Friday, December 9, 2011

Week 6 Reflection:Getting an IDT Position & Succeeding at it!

  • Chapter 24 takes a look at lessons learned from the chapter's author for obtaining a position in instructional design. Take a look at a few of the sources provided for job openings from lesson 1 and search for at least 3 positions that are of interest to you. Describe the general nature of the positions and list the skills required for the job.  

             Position Title: Leadership Coach/Content developer
             Company Name: Skyline Group
             Nature of Position:
  • A passion for and extensive experience creating new and refining existing written content focused on leadership, management and soft skill topics.
  • Experience (minimum 5 years preferred) providing leadership coaching to a variety of audience types and roles
  • Comfortable with the virtual working environment and skillful at developing trust and relationships via phone and videoconference
  • At least 7 years of related work experience.  Experience desired in one or more of the following disciplines: organization development, team development, industrial psychology, people management, or organizational effectiveness
  • Experience inside an organization preferred
 Skills Required:
  • Master’s degree in related field preferred
  • Formal coach training preferred
  • Knowledge of instructional design and creative writing
  • Knowledge of foundational leadership competencies
  • Knowledge and experience in various coaching processes, competencies and skills
  • Excellent oral, written and interpersonal skills to effectively work with all levels of personnel
  • Possess excellent research methods skills
  • Ability to work with little supervision - Must be able to work independently
  • Basic Microsoft Office capabilities


           Position Title: eLearning Developer
           Company Name:OMNITEC Solutions
           Nature of Position: The ideal candidate will have 5+ years experience developing eLearning  
           training modules targeted to adult learning principles. The project is estimated to involve roughly 100
           hours of eLearning development and testing, producing an eLearning module of approximately 30 to
          40 student-minutes duration. The eLearning module will be based on existing instructor-led materials 
          using approximately 90 minutes classroom delivery time (including breaks etc.). The supporting SME
          involved is an OMNITEC Solutions employee and will be available as needed. The material has been
          screened for typical issues involved in classroom to eLearning conversions.


          The eLearning Developer will work under the overall supervision of an OMNITEC Senior
          Instructional Designer. The work will involve interactively refining and improving a preliminary module
          design with the Senior Designer and then executing that design into a final Adobe Captivate (or similar)
          package including developmental testing and piloting.


Required and Preferred Skills:


1. eLearning expertise to include creative presentation ideas for design approach review, storyboard level design review, component developmental testing, full-course pilot testing and final Sign-Off / Acceptance;
2. Experience creating interactive exercises, games, or modules for scenario / story driven simulations;
3. Familiar with methodologies for course development (CD) or Instructional System Development (ISD) (ie: ADDIE) but agnostic and flexible in design approach;
4. Experience with developing for adult professionals;
5. Must have own software tools and equipment, including Adobe Captivate 4.0 or newer version of the Adobe eLearning Suite. OMNITEC Solutions does not provide the authoring platform. Dreamweaver or an alternative platform could possibly be considered;
6. Internet connectivity, capability and willingness to work remotely is required. Travel is not expected.

          Position Title: Instructional Designer-eLearning
          Company Name: Red Robin
         Nature of Position: 
         Determine learning and material requirements for L&D projects
         Leverage training time, people and costs by identifying the most effective learning methods to support
         training program goals
         Develop and implement style guide and design document standards ensure consistency across projects
         Increase resource efficiency through the development of learning content that is easy to update,   
         manage, and customize
         Produce effective instructional content that integrates into the overall training system for TM and/or  
         Manager training
         Evaluate training programs and materials to ensure end-user needs are met
         Research and implement e-learning tools and best practices to maximize training effectiveness
         Partner with L&D and other department Team Members to identify, develop, and execute programs   
         that meet project goals and learning objectives
         Develop and maintain project plans to communicate progress and actions required to meet deliverable
         expectations
         Develop multimedia elements to support e-Learning content (graphics, video, audio, etc.).
         Assess training material and program needs to create visual image packaging to support end-user 
         needs
         Partner with L&D Team Members to develop materials that support learning program goals and end-
         user needs

The Skills required:

  • 7+ years experience in developing instructional materials.
  • A Bachelor’s degree in Education, Behavioral Sciences, Business Management, Instructional Design, or Industrial/Organizational psychology.
  • Masters degree (or higher) preferred.
  • A strong background in blended and distance learning
  • Experience in the food service or restaurant industry is a plus.
  • Experience following the Dacuum process is a plus.
  • Proficient with Microsoft Office products: Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook
  • Experience with Adobe programs (InDesign, Illustrator, Acrobat) is a plus.
  • Strong organizational skills, analytical and systems skills along with a keen attention to detail.
  • Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously; has the ability to plan, meet deadlines, and manage competing priorities.
  • Ability to effectively build and manage processes, tools and systems.
  • Ability to translate ideas into clear written and visual materials/communication.
  • Excellent oral and written English communication skills.
          Do you have these skills? I would have to say that I do have some of the skills that are listed, but the 
          main skills such as experience would definitely take me out of the running for being a final candidate
          for each position.  

