Instructional Design Job Description Assignment

Happy University

Job Title: Instructional Design Specialist	Job Code: 12345
Department: Academics	Job Grade: 1-5
Revision Date: January 15th 20	Instructor Design Specialist

Position Summary:

As the instructional design specialist at Happy University you will be the campus lead on technology and curriculum design. You will act as a support role to faculty and non-faculty individuals, helping the bridge the gap for all user experiences. The role of instructional design specialist is built for the individual who understands pedagogical theory and practical educational technology design, while keeping accessibility for all at the forefront of their decision making and planning.

Background:

Bachelor degree with 3+ years experience in education, curriculum development or a related field.

Skills/Abilities:

· Practical technology integration ability

· Course Design proficiency

· Familiarity with course management tools and applications

· Works well in teams and with minimal supervision

· Detailed focused

· Effective communicator

· Patient instructionalist

· Basic programing language skills (HTML, XTML, CSS, and javascript)

· Capable of working through systematic approaches

· Student first focused

· Creative approaches for effective technology integration on firm budgets

· Project planning experience

· Ability to write learning objectives and competency standards

· Ability to manage and execute current trends in educational technology

· Retention and satisfactory academic progress experience

 

Preferred Qualifications:

· Master Degree in Instructional Design, Curriculum Development, or in a related field.

· Experience with website authoring and Dreamweaver

· Two years minimum experience in the academics field

Happy University is an equal opportunity employer, Please contact Jason Marconi or send resume’s, project examples, and your letter of interest to:

 

Happy University

University Drive 1
Happy Town, USA 1000
Assignment reflection:

This assignment was a great way for me to learn more about the potential openings in the field of study I am currently in. It also provided an opportunity to distinguish between Instructional Design, Instructing, and educational technologists. While similarities in these fields can be found, subtle differences can be the difference to whether or not you are a right fit for the position within these fields or if the field is right for you. I also realized I was relatively ignorant to the responsibilities an Instructional Designer has towards the overall goal of Academics. In this reflection I will share the connection I made to the following questions:

1. What are teachers expected to do that instructional designers are not?

2. What are instructional designers expected to do that teachers are not?

3. What are the three major differences between a teacher and an instructional designer?

The correlation made in this assignment came to me in what could seem as a basic elementary example. I connected the dots by imagining the relationship a passenger has with a driver on a long road trip or journey. The driver of the vehicle is in control of a lot of the primary actions of the trip. These hands-on actions such as physically driving the car, maintaining the correct route, monitoring the tool or tools they are using in real time for their journey, (which in this case is the car) play vital roles to the trips success. The driver to me is similar to the teacher or instructor. The person responsible for maintaining the journey the students take, while monitoring the tools they use in real time. They are physically by the very nature of teaching, driving the success of student learning. The passenger on the other hand, has the important role of disseminating information to the driver, that aides and benefits the overall journey. Think about the type of information the passenger must assist the driver with. The passenger chooses what tool or tools to use during the journey. Those tools could be the map, GPS, or perhaps a mobile phone app. The driver will of course need the information to be accurate to benefit the overall journey so both the driver and passenger will work together. The instructional designer to me is the passenger(probably a better example would the instructional designer as the car manufacturer and designer, but my thought train is already growing haha). Someone who develops the route and proper tools for the journey’s success. Both give each other constant feedback during the trip and you can see as the trip continues both rely on each other in equal parts. While they need each other during the journey the importance of their team effort can also be found in their planning stages. We seldom take road trips without first discussing where we are going and how we are going to get there. This discussion is something equally important to the driver and the passenger, much like the planning stages of instructional design and implementation for classroom objectives are extremely important.

What are teachers expected to do that instructional designers are not? For me the answer to this question is, teachers are expected to implement, monitor, manage, and critique the delivery and process of classroom instruction. Beyond being great orators and performers, I think they are expected to be the classroom managers. I do not mean managing the children, teens, or young adults. I mean managers of the learning environment from the tools they use to the objectives they are required to meet.

What are instructional designers expected to do that teachers are not? The answer to this question was not as easy for me come up with. I feel like instructional designers for the most part do everything a good instructor does but do not actually teach the material(although I’m sure some do). I look at the instructional designer as more of the coordinator, engineer, or coach of a team, and then the teachers go execute the plays. With that thought process instructional designers are expected be experts in the field of education as a whole and maybe not just one or two subjects. They are expected to understand the technology that can be used as tools and an alternative driving force for concepts. They are also expected to be detailed and results oriented thinkers, who pay attention to the overall goal that everyone wants. From the supervisor, principal, student, parent, stakeholders and finally to the teacher, the instructional designer works to the benefit of everyone.

What are the three major differences between a teacher and an instructional designer? One difference I believe is that instructional designers have the freedom and maybe even the time to take a curriculum and actively search out different unique ways to achieve the learning objectives. Where as a teacher will perhaps stick to tried and true ways of teaching their content due to time constraints or budget constraints. To be honest I have spoken to many teachers that unfortunately stated “ I love to add more tools and simulation into my class to help the students “get it” but I just do not have the time”. I feel like that is where the instructional designer has the upper hand, and creates a difference. The second difference is from the example I gave above regarding the coach and the player. The teacher is the player, making things happen day in and day out for his or her classroom. They have a direct connection the learner. Instructional Designers make, research, and create the game plan for the plays. The difference being teachers are implementers and designers are builders. The third major difference I found was the importance and use of technology to the instruction designer is incredibly important, and plays an important role.

I am by far not an expert in this field, and really have no basis except the quick research I have done for this project to be stating any of my thoughts as facts. They are based on my opinion that was developed and continuing to develop for this assignment. I especially feel this way when I tried to answer the three major differences questions. I am sure teachers are trying to build and bring new technology, tools, and ideas into the classroom. For that example I wanted to portray more that Instructional Designers concern themselves with technology and tools as a major part of their planning. Again, this assignment is a reflection of my thoughts based on being introduced to the world of instructional design recently.

Links to Job Descriptions:

http://goo.gl/Pfoi8s

http://goo.gl/WQQxZN

http://goo.gl/iosT3l