Pat Reid, EDUCAUSE Review
In a recent conversation with an assistant vice president (AVP) who manages both educational technologists (edtechs) and instructional designers (IDs), the AVP expressed confusion over the difference between the two roles. In higher education, both roles typically report to the IT department. The confusion, then, should not be surprising. Neither role falls under traditional IT programming, systems analysis, or security roles, and, while the two roles revolve around computer systems and programs, their work is very different from traditional IT tasks. To exacerbate the situation, many IDs and edtechs have experience and skills in both roles, and institutions sometimes post a position for either an ID or an edtech when they’re actually seeking a person for the role they didn’t post.1 It isn’t just IT folks who are confused. A recent Google search for “degree in instructional design” resulted in degrees in “instructional design,” “learning technologies,” and “instructional design and technology.” As these results illustrate, even institutions marketing the degrees see a strong connection between the edtech and ID professions.
https://er.educause.edu/articles/2018/12/edtechs-and-instructional-designers-whats-the-difference
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