For the purpose of locating a job of interest, this author chose to use the site listed on Lesson 1 (Reiser and Dempsey, 2007).[i] Jobtarget, http://jobtargetjobfinder.com
1.) Key term used in search: Librarian (Working on Master’s in Library Science)
Job Title: Collection Access & Support Services Librarian
Where: Pennsylvania State University Libraries, Pen State Hershey Campus, Hershey, PA.
Full-Time, Entry Level
Description: The librarian will maintain central access to electronic journals, communicate with vendors and personnel to resolve access issues, coordinate technical support, and make statistical reports on resource usage. Also, provide reference service research support. The person selected will work with all academic departments and serve on the library advisory team.
Job Qualifications: MLS, Demonstrated experience or relevant coursework with resource management tools and technologies, ability to work in collaborative, service oriented, rapidly changing environment to accomplish mutual goals, excellent oral and written communication skills and strong public service orientation.
Preferred Qualifications: Experience in academic health and science. Experience in science statistical analysis, experience with database searching and with an emphasis on medicine and health related issues, demonstrated commitment to professional development.
This author feels that she possesses all the job qualifications in order to do this job effectively. Completion of the MLS is almost done and the skills that are needed to be a librarian have been acquired. However, the skills for the preferred qualifications are a different story. This author has no experience researching academic health and science. However, there is experience in researching different databases. Professional development is important in order to remain current on librarian standards and practices.
2.) Key term used in search: Educational Technology
Job Title: Director, Distance Learning & Instructional Technology
Where: Pitt Community College, Greenville, North Carolina
Min, Education: Master’s Degree in Information Systems, Instructional Technologies, or closely related field
Full Time, Preferred 3-5 years’ experience in managing the development and delivery of web based courses in higher education. Some experience teaching.
Description: The director will provide direction to department of Distance Learning. Director needs expertise on technology in education-especially distance education. They will lead the staff/faculty training on instructional technologies, and report to Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs. The director will also be required to supervise staff members.
Skills Required: Knowledge of developing, managing, and maintaining a distance education program is a must. Knowledge of current literature and trends in the field is also important. Troubleshoot technical issues to equipment and community with IT department, faculty, administration, and students. He/She must also assess programs and student learning outcomes; also develop a website for virtual campus.
Other Requirements: Director needs to maintain currency level in the field through professional development commitment to quality, service, professionalism, and community college mission.
Even though, this author has very little experience in educational technology (all experience is related to classroom teaching and coursework), this job sounded interesting. Many universities are now moving toward offering degree/certification programs through distance education. Many students in today’s age need to work and take classes online making distance education their only option. For instance, this author is taking classes online currently; in order to earn a Graduate degree, otherwise due to work and children, it would be more difficult. This author has some of the skills to achieve this job, but there are also many that still need to be learned. For instance, part of the Library Science degree in Educational Technology. Many of the competencies regarding this type of job are taught in the classes. However, it is one thing reading about it, but another actually performing the job. Most likely, actual working experience is needed to able to perform this job effectively. This author has experience taking distance education courses, but not producing them.
3.) Key Term used in search: Instructional Technology
Job Title: Instructional Designer/Adult Learning Educator Consultant
Where: Build It Green; Oakland, CA
Duration: 3-6 months
Min. Education: BS or BA Undergraduate in instructional designer or related field, Master’s preferred.
Min. Experience 5-7 year’s contract
Description: The instructional designer is to help develop effective curriculum to further the Build It Green training program in residential energy efficiency. Also, help the team to design and develop these trainings in cooperation with existing training department. The audiences for the program are real estate and building professionals.
Scope of Work: Design and develop a learning program in using a variety of media and apply adult learning theory in the instructional design. The instructional designer will work with subject matter experts to implement strategies for effective current learning content.
