The performance requirements for Georgia Southern’s practicum in instructional technology are basically centered around 2 roles that are key to the effective implementation of instructional technology: the technology specialist and the technology program administrator. This week, to get a better understanding of the technology specialist role, I visited the instructional design lab at Georgia Perimeter College, Clarkston GA. I interviewed the instructional technology specialist who had 20yrs of experience with the college and a wealth of knowledge. He gave me a brief history of the college and described how the role of an instructional technologist had evolved over the years. His favorite part of the job is interacting with the faculty and his philosophy is “Each one, teach one.” In other words, he encourages faculty to share what they learn about technology with their colleagues. He described his job as picking up where formal training workshops leave off. His services are not limited to the design labs but the training and collboration with faculty & staff takes place in offices and classrooms around the campus.
I also attended 2 sessions of the EDUCAUSE conference being hosted on the campus. Throughout the week, I’ve been revising the plans for the staff development workshop that I will be delivering. Preparing supplemental resources and performance tasks that specifically speak to my target audience has been extremely challenging.