According to the Association of Learning Technology the definition of Learning Technology is defined as this; “Learning technology is the broad range of communication, information and related technologies that can be used to support learning, teaching, and assessment.” Learning Technologists are then “the people who are actively involved in managing, researching, supporting or enabling learning with the use of learning technology.”(ALT 2010)
However, to those working in eLearning, on a daily or ad hoc basis, the explanation doesn’t seem to be as clear cut and there has to be a continual explanation of the job role and the skills, experience and knowledge the role of a Learning Technologist demands. The reality of the day to day routine of a Learning Technologist can be dictated by the strengths of the person in the role, or even where the role physically fits into the institutional structure. According to David Hopkins this question of what is a Learning Technologist “can be answered differently based on who you ask, where they work, and what day of the week it is.” (Hopkins, 2009)
The naming of a Learning Technologist can take many forms: Academic developer, blended learning advisor, technology enhanced learning advisor to name a few. This has a real impact on individual and team identity, purpose and success. Without clear definition, the crossover between technology and pedagogy can cause friction and conflict between departments.
Project Methodology
The outcomes of this project will be built upon qualitative data that will be collected through the capture and archiving of Twitter posts from October 2013-Dec 2013 using a tagging system on Google docs. The data will be gathered by performing automatic hourly searches of all Tweets using the hash tags #LTFE and #LTHE (non-case sensitive tweets will also be included). The principles of discourse analysis will be applied to the data to extrapolate the themes, trends and attitudes towards Learning Technologist which will be discussed to begin to build a clearer picture of the position of Learning Technologists in the context of FE and HE. The first stage will concentrate on FE and the second stage on HE.
Timescale:
Data will be collected between October – December 2013.
Data analysis will be continual throughout the project- using a small cluster of discourse analysis techniques. The project write-up will be completed by Christmas and will be disseminated across the FE and HE learning community. This dissemination will be informally through twitter and formally as a research case study. Potential journals to submit case study to are: ALT-J,MERJ, JHFE and Rapal.
This project will be carried out by Rachel Challen Head of eLearning and Geraldine Murphy a Learning Technologist at Loughborough College and David Hopkins, Learning Technologist at the University of Leicester.
Amazon MatchBook: Paper and Kindle editions on their way
If, like me, you like to watch your films or listen to music on more than one device (in more than one location) then you’ll have had to copy/digitise/rip it, which is not always legal.
But it can be done. For your CDs you need to just put them in your computer and iTunes or other music library software will offer to rip it for you. Connect your digital audio device and copy the file across and you can listen to your CD in the car, gym, bus, or at work or walking the dog. It’s slightly more difficult for your DVDs but there is software that can rip it into an MP4/M4V or MOV or WMV file which will play on your laptop, tablet, etc. and you can watch on the train, bus, plane, or in the shed or bath (wherever you want).
But what about your extensive library of books you’ve been collecting. If, like me, you also want to be able to read these electronically then it’s a lot tougher to digitise. So why can’t you get the electronic copy at the same time as the physical one? You can do this with your DVDs and with some CDs now (some DVDs come with the Ultraviolet digital copy), so why not books?
Where selected, and this is the crunch, you can get the Kindle edition for a vastly reduced price (or free), but this is determined by the author or publisher. It seems the requirement is that the Kindle edition associated to the physical paper, when you buy them both, must be $2.99 or less (or even free).
As you may know I’ve produced two eBooks – “QR Codes in Education” and “What is a Learning Technologist?“. The cost to me to write, develop, produce, and provide for purchase has been minimal (not including time and effort), which is one of the advantages and positives about self-publishing. I have now investigated and started to look to produce both of these titles for print, using CreateSpace services (another Amazon company). You can be sure I will investigate Kindle MatchBook and whether it’s available for my titles, and I will look to offer the Kindle edition at a vastly reduced cost (maybe even free) for anyone buying the paper copy.
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