Activity 6.2 - The Profession of Learning Technologist

Source

Oliver, Martin (2002) ‘What do Learning Technologists do?’, Innovations in Education and Teaching International , 30(4), pp. 245-252.

Wow!!
This has been a tremendously useful article to me for a number of reasons.. Number one? It's given me a clearer sense of the unusual nature of the educational technologist position - one that in essence, I have but with a different wording - Senior Educational Technology Specialist.

The three categories of LTs

• new specialists - multiskilled, going from place to place with learning technology as the core of their identity
• academics who have incorporated learning tech into their existing professional identity
• learning support professionals who are in non academic roles but support access to and effective use of learning technology

I really have to wonder which of these three classifcations I and others in my H809 cohort fall into. (create a survey) . I have always considered myself an educator first and directly involved in the use of technology in education for at least fiften years now. In the last 10 years I've worn the EFL instructor hat but that's also been a field active in finding ways to integrate technology to realize learning outcomes.

I feel I've aspects of all three....

LTs need each other .. but why aren't they connected and where are they to connect?

No 1 ranking was the need to keep abreast of current developments in learning technologies. Yes.. and typically not directly supported or assessed by my current employer.. seems to be too little time to realize this... thus fostering my need to network with others to see how they realize this ... I've been actively seeking out such online communities and have found them in all shapes and sizes. To make the task more manageable, I've chosen to connect with those that are from back home.. But noticeably absent is any work on similar online communities in the Gulf region thus encouraging me to perhaps realize this to support networking amongst other LTs in this region.

Typical job description? collaboration

Oliver mentioned a three step process .. essentially

• Step 1 - identify opport for collaboration w/ discipline based academics
• Step 2 - provide meaningful input to the collaboration (tech advice) and using the opport to learn more about the collaborator's values, concerns, and context
• Step 3 - select, adapt, and present relevant "cases", expertise, research material, to support, challenge, foster refection for critical discussion with collaborator

Note that this suggests an advising role but an LT is armed with a fair amount of knowledge that can in effect direct the instructor in their selection of tools to meet instructional objectives. This really rang true to me - personal experience with it and it was conforting to see this spelled out in such clear cut terms. An LT is in effect, a change agent - armed with information about tech, but also armed with an understanding of learning theories so that there is some understanding of how the tech can be integrated into instruction. At least one very important, missing ingredient to make change happen .....?

Context is king!

However, for any of this to happen, understanding the "needs' or "interests" or "culture" of the instructor has to be seen as a clear cut starting point before anything can be realized. Oliver's use of the term "learner centered model for professional development" summarizes this.. and is something I've direct experience in doing, each time I work with a faculty member. I still struggle with the description of this being a model of professional development as "expert learning".

Professional aspect?

This need for specialized knowledge and deeper understanding of a variety of elements -

• managing change,
• collaborating with a wide variety of clients
• understanding pedagogical frameworks / learning theories

Self monitoring of when and how to introduce, integrate, impart such information to the benefit of a client - drawing on knowledge (from experience, from reading, from networking with other LTs) much like a doctor does to help a patient (?). Inferring a fair amount of autonomy when collaborating with a client ...

Key processes?

• Collaboration (which requires huge amounts of time to build goodwill and trust)
• Specialist expertise (understanding of current developments / issues in elearning; strategies to help uncover and address them)
• Rhetorical skills (to influence development and decision making by others)
  

autonomy + lack of authority + initiator of change

Key weakness? Perception of LTs by those they seek to serve

Credibility in the eyes of academics. "If (LTs) cannot establish their credentials with hte academics, then it is unlikely that fruitful dialogue will follow, since the collaborator will see them as a service provider rather than an expert."