“Before talking about Education Technology Jobs, let’s understand what Education Technology is and what area it’s connected to.
Education Technology, or EdTech, is a combination of ‘Education’ and ‘Technology.’ Education involves teaching and training,
So when teachers use different tools or methods to make their teaching better and improve learning, that’s what we call Education Technology.”
Educational technology is the use of methods to achieve educational goals. It helps set practical objectives to make education easier and more advanced.
In today’s time, it’s important for teachers to know about new technologies. Different tools and methods have been created to assist in teaching and learning, and educational institutions use them.
What is Education Technology?
Different people around the world define educational technology in various ways.
- Leith says it’s using scientific knowledge of learning to improve teaching.
- J.P. DiCicco sees it as applying learning psychology to practical teaching issues.
- B.F. Skinner believes it’s the science that boosts education effectiveness.
- Toksi Sokamato thinks it’s a study aiming for the best educational results by controlling various elements.
- I.K. Davis emphasizes using a disciplined approach to address education and training issues.
In education, the goal is to bring positive changes to a child’s behavior and refine their basic tendencies. Psychology, technology, and science play vital roles in modifying these basic trends. Education isn’t independent but connected to technical science.
Technical science involves experimental systems and techniques. In our scientific age, inventions influence all aspects of life, impacting education, teaching, and learning significantly.
Concept Of Educational Technology
In today’s world, scientific discoveries and inventions impact every part of our lives, including education. Technology, like projectors, computers, and online classes, is becoming more integrated into education.
Many teachers worldwide now use video conferencing to teach, eliminating the need to be physically present in a classroom or at a student’s home.
Every aspect of teaching, such as methods, goals, learning, and research, relies on technology nowadays. Technical science has become so advanced that studying it is crucial for both students and teachers.
Without understanding it, the knowledge and skills gained in teaching and training remain incomplete. Educational technology has brought significant changes to traditional education, making both students and teachers tech-savvy.
While using technology in education is essential, having a timetable is also important. Many students struggle with creating a timetable.
A well-organized timetable makes work easier and increases efficiency. When managed properly, a timetable can save a lot of time in the processes involving educational technology.
Objectives of Educational Technology
Every task has goals, and educational technology is no different. Its objectives include:
- Organizing text systematically for better understanding.
- Providing a complete understanding of educational techniques.
- Enhancing teaching by assessing students’ achievements against set objectives.
- Explaining the meaning of educational technology.
- Choosing and using reinforcement techniques.
- Defining soft craft, hard craft, and systems analysis.
- Making teaching simple, clear, interesting, scientific, objective, understandable, and effective.
- Gathering, developing, and sharing knowledge.
- Bringing desired improvements to the teaching-learning process.
- Boosting teachers’ qualifications and capabilities by developing their skills.
- Distinguishing between educational technology and instructional technology.
- Setting teaching objectives for easier teaching and testing.
- Allowing students to apply educational technology directly to learning problems.
- Analyzing students’ qualities, abilities, achievements, and skills.
Scope of Educational Technology
The field of educational technology aligns with its concept. If we see educational technology as audio-visual tools, its scope is limited to just those tools.
When viewed as computerized study, only computer-based learning materials are part of its scope. However, if we consider educational technology as a systemic approach, as suggested by Derek Rowntra, its scope broadens to:
- Identifying learning goals and objectives.
- Planning the learning environment.
- Searching for and organizing materials.
- Selecting suitable teaching strategies and media.
- Evaluating and improving the effectiveness of the teaching system.
- Gaining insights from evaluation to enhance future effectiveness.
Highest Salary in Education Technology
Employees in education technology typically earn around $27,429 per year on average worldwide. Most salaries fall between $17,444 and $54,136 annually, with the top 15% earning over $45,715.
However, salaries in Education Technology differ in the United States. According to the latest 2024 data, the average yearly salary for Educational Technology in the U.S. is $68,090. In simpler terms, that’s about $32.77 per hour, equivalent to $1,310 per week or $5,681 per month.
Education Technology Industries
Education technology isn’t limited to schools; it extends to various industries where combining technology with instruction is essential. Here are five major industries that offer instructional technology jobs:
- Education: Education technology is directly related to education, making it an excellent field if you enjoy teaching. There are various positions available in schools, and with the increasing preference for online courses, the demand for educational technology jobs is likely to grow.
- Career: Many people choose to work in the private or corporate sector, providing a wide range of opportunities. You can collaborate with online education platforms or join major tech firms like Apple or Google that focus on education development. Even businesses unrelated to education are hiring EdTech to enhance their internal training programs.
- Government: If you’re interested in influencing edtech policy and ensuring the development of best practices, working for the government might be a good fit. Government Educational Technology plays a crucial role in setting standards and initiating new edtech projects to promote access and understanding nationwide.
- Military: The U.S. Armed Forces, with institutions like the U.S. Military Academy and Naval Academy at Annapolis, is committed to innovative digital technologies and modern educational practices for training its personnel.
- Organizations: Public service is another option, with many non-profit organizations dedicated to increasing education access for underserved communities. Collaborating with organizations like Teach for America or Digital Promise allows you to reach communities in need of edtech assistance.
