Do Instructional Designers Have to be Tech-Savvy?
News alert! In certain instructional design roles, you do NOT need to be a highly skilled tech wizard.
I’m a technical instructional designer at a software company, which does require more digital capabilities, but it really depends on the role and organization. Working in tech for example, it is a huge advantage.
For eLearning development roles, you need to be competent at authoring tools and basics of video/audio editing. But not all instructional design roles include eLearning development.
Some instructional designers perform the front end analysis in a more consultative role, design the learning experience, and then hand their plan off to a developer.
Skills like building data visualization dashboards or using programming languages are a nice bonus, but definitely not required in the field of instructional design.
Pretty much all instructional design roles are going to require you to be proficient in basic Microsoft Office tools, and maybe a project management tool or two.
My advice for transitioning teachers who are not as tech-savvy would be to seek out Learning Consultant or L&D Specialist roles, or instructional design roles that don’t name authoring tools in the job posting.
BTW, I like the phrase tech-savvy because it reminds me of Dan Savage’s “tech-savvy/at-risk youth.” Those were the days.
