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Distance education director skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

1 min read

Quoted experts

Amanda Banks Ph.D.,

Marie Leahy

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical distance education director skills. We ranked the top skills for distance education directors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 28.9% of distance education director resumes contained instructional design as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a distance education director needs to be successful in the workplace.

5 distance education director skills for your resume and career

1. Instructional Design

Instructional design is the application of knowledge and skills by creating learning experiences and materials. The practice follows a systematic assessment of needs, designing a process, developing learning materials, and evaluating if these experiences are effective.

Here's how distance education directors use instructional design:

Managed a group of Web, Graphic, and Instructional Designers.
Course Evaluation Instructional Designer Moodle Administrator Moodle Faculty & Student Workshop

2. Curriculum Development

Here's how distance education directors use curriculum development:

Directed curriculum development efforts, faculty recruitment, accreditation self-study, and the establishment of all University policy and procedure statements.
Led instructor training, curriculum development, and field programs pertinent to 80 international military students representing 76 nations annually.

3. Professional Development

Professional development means to have the essential training certification or education with the purpose of earning and having a successful career. Every job requires a different set of skills. However, new skills may be needed in the future. Professional development, in this regard, helps people to develop and polish the skills and become efficient workers.

Here's how distance education directors use professional development:

Provide professional development to staff and faculty.
Facilitated professional development opportunities for associate attorneys.

4. Blackboard

Blackboard Learn is a web-based learning management system or virtual learning environment that provides information management for courses and learning materials. It is a scalable software with a customizable open architecture and strong security authentication protocols. Blackboard Learn is used by various Universities around the world to provide course management for their students.

Here's how distance education directors use blackboard:

Attended state-wide Blackboard and Technology workshops.
Create and conduct monthly faculty and student orientation sessions regarding Blackboard, pedagogy, assessment and development.

5. Canvas

Here's how distance education directors use canvas:

Initiated adoption of Canvas in most departments and trained instructors on use of the LMS.

What skills help Distance Education Directors find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What type of skills will young distance education directors need?

Amanda Banks Ph.D.

Professor, Bluefield State College

Working knowledge of traditional and innovative instructional technology is essential for those entering teaching. Graduates should be familiar with a wide range of technology-based tools for effectively planning and delivering of instruction in a variety of formats, from in-class to synchronous and asynchronous learning. Fortunately, a number of preservice teachers consistently use or are at least exposed to a myriad of technology as students in higher ed. Familiarity with LMS platforms, audio/video recording and presentation apps, school-to-home communication modalities, and assistive technology are absolutely essential for every graduate planning to enter the classroom.
Additionally, developing innovate approaches to engaging and maintaining student interest and teaching the unwritten curriculum (e.g., basic citizenship skills, personal organization, punctuality, work quality, and honesty) are critical. Brief or protracted periods of virtual teaching can make this especially challenging. Another essential skillset is fostering student-parent-school partnerships. Research indicates parent involvement significantly impacts academic success for all students. For students with exceptional learning needs, parent involvement is the single most powerful predictor of their academic performance. New teachers should make it a top priority to build rapport with their students, and become familiar with their personalities and life circumstances as well as their learning strengths and needs.

What technical skills for a distance education director stand out to employers?

Marie Leahy

Associate Professor, Chestnut Hill College

The suddenness of the onset of the pandemic made all employers realize that it is absolutely critical for their workers to be able to mobilize quickly and adapt to an entirely new situation with relative ease. Recent graduates in the field of education will need to be able to use Microsoft Office and be able to use interactive whiteboards and maintain a classroom website. In addition, they will need to be able to utilize learning management systems, live streaming, and document cameras/visual presenters. Each school/district has its own learning management system, but if someone is experienced in using a learning management system, then getting accustomed to a different one is pretty seamless. The same is true for live streaming services and document cameras/visual presenters.

Do you want to know more?

List of distance education director skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a distance education director resume and required skills for a distance education director to have include:

Instructional Design
Curriculum Development

Professional Development
Blackboard

Canvas

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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