Top Educational Technology Jobs
As the field of education technology has grown, various job opportunities and career paths have emerged. If you have an interest in direct instruction, curriculum design, or administration, there are positions in education technology that match your skills. Here are nine popular areas with jobs within EdTech:
- Curriculum Designer/Manager:
- Responsibilities include developing educational programs and materials, ensuring effective teaching material presentation, and addressing additional requirements.
- Digital Learning Designer:
- Also known as e-learning designers, they specialize in creating, delivering, and evaluating educational content for online or digital platforms, staying updated on the latest technology.
- Director of Educational Technology:
- Works with department leaders and IT teams to coordinate digital technologies, oversees faculty training, and develops education technology policies.
- Educational Technologist:
- Works closely with faculty and IT teams to implement educational technologies, researches and implements new software and hardware, and trains teachers on effective technology use.
- Media Specialist:
- Responsible for managing audio-visual equipment, setting it up, training others to use it, assisting with digital content creation, and ensuring consistent communication.
- Technology Coach:
- Focuses on supporting technology integration in the classroom, trains teachers on effective strategies, assesses student learning, and provides support to students as needed.
- Technology Coordinator:
- Manages various technology projects, sets deadlines, researches technology solutions, schedules meetings, and monitors computer education programs.
- Technology Integration Specialist:
- Determines the best ways to implement instructional software and educational technology, improves network infrastructure, and troubleshoots hardware and software issues.
- Senior Instructional Designer:
- Develops outlines for training programs, acts as a project manager for educational technology initiatives, and oversees all aspects from goals to assessment tools.
If you want more detailed information about these educational technology jobs, you can visit the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration’s O*NET online page or check out the page for instructional coordinators for a state-wise breakdown of job vacancies.
Skills Required for Educational Technology Jobs
For any educational technology position, whether it’s a teaching role or within an instructional technology company, certain skills are essential.
Common Skills:
- Training and Mentoring:
- Ability to effectively train and mentor others in using technology.
- Collaboration:
- Comfortable collaborating and communicating with others.
- Communication Skills:
- Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to convey technical terms to both technology and education audiences.
- Industry Knowledge:
- Extensive knowledge of industry standards and best practices, such as the ISTE NET standards.
- Critical Thinking:
- Trained in critical thinking for problem-solving.
Specialized Technical Skills (for certain roles):
- Web Development:
- Familiarity with basic web development and coding (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
- Content Management Systems:
- Knowledge of online content management and experience with learning systems like Blackboard, Canvas, or Moodle.
- Network Understanding:
- Understanding of how computer networks operate, troubleshoot network issues.
- Programming Skills:
- Advanced programming skills for developing software or applications, especially for cloud-based systems or learning platforms.
These skills are crucial for success in educational technology positions, ensuring proficiency in both the educational and technical aspects of the role.
Educational Technology Career Resources
If you’re looking to explore career opportunities in EdTech, consider checking out these online resources:
- Adsurge
- ITSE Job Board
- Schoolspring
- EdTech Recruitment
These platforms can provide valuable information and job listings in the field of educational technology.
Top Educational Technologies
In the field of educational technology (EdTech), various tools and platforms are used, ranging from basic websites and chat boards to computer-based assessments and virtual learning techniques. Top Tools for Learning compiles a list of the 300 most popular EdTech tools each year. If you’re interested in exploring some popular programs, here’s a brief list:
- Google Apps for Education:
- A suite of free applications, including popular cloud software like Google Docs and Google Drive. Paid subscriptions offer additional applications like Workspace for Education Standard and more.
- Google Arts & Culture:
- Offers multimedia educational materials exploring arts and culture through virtual tours of museums, historical timelines, and artist biographies.
- Quizlet:
- Helps teachers create online flashcards and games for custom teaching aids, with 125 million pre-built study sets.
- BrainPOP:
- An online learning resource for teachers and students of all ages, offering lessons, games, quizzes, videos, and more for every subject and grade level.
- Duolingo:
- A language learning app that integrates with G Suite features, making language learning enjoyable through games and quizzes.
- Tynker: Coding for Kids:
- An online learning platform teaching coding for various technologies like apps, games, websites, and toys.
- Explain Everything:
- A versatile whiteboard for teaching, creating animations, brainstorming, journaling, and more.
- Zoom:
- Popular video conferencing software with features like chat, breakout rooms, and customization.
- Slack:
- A workplace communication platform for sharing messages, tools, and files, accessible on multiple devices.
- Padlet:
- An online notice board facilitating easy sharing of links, videos, images, and documents between teachers and students.
- Canva:
- An online graphic design tool for creating and editing social media graphics, posters, documents, and visual content.
- Kahoot:
- A game-based learning platform enabling teachers to create quizzes and games for students.
- Jamboard:
- A Google app providing a digital interactive whiteboard for online collaboration.
- H5P:
- A plugin tool allowing users to create, share, and reuse HTML5 content and applications.
- Mentimeter:
- Presentation software enabling users to add questions, polls, quizzes, slides, and images.
- GoGuardian:
- Chromebook management software giving teachers control over user activity, web filtering, and communications.
Conclusion
You might be wondering what kind of advanced degree is necessary for a career in educational technology. While certain roles may only need a bachelor’s degree and relevant certifications, many higher-level and more lucrative positions often require either a master’s degree or equivalent professional experience. If you find this information helpful, feel free to share it with others. Thank you!
