Transitioning into EdTech
The following is a collection of resources that have come my way, related to helping educators transition from being a teacher to being in educational technology.
Don't be lured into spending a lot of money learning a tool to build a portfolio. L&D is SO much more than just content development and you can get quickly stuck churning out courses. Teachers have so many more transferable skills to bring into corporate. I would encourage transitioning teachers to target skills like learning analytics, learning community management, and even marketing (MAAS Marketing has some valuable resources). Likewise, ask to be mentored by someone in corporate L&D. They can help steer you.
Forgot to also add: join the GLDC (Global Learning and Development Community) and their free Friday events!
Post by Lori-Niles Hodmann
How to Transition to Ed Tech?
You can learn more about transitioning to education technology or instructional design with the resources below:
Event recording: The Training Learning and Development Community (TLDC) The eLearning Tool Summit April 2022.
Recordings: Road to L&D: From Teaching to Instructional Design Event Recordings
Conference recording (Sept 2022): Educators transitioning to Learning and Development
Watch video (01:23:10 min): Teaching to EdTech: How Former Educators Transitioned to EdTech Careers by the Boston EdTech Foundation.
Watch replay: Success Stories: Teacher to Trainer with guest Jennifer Neydon by TLDCast
Companies
A lot of companies hire former educators. Below are some of the ones I know:
View Boston EdTech Foundation's job board.
Tools
Before the pandemic, academic organizations had an average of 900 tools. After the pandemic the number went up to 1,400. Being proficient in technology is vital in today's workforce.
Below is the list of tools you whould know if you want to work in the education techology or instructional design field and links to learn more about them.
eLearning Development
Articulate 360: Rise and Storyline are the most popular.
Learning Management Systems
Academia: Blackboard, Canvas, Desire2Learn, Google for Classroom (Google for Education, Certifications)
Corporate: Cornerstone OnDemand
Project Planning
Asana
Basecamp
Jira
Microsoft Planner
Smartsheet
Trello
Resources
Teacher Career Coach. Teacher Career Coach is a judgment-free community dedicated to helping educators find happiness in their careers, inside or outside the classroom. Since 2019, we've proudly helped thousands of teachers transition into new roles.