Activity 6.4 - CMALT and LSN certification schemes - my observations

Sources

CMALT (n.d.) ‘CMALT Prospectus ’, [online] Available from: http://www.alt.ac.uk/docs/cmalt-prospectusv4.pdf (Accessed 30 November 2008).

The Learning and Skills Network (2007) ‘A Professional Development Framework for E-learning’, [online] Available from: https://oufe.open.ac.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.learningtechnologies.ac.uk/files/0627161Framework.pdf (Accessed 2 December 2008).

Lessner, Ellen (2007) ‘CMALT experience - an individual perspective ’, [online] Available from: http://www.alt.ac.uk/docs/Ellen_Lessner_CMALT_experience_200711203.pdf (Accessed 2 December 2008).

Lisewski, Bernard and Joyce, Paul (n.d.) ‘Examining the five-stage e-moderating model: Designed and emergent practice in the learning technology profession’, [online] Available from: http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/resourcepage/view.php?id=90970&direct=1 (Accessed 24 November 2008).

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

Write a short 300 word account of what you have learned about the development and certification of elearning practitioners in this unit.

Much of the interest in accrediting learning technologists comes from a recognition of

• the isolation common to many learning technologists (including myself) (Oliver)(Lessner)
• the problems with credibility (i.e. academics not recognizing the expertise / competencies that a LT role can hold and instead reducing the position to a service provider or enabler; their practices are poorly understood (Oliver) (LSN) ; involves more than simply selecting from an off the shelf arsenal of products / services (Lisewski)
• the unique nature of the position (autonomy, without authority, yet still being promoted as a strategic change agent) .. (Oliver)

It appears that learning technologists have moved to address these (and other) issues first through the formation an association (ALT), and secondly through the set up of accreditation (CMALT or LSN). Such efforts also raise the profile of research in learning technology and the pursuit of professionalism by Learning Technologists.

While not directly stated, it's clear that this work ultimately improves credibility and respectability for the LT position. (CMALT prospectus) (LSN) .

My own review of competencies yielded some important insights.

The LSN competencies were subdivided by role - general practitioner, policy maker, expert adviser, developer, leader. This proved to be much more interesting because it pointed out to me just how many "hats" one can wear as an Learning Technologist .. and the need to switch those hats - i.e. from learner to adviser to leader.. Which lead me to suggest yet another challenging competency - the need to know when to switch those hats .... thus I'm deducing the need to be a fairly seasoned communicator in order to recognize that.

Based upon my interpretation and review of the competencies from CMALT, all six of my pdp objectives tied into atleast one of the CMALT Core competencies.. and in three pdp objectives a CMALT Specialist competency was identified. Noticeable was a focus on operational issues in 4 of the 6 objectives. This has me wondering if I am unknowingly "complying" with management's view of me as an learning technologist as "service provider"(?).

Reflections - Activity 6.3 - what does a learning technologist do?

Sources

Lisewski, Bernard and Joyce, Paul (n.d.) ‘Examining the five-stage e-moderating model:
Designed and emergent practice in the learning technology profession’, [online] Available from: http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/resourcepage/view.php?id=90970&direct=1 (Accessed 24 November 2008).

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

What do learning technologists do?
I've only been assuming this postion for a few months now and I can really relate to both the Oliver and Lisewski articles.

Yes... I see a big part of my job as a Education Technology Specialist (i.e. Learning Technologist) is having a certain amount of autonomy in how I interact with "clients", yet little if any authority to direct change, instead its a matter of presenting experiences, ideas and suggestions (expertise) to "guide" a "client" to another way to realize their instructional objectives. They typically seek me out formally (via email requesting an appointment) or informally (over lunch or a chat in the hall). Yet critical to it is fostering a non threatening relationship with potential "clients" so that they feel comfortable about discussing such things. It sounds curiously similar to a relationship that you might find between a patient and a therapist, where there's a need for "confidentiality", and the building of "trust" or building a non threatening, safe environment for open dialogue because in many cases, the potential client feels insecure about raising the issue. They often apologetically present themseleves as unfamiliar with something, feeling vulnerable in doing so, so that they realize they need to learn more, that they are depending on me for guidance.. yet ultimately the final decision on "if" they will move forward rests with them.

Curiously enough, I've never seen such a "soft skill" presented in any LT job description. While the expertise, experience and rhetorical discourse are important, I've discovered just how critical nurturing this sort of relationship is to realizing the next step - being "invited" to enter into such a dialogue and then present one's expertise or opinions to help inform opinion. Thus the point made about "investing considerable time in building goodwill and strong collaborations across the institution" (Oliver p 249)

I'm equally curious about how many others in the cohort share this observation.

