Academic Technology Specialist

Overview

New York Institute of Technology’s six schools and colleges offer undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs in in-demand disciplines including computer science, data science, and cybersecurity; biology, health professions, and medicine; architecture and design; engineering; IT and digital technologies; management; and energy and sustainability. A nonprofit, independent, private, and nonsectarian institute of higher education founded in 1955, it welcomes nearly 8,000 students worldwide.

The university has campuses in New York City and Long Island, New York; Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as programs around the world. More than 112,000 alumni are part of an engaged network of physicians, architects, scientists, engineers, business leaders, digital artists, and healthcare professionals. Together, the university’s community of doers, makers, healers, and innovators empowers graduates to change the world, solve 21st-century challenges, and reinvent the future. 

For more information, visit nyit.edu.

Responsibilities

New York Institute of Technology’s (New York Tech) division of Academic Technology Services (ATS) within the division of Information Technology Services (ITS) seeks to fill the position of Academic Technology Specialist. Using technology-based tools, ATS helps faculty bring their content into a vivid, engaging format that creates outstanding student experiences in the classroom or online.

The successful candidate will support the university’s online program expansion and have a passion for online education and pedagogy. Additionally, this position supports the expansion of onsite learning experiences through the thoughtful and appropriate use of a variety of academic technology tools. This position, working with a team, also develops instructional materials for academic and administrative applications in various formats, including social media, our LMS, Canvas, websites, digital displays, and mobile.

Reporting to the Manager for Online and Instructional Technologies, the successful candidate will collaborate with New York Tech faculty as the subject matter experts to create and support online courses and virtual classrooms to enrich our onsite courses to support New York Tech University’s mission to provide a career-orientated education that inspires critically creative thinking in professional programs infused with technology; and empowers our graduates to change the world, to solve 21st-century challenges, and to reinvent the future.

This position will collaborate with internal ITS departments and external academic departments to identify and deploy appropriate technology for online, blended, and traditional courses based upon pedagogical, andragogical goals, and the institution’s strategic initiatives. The position will assist in resolving technology-related issues, guide course design, establish clear stakeholder expectations, prioritize tasks, and conduct training on effective pedagogies and instructional technology. This position will collaborate with other internal ITS departments and other units on campus to enhance the University’s instructional mission. 

Major Responsibilities

• Collaborate with faculty, subject matter experts, and other academic staff members to plan, design, develop, deploy, and support online and hybrid courses.
• Ensure all courses and course components are student-centered, engaging, objective-aligned, and meet internal university standards, copyright and accessibility requirements, and universal design guidelines.
• Provide guidance, training, and support in the application of both existing and emerging instructional technology
• Advance the usage and best practices of the University’s Learning Management System (LMS). 
• Create and publish documentation/instructional videos for supported instructional technology tools and software.
• Implement long-term academic initiatives that contain significant academic technology components
• Work directly with faculty to define educational needs, design course specifications, and analyze various options to meet instructional goals of course development projects; participate actively and influence the direction of formal project teams; establish production schedules. 
• Develop efficient and effective methods for providing pedagogical and technical assistance to instructional technology teams and faculty using selected tools for the creation of online course content. 
• Supervise student assistants.
• In collaboration with faculty and University administration: identify audiences and needs; determine learning outcomes; design learning activities; write text, and create simple graphics and tables for units of instruction for publication in Web-based instructional sites; handle various assignments or project tasks increasing in complexity. 
• Coordinate and manage instructional design projects from inception to completion and document and report on those projects and processes. 
• Provide pedagogical and technical support to faculty and students using technology while delivering online and onsite courses.
• Recommend effective and creative uses of technology to enhance instruction and create new, engaging and effective learning opportunities. 
• Support online development and faculty training programs, including creating and facilitating online tutorials, activities, and other materials to assist faculty with online teaching and learning technology-based tools.
• Curate and create engaging web resources to support faculty and students participating in online, blended, and face-to-face courses.
• Conduct course quality reviews, provide recommendations for course improvement and promote good teaching and learning practices with technology.
• Stay abreast of emerging technologies and their application to online instruction pedagogy and technology with their applicability to enhance face-to-face courses. Make recommendations to adopt and implement solutions as appropriate. 
• Other duties as assigned.

All positions at New York Tech share the responsibility for building a community that values diversity and the uniqueness of others by exhibiting integrity and respect in interacting with all New York Tech community members to create an atmosphere of fairness and belonging.  

Qualifications

• BS/BA degree in Instructional Technology or related field plus a minimum of three (3) years’ experience in online course design and development, teaching online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses, and/or consulting with faculty about developing and teaching quality online, hybrid, and/or face-to-face courses. 
• Preference will be given to candidates who have an advanced degree or certificate in an area related to Education, Instructional Design, Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Technology, or related field.   
• Additional years of experience may be considered instead of a degree requirement. Certification in Quality Matters (QM) and/or Online Learning (Sloan C) Consortium a plus.
• Instructional design experience while attending graduate school, relevant internships, etc., is considered professional experience.
• Prior teaching experience is a plus.
• Prior experience working with higher education populations is a plus.
• Knowledge of pedagogical strategies and high-impact practices in multiple learning environments, such as traditional, online, blended, or hybrid.
• Intermediate to advanced knowledge of Learning Management Systems (LMS). Canvas is currently the LMS at New York Tech.
• Proficiency in some combination of graphic design, video and multi-media production, accessible and inclusive design, web development, user experience design, copyright, or learning object creation. Familiarity with HTML 5 is a plus.
• Familiarity with some or all of the following educational technologies: Zoom, Kaltura, Screen-cast-O-Matic, Padlet, Qualtrics, Respondus, and Respondus 4, Flip Grid. 
• Experience with course evaluative rubrics, such as the Quality Matters for Online Education Rubric and the Online Learning Consortium’s OSCQR Rubric.
• Some knowledge of AI tools in teaching and learning experience is preferred.
• Demonstrated critical thinking and analysis skills to address key issues surrounding Learning Management Systems (LMS) and other academic technology tools.
• Experience in managing multiple individual projects, including prioritizing work to meet timelines and milestones. This also includes planning for potential concerns and preparing workarounds to meet deadlines.
• Proven ability to communicate with, motivate, and collaborate with others to meet desired outcomes, particularly when collaborators are geographically distributed and/or part-time.
• Excellent written English with an eagle eye for correct grammar, spelling, and inclusive language; the ability to edit while retaining the author’s voice is crucial.
• Proven ability to take initiative and ownership of projects.
• Proven ability to learn new technologies quickly and enthusiastically.
• Comprehensive technical knowledge and experience with using and supporting Windows and Mac platforms, browsers, Microsoft Office, and other common software.
• Team player with excellent consulting skills and a fun, but professional presence required.
• Excellent customer service skills and a high degree of integrity relative to computer security and confidentiality of information required.
• Keep current with developments in the areas of instructional technology and design in the scope of higher education.
• The ability to work nights and weekends on an as-needed basis is required.

New York Institute of Technology offers numerous opportunities to enhance personal and professional growth and provides employees with a competitive compensation and benefits program inclusive of  generous paid time off, holidays, tuition remission, and retirement plans with employer contributions. 

New York Institute of Technology is an Equal Opportunity Employer – All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

Other Information

In compliance with local legislation as well as to provide greater transparency to candidates, the annual base salary range for this position is listed. New York Tech considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate experience/expertise, education/training, key skills, geographic location, internal peer equity as well as market, organizational considerations and/or applicable collective bargaining agreement when extending an offer. 

Minimum Salary

USD $70,000.00/Yr.

Maximum Salary

USD $80,000.00/Yr.