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By maria lopez on Mar 5, 2010 |Education
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There are many different careers nowadays. But the rising industry of elearning has created a new niche and that is instructional design. This might be an ideal career for those looking to get into a career where one is continually subject to learning new lessons and fields. The first and most obvious way to move into instructional design is to get a degree. Usually, master’s degree in educational technology or anything similar to this is available in several institutions. However, this is a viable option even for people who have graduated from a different undergrad course. This way is the direct way. A lot of people who have these degrees make the best instructional design people in the field. There are many different courses though that are close to this field and it may vary and depend on the educational institution that one chooses. There are those with degrees without work experience that get hired right away. For those without prior education, this way might be the best way. There is of course the indirect way for getting into instructional design. This way is perhaps the way that most people will take. In fact, around seventy percent of those working in the field of elearning came to their career through this route and that is through and education background. A lot instructional designers were once teachers. It is only too easy to imagine how this shift happened. One can think of a public school teacher for example who, looking for a better paying career in other horizons would accidentally or fatefully stumble first into a corporate software seminar training which would then lead him or her eventually into instructional design. One could even find this career simply by stumbling into technical manual writing which is basically instructional design without the online or electronic component. For those who are currently in the field of education, it is more than likely that they already have the skills that are needed for entering a career of creating instructional online materials. However, there is a glaring exception. There are some schools or training centers that do not allow or enable their teacher or instructors to create their own lesson materials or curriculum. Some educational and training institutions that want to have a uniform and level education for all students opt to create standardized curriculums and learning materials. Thus, for teachers in such institutions, the skill of creating one’s own lesson plan or materials are nonexistent or underdeveloped. These are the basic skills that an instructional designer would of course need aside from a mastery of the electronic learning tools. Having one’s own experience and samples teaching supplements and handouts are also handy to when one is being interviewed for a position in instructional design. Thus, getting more experience in planning for lessons should be acquired if that is the case. Being part of corporate training seminars could be the ticket. Finally, getting familiar with technology is of course a must. Elearning tools can be very basic and easy to use, but for those people who have no idea at all on how to use PowerPoint for example, entering into instructional design will be a problem. For more information about E Learning , you can visit Intelladon.com website.
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About maria lopez
Maria Lopez is a professor of Media studies and Sociology at the Iowa University and does freelance journalistic work in her free time.
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