Learning Technology Support Specialist

About Unity College:

For more than fifty years, Unity College has been preparing the next generation of environmental professionals and leaders to successfully face real-world challenges. With environmentally focused degrees, Unity College offers affordable and accessible bachelors degrees, masters degrees, certificates, and non-degree courses through a variety of modalities including hybrid, in-person, hyflex, and online.

Our Mission:

Through the framework of sustainability science, Unity College provides a liberal arts education that emphasizes the environment and natural resources. Through experiential and collaborative learning, our graduates emerge as responsible citizens, environmental stewards, and visionary leaders.

Position Overview:

The Learning Technology Support Specialist (LTSS) will support DEÂ’s suite of learning technologies and processes as they are experienced by our users (students, faculty, and staff). This support will have a primary and a secondary focus: Primarily, the LTSS will maintain DE learning technologies (including the LMS), prepare courses to run between terms, repair courses as they run, and bug fix. Secondarily, the LTSS will gather quantitative and qualitative data on user experiences. They will work with input from various DE units, including Advisors, IT, Academics, instructors, and the students themselves, to develop a holistic picture of where and how our users run into issues so that the Instructional Designers (IDs) can design long-term solutions. The LTSS will also support IDs in the ongoing standardization, maintenance, and operation of courses term by term.

Full job description provided at time of interview.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the ID team in the publication, standardization, and maintenance of existing courses.
• Function as Tier 1 support for DE learning technology issues, including LMS issues
• Maintain the LMS and adjacent learning technologies
• Respond to and fix user issues with designed aspects of courses and third-party integrations, as they arise.
• Interface with Advising, Concierge, Academics, IT and other DE units to improve response to, and learning processes collecting, user issues.
• Develop methodologies for collecting and analyzing UX data generated by thousands of users.
• Apply user data to generate reports and inform iterative improvements to the User Experience.
• Act as an expert resource for our Canvas learning management system and related tools.
• Support and refine integrations of current educational technologies to promote effective teaching strategies and to improve student-learning experiences.
• Develop support materials, including tutorials, orientations, help sessions, and workshops, as needed.
• Communicate knowledge and application of academic technologies.
• Remain current and maintain a thorough understanding of the latest industry technology tools and trends in online education.
• Work with Information Technology and Instructional Technology staff to develop new services and test new academic and learning technologies.

Required:

• Associate’s Degree.
• Strong skills for empathizing with and analyzing user experiences.
• Strong qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis skills.
• Experience in managing multiple projects, and the ability to schedule, prioritize and meet varied deadlines across these projects.
• Ability to work both independently and within a team.
• Strong oral and written communication skills with strong interpersonal and presentation skills
• Proven ability to stay current with rapidly changing technologies.
• Ability and willingness to work with students from diverse political/socioeconomic backgrounds and a wide range of physical and academic abilities.
• Demonstrated competence working with Content Management Systems and various media technologies
• Personal commitment to the environmental focus and mission of the college.

Preferred:

• Degrees and/or certifications in Data Analysis, UX Design, IT, or other related fields
• Experience fixing user experience issues (bug fixing)
• Experience with graphic design and AV elements such as the Adobe Creative Cloud suite.
• Experience in online classroom teaching or workshop facilitation.
• Familiarity with Universal Design and other accessibility principles to ensure course content is accessible to all learners.
• Proven ability to work effectively and communicate with subject matter experts, peers, users and media developers in cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated competence in working with learning management systems, such as Canvas.

• Familiarity with HTML and CSS.

Work Schedule / Availability Requirements

Work hours are specific to the requirements of this position and can include days, evenings, and weekends. Working extended hours required as needed. Must be flexible and cooperative in fulfilling responsibilities and meeting the Colleges needs. Although Unity College employees are generally scheduled to work at their specifically assigned locations, there are times when travel is necessary and employees are required from time to time to attend events, meetings or work temporary assignment at any Unity College location.

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this job, it is regularly required to sit and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand or walk. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 lbs. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. The use of either hand for repetitive movements such as grasping, grasping and turning, and fine manipulation is required as is the ability to use the telephone for internal and external communications.

Location: Pineland Farms, New Gloucester, Maine

Just a half hour from Portland, Unity College Headquarters, Unity College Distance Education, The Technical School for Environmental Professions (opening in 2022), and the School of Environmental Business & Sustainable Ventures are based at the Pineland Farms campus. The facilities are within easy access to one of the fastest-growing cities for startups in the country.

Benefits:

Unity College offers a comprehensive and competitive compensation and benefits package for its faculty and staff. Benefits for eligible employees include:

• Paid holidays
• Paid time off
• Medical
• Dental
• Short- and Long-term disability
• Life Insurance
• Flexible work benefit eligible
• Vision
• 403B