Clearly so far in H808 we've looked at eportfolios, reflection, PDP, and development of technical competencies. These are all related to developing skills to be both a successful learner and successful elearning professional (and presumably H808 students aspire to be both). In my exploration of the suggested websites I felt the focus was less on technical skills, and more on the development of communities of practice, accreditation and on the development of competencies particularly for (possibly predominantly )classroom-based teachers and trainers. I think this perception of difference between H808 and the elearning world based on focus on technical skills being a key part of this course is actually mistaken, as I see the technical elements as being included in order to explore the pedagogical principals they support.
The consideration of what it means to be an elearning professional (elsewhere in Unit 5) aligns very well with the variety of terminology that is out there. While I found none of the suggested websites attempting to define 'elearning professional', the scope of what was included (e.g. administration, facilitation, instructional design, teaching, content authoring, mentoring, learning system production) goes some way to illustrating the breadth of the term. Perhaps H808 is pushing boundaries and asking difficult questions by trying to define what we mean by elearning professionalism. Some of the websites certainly don't seem too questioning (e.g. The eLearning Guild, which appears anyone can join if you want to pay up), whereas others have more stringent conceptions of professional development and maintaining competence (e.g. CMALT, membership of which requires assessment by your peers and experts, with periodic updating). Certainly the questioning, reflective attitude promoted by H808 appears to be one cornerstone of professionalism on which the more rigorous websites (CMALT, EIfEL etc) are agreed.
- EIfEL (European Institute for E-Learning), http://www.eife-l.org/
- The eLearning Guild, http://www.elearningguild.com/
- New Zealand Ministry of Education (?) ‘Tertiary (e)Learning Research Fund’ (online). Available from: http://cms.steo.govt.nz/eLearning/Projects/Tertiary+eLearning+Research+Fund.htm
- (specifically Shephard, K., Stein, S. & Harris, I., 2009. Professional development for e-learning: A framework for the New Zealand tertiary education sector. Available at: http://cms.steo.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/FB28C494-93B1-4C2E-ACE4-E10ACC43A9E7/0/ShephardTitleandExecutiveSummaryFinal2.pdf Accessed November 11, 2009].)
- Digital Learning Asia 2007 conference: eAsia 2007, http://www.digitallearning.in/dlasia/2007/agenda_day3_9.asp
- Research Center for e-Learning Professional Competency, http://elpco.a2en.aoyama.ac.jp/EN/index.cgi
- About-elearning.com http://www.about-elearning.com/e-learning-professional-organizations.html
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