Learning Designer

About the role

The Learning Designers primary responsibility is to manage projects involving online courses and micro-credential development and maintenance for Unity Environmental University Distance Education. They will:

• Synthesize technical and pedagogical literacy and apply that expertise, in collaboration with subject matter experts (SMEs) and institution administrators, to design engaging, experiential learning activities;
• Iteratively improve upon student-learning experiences through the collection and analysis of student data, as well as feedback from course instructors and SMEs, to follow the evolving needs of the professional spheres for which the students are being prepared;
• Continuously evaluate the performance of the courses and micro-credentials they design, and the efficacy of established learning design practices, using student performance data;
• Ensure the accessibility of the content and activities they build using universal design principles and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance standards.

Day to day responsibilities

• Work collaboratively with Distance Education (DE) faculty and staff to design and develop high quality, innovative, experiential online courses, and micro-credentials.
• Act as an expert resource for our Canvas learning management system (LMS) and related tools.
• Apply the appropriate learning and instructional theories for excellent online course and micro-credential designs and implementations.
• Design online content for the Canvas LMS.
• Integrate current educational technologies to promote effective teaching strategies and to improve student-learning experiences.
• Develop and lead trainings on online instructor and student support materials, including tutorials, orientations, help sessions, and workshops, as needed.
• Facilitate and coordinate administrative aspects of course and micro-credential development, delivery, and support.
• Act as a consultant to Distance Education faculty and leadership on the process of learning design in teaching, research, and creative works.
• Provide learning design services, consultation and assistance to help plan, coordinate, support, evaluate and improve course, micro-credential and program designs.
• Identify and provide corrective action when needed in alignment with the Quality Matters program and rubric.
• Develop and manage course and micro-credential development and implementation schedules.
• Assist faculty and other subject matter experts in navigating the Canvas LMS, in coordination with Learning Technology staff.
• Oversee all phases of the design process, aligning instructional content to learning outcomes, while creating instructionally sound and engaging learning opportunities, and developing quality assessment tools.
• Oversee design revisions and outcomes-based improvements of existing products.
• Remain current and maintain a thorough understanding of the latest industry technology tools and trends in online education.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree.
• Strong research, content analysis, and content preparation skills.
• Experience in leading and managing multiple, complex projects, and the ability to schedule, prioritize and meet varied deadlines across these projects.
• Ability to work both independently and within a team.
• Demonstrated excellent oral and written communication skills with strong interpersonal and presentation skills, while working with diverse content and populations.
• Proven ability to stay current with rapidly changing technologies.
• Ability and willingness to work with students from diverse political/socioeconomic backgrounds and a wide range of physical and academic abilities.
• Personal commitment to the environmental focus and mission of the university.
• Ability to function effectively within a matrix organizational structure, maintaining open lines of communication while being discreet, courteous and well poised.

Preferred skills

• Master’s degree in Instructional Design, Education, or equivalent field.
• One year of experience working in a full-time instructional design capacity, collaborating directly with faculty in online curriculum building and course development.
• Experience developing non-traditional learning experiences and micro-credentials.
• Experience with badging.
• Proven knowledge of instructional design strategies, along with the current techniques, tools, and procedures used in the design, development, and evaluation of technology-enhanced and online courses and programs.
• Experience with graphic design and AV elements appropriate for online instruction, especially using the Adobe Creative Cloud suite.
• Experience in online classroom teaching or workshop facilitation.
• Knowledge and understanding of Quality Matters, Online Learning Consortium and similar online learning rubrics.
• Familiarity with Universal Design and other accessibility principles to ensure course content is accessible to all learners.
• Proven ability to work effectively and communicate with subject matter experts, peers, users and media developers.
• Demonstrated competence in working with learning management systems, such as Canvas.
• Familiarity with HTML and CSS.