DEFINITION

Under the general direction of the Associate Dean, Academic Support, in coordination with Computing Services, Management Information Services, Student Learning Services, External Relations and other offices as needed, the Distance Education Web Specialist will provide technical support to faculty, instructional support staff, and students; receive, record and resolve requests and concerns; assist faculty in the technical development and maintenance of online, hybrid, and web-enhanced on-campus courses and materials; design and provide training for faculty and instructional support staff users on online and microcomputer hardware and software; and assist faculty and instructional support staff in developing and implementing multimedia applications within web-based environments.

The Distance Education Web Specialist supports faculty and academic departments in the creation of instructional multimedia and web-based course content.  Among other duties, this individual acts as the system administrator and operator of the college’s course management system, currently BlackBoard/WebCT, and provides faculty one-on-one consultation, workshops and training sessions.

EXAMPLE OF DUTIES

1. Establishes and maintains a working environment that stresses customer service; advises the Associate Dean of any recommended improvements.
2. Performs faculty first point of contact support for all online, hybrid, and on-campus web-enhanced courses; receives and resolves faculty and staff requests and concerns regarding the technical aspects of the college’s online, hybrid and web-enhanced course management system.
3. Provides hands-on assistance to faculty in the technical development and maintenance of online, hybrid, and on-campus web-enhanced courses and materials.
4. Develops and conducts professional development training for faculty and staff on the use of course management system software and multimedia technologies and tools.
5. In collaboration with the Associate Dean and the Distance Education Specialist, assesses and sets priorities for effective faculty training; plans, schedules and assists in the promotion of workshops.
6. Creates, revises, maintains and publishes various system documentation and instructional aids; creates training materials and exercises; reviews literature to meet College instructional needs; maintains library of various printed and online help tools and other related materials.
7. Provides information, assistance, and advice to College faculty and staff on a variety of matters pertaining to online learning.
8. Determines if course management system technical solutions are feasible.  Works with college technology staff to assure that the distance education needs of faculty are supported as required to assure student success.
9. Develops and maintains website(s) and web-based applications for Academic Support applying a variety of tools, languages and operating systems.
10. Researches and develops skill sets in new internet and authoring technologies relevant to website development.
11. Develops computer graphics and layouts including photo editing, drawing, and multimedia software in support of web-based applications.
12. Manages Distance Education website content and support compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements including best practices for web design and web applications development; assists faculty and staff with the development of ADA web-compliant content. 
13. Troubleshoots web-application software and develops implementation strategies required to integrate with course management systems.  Administers Course Management System.
14. Creates, modifies, and maintains course management system user accounts and course shells and assure data security. 
15. Assists the Associate Dean and Computing Services with the registering and maintenance of Distance Education related software licenses, packages, and records.
16. Maintains on-going and current knowledge of web-based course management system software; stays abreast of industry trends in applicable technologies (e.g., authoring, programming, security, streaming media, and various protocols) and continually capitalizes on new technologies as they may benefit online, hybrid, and web-enhanced on-campus course education.
17. Works in close coordination with and assists the College’s Web Producer in creating web content for the college’s Distance Education website(s) and corresponding pages including maintenance of these sites and pages.
18. Maintains current, complete and reliable records including written documentation of job procedures and practices.
19. Participates in the development of Distance Education standards and procedures as followed by faculty, instructional support staff and students; makes recommendations for changes and improvements to existing standards and procedures.
20. Provides direction, training, and technical guidance to student and college assistants charged with supporting online, hybrid and web-enhanced course activities.
21. Serves as an ad hoc informational resource to campus instructional and technology committees.
22. At the request of the supervisor, performs a variety of duties normally and traditionally performed by a Distance Education Web Specialist.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience:  Bachelor’s degree in a technical field and five (5) years related work experience or Master’s degree in technical or related field plus three (3) years related work experience; or equivalent combination of education and work experience in technology or related field.  Three years experience in the development of online instructional content is required.  Experience with search engine applications and database integration with web pages is desirable.

KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES

Knowledge of:

Web standards and ability to adhere to coding standards, including proficiency in CSS2.  Able to create web pages that validate xhtml, css2 and section 508 structure; strong knowledge of cross-platform/cross-browser issues; operation, maintenance, and administration of online course management systems; principles and practices used in diagnosing, trouble-shooting, and performing repairs for online learning onsite and remotely using the internet; procedures and policies related to receiving, recording, and resolving faculty and student HelpDesk requests; online learning concepts, theory, practices, and standards; various operating systems, databases, and server applications and operations; architecture, operation and configuration of course management systems; software used to develop and maintain web pages (e.g. Photoshop, FrontPage, Dreamweaver, RobDemo, etc.) used to provide assistance to faculty in developing and maintaining online, hybrid, and web-enhanced on-campus courses; programming and authoring languages such as HTML, XML, CGI, PERL, JAVA, JavaScript and ColdFusion; principles and practices of providing support for multimedia, instructional, and information technology, inclusive of audio and video streaming; computer applications such as word processing, spreadsheets and databases; interpersonal skills using tact, patience, courtesy, and diplomacy; proper operation of personal computers, servers and peripherals; record-keeping and documentation techniques; College organization, operations, policies, and equipment; English usage, grammar, spelling, punctuation and vocabulary; pertinent state, federal, and program policies, rules, and regulations.

Ability to:

Operate, maintain, and administer course management systems; diagnose, trouble-shoot, and perform repairs to course management systems, both onsite and remotely; receive, record, and resolve faculty and student HelpDesk requests; work with programmers and network technicians to ensure interconnectivity and interface between the college’s Student Information System, Active Service Provider (ASP),  and the internet in support of the College’s course management system; remotely log-in to the network and system servers to perform analysis, configuration, and repairs to the course management system; work with and provide faculty support as they develop and maintain their online, hybrid and on-campus courses and materials; organize and review the work assigned to student and college assistants; supervise, evaluate and train assigned student and college assistants; analyze complex problems and provide solutions that maximize performance, effectiveness, and efficiency; compile and maintain accurate and complete records and files and prepare reports; supervise multiple activities simultaneously; adapt to changing technologies and learn functionalities of new equipment and systems; work independently and with little supervision; plan and organize work to meet schedules and deadlines; work with and exhibit sensitivity to understanding of diverse racial, ethnic, disabled, sexual orientation, and cultural populations of community college students; communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing; and establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

PHYSICAL ABILITIES

Seeing to inspect written documents, ability to communicate with District staff, students and public, sitting for extended periods of time, bending, kneeling and reaching to retrieve and file records, and dexterity of hands and fingers to operate a keyboard and other office equipment.

PROBATIONARY PERIOD:  One year.

Pasadena City College
1570 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91106
(626) 585-7361 direct ⋅ (626) 525-7924 fax