As a teacher, developing lessons on different topics come with the job description. Also, this author has developed a curriculum before; however, the content was in Social Studies, not real estate. Part of the requirements in teaching and building curriculum is something this author has. Also, the requirement for a Master’s degree will be accomplished within the next year. However, the minimal experience, as an instructional designer is not something that this author currently has. Working on a team and using a variety to implement instruction is something teachers are familiar with. Also, this author has family in the real estate business; familiarity with the business is something that is possessed. Working with the subject area experts in that regard would not be a problem. The drawback to this job is that it is a contract work for only 3-6 months.
A self-assessment needs to be done when considering entering a certain line of work. A self-assessment can enable an individual to see what skills they are lacking for a certain job, or they can solidify that they have what it takes to do a certain job. Also, if someone is unsure of what direction to take in their career, a self-assessment is a good tool for that. This author completed a self-assessment from http://www.careeronestop.org. This author took the self-assessment in two ways. One way taking it to see what career would come up out of curiosity and the second way selecting librarian to see the skills needed for that. Educational technology was not an option on the self-assessment.
First, under the self-assessment, the data showed that the skills this author possesses would be excellent for a judge. Husband may not argue that this author could be excellent at this position, however, this was surprising. Also, listed in the program for other possible career paths included social-community manager and school administration.
During the second assessment, under which librarian was selected showed a high percentage of a match. The assessment formulated a check list in which, one is to check every quality or knowledge they possess pertaining to that career. The majority of what was listed for a librarian, this author already has knowledge of how to perform that task. For instance, to name some of the skills needed to be a librarian are: answer customer questions, arrange library materials, help patrons, catalog and classify, design library displays, order materials, maintain databases, develop policies, and resolve complaints, etc. What was interesting to examine was the skills that still need to be learned in order to be successful as a librarian. Those include: knowing how to conduct a fundraiser, conduct training for library personnel, negotiate business contracts, and writing grant proposals. These skills need to be acquired in order to be as effective as one should be in order to be a librarian. Overall, the self-assessment gave this author a match to a librarian of 86.8%, having possessing 33/38 skills. There is still much room for growth.
Finding professional organizations and good journals can enable a graduate student/professional to gain networking with others in a profession and learn about different resources in order to stay current in the selected field. This author visited three professional organizations and two professional publications over instructional technology to gain an understanding of the beliefs and opportunities for those who join or support them.
Professional Organizations
Mission: The American Educational Research Association (AERA) a national research society strives to advance knowledge about education, to encourage scholarly inquiry related to education, and to promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public good (website).
Cost of Membership: For a regular member per year the cost is $150. For a graduate student the cost is $40.
Publications: American Educational Research Journal (AERJ), Educational Researcher (ER), Review of Educational Research, Review of Research in Education, Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics.
Conference and Meetings: There is an annual meeting for the organization and also an Annual Brown Lecture in Education Research meeting.
Opportunities for Professional Development: The association offers grant programs and webcasts for members.
AERA is useful in offering information on a range of topics for educators. There are different divisions, so members can have easier access with members with similar interests. There is a section for graduate students and graduate student council members. AERA offers online job board and career center held at the annual meeting. This author was not aware of this organization before researching it online. It might be something worth thinking about joining.
Mission: The Mission of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology is to provide international leadership by promoting scholarship and best practices in the creating, use, and management of technologies for effective teaching and technologies in a wide range of settings (website).
Cost of membership: For this association new members per year cost $125 and student memberships cost $75.
Publications: Educational Technology, Research & Development, Quarterly Review of Distance Education, Tech Trends, Online journals include: The International Journal of Design for Learning, Journal of Applied Instructional Designs.
Conferences and Meetings: There is an annual international convention and bi-annual research symposia.
Opportunities for Professional Development: They host a design and development competition to promote collaboration in the professional community. They also produce a newsletter for members.
AECT is also divided into divisions like AERA. This organization allows those in a specific area, like school media & technology of teacher education can interact with those of similar interests. Being a member could help this author grow professionally. Also, the association also offers a job center that could help with job placement. As a graduate student, the graduate student assembly can help increase awareness and develop networking. Previous to this research, the association was unknown to this author.
Mission: The mission is to promote technological literacy for all by supporting the teaching of technology and promoting the professionalism of those engaged in this pursuit (website).
