Are we ready for year 2001?

Abstract

There appears to be a need for recruitment in the field of educational technology in the area of media production. Individuals coming into the area need more knowledge and instruction involving expert systems; digitized print, image and sound; application of authoring systems and general computer programming skills. Instructional design is more evenly distributed in levels of perception on preparation for the future. However, there appears to be a need to increase preparation in evaluation of computer software, systems analysis, and knowledge of expert systems. Media management is the students’ most popular area of study, and according to the trends in the field, skills and knowledge of media management will be of great value to industry in the future. Media managers perceive to be adequately prepared for the traditional responsibilities, but their preparation in the trend areas will present a challenge to the changing nature of their responsibilities. Special attention can be given to the specific areas of “cost effectiveness analysis” and “use of word processing packages” in order to further secure the level of preparation of media managers. The prospective professionals in instructional design, media production and media management can benefit from a broader base of similar preparatory experiences. Students will benefit more if additional information on expert systems, cost-effectiveness analysis, systems analysis, and the other trend areas occur.