Digital Education Officer

Main Purpose of Job

The College Digital Education Officer, College of Science and Engineering, is responsible for supporting, coordinating, and promoting an enriched usage of digital education tools in the College of Science and Engineering. There are three major areas of focus in this role.

Providing specialist support and technical advice to staff for a wide range of learning technologies (both online and in classroom use) and for the production of multimedia materials (for teaching and promotional purposes)

Designing and delivering relevant training and professional development activities for staff on the effective use of technologies to support teaching, learning, student engagement, and authentic assessment and to build capacity for educational innovation

Contributing specialist expertise and knowledge to the development and implementation of the College’s strategy for teaching, learning and assessment.

The College of Science and Engineering has a strategic objective to create more flexible, student-centred, pedagogically informed, blended learning curricula and authentic assessments, aimed at enhancing the student experience and empowering students for lifelong learning and employment. The College Digital Education Officer will contribute to the delivery of this strategic objective, particularly in the areas of digital pedagogies, technology trends (including, for example, AI and its implications for learning and assessment), and multimedia skills development.

The appropriate College officers, including the Executive Dean, and the Vice-Deans for Education and Students and Graduate Studies, will guide the pedagogical aspects of the role. The post-holder will liaise with CELT also in terms of University-wide and national strategies, ensuring coherence and consistency whilst recognising the specific requirements of the College of Science and Engineering. They will make appropriate evidence-based recommendations on the applicability of emerging digital technologies for programmes in the College of Science and Engineering.

In this context, a key feature of the role is horizon scanning and the post-holder will remain fully aware of broader evolving developments in digital learning, as well as associated risks, at a national and international level.

The post holder will have excellent skills in project management, communication and stakeholder engagement. The post-holder is responsible for managing and implementing a portfolio of projects and ensuring the stability and continuity of operations in regard to teaching, learning, and assessment. These include, but are not limited to:

• Project manage the roll-out of new tools and relevant initiatives in the College

• Test, pilot and evaluate new tools and upgrades as they relate to the College

• Provide responsive, efficient, and high-quality technical support to ensure the continuity of teaching operations, particularly at peak periods in the academic calendar

• Implement initiatives aimed at enriching the usage of the University’s Virtual Learning Environment and associated technologies

• Benchmark and provide advice on evolving best practice with regard to electronic lab notebooks and analytical skills assessment in lab-based classes

• Develop the College digital media portfolio for student recruitment activities and the dissemination of research outputs and impact

The post holder will report to the College Technical Superintendent, in close partnership with the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching to ensure consistency and complementarity of work across the University. The post holder will work closely with the College Vice-Deans for Education and Students and for Graduate Studies, and will work across all of the schools in the College.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Specialist support for digital education

• Manage and resolve helpdesk tickets (and other queries) relating to technology and media use in courses and activities in the College. This includes providing active day to day support for Canvas and other software, and responding to and recognising particular peak periods for demand for such supports throughout the academic year

• Develop instructional materials such as handouts, screen recordings, videos, etc., on the use of the available technologies and guidance on resolving common issues

• Liaise closely with colleagues in CELT and other Colleges on specialist support for digital education, offering mutual guidance, and sharing information and skills

• Produce digital materials and content in partnership with other College staff (academic and professional), carefully managing production design and timelines, and ensuring high-quality outputs

Professional development and advisory role

• Work in partnership with CELT to strengthen and reinforce the capabilities of staff in the College of Science and Engineering to deliver on University of Galway’s commitment to harness technology in our teaching, learning and assessment, to improve our students’ experience and prepare them for the future

• Work closely with the schools in the College to identify training and development needs and deliver appropriate, bespoke, training and professional development opportunities (e.g., workshop sessions, advisory meetings, online training materials, etc.) to enhance the digital education capabilities of staff in various teaching and learning scenarios

• Provide guidance and support to ensure staff are able to harness the full potential of University of Galway’s Virtual Learning Environment for an enhanced learner experience

• Utilise available data and information (including learning analytics, usage rates and internal evaluation studies) to advise on improvements of the use of digital education tools and resources for programme operation and student success

• Contribute appropriate expertise to the design and development of new programmes, liaising with relevant schools, units and services (including, for example, CALPD in the development of microcredentials and other flexible learning programmes)

• Promote universal design for learning (and other related approaches to accessibility and inclusion) amongst staff and support the development of more accessible and inclusive learning resources

Project Management and Strategy Implementation

• Advise and support Programme Leaders, and academic and professional staff, in the College of Science and Engineering’s aim of innovating in digital pedagogy and the creation of more interactive learning experiences, with a sharper focus on active learning, critical thinking and collaboration, rather than content delivery

• Work with Vice-Deans, Programme Leaders, CELT, and other appropriate colleagues and offices on the development and implementation of assessment strategy and practices, with particular attention given to ensuring academic integrity

• Maintain professional currency by regularly engaging in horizon scanning and make appropriate evidence-based recommendations on new and evolving developments in educational technologies and technology-based pedagogical practices regarding their applicability for College of Science and Engineering programmes

• Foster the establishment of a community of practice in digital education in the College, to facilitate an exchange of ideas and experiences in technology-enhanced learning among staff

• Benchmark and provide advice on evolving best practice on the use of electronic lab notebooks and analytical skills assessment in lab-based classes

• Build capacity among academic staff and researchers to integrate multimedia and digital media (e.g., digital video and audio resources, podcasts, script templates, interactive multimedia content, animations, etc.) into their work and use appropriate digital platforms and channels to best effect

• Design, produce and develop digital media content for courses and programmes within the College, College student recruitment activities and the dissemination of research outputs and impact

• Play an active role in College projects and initiatives in relevant areas, and contribute to wider activities in the area of pedagogical technologies and learning design, leading on appropriate projects

Requirements for the role

The successful candidate will demonstrate the eligibility requirements below in terms of qualification, skills and experience.

Essential Criteria

• Masters qualification in a relevant area

• A minimum of 3 years of experience in a range of appropriate learning technologies

• A minimum of 3 years’ experience in technical support, management, and user training of virtual learning environments and learning management systems (VLE and LMS) such as Canvas

• Demonstrated experience of training and support (both online and in the classroom and venues) for a range of learning technologies and systems

• High levels of technical skills and experience in multimedia material and digital media production, using appropriate tools and authoring environments, including digital video and audio editing

• Project management experience, including experience of working in multi-stakeholder project contexts, and ability to influence situations and contribute effectively to decision making

• Excellent communication skills

• Demonstrated agility and ability to respond to external developments and quickly learn and adapt to new technologies

Desirable Criteria

• Sound knowledge of broader national and international developments in learning technologies, as well as the key issues in teaching and learning in higher education

• Experience of advanced authoring tools such as Articulate Storyline, Adobe Captivate, or similar

• Systems administration and server configuration experience

• Experience of PowerBI and or similar tools for handling diverse datasets and developing dashboards and other useful tools for course management and learning analytics

• Programming experience in relevant languages and operating systems

• Experience of graphic design

• A level 10 qualification in a relevant area

Salary: €62,248 – €84,391 per annum pro rata for part time and short term roles (applicable to new entrants effective from January, 2011)