In the last decade, most industries invented and re-organised various jobs and job titles to meet the changing nature of the world around them, and their place in that world. Education has made some effort: ICT integrator; ICT co-ordinator; Director of Innovation; e-Learning specialist etc., Education has this problem called HR, it’s actually hard to re-classify a job or invent one without a lot of domino effect.
These jobs need to be updated. ICT Integrators assumes what technology is today can be integrated into existing structures.That may have been true 5 years ago – when ’emerging’ meant blogs, wikis and podcasts. Instead they need to have their own space, and run virtual classrooms that students can opt-into with their parents. Everyone should be able to co-ordinate ICT activity, so the co-ordinator should now be focused on creating process-networks, as most co-ordinators have become policemen and the person who fills out paperwork. You can’t direct innovation. You might be able to imagine it, but to deliver requires the kind of people above to make it happen, so this job is more about being a Digital Genome Researcher to figure our what works, how, why and who’s the best at it. There is not e-learning, therefore no specialists. Those people are locked in a dead-end street, release them back into the wild.
There are two essential new jobs: Social Media Teacher and Virtual World Teacher. These are perhaps people who live in the Information Centres (the things that used to be called libraries). There are some ‘jobs’ that are irrelevant – to take your pick from the bureaucratic pond as to which one’s get booted to make it happen.
Great post! Thought provoking.