Section 6-Getting an IDT Position

Section 6-Getting an IDT Position

Chapter 24-Getting an ID Position

The first job I found is for an Education Technology Facilitator at The Hotchkiss School, a boarding school in Connecticut.  According to their advertisement they are looking for someone that “provides leadership, assistance, and mentoring in the implementation of technology and communication tools to support teachers in their delivery of the curriculum”.  They also require experience teaching, working with teachers, and extensive experience in the effective use of technology in the classroom required. They are looking for a “team player with excellent organizational and time management skills to handle multiple projects simultaneously”.  A bachelor’s degree, excellent customer service, and communication skills are required.   Although I have never been in a leadership role specifically in implementing technology into classrooms, I have extensive experience in leadership roles including those of Site-Based Committee Chair, PTA Vice-President, and Team Leader of the English Department.  I hold a bachelor’s degree in English and already possess the skills and experience needed in the field of education.

The second job I found that peaked my interest (I almost considered doing this as my profession) is that of a counselor at a public school.  Lovejoy ISD is looking for someone to “work with school faculty and staff, students, parents, and community to plan, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive developmental guidance and counseling program at school assigned”. The applicant should be able to “counsel students to fully develop each student’s academic, career, personal, and social abilities and address the needs of special populations students”.  From my years as PTA Vice-President, I am very adept at working with faculty, staff, parents and the community.  As an Assistant Principal/Athletic Director/coach’s wife, I have mentored and unofficially counseled many students in my district for years.  The counseling  job also requires a minimum of two years teaching experience, which I have completed, and TEA requires a Master’s degree in guidance counseling and a valid Texas counseling certificate.  Although I have a minor in psychology, I did not continue my education in this line and do not now possess a master’s in counseling or a valid counseling certificate.

The third interesting job I found is to teach English to Russian adult students.  This can be done from my home using the online communication tool, Skype.  I included the original job listing because I thought the small grammatical issues with translation were interesting. We are looking for native English speakers to teach English online. We are Russian Online company and most of our students are from Russia, Ukraine. We offer one-on-one English conversational practice with native speakers through skype. Briefly about job position: - we are looking for responsible English tutor with serious approach for classes and love to teach - one to one classes by 45 min (mostly with students from Russia aged 25-50) - teaching fee is 10 usd per 45 min (money is paid by PayPal, we cover transfer fee) - our student's peak time from 17:00-23:00 according time zone/UTC +3 Moscow time - working days: Monday to Friday (Saturday\Sunday - possible) - we are interested in long-term employees, teacher's plan should be predictable at least for nearest 12 month so that not to change time of classes for students - we are interested that teacher can work at least 4-6 hours per day - teacher get students gradually if tutor succeeds with a few students, constantly we make all schedule busier It is a part time, home-based job, and you can do it when it is a good time for you. Technical requirements (you will need to have) a) Reliable Internet connection b) Headset (headphones and a microphone) + «Webcam»

           There only requirements are an internet connection, a headset and a Webcam.  I now have this capability and if I had had this opportunity when I was always at home with my children, it would have been a really wonderful way for me to contribute to the family income.

Chapter 25-Getting a Job

            I completed the skills profile that I found through a link on the Department of Labor’s website.  http://www.careerinfonet.org/skills/skills_final_report.aspx

            This profile validated what I already knew.  I am perfectly suited for the life of a librarian.  I was, however, surprised that it also came up with the career of proofreader that I originally had in mind when I graduated from Austin College.  It was also no surprise that athlete and archivist were mentioned as well because I am immensely competitive and driven and also highly organized. 

Job type	Your skills match
Librarians	86.8% ( 33 of 38 skills)
Library Technicians	64.0% ( 16 of 25 skills)
Library Assistants, Clerical	51.9% ( 14 of 27 skills)
Gaming Change Persons and Booth Cashiers	50.0% ( 2 of 4 skills)
Proofreaders and Copy Markers	42.9% ( 3 of 7 skills)
Archivists	37.9% ( 11 of 29 skills)
Athletes and Sports Competitors	33.3% ( 2 of 6 skills)
Medical Transcriptionists	33.3% ( 2 of 6 skills)
Meter Readers, Utilities	30.0% ( 3 of 10 skills)

Chapter 26-Professional Organizations

Professional Organizations:  I examined the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, American Society for Training and Development, and American Educational Research Association.

Mission:  Mission statements are taken from the organization.

 “AECT is an international professional association dedicated to providing leadership in educational communications and technology by linking professionals holding a common interest is the use of technology and its application to the learning process”. http://aect.site-ym.com/

ASTD’s mission is to “empower professionals to develop knowledge & skills successfully”.  http://www.astd.org/ASTD/aboutus/missionAndVision.htm

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.  http://www.aera.net/AboutAERA/Default.aspx?menu_id=90&id=40

Cost of Membership:  I didn’t realize how expensive these professional organizations can be.  The prices ranged from $40 for new graduate students to $400 for corporations per year.

Publications: AECT’s iTech Digest Winter 2012 and their Open Content Portal, T+D (ASTD’s monthly magazine), Infoline, ASTD Research and many epublications, AERA’s Educational Researcher, American Educational Research Journal, Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis,  and each site has different webcasts and many books.

Conferences and meetings: AECT holds their 2012 International Convention, Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) Research Symposium, and the International Student Media Festival.   ASTD holds their 2012 International Conference and Exposition, World Class Benchmarking: Seeing Success in Action, Learn from the BEST, ASTD STADA Asia Pacific Conference, and their ASTD TechKnowledge 2013 conference.   AERA has their annual meeting and the Annual Brown Lecture in Educational Research.

Opportunities for Professional Development:  Many of these sites have forums (ITForum) to join that allow people from all over the world with similar jobs and interests to talk to one another and share ideas.  AECT was calling for papers to be presented at their annual conference and a biannual symposium.

