Do I have to get a job?

I took a look at many of the organization web sites, but found few jobs that would allow people to work from anywhere in the country or in North Carolina. One of the reasons I went into this field was to enjoy the flexibility that technology would allow me. On Monster.com I found many jobs that related more to the corporate world, but allowed IT's to work in a variety of locations. Many insurance and financial groups are looking for Instructional Technology Consultants to design client and staff instructional material as well as interactive client software that would allow consumers to directly control their investments from home. As a public school teacher, I often forget how IT opens the door of opportunities outside of school.

One job I thought looked interesting just because I was familiar with the company was a Instruction Technology Consultant for Walgreens.

Link: http://jobview.monster.com/GetJob.aspx?JobID=74998065&JobTitle=Instructional+Design+Consultant&q=Instructional+Design&rad=20&rad_units=miles&brd=1&cy=us&vw=b&AVSDM=2008-08-20+09%3a57%3a00&pg=1&seq=23

This job does require five years of experience in instruction design, but many times they will count school as experience. I thought this job looked interesting because they are looking for people to develop learning modules and quick referencing materials for staff and pharmacist. It appears that one would have to be able to travel to many locations for this one, but e-learning would be a large part.

Lately when ever I go anywhere or while I'm surfing online and I read something or watch something that is instructional I wonder what went into creating this. For example last week I took my last PADI scuba diving class and I thought, “Wouldn't it be cool to work with PADI to create an interactive e-learning environment for students, instead of watching all these videos from the 80's?”

I am not saying I want to leave the public schools now. I love the potential I will have with in the school systems. After receiving a degree in Instructional Technology I want to work in the schools first. Once gaining experience I think it would be interesting to work for a company designing instructional materials. I am specifically interested in e-learning opportunities.

What is IT?

I am a classroom teacher and have had little to do with Instructional Technology until I started working in a school. I often crossed paths with our schools IT Technician and began to ask, "Who is that person with the laptop?" "What exactly is her job?" "How can I get to sit in my office all day?" It wasn't until I actually met someone in the IT field that I became interested in learning more about it. I have always loved using computers to teach. Its how I prefer to learn myself. I just didn't realize there was a whole field of study concerned with engaging students and providing information electronically.

From observation, IT deals with everything from working with hardware such as computers, wireless mice, and smart boards, to providing training, troubleshooting, and resources to help a school or company stay operable. The IT technician at our school previously spent most of her time ensuring the security of teacher and administrator data and monitoring the safety of students. Now I have seen our "techie" play more of a teach-the-teacher role by providing workshops about the benefits of using blogs in our classroom and creating wikis instead of book reports.

I believe that Instructional Technology covers the broad use of technology, especially the Internet, to enhance a learner's engagement, assessment, and collaborative communication.