Kent State is hiring! Have an interest in working with online courses and online learning?
We’re looking for our next Educational Technology Designer to join the team in the Office of Continuing and Distance Education.
Interested? Read the full job description and apply today!
What does an Educational Technology Designer at Kent State University do?
An educational technology (ET) designer collaborates with faculty, technology, and instructional design staff to create and support online courses and programs at Kent State University. The ET supports faculty in online course development, creates and revises course content for online deployment, assists faculty with technology needs, and evaluates technology tools for use in online courses.
Example duties include:
- Assist faculty, educational technology, and instructional design staff with educational technology solutions.
- Participate in research, review, and testing of educational technologies.
- Investigate educational technologies to determine viable alternative solutions.
- Support faculty in the use of educational technologies.
- Collaborate with faculty and instructional design staff to determine objectives, learning activities and materials, and assessment strategies.
- Restructure, adapt and revise course content to meet the needs of learners.
A Day in the Life of Educational Technology Designer
We talked with Tim Kohn, an Educational Technology Designer in the College of Business Administration at Kent State University, who found that a day in the life of an educational technology designer ebbs and flows with the academic calendar.
Tim works with our nationally-ranked online MBA program, ranked No. 35 in the Nation.
Read on for more of our Q&A with Tim.
What is a day in the life of an Educational Technology Designer like?
In the summer or end of the semester, a lot of time is spent preparing courses for the next term. Similarly, the end of fall and spring are also spent making sure courses are updated and ready to roll out for the spring and summer sessions, respectively. In between those times, a lot of my effort is spent either working with faculty to design and build new courses or troubleshooting issues to support faculty while they teach an online course. I build materials for online courses, help create narrated presentation videos, make documents accessible, etc., and there is a lot of variety in those activities. Each day does not feel the same as the last!
Is there a specific project that you really enjoyed or learned a great lesson or practice from?
I’ve really enjoyed the ongoing switch from the Blackboard Learning Management System to Canvas. It has been a ton of work to move existing courses over into Canvas, but I really like the new system, and having to migrate so many sources has been a crash course in how to use it. I’m excited for Canvas and what it brings to the table for the University.
What do you like about your job?
I really like meeting a lot of new people with differing backgrounds, experiences, and areas of expertise. As an educational technology designer for the College of Business, I get to work with a lot of different faculty to design and develop new online courses. It is always great to start a project with someone I don’t know and get to know them through the process. I also get to meet a lot of people by providing online support for classes even if I haven’t worked with them directly to develop a course.
What do you like about Kent State University?
I love being a part of the Kent State community. I live within walking distance of the campus, so I am on or around campus often, even when I am not working. I feel like the campus is an extension of my home and I am very proud of it and what the University brings to the community.
What do you like about being an educational technology designer?
I like being an educational technology designer because of the mix it gives me every day. For the most part, I know what I can expect when I go to work every day. Somehow though, it’s always interesting and there are occasional curveballs this job can throw you where you need to move outside your comfort zone or get creative in ways you haven’t previously to solve a problem. Those things that keep you on your toes are what I enjoy most.
Interested in getting a degree in Educational Technology? Kent State University offers that too!
Kent State University Online Master of Education in Educational Technology
The Online Master of Education degree in Educational Technology is appropriate for teachers who wish to develop greater sophistication with technologies and want to use them effectively in their classrooms. It is also an excellent choice for those who want to develop skills in fields such as instructional design, corporate training, multimedia production, web development, administration of technology centers, and other positions that involve the instructional application of information and communications technologies.
For more information on Kent State’s Online Master of Education in Educational Technology degree, visit https://onlinedegrees.kent.edu/degrees/master-of-education-in-educational-technology
