan that meets the need of the school site and includes a proposed method for training teachers on using technology in their courses.
- The technology plan must specify standards and acknowledge desired site goals.
- The plan will need to be assessed to monitor the plan’s progress bi-annually.
- Create workshops and educational opportunities for employees to learn new ways to integrate technology into their curriculum.
- This also includes planning and conducting professional development opportunities.
- Be available to assist and consult faculty when it comes to technology integration.
- Communicate and collaborate with other community college employees within the Central Valley and outside parties that have the knowledge to consult on projects.
- Develop relationships with outside parties in the Central Valley to enhance curriculum development.
- Provide objective feedback for faculty members by creating a system for assessing the effectiveness of curriculum using proper data analysis.
- This involves offering productive suggestions for faculty improvement and facilitating workshops (digitally) to troubleshoot areas of weakness.
- This also involves meeting with faculty both individually and in groups to assess the productivity and effectiveness of courses.
- Maintain a professional working environment.
Required Skills:
- Proficient in using a wide variety of digital devices
- Bachelor’s degree in instructional design, communication, or a related degree
- Knowledge of proper netiquette and methods for teaching teachers how to monitor class netiquette
- Working knowledge of basic principles in regards to instructional design and courseware development
- Ability to collaborate and communicate with colleagues both face-to-face and in a digital format.
- Ability to create a technology plan that fits the specific needs to the site and faculty.
- Ability to use data from the assessment of the site technology plan to develop workshops, tutorials, and learning opportunities for faculty to learn from. This also includes making recommendations for technology improvement.
- Fluency with Google resources (Google+, Google Drive, Google Classroom, etc) and the ability to teach others how to use these resources.
- Maintain knowledge of video and photo editing
- The willingness, discipline, and ability to learn new systems
- Ability to convert traditional course curriculum (activities, assessments, projects, etc.) into curriculum that embraces technologies
- Ability to remain flexible and adaptable
- Ability to work well under the pressure of deadlines
Desired Skills:
- 1-2 years of instructional design experience
- Masters degree related to instructional design
- Experience with converting traditional course curriculum into curriculum that embraces technologies.
- Proficiency with HTML and CSS coding
- Experience with developing technology plans and creating a reliable system for assessment.
- Experience collaborating with faculty on the development and design of new course material.
- Experience providing professional development opportunities for faculty to learn and self- assess
- Project management experience
Part 2- Summary / reflection
The role of the teacher is to facilitate and guide student learning experiences. The teacher is a direct resource for students and the position is intended to act as the funnel through which knowledge is communicated and application is demonstrated. Assessing student understanding and re-teaching to assure mastery learning are additional expectations. The teacher acts as the primary vessel for transmitting information and developing student literacy in various subjects. Moreover, the teacher’s goal should be to lead students to be college and career ready. All of this differs from the role of the instructional designer because an instructional designer is not present in the classroom and does interact with students directly.
In contrast, while the teacher acts as a direct resource for the student the instructional designer acts as a direct resource for the teacher. The instructional designer offers new means for communicating knowledge and assesses the validity and authenticity of those means. Moreover, the instructional designer offers tutorials and meaningful feedback to help guide teachers in their implementation of strategies or technologies in the classroom. Instructional designers must collaborate with faculty members to assess needs and develop plans for meeting those needs. This differs from the position of the teacher as the teacher is hands-on when it comes to applying the design created by the instructional designer. The teacher contributes to the curriculum design or technology integration of coursework while the instructional designer is acts as the expert creator and developer.
There are three major differences between a teacher and an instructional designer. Those differences include the below:
- Audience- The teacher’s audience is his or her class, while the audience of the instructional designer is his or her colleagues. Instructional designers must spend time collaborating, coaching, and creating instructional designs with staff. In contrast, teachers offer instruction, provide guided practice, and teach practical application to students. The needs of each audience is unique and thus the role of each position must accommodate to meet the needs of the audience.
- Purpose- The teacher’s primary purpose is to offer students the best possible opportunities to learn and advance to become college and career ready. Thus, the objective of the teacher is largely student-centered. The technology and design of curriculum must be shaped to fit the mold and needs of each unique class. Instructional designers are not in charge of student achievement, but rather they are responsible for developing curriculum that grows the educator’s abilities to effectively do their job. The instructional designer job is heavily centered on developing resources and acting as a support system so as to help teachers thrive.
- Expertise- Both of teachers and instructional designers have invaluable roles to play in the educational system, but their roles are each distinct. Teacher’s expertise lies in the areas of classroom management, teaching content, using various instructional methods, assessing student needs, analyze student progress, and preparing students to be college and career ready. The instructional designers focus is in the design of how to present content to students and involves integrating technology to enhance a teachers teaching practices. An instructional designer is more likely to have knowledge of a variety of technological tools that would be effective in the class and have develop a fluency of how to use those tools. In contrast, the teacher is often limited in time and exposure to these resources as their area of expertise lies in the teaching of content.
Part 3- Job Posting URLs
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