Educational Technology as a

Career
By Sadaket A Malik
Coordinator, IGNOU, SC 1264

Bhalessa Jammu and Kashmir

Voice: 08803542605

E ducational Technology is the science of designing

instructions for learners, so that it facilitates the
whole process of learning. Any instruction needs
design but it is more effective when the instruction
takes place in an e-learning environment.
The instructional designer prepares Instructional
Design for online courses, interactive multimedia
packages, learning objects as well as for any other e-
content. Educational Technology (ET) is the efficient
organisation of any learning system adapting or
adopting methods, processes, and products to serve
identified educational goals.
This involves systematic identification of the
goals of education, recognition of the diversity of
learners’ needs, the contexts in which learning will
take place, and the range of provisions needed for
each of these.
The challenge is to design appropriate systems
that will provide for and enable appropriate teaching-
learning systems that could realise the identified
goals.
 The key to meeting this challenge is an
appreciation of the role of ET as an agent of change
in the classroom, which includes not only the teacher
and the teaching-learning process but also systemic
issues like reach, equity, and quality.
Over the past decades, educational technology
in India has taken two routes: The first route involved
a large number of experiments aimed at the
qualitative improvement of schools, adopted the
systems approach to analyze the problems plaguing
the particular situation, and have evolved a range of
solutions. These have included the development of
flexible systems, alternative curricula, multilevel
organization of classes; low-cost teaching-learning
materials, innovative activities, continuous support
systems for teacher training, etc. While many of
these experiments have demonstrated intrinsic
merit, they have been restricted to pockets of
intense practice and have failed to influence the
larger school system.
The second route is government sponsored
schemes such as the Educational Technology (ET)
Scheme and the Computer Literacy and Studies in
Schools (CLASS) and their present-day analogues,
including partnerships with global players. This
included the supply of radio-cum-cassette players,
colour televisions, microcomputers, present-day
computer labs, and even satellite-receiving
terminals.
These schemes have largely remained supply-
driven, equipment-centred, and disseminative in
design. Scant attention has been paid to the
development of the entire support system that would
establish ET as a reliable, relevant, and timely
intervention, and despite clear indications of the
necessity for this action. Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs) have brought in
a convergence of the media along with the possibility
of multi-centric participation in the content-
generation and disseminative process. This has
implications not only for the quality of the
interchange but also for drastic upheavals of centre-
dominated mindsets that have inhibited qualitative
improvement.
Modern Educational Technology has its potential
in schools, in the teaching of subjects, in
examinations, in research,
in systemic reforms, and, above all, in teacher
education, overcoming the conventional problems of
scale and reach through online, anytime, anywhere.

There exists today a well-established publishing

industry, including desktop publishing, with
Keeping in line with the government’s scheme
ICT@schools , NCERT plans to start an online course
in action research in educational technology. The
programme is meant for teachers and teacher
educators.
On what encompasses educational technologies (ET),
Educational technology is a very broad term
which implies those processes which facilitate
learning. This includes planning, developing, using,
evaluating, and managing technologies for
enhancing quality of learning (and/or teaching). Also,
it encompasses face-to-face, distance as well as e-
learning.
ET includes all the modern media, methods and
materials which are used at all stages of education
whether used for kindergarten group or for students
sitting in remote places and learning through
distance education. The fact that this field offers a
variety of career options makes it a prospective
subject that can bring qualitative changes in the field
of education.
The field of educational technology opens a
plethora of jobs ranging from educational
technologists, instructional designers, script writers
for educational TV and radio programmes, producers,
directors, editors, among various others, she informs.
Some of them require a formal degree or diploma
level training/education, while others can be
mastered through short-duration workshops or learnt
while being on-the-job.

