1. I found an instructional designer position offered by Monitronics International, a home security alarm monitoring company based in Dallas, through careerbuilder.com. This position requires development and design of instructional training platforms and materials for a variety of training projects (call center training, new employee training, management training, and operational training needs). Job requirements include: Bachelor’s degree in Instructional Design (or related field), 2-5 yrs experience with developing instructional courses (required), 2-5 yrs of experience developing e-learning courses (preferred), ability to write learner-centered training objectives, experience with instructional design methodologies, and experience in creating pre-and post-assessments. Alas, I would not meet the requirements for this job.
The second position I found, also through careerbuilder.com, is offered by Jack Henry and Associates, a company that develops, markets, maintains and supports integrated data processing systems for in-house automation of standard banking and accounting applications. They are looking for an Instructional Design Specialist (IDS) to develop eLearning courses for external and internal customers. Essential functions include: researching, designing, scheduling, and implementing eLearning training projects, updating existing eLearning courses, and conducting training classes in a live or on-line virtual environment. Minimum qualifications are Bachelor’s degree (preferred), minimum of 12 months to 3 years of educational development training, and training knowledge. Under knowledge and skills were: desired experience with Adobe Flash, Adobe Illustrator, sound editing software such as Audacity or Sound Forge, Adobe Photoshop, and PowerPoint. I am familiar with most of the software listed, and I have some training knowledge, but I don’t have any experience designing eLearning training projects.
The third position is offered by Lockheed Martin for their San Francisco offices. The position is listed as Site Team Leader & Instructional Designer. Job responsibilities include: being able to read, write, speak, and understand English (can do!), be responsible for the “people management” for Petaluma, Alameda, and Oklahoma City (Oklahoma!! What?), and have instructional designer responsibilities. To me, these job duties are pretty vague. I think I could do what they listed. The requirements include a Master’s degree in Instructional Systems, Instructional Systems Technology, or Education (with a concentration in Educational Technology) or 5 years of work experience in a related field or a combination of education and training, be proficient in Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and computer graphics programs, and be a certified Master Training Specialist (I remember reading about the certifications in the text). Again, I have all of the software proficiency, but I don’t have the Master’s degree in the fields required.
2. I used www.careeronestop.org assessment called Skills Profiler. You rate yourself in many categories (Basic Skills, Social Skills, Problem Solving Skills, Technical Skills, System Skills, Resource Management Skills, and Desktop Computer Skills) on a scale from 1 to 7. I rated myself on each category. I don’t know if I have a glorified image of myself, or what, but I came out higher than average for each category. The suggested fields were education, science, and math fields. This sounds about right for me as these are my interests and what I have experience in. Usually when I fill out this type of assessment I get something really wacky like florist or landscape design. It felt good to get something I would really be interested in.
3. Professional Organizations
The first organization I research was the Asia Pacific Society for Computers in Education (APSCE). It was founded in 2004 (the text says 2003). Its objective is to “promote the conduct and communication of scientific research related to all aspects of the use of computers in education, especially within the Asia-Pacific.” The cost of membership is $60 and $20 for students. The only publication I could find was their newsletter which comes out three times a year. The only conference mentioned is the 19th International Conference on Computers in Education, ICCE 2011, which will be held from November 29-December 2 in Thailand.
Next, I researched the American Educational Research Association (AERA). Its mission is to strive 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. Membership for regular members is $150 and $40 for graduate students. The website lists several publications it is affiliated with (American Education Research Journal SIA Section, American Education Research Journal TLHD Section, Educational Researcher, and Review of Education Research). It hosts an annual meeting. This year’s meeting will be in New Orleans, April 8 through April 12. This year’s theme is “Inciting the Social Imagination: Education Research for the Public Good”. It offers professional development and training courses on such topics as “Introduction to Hierarchical Linear Modeling”, “Diagnostic Measurement: Theory, Methods, and Applications”, and “How to Inform Policy Makers: A Strategic Approach for Academics”. These courses range from $95 to $115.
Finally, I looked at the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). Its mission is to provide international leadership by promoting scholarship and best practices in the creation, use, and management of technologies for effective teaching and learning in a wide range of settings. The cost of membership ranges from $75 for students to $400 for corporations. Members have access to the Tech Trends, Educational Technology Research and Development, Handbook for Research and Technology, and Getting Started in Educational Technology Research. The AECT International Convention will be held November 8-11 in Jacksonville, Florida. The conference is called “Celebrate 3.0: Design, Learn, Community” and costs $150 for early registration.
Professional Publications
The American Educational Research Journal publishes “original empirical and theoretical studies and analysis in education to improve education processes and outcomes.” There are several pages of submission guidelines. Some of the highlights include: APA style, between 20 and 50 pages in length, an abstract of 100-120 words, a notes and references section, and it should have tables, figures, and illustrations. It is peer reviewed and is online.
The American Journal of Distance Education’s mission is “to disseminate information about research and scholarship in the Americas”. This journal seeks original submissions about methods and techniques of teaching at a distance, about learning, and about management and administration. It is peer reviewed and can be found online. The website states that its audience is teachers, trainers, adult educators, and researchers.
The International Journal of Training and Development is an international forum for the reporting of high-quality, original, empirical research. This journal publishes research which ranges from the theoretical, conceptual and methodological to more policy-oriented types of work. There are many requirements that need to be met for publication: The article should be between 5,000 and 9,000 words, have double spaced with margins, will be reviewed with a “double blind” procedure, should have an abstract, and have precise references. The journal is peer reviewed and is available online.
The organizations and publications I researched seem to be great conduits for information and opportunities to present information. All of the publications I looked at really put an emphasis on wanting research and papers to be submitted to them. They encourage research and want this new research in their publications. All of the organizations would seem like great resources for getting a position. The more people you know, the more opportunities you’ll have. I was not aware of these organizations and publications before I started this assignment. I was amazed that the text book had listings for so many organizations and publications, and this is for one field of interest!!
4. To me, the competencies would include: Be a source of information (we have to educate and provide knowledge), improve communication, provide academic programs with information to improve and evaluate, be able to communicate with learners, and to provide flexible learning environments. There would also need to be mention of having the highest of professional standards of ethics, honesty, and integrity. I picked these because if I were learning from someone I would want them to have to follow these standards and practices.
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