I also see a strong need to be challenging things ... even those presented by my colleagues in the department. They have been tempting me to use "off the shelf" solutions (with best of intentions I might add) .. yet I've resisted on the very grounds mentioned by Lisewski - the need for them to be challenged as to their relevance to our context. At issue here, is the use of screen cams from Atomic Learning and my insistence on the need to use self authored screen cams using Jing. This on the grounds that Jing produced resources are easy to produce, easier to access and invite greater familiarity and thus more built in support for our end users - namely faculty. Atomic Learning videos are more difficult to get to (require password and then navigation to a set example), and are not context specific .. thus requiring the "target learner" to build the relevance and context themselves .... to understand the purpose of the support resource.

Reflections - elearning professionals defined

Sources

Lisewski, Bernard and Joyce, Paul (n.d.) ‘Examining the five-stage e-moderating model:
Designed and emergent practice in the learning technology profession’, [online] Available from: http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/resourcepage/view.php?id=90970&direct=1 (Accessed 24 November 2008).

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

Refinement of my earlier definition based on readings of Oliver and Lisweski

earlier definition of an elearning practitioner

An elearning professional is one who consistently engages in reflective practice, and consistently seeks engagement with other elearning practitioners to test and refine one's understanding of good practice, constantly internalizes, constructs and applies these ideas to improvve the quality of their elearning efforts - specifically in one's ability to address the needs of the students one seeks to serve.

the refined definition of an elearning practitioner / professional

An elearning professional is one who consistently engages in reflective practice. This involves using models, templates, learning theories, etc. that have been presented by others in the field but resisting the temptation to immediately accept them .. Instead, they should be judiciously used to "guide" teaching practices.

As an elearning professional, one should be prepared to contest and challenge current practices ... especially as to how useful they are in one's local context. By doing so, one contributes to the development/refinement of a body of knowledge and expertise that informs their professional practice and that of others.

As an elearning professional, one should recognize the unique nature of the postion. Such a role grants them a high degree of autonomy (i.e. entering into a discreet client / consultant relationship).. but equally important is to understand how the role typically does not grant them authority to direct others as to what should be done. Yet concurrently, they are often expected to be positive agents for change in the institution.

With such an understanding, an elearning professional is ensuring that they are putting forward their best efforts to realize "quality elearning " that addresses the needs of their sponsoring institution's students.

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."

Activity 6.1 - Warrior Article

Source

Warrior, Becky (2002) ‘Reflections of an Education Professional’, Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, 1(2), pp. 53-59, [online] Available from: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/hlst/documents/johlste/0030_warrior_vol1no2.pdf (Accessed 23 November 2008).

How to define professionalism..

Perkins (1985) presents the idea of professionalism as

• an occupation with a crucial social function
• requiring a high degree of skill
• drawing on a systematic body of knowledge

Sockett (1985) defines it as requiring

• element of intellectual training or mental expertise

Millerson (1964) defines it as having

• skills based on theoretical knowledge
• intellectual training and education
• some sort of independent testing of competence
• access to a restrictive organization or association
• allegiance to a code of conduct
• an altruistic drive to serve others

Lindop (1982) being professional is about

• doing something special for society
• professing to have certain socially useful skills
• enjoying privilege and responsibility
• exercising personal judgement
• protecting the public by guaranteeing certain minimum standards of competence
• having recognized one's conduct and merit by payment and status

a variety of different views .. each overlapping in some way or another
but all demonstrating a key duality for any profession

• an intrinsic responsibility of a member to other members
• an extrinsic responsibility of a member to the public / client

.... but then is teaching a profession?

Being an educator

• require recognized qualifications
• combines knowledge with practice
• requires organization ... a framework to abide by (i.e. format for curriculum design, delivery, and assessment)

yet...

• primary / secondary teacher must have compentencies / qualifications to teach
• whereas lecturers must have specialist level of knowledge .. but not necessarily a detailed understanding of theories / practices of teaching to teach

So what bounds the profession of educators?

Key issue - QUALITY

• means meeting or exceeding certain standards .. realized via supervision, inspection & control
• quality in teaching is often measured in terms of "benchmarks", "self assessment docs", "performance indicators"
• these become the standards to which teachers are measured

yet...

• professional discretion is removed because of the restrictive framework of rules and managerial control
• inspections can be seen as intrusive and marginalizing professional autonomy

another option to realizing QUALITY

• being professional means commitment and time to professional development .. on an ongoing basis
• onus is on the individual to update themselves to attend regular training courses or conferences .. to prevent stagnation of professional practice

Hoyle (1985) professional development is a process where professionals seek to improve their competencies

• reskilling
• relearning
• incorporating new modes of teaching
• self appraisal

Yet this is not without difficulty. On these terms, a professional must constantly and consistently find the time and motivation to take responsibility for one's own professional development.

In effect a professional is one who consistently engages in reflective practice, and consistently seeks engagement with other practitioners to test and share one's findings (intrinsic responsibility), and equally so, consistently informs practice through the application of these ideas to address the needs of those they seek to serve (extrinsic responsibility).