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
Instructional design, a relatively new career within
educational technologies, focuses on the systematic
process of planning any teaching-learning process
and developing an effective educational system. It
also involves micro-planning and material
development for actual teaching learning activity.
CIET also plans to start online courses in instructional
design later this year.
”

SCRIPT WRITING
Scripting is a major aspect of any audio or video
production process. Though there are thousands of
institutes offering courses in mass communication
and media, there are very few which offer any
specialised course in educational media.This year
(2011), CIET has planned to train 1,200 script-writers
(600 each for audio and video) through EduSat video
conferencing mode. Teachers interested in
participating in this six-day training programme may
visit website for more information
www.ciet.nic.in/workshops.php. The script-writers are
in great demand not only for educational
programming but also in entertainment.

ROLE OF NCERT
CIET is taking the lead in developing e-content in the
form of Learning Object (LOs). It is developing
interactive multimedia LOs for classes IX to XII in
science, maths and geography. CIET is also guiding
State Institutes of Educational Technology (SIETs) to
develop LOs. For this, CIET is training teachers as
instructional designers face-to-face.

However, the Central Institute of Educational

Technology has the aim to provide and promote
educational technology mainly at the school level
and it has been set up in 1984 as an integral part of
National Council of Educational Research & Training
(NCERT).
The organization has the status of an autonomous
body working under the Ministry of Human Resource
Development, Government of India. The institute
universalizes the primary education by designing,
developing, and publishing alternative learning
systems besides addressing various educational
problems at micro and macro levels. CIET is planning
to produce a series of programmes based on Game
and Activity Based Quiz for Grade V students from
MCD, KVS and State Govt Schools. School Principals
are invited to send in their entries (A team of 3
students). Programme recoding will start from April
2011.

Who can become an instructional designer?

Almost anyone can. If you have the skills mentioned

in the first three lines, you can become an
instructional designer. Punam, who has been
conducting ID training for 4 Years, feels, In terms of
traits, you need to have a sense of being hands - on,
should love the idea of learning and education,
should have an eye for detail and be process -
oriented.

In terms of skills, you need to be aware of learning

theories at a high level, be a good communicator,
and structured thinking.

Anyone who has dealt with content and has good

analytical skills can become an instructional
designer. ID hones all writing skills because it
provides a structure to all content.

Courses offered in Educational Technology in

India

Masters Degree Courses:-

Yashwantrao Chavan Open University

MA in Educational Technology -

(S.N.D.T Women's University)

Masters in Educational Technology with Computer
Applications (METCA)
PG Diploma Courses:-

Symbiosis Centre For Distance Learning - PG Diploma

in Instructional Design (PGDID) –

Bharathiar University- PG Diploma in Educational

Technology-

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)

PG Diploma in Educational Technology-

Diploma Courses:
Vinayaka Missions University.
-Diploma in Educational Technology

Online Courses:-
(S.N.D.T Women's University)
4-Credit Online Course on Instructional Design

Wavelength (Delhi)
The Instructional Design and Content Writing
Certificate course ( IDCWC Online
The eLearning for Non-eLearning Professionals
Certificate course (ENPC Online
The Training Design & Delivery Certificate Course
(TDDC

Flash ActionScript Certificate courses (ASDC

Techno Point Bangalore

Technopoint india offers diploma and technical
writing training, technical documentation and
instructional design services
Tenable Learning Solutions (Hyderabad)
Instructor Led Training (ILT)

However, new developments offer new challenges for

the instructional designer to constantly learn and
innovate while strategising for optimum learning
experiences. Perhaps the term “instruction” is too
narrow to convey the value added by the
instructional designer; “Learning Designer” is what is
more appropriate.

As we are moving towards convergence and

integration in digital economy, the field of e-learning
is seeing a perceivable move towards blending
digital learning with various learning formats,
ranging from classroom-based learning to use of real-
time technologies. Knowledge management is
another area where learning initiatives will fine scope
for integration, enhancing the agility of workplace
learning. Also, several enterprise software
applications such as ERPs, CRM, HRM.

Sadaket Malik is Coordinator in IGNOU Special Study

Centre Bhalessa (Jammu and Kashmir and can be
mailed at sadaketjammu@gmail.com