The Evolving role of Academic Technologists
Many in instructional technology at UW-Madison are experiencing a shift in traditional work responsibilities.
The skills needed for the academic technologist to meet teaching and learning challenges on campus are expanding beyond the traditional responsibilities to which they are accustomed, such as staying current with best practices in educational technology, providing instructional support for faculty and staff, and researching emerging technologies for classroom and online learning.
In 2007 John Campbell (Purdue University) and, then vice-president of Educause, Diana Oblinger were the primary authors on an article in Educause Quarterly entitled, ‘Top-Ten Teaching and Learning Challenges.’ At the number 10 spot — last but certainly not the least – the challenge issued was ‘Understanding the evolving role of Academic Technologists.’
“The ability to influence key stakeholders and business processes across the college or university will become an essential skill. To achieve this influence, academic technologists must have a thorough understanding of the institution’s vision and how various educational initiatives impact university practices. They must have a grasp of existing research, serve on university-wide committees, and demonstrate the creativity needed to address novel educational situations.”(p.22)
At UW-Madison, Academic Technologists are now experiencing those novel situations. For example:
- IT-Strategic Planning – Several members of our grassroots organization ComETS (http://comets.wisc.edu) – Community of Educational Technology Support – by invitation of our CIO draft and provide leadership on over a dozen initiatives related to teaching and learning, research and outreach in the Campus IT Strategic Plan (http://cio.wisc.edu/plan). The initiatives involve the cooperation and collaboration of many groups, services and resources on our large, decentralized campus.
- Pandemic Planning – (http://flu.wisc.edu) Many campus colleagues are discussing and planning for continued instruction in the event the H1N1 virus spreads and prevents face-to-face instruction from occurring. As departments feel the pressure to produce their pandemic plans for administration, many have high hopes about the role that technology can play. Those of us in the field know that, in and of itself, technology is not a panacea (pun intended) and so we are challenged to communicate non-technological solutions, approaches and backup-plans in these tense environments.
- Marketing – A last but by no means final example of the expanding roles of academic technologists on our campus can be in the marketing “expertise” that we are asked to provide. Whether it is in talking with Career Advising Services about social networking tools to maintain business relationships with graduates, or working in collaboration with the libraries to provide website support for the Chancellor’s ‘Go Big Read’ program (http://gobigread.wisc.edu) or consulting on a range of new media approaches to help increase the visibility of a department website, many of us find ourselves promoting more than just the instructional value of the University.
These evolving responsibilities, skill sets and experiences are exciting and allow the academic technologist to do much to support the academy. But if this overwhelms you then take comfort in the fact that when someone asks you a question about copyright, FERPA, or a line in a Term of Service Agreement, you can rely on your traditional skills and say without a doubt, “I am not a lawyer….but I’ll find out the answer and follow up with you.”
Submitted by: Ron Cramer and Cheryl Diermyer
UW-Madison