Whats one of the first questions someone asks you upon meeting you for the first time…what do you do? When I tell people that I’m an Instructional Technologist, I often get this look of bewilderment with their eyebrows raised and the next question I get is, what’s that? I think the most important part of my title is actually the instructional part. Technology, of course, is part of my job, but the instructional part is what makes it all worth while for me. So, to answer the question, what does an instructional technologist do…
- Evaluate new technologies to discover new and better ways to enhance instruction
- Assist faculty in discovering methods of improving their instruction with and without technology
- Conduct training sessions teaching faculty and staff how to use new technologies
- Conduct research studies evaluating the use of technologies and their impact on student learning outcomes
- Create training materials to accommodate the self-learners and provide resources for our “customers”
- Manage the implementation of new technologies on-campus for the use of instruction
The above list gives an overview of what I do on my job. I would suspect that all Instructional Technologists have similiar duties, but depending on the type of environment you work in they could definitely vary quite a bit.