Publish Post

Activity 6.1 Perkins - my review

As I understand it, Perkins is suggesting that professionals, because of the scarceness of both their numbers and expertise, command power and authority. As such they are in a position to either realize things for the common good or potentially exploit society. If they exploit they do so either out of protecting their own interest or that of their professional class' interest. Some may be tempted to serve others with still more political or economic power.

I challenge this immediately. An expert may only be an expert in the working culture that they are accustomed to .. and from my experience the transfer of such "expertise" to another completely new milieu - work culture or social culture is rarely smooth, often clumsy and potentially harmful to both the "professional" and the client or customer they seek to serve. For example, the many education professionals who come to work in the Gulf often apply methods that they know best and are acclaimed for "at home" only to find themselves struggling to adapt because the new culture is not receptive to these "new" methods. For example, the immediate introduction of critical thinking and reflective learning to Gulf students who are accustomed to rote learning has humbled many a teacher. Insensitive understanding of business manners or methods has sent many an expert back home earlier than expected.

Also note the contrast with today's "information society". Here we see an increase in the democratization of information that has been made possible by the immediate access to it via the net. This has made challenging professionals and experts much easier than ever before. Doctors and lawyers immediately spring to mind. Many a commoner has done detailed research on cutting edge practices to address ailments that affect them personally.. and thus have a much stronger vested interest to develop informed opinion on such matters. This may have been realized to such an extent that they may be informing the so called expert or professional rather than the other way around. Other similar professional spheres?
Wealth management, personal investment, etc.

Activity 6.1 - eLearning as a profession

Sources

Higher Education Academy Professional Standards Consultation (n.d.) ‘Standards framework for teaching and supporting student learning in HE’, [online] Available from: http://www.alt.ac.uk/HEA_professional_standards_consultation_20051012.html (Accessed 16 November 2008).

ALT, (n.d.) ‘SECOND CONSULTATION ON THE PROPOSAL TO FORM
A LIFELONG LEARNING SECTOR SKILLS COUNCIL - Questionnaire’, [online] Available from: http://www.alt.ac.uk/docs/questionnaire_lluk_ALT.pdf (Accessed 16 November 2008).

What are the specifications for education and training couses aimed at elearning professionals?

Very difficult to find any definitions on this .. all of them seem to come out of the UK though by taking more time to mine the job descriptions for learning technologists in the US this might become easier to address.

From
Higher Education Academy Professional Standards Consultation
An elearning professional is someone who ...

• makes appropriate / judicious use of technology to realize learning outcomes
• has an indepth understanding of learning theory and its application to online learning design
• makes efforts to work with others to enhance and inform each other's practice, knowledge and experience
  

From Anonymous, (n.d.) ‘SECOND CONSULTATION ON THE PROPOSAL TO FORM A LIFELONG LEARNING SECTOR SKILLS COUNCIL - Questionnaire’

An elearning professional is someone who ..

• systematically applies a body of knowledge to the design, implementation and evaluation of learning resources
• uses principles of good learning theory, good instructional design and change management to support learning and provide learning resources
• is grounded in the use of technologies and their capabilities to support learning

Compare these specifications with your own education and training.

My own formal and informal education is a mix of visual arts training, museum management, adult education, english as a foreign language training and teaching and my current studies in the MA with the Open U. It's a very eclectic mix but I've also noticed that all of these educational / subject domains have been greatly affected by information technology. I have had to learn learning theory on at least three separate ocassions and maybe more - each from a different perspective (i.e. general, adult and online). Most of my own learning about effective use of technology has been informed by earlier courses in the Open U program. Much of the learning theory has been informed via reflection and integration into my own teaching practice, much of the appropriate selection of technology in education comes from direct experience and reflection on it. In almost all cases, the Open U program has served to more formally recognize my experience and efforts.

My formal qualifications .. constant theme?

Education. in environments that seem to promote or encourage innovation / dealing with change / promoting creativity .. and to do so under fairly close scrutiny by others (i.e. visual arts - public art displays, cultural sector - leveraging scarce time and money resources, adult education - targeted needs, efl - multi mode teaching leveraging scarce time and money resources to realize learning outcomes for students).

Compare this with the education and training of the H808 course team

I recognized that the team placed a certain amount of emphasis on experience with computer mediated communications and learning, the need to be current and connected with a community of practice, and the need to make one's work transparent (open to scrutiny and input from peers). I sense I've had two of the three drilled into me by work demands. The middle point is one that I grew to value while working in the cultural sector - the importance of networking with others to inform one's practice.

Other repeated themes? The need for ethics, standards to support one's work. The importance of striving for quality. The need to be part of a community of practice to constantly inform one's practice in a field whose context seems to be constantly changing.These sorts of values, curiously enough, were emparted in me via my work in alternative education while working in the cultural sector - where public scrutiny and validation were very important to ensuring "buy in".