Instructional Designer (Level I or II); R&D

About the role

The role of the Instructional Designer (R&D) is to design and create engaging and effective learning experiences in support of research and development (R&D) projects at Michigan Virtual. The R&D team at Michigan Virtual is committed to testing and evaluating a variety of learning theories, tools and technologies and incorporating them into new instructional products.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop instructional content, assessments, and courses for use in online, hybrid and face to face learning environments.
• Collaborate with internal staff and external consultants through the course development process in a manner that promotes sound instructional design principles.
• Provide consultation and support to internal and external stakeholders on issues related to the design and functionality of existing and new learning experiences.
• Leverage AI tools to efficiently design and develop instructional content.
• Leverage AI tools, where appropriate, to enhance efficiency and creativity in daily workflows, while exercising professional judgment to ensure accuracy, ethics, and data privacy.
• Meet appropriate timelines for self and external team members in order to meet project deadlines.
• Provide maintenance support on R&D products.
• Use multimedia and instructional technology tools to create educational content.
• Explain instructional design theories, practices, and methods used in learning design.
• Ensure content is aligned to any applicable state, national, or other appropriate education or training standards.
• Apply eternal quality and accessibility standards (e.g., Quality Matters, WCAG, Style Guide Criteria) in the development and evaluation of internally and externally developed learning experiences.
• Apply feedback to assigned projects.
• Create and gather documentation (e.g. design documents, course descriptions and course syllabus) and ensure it is located in the correct location.
• Consult and collaborate with team members and contribute to the continuous improvement of current design practices through formal and informal professional development.

Requirements

• Demonstrated ability to explain knowledge of instructional design and learning principles.
• Demonstrated knowledge of assessment methodology and experience with online assessment.
• Demonstrated attention to detail; assuring everything is done and correctly.
• Demonstrated writing skill in creating design specifications, course content, and project proposals.
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills and ability to work well with a remote team.
• Demonstrated ability to manage a complex workload and aggressive schedules, to prioritize and meet deadlines for multiple projects.
• Demonstrated ability to use learning management systems (prefer knowledge of Brightspace) for course creation.
• Demonstrated ability to use course creation and editing applications such as CourseArc, Storyline, and Camtasia when creating online instruction.
• Demonstrated ability to use Microsoft Office or Google Workspace applications.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively across cultural boundaries and work harmoniously with diverse groups of stakeholders, students, teachers, and staff.
• Demonstrated knowledge of current WCAG standards and designing accessible user experiences.
• Demonstrated working knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and applications relevant to the role, with the ability to use AI appropriately to support productivity, create new value, strengthen human connections, and improve work processes.
• Demonstrated commitment to contribute to a safe work environment.
• Ability to work a standard forty-hour week.