How to Become an Instructional Technologist
Instructional Technologists are a varied group of professionals. Some instructional technologists have a broad knowledge of technology while others have a deep knowledge in a specific area of technology. Becoming an instructional technologist requires identifying your own goals and then finding a specific job that will allow you to maximize your strengths as explained in the following steps.
- Difficulty:
- Easy
Instructions
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1
Identify your personal goals. Ask yourself if you are interested in teaching students or if you are more interested in teaching professionals. Determine if you are interested in teaching a particular piece of software as an expert or if you are more interested in being a generalist ready to teach anything at the beginner level.
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2
Make a list of your experiences related to both instruction and technology. This list should contain both formal and informal experience. For instance, informal experience might include office software you used during college to do presentations or create spreadsheets. A formal experience might include the specific classes you took in technology or instruction.
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3
Research potential jobs opportunities to see what sort of experience, education and job skills employers are looking for. Determine if the employers want more technical skills or instructional skills.
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4
Compare your list of experiences with what employers are looking for. Create a list of areas where you need additional training based on what employers are seeking in job applicants. Identify and list your deficiencies.
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5
Look at your educational background to determine if you have the adequate degree to become an instructional technologist. Schools require teaching certificates, while businesses may want a business or computer science degree.
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6
Obtain necessary certifications to enter your specific field of interest. For example, if you want to specialize in teaching people how to manage databases, then you should obtain a certificate as a Microsoft Certified Database Administrator.
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7
Create a portfolio of your accomplishments. Include certificates, competencies, projects and references.
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