ASTD was filled with a number of different conferences and speaking opportunities.  There are webcast that a member can attend to hear speakers address varied topics.  ASTD also provides education programs worldwide.

AERA, in collaboration with other IDT institutions, has many fellowships and grants available.  This site has links to other research associations and their resources.

Professional Publications:  I reviewed the American Educational Research Journal, Educational Technology and Society, and Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation.

Focus/Goals of the journal: 

“American Educational Research Journal-Statement of Purpose  The American Educational Research Journal has as its purpose to carry original empirical and theoretical studies and analyses in education. The editors seek to publish articles from a wide variety of academic disciplines and substantive fields; they are looking for clear and significant contributions to the understanding and/or improvement of educational processes and outcomes. Manuscripts not appropriate for submission to this journal include essays, reviews, course evaluations, and brief reports of studies to address a narrow question”. http://aera.net/publications/?id=315

“Educational Technology & Society seeks academic articles on the issues affecting the developers of educational systems and educators who implement and manage such systems.  The aim of the journal is to help them better understand each other's role in the overall process of education and how they may support each other.” http://ifets.info/others/

“Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation (PARE) is an on-line journal supported entirely by volunteer efforts. Its purpose is to provide access to refereed articles that can have a positive impact on assessment, research, evaluation, and teaching practice.” http://pareonline.net/

Submission Guidelines:  All following guidelines are taken from the publication’s website.

“Specifications for Manuscripts
The preferred style guide for all AERA journals is the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed., 2001. The only exception is the Social and Institutional Analysis section of the American Educational Research Journal. Contributors to that section may, if they wish, useThe Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., 2003

If a manuscript that is accepted for that section does not use author-date citation, the author will need to reformat it for publication in author-date style, following either the APA or Chicago manual. Manuscripts should be typed on 8 1/2 x 11-inch white paper, upper and lower case, double spaced in entirety, with 1-inch margins on all sides. The type size should be at least 10 pitch (CPI) or 12 point. Subheads should be at reasonable intervals to break the monotony of lengthy text. Words to be set in italics (contrary to the rules of the style manual) should be set in italics, not underlined; sentence structure should be used to create emphasis. Abbreviations and acronyms should be spelled out at first mention unless they are found as entries in their abbreviated form in the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed., 2003 (e.g., IQ needs no explanation).Pages should be numbered consecutively, beginning with the page after the title page. Mathematical symbols and Greek letters should be clearly marked to indicate italics, boldface, superscript, and subscript. Requirements for Computer Disks
A 3.5-inch computer disk should be sent to the editor once an article has been accepted. (The disk may accompany the manuscript for book reviews.) The computer file must contain all revisions and must agree with the final version of the manuscript. We prefer a file in Microsoft Word for Windows, but can convert from RTF and WordPerfect. Tables and figures should be included on disk and hard copy.”

“Please make sure that your article is within 7000 words (including everything - title, author names, affiliations, abstract, keywords, main body, references, appendices - everything). Papers that are longer than the maximum limit may experience significant delays in review process, as they will be sent back to authors at whatever stage we notice this problem.  All peer review publications will be refereed in double-blind review process by at least two international reviewers with expertise in the relevant subject area. Book, Software and Website Reviews will not be reviewed, but the editors reserve the right to refuse or edit review.”

“Manuscripts to be considered for Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation should be short, 2000-8000 words or about eight pages in length, exclusive of tables and references, and have clear generalizable implications for practice in education, certification, or licensure. They should conform to the stylistic conventions of the American Psychological Association (APA).”

Peer reviewed:  AERJ=yes, Educational Technology and Society=yes, PARE=yes

Online:  AERJ=yes, Educational Technology and Society= yes, PARE= all online.

            Two of these of the organizations I had never heard of at all. I have actually used AERA in previous assignments and thought that it would be a useful resource.  However, I don’t have the cash flow to subscribe to too many organizations besides the few I am already a member of, like TLA.  I have examined AERJ before and found some information that was helpful to my graduate work.  I am interested in further examining PARE because I think it could contain information relevant to my career in the library.

Chapter 27-Performance Technologist

I would use the 1988 ibstpi competencies and the code of ethics.  I think the 2004 ISPI/ASTD PT Competencies are too broad and do not take into account necessary specific skills needed to be a performance technologist.  I would definitely use the first 4 competencies that deal with effectiveness, systematic approaches, individual accomplishment and outcomes, and results of performance.  In using the mandates and values, I would pick and choose several that I think are more important in today’s world. 

#1-I would leave out the life-fulfilling end.  All work should be done in a socially responsible manner.

#2-Serve individuals/organizations within the context of work.  I believe that a PT candidate should be able to distinguish between work goals and his/her own personal goals.

#4-Support goals that impact society as a whole.  As ‘global’ as our world has become, it is important to realize that what one person does affects others in some way, shape, or form.

#6- Help clients make informed decisions.  I think this is one of the most important aspects of PT candidates.  Knowingly leading clients to make bad decisions based on false information is very unethical and just plain dishonest.

#7-High standard of ethics.  I think that if all humans used a high standard of ethics, the world would be a much better place.  I cannot abide dishonesty or shifty ways either in a person or a company.  If you are going to do something, then do it right.

#8- Privacy.  Privacy and the protections of those rights are crucial in our society.  But, I do not believe that those that are found guilty of knowingly propagating bad business should be guaranteed the rights.

#10- Dealing with peers.  Honesty and integrity are two of the most fundamental behavioral aspect humans possess.

#11-Sharing knowledge.  Allowing the profession to grow and evolve helps all who are involved.

#12- One’s ideas- Knowingly taking credit for the work of another destroys trust and the sharing of knowledge.