Educational Technology Specialist

What a Educational Technology Specialist does daily

• Learning Management System (LMS) implementation and administration — deploying, configuring, and administering LMS platforms that host courses, track learner progress, manage enrolment, and facilitate online assessment; Moodle (the most widely deployed open-source LMS globally; used in most Sri Lankan universities and many schools; free); Canvas (increasingly popular in higher education internationally; used by some Sri Lankan private institutions); Google Classroom (widely used in Sri Lankan schools following the COVID-19 shift; free); Blackboard / Brightspace; Totara Learn (for corporate learning); the EdTech specialist configures these platforms for institutional workflows, creates user accounts, designs course structures, sets up grading and assessment tools, and trains teaching staff
• E-learning content development — creating digital learning materials that engage learners and achieve learning objectives; video lectures (recording, editing, and publishing; OBS Studio or Camtasia for screen recording; Adobe Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve for editing); SCORM/xAPI e-learning modules (Articulate Storyline 360 — the industry-standard e-learning authoring tool; Adobe Captivate; Rise 360; SCORM and xAPI/Tin Can standards for LMS-compatible content packaging); interactive assessments and activities; micro-learning modules for corporate L&D; the ability to produce professional-quality e-learning content that is both pedagogically effective and technically reliable is the most marketable skill in corporate EdTech
• Instructional design — applying the science of learning to the design of educational content and experiences; ADDIE model (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation — the standard instructional design methodology); Bloom's Taxonomy (the framework for classifying learning objectives from recall to creation, used to design assessments and activities that test the right cognitive level); backwards design (Wiggins & McTighe — designing from intended learning outcomes rather than from content); Universal Design for Learning (UDL — designing for learner diversity); the ability to produce a rigorous instructional design document before development begins prevents the most expensive EdTech failure mode: developing content that teaches the wrong things
• Education data analytics and learning analytics — designing and implementing systems that collect and analyse data on learner behaviour and outcomes; xAPI (Experience API / Tin Can — the modern standard for tracking learning experiences beyond the LMS; tracks mobile learning, simulation, peer interaction, real-world performance) and LRS (Learning Record Store — the database for xAPI statements); learning dashboard design for teachers and institutional managers; predictive analytics for early identification of at-risk learners; Power BI or Tableau for education KPI dashboards; understanding the difference between data that informs teaching and data that surveils learners (the ethical dimension of learning analytics)
• Video and multimedia production for education — producing educational video content that is engaging, accessible, and technically reliable; screen recording and lecture capture (OBS Studio, Camtasia, Panopto — Panopto is widely used in universities for lecture capture); video editing (DaVinci Resolve — free professional-grade; Adobe Premiere Pro); animation for explanatory content (Adobe After Effects; Vyond; Powtoon); subtitle and accessibility (YouTube captions; WebVTT; ensuring video content meets WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards for learners with hearing impairment or language barriers); the quality of educational video production is often the primary visible quality signal of an e-learning programme
• Accessibility and inclusive design for digital learning — ensuring that digital learning content and platforms are accessible to all learners regardless of disability, device, or connectivity; WCAG 2.1 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines — the international standard for web accessibility; Level AA compliance is the minimum expectation for publicly funded educational technology); screen reader compatibility; keyboard navigation; colour contrast; captioned video; low-bandwidth alternatives (downloadable PDFs, audio-only versions for learners with limited data); in Sri Lanka, designing for the reality that many students learn on smartphones with limited data plans is a specific local accessibility requirement
• Virtual classroom and synchronous online learning — configuring and facilitating live online learning sessions using video conferencing and virtual classroom platforms; Zoom for Education; Microsoft Teams (the most widely used corporate L&D and school-level virtual classroom platform in Sri Lanka); Google Meet; BigBlueButton (open-source virtual classroom built into Moodle; free); breakout room facilitation; online whiteboard tools (Miro; Jamboard); polling and engagement tools (Mentimeter; Poll Everywhere); the ability to design and facilitate synchronous online learning that achieves comparable outcomes to face-to-face instruction requires both technical platform skill and instructional design understanding
• AI-powered personalised learning implementation — deploying and configuring AI-driven adaptive learning systems that personalise the learning path based on individual learner performance; commercial adaptive learning platforms (Knewton; Smart Sparrow; Carnegie Learning); AI-powered content recommendation (similar to Netflix recommendations but for educational resources); LLM-based tutoring tools (Khan Academy's Khanmigo; ChatGPT for education); the EdTech specialist evaluates, selects, configures, and monitors these AI systems, and trains teachers on their effective integration alongside human instruction
• Teacher training and digital literacy development — designing and delivering professional development programmes for teachers transitioning to digital and blended learning; creating teacher training content on LMS use, digital assessment design, online classroom facilitation, and educational data interpretation; the quality of teacher digital literacy is the primary determinant of whether an institutional EdTech investment delivers learning outcomes; the EdTech specialist who can build teacher confidence and competence in digital tools provides more educational value than one who only manages the technology
• EdTech platform development and product management — for EdTech specialists who develop their own platforms or work at EdTech companies rather than educational institutions; user story writing for educational features; learning UX design (the specific UX principles that apply to learning interfaces — reducing extraneous cognitive load; supporting metacognition; enabling progress visibility); A/B testing educational content; defining and tracking engagement and completion metrics; integrating with payment systems, social login, and parental consent systems for children's platforms