Cost of Membership: The cost for K-12 teachers for professional membership is $80 per year and for an electronic membership $65. For undergraduate and graduate students the cost of membership is $40.
Publications: Journal of Technology Education, Technology and Engineering Teacher, Children’s’ Technology and Engineering
Conference and Meetings: There is an annual conference for ITEA.
Opportunities for Professional Development: Besides the conference, there are opportunities for networking and collaboration in the social/networking website.
This author likes this association due to the fact that they have a focus on children. This division helps elementary teachers with instructional materials. Often as an elementary teacher, there is a wide range of instructional materials out there, but not much yet in terms of technology. This program provides teachers with materials that could be very beneficial in some areas. Also, as a graduate student, the association offers opportunities for a career connection, which can help those try and find a job in a related of ITEA.
Professional Publications
Focus/Goals of the Journal: The purpose of the journal is to carry out original empirical and theoretical studies, and analysis in education. The editors seek to publish articles from a wide variety of academic disciplines. They are also looking for clear and significant contributions to the understanding and/or improvement of educational processes and outcomes (website).
Submission Guidelines: All submissions must be submitted electronically. Also those wanting to submit need to consult to the standards for reporting on research in AERA Publications and the Ethical Standards of the American Educational Research Association. All submissions must follow the APA format and the manuscript must be between 20 and 50 paged in length, with 1 inch margins. The manuscript needs to be double spaced, 12 point font, and free of grammatical errors. The author’s identity can only be on the title page.
Is this a peer reviewed journal? Yes, this journal is peer reviewed.
Is this journal online? AERJ does have access to some of the articles online; the online journal has archives to AERA members.
This journal offers a broad range of information related to education. Since this author works in education, this journal would be useful in buying. It is important to read current trends and issues related to education. Another reason this journal seems attractive to buy, besides the fact that it is peer reviewed, is it is supported by AERA, which is a reputable professional association as shown earlier. The name of the journal seems familiar in previous research conducted, but this author really did not know the journal well.
2.) Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education (CITE) http://www.citejournal.org/vol11/iss4/
Focus/Goals of the Journal: Five professional associations sponsor this journal. Each association reviews articles for its area of expertise. It has current issues related to general technology usage of specific technology use. The journal includes quantitative and qualitative studies. Educators in different content areas (Math, Science, English, and Social Studies) can find articles related to technology and their content (website).
Submission Guidelines: To submit an article for this journal, one must state what category it is: current issues, current practice, and seminal articles. It must be in electronic format and must be original work. The length can vary. Some papers are only 2-3 pages, while others are 40-50 pages in length. It just depends on the topic. The article needs to be in APA format. Importantly, it will not be considered if it was already published or it being considered by another journal (website). The article must be written in English.
Is this a peer-reviewed journal: Yes, this article is peer reviewed.
Is the journal online: The journal makes archives of articles available online.
What this author loves about this journal is that it breaks it down into the academic disciplines. As a Social Studies teacher, it has been difficult to find information on integrating technology into the subject area. This journal enables readers to gain this type of information due to the variety of academic disciplines. A Social Studies teacher does not need an entire journal over math technology. By each academic area taking responsibility for articles, it makes the journal more relevant. Also, as a future librarian, by reading this journal, one can keep up to date on current issues and suggestions for teachers who teach in the different subject areas. This author has not read anything from this journal prior to this blog.
Many professions have a set of competencies and domains that one must learn to abide by in order to perform that job effectively. Additionally, one must learn and prove their knowledge usually by some completion of the program or test in order to gain certification in that area. For instance, in Texas a person wishing to become a teacher must first take classes covering the different competencies, and then they are tested to ensure retention of that knowledge. The same goes for the librarian program this author is currently in. After completion of the Graduate program (in which competencies are covered), a test to be certified will be taken in order to gain “expert” recognition. Certification is required for the job in Texas. The same principle should apply to a person in the field of a performance technologist. Despite some disagreements over what the exact standards should be, or who should certify the PT’s, the fact remains that there should be some standards that one needs to learn in order to do that job effectively.
