Although many of us "ed techs" pride ourselves in being multifaceted and multi-disciplinary, we often find ourselves working alone and/or stretched across many departments including IT. What really is our identity at our institutions? Are we IT or academics? And are we recognized as such? Do higher education communities understand our roles or are our roles defined differently by the culture of our individual institutions? In addition to a roundtable conversation, various methods of discussion will be utilized to document shared experiences, gather recommendation for professional development, and network with fellow educational and instructional technologists.
Although many of us "ed techs" pride ourselves in being multifaceted and multi-disciplinary, we often find ourselves working alone and/or stretched across many departments including IT. What really is our identity at our institutions? Are we IT or academics? And are we recognized as such? Do higher education communities understand our roles or are our roles defined differently by the culture of our individual institutions? In addition to a roundtable conversation, various methods of discussion will be utilized to document shared experiences, gather recommendation for professional development, and network with fellow educational and instructional technologists.
Additional questions that will be explored are: as educational and instructional technologists, what other skills or job preparation did you seek outside of your training in order to do your job well? What are some possible gaps in schools and training programs that current employers are expecting? Can you verbalize what your identity is at your institution?