  • Remember that the field of instructional/educational technology is not just focused on education, but on business and industry as well. Look at the resources provided on page 258 in chapter 25 and select one of these links and complete the self assessment. What did you learn about yourself from the  assessment? 
         
            The skills assessment test that I
             took was the one that was offered 
             on the careeronestop website.  The
             interesting thing about taking   
             the test was that the careers that it 
             matched with my skills are similar to
             what I studied in undergraduate   
             school. Also I have always been
             fascinated with the medical
              field which was another area that I
              was considered to have a lot of
               matched skills with.





Chapter 26 lists several websites for professional organizations and websites for professional publications. Visit 2-3 websites for professional organizations and 2-3 websites for the professional publications and address the following:
  • Professional organizations:
    • Mission
    • Cost of membership
    • Publications
    • Conferences and meetings
    • Opportunities for professional development
  • Professional publications:
    • Focus/Goals of the journal
    • Submission guidelines
    • Is this a peer reviewed journal?
    • Is the journal online? 

Professional Organizations
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)
Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education(SITE)
Mission
Advancing excellence in
Learning through effective uses of technology
The Society seeks to promote research, scholarship, collaboration, exchange, and support among its membership, and to actively foster the development of new national organizations where a need emerges. SITE is the only organization that has as its sole focus the integration of instructional technologies into teacher education programs.

Cost of membership
Premium: $219
Standard : $99
Retired Educator: $59
Student: $39
Professional Membership:
$125 (US); $145 (non-US)
Student Membership:
$45 (US); $60 (non-US)

Publications
Learning & Leading with Technology
Journal of Research on Technology in Education

Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education

Journal for Computing Teachers


Journal of Technology and Teacher Education (JTATE)

Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education (CITE)
Conferences & meetings

Expanding Horizons in 2012


SITE Conference 2012 - Teaching in Exponential Times!
Professional development opportunities

NETS Leadership Academy

2011-2012 Webinar Series

ISTE/JHU Certificate







Professional Publications
International Journal on E-Learning
Journal of Educational Multimedia & Hypermedia
Educational Technology Review
Focus/Goals of the journal
Provides educators with unique opportunities to enhance learning and teaching in corporate, government, healthcare, and higher education.     
The main goal of the Journal is to contribute to the advancement of the theory and practice of learning and teaching using these powerful and promising technological tools that allow the integration of images, sound, text, and data.
The purpose of this exchange should result in the growth of ideas and practical solutions that can contribute toward the improvement of education and learning through information technology.
Submission guidelines
Material must be original, scientifically accurate, and in good form editorially. The manuscript should be informative, summarizing the basic facts and conclusions, and maintaining a coherence and unity of thought.  The format of headings, tables, figures, citations, references, and other details should follow the APA style as described in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition, available from APA, 750 1st St., NE, Washington, DC 20002 USA.
Material must be original, scientifically accurate, and in good form editorially. The manuscript should be informative, summarizing the basic facts and conclusions, and maintaining a coherence and unity of thought.
Tutorial or how-to-do-it articles should preferably include a section on evaluation. Controversial topics should be treated in a factually sound and reasonably unbiased manner.
The format of headings, tables, figures, citations, references, and other details should follow the (APA) style as described in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition, available from APA, 750 1st St., NE, Washington, DC 20002 USA.



Material must be original, scientifically accurate, and in good form editorially. The manuscript should be informative, summarizing the basic facts and conclusions, and maintaining a coherence and unity of thought.
Is it a peer reviewed journal?
Yes
Yes
No
Is the journal online?
Yes
No
Yes









          How is the journal and organization useful to you and your career? Were you aware of the 
          organizations/journals that you researched? 

          The journal and organization is useful to my career because it keeps me abreast to the new           
          developments that have come about recently in technology.  I was aware of one of the organizations 
          that I researched but not all of the publications that it produced.
  • Chapter 27 looks at competencies for instructional design and technology professionals. If you were responsible for identifying the domains, competencies, and performance statements for a performance technologist, what would they include and why? 
          Domains (Table 27.7):Standard 1: Design
Standard 2: Development
Standard 3: Utilization
Standard 4: Management
Standard 5: Evaluation

Competencies (Table 27.6):

1. Focus on results and help clients focus on results.
2. Look at situations systematically.
3. Add value to the work and the work process.
4. Collaborate with clients and experts.
5. Be systematic in assessment.
6. Be systematic in solution design, development, implementation, and evaluation.

These domanins and competencies gives experts in your field something to gauge performance by and it assists with future modifications that you may need to make in order to improve one's own performance. Furthermore, it keeps you as the performance technologist focused on what is truly important in the project which is making sure that the clients are happy with the end result.
 When a person comes in new to a field they have yet to demonstrate their understanding of the competencies and don't have much prior knowledge that they can utilize to navigate them through situations. Once they have been receiving some on the job training one's level of understanding deepens and the ability to process what previously seemed like a complex task becomes alot more easier.

Watch this video on the Performance Technologist and get an idea of what it would be like to interview for a position with a company.

1 comment:

  1. Nakeisha,

    You have a lot of great content on your blog, but I am really struck by the visual appeal of your page. I love the combination of bright, vibrant colors, design, and content. Great video, too.

    ReplyDelete