If selected to write some domains and competencies for a performance technologist (PT), this author would combine some of the competencies already published over the different years to get the best possible combination of them all. This author would select the five domains from the AECT/NCATE accreditation standards for professional education units for ECIT program curriculum and candidates. Also, this author would select competencies from the 1988 ibstpi Associate Tasks, 1988 ibstpi Social mandates & values of PT, Responsibility for ethical conduct, and the 2004 ISPI/ASTD PT competencies (Reiser and Dempsey, 2007).
The domains and competencies that this author would select for a performance technologist would be as follows:
Standard 1: Design
· The PT will look at all situations systematically and take into consideration the larger context (2004 ISPI/ASTD).
· The PT will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of organizations and resources with them (1988 ibstpi).
· The PT will commit time to the development of the profession (1988 ibstpi).
Standard 2: Development
· The PT will transfer knowledge of technology over to clients (1988 ibstpi social mandates).
· The PT will use the latest technology in order to develop an effective evaluation of human performances.
Standard 3: Utilization
· The PT will service individuals and organization in the context of work (1988 ibstpi).
· The PT will focus on results and help clients focus on results (2004 ISPI).
· The PT will be systematic in all aspect of the process including assessment of needs, analysis, design, and implantation (2004 ISPI).
Standard 4: Management
· The PT will use the highest professional standards of ethics, honesty, and integrity in all facets of their work (1988 ibstpi).
· The PT will protect the privacy of information (1988 ibstpi).
· The PT will use partnerships and collaborate with clients (2004 ISPI).
· The PT will not violate professional ethics; make false claims, and falsity data (1988 ethical conduct).
· The PT will help the client in solving performance problems (1988 ibstpi).
Standard 5: Evaluation
· The PT will be systematic in all aspects of the process including: the evaluation of the process and the results it produces (2004 ISPI).
· The PT will establish support and demonstrate results of performance that effect organizational outcomes (1988 istpi).
For standard one, the criteria were selected based on the efforts in the design process for a performance technologist. They need to look at everything carefully before proceeding with a course of action. Also, the ultimate goal of a PT is to increase the effective performance of the people in a company or classroom. Also, in order to be an effective PT, one must be committed to developing the profession.
For standard two, the criteria were selected in order to focus on the development of the client’s knowledge of technology which will enable them to contribute with helping performance in their business. Often, those in charge of hiring a PT may not be aware of the latest technological developments in their area. As a PT, one should be knowledgeable of the latest technology in order to perform ones job effectively.
Standard three, competencies are to make sure a performance technologist focuses on their work. Employers may lose sight during the utilizing of a solution from what the original goals were. The PT needs to make sure they keep the employers focus on the results instead of all the design methods the PT chose to use to achieve those results. As the PT, one needs to think thoroughly in all aspects of the performance improvement process. They need to really determine the needs of a company analyze where the human performance issues are, design a solution to help improve that performance, and finally implement that solution to the best of their ability.
Part of being an effective manager of a solution for a performance problem is the focus of standard four. A major part of this is acting like an ethical professional. Performance technologists will collaborate closely with clients and confidentiality must remain intact. Just like a teacher, they cannot share information with everyone about a student; the same goes with a PT and their clients. Also, part of being technologist is to not make false data. One must be honest about the results of their solutions and not make false statements. It will hurt the profession and the performance technologist individually. Ultimately, the goals are to help the client manage the performance and come up with reasonable solutions to the problems they are having.
The last standard, standard 5, criteria were selected in order for a PT to determine the effectiveness of their design; they must perform an evaluation. The evaluation is important to determine the success of a design, and reevaluate ideas if needed. Reflection and adjustments can be made after the evaluation in order to reach the desired outcomes.
All the competencies published are on the right track. Like with many other professions, competencies are just about respecting others professionally, doing your job ethically, and to the best of your ability. Also, continuing to learn and grow through professional development will aid PT’s in their chosen careers.
Please enjoy the following youtube video over the use of technology in our world today.
[i] Reiser, R. A., & Dempsey, J. V. (2007). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
