The Education and Training of Learning Technologists: A Competences Approach (Report to IEEE Technical Committee on Learning Technologies)

Introduction: Issues and Requirements During the last thirty years, developments in the new technologies have caused radical changes in the direction and conduct of industry and commerce, in service industries and education, and in society at large. High performance computing, PCs and notepads, and mobile technologies have enabled institutions and individuals to function more effectively in the workplace and socially. Broadband networking, multimedia and an increasing range of software tools have made communication and the exchange of information at a distance both speedy and engaging. In brief, such innovations have not only led to the growth of new industries and increasing prosperity in society but to a greater openness in their interactions and management. Given these changing contexts and the challenges and opportunities they present to education and training, it is desirable, even necessary, to re-examine the instructional process, and to see learning as a continuing progression with students acquiring competence to employ technology in their classroom learning, and in the workplace, and with a capability of contributing, in due course, to the continuing development and applications of technology. The educational and training requirements of Advanced Learning Technology (ALT) need to engage with curricula that reflect the varied requirements of the workplace and of society. Students have a range of interests and ambitions in ALT which the instructional process has to accommodate and support, as well as in enabling them to achieve greater autonomy in managing their learning through the new technologies: teachers and trainers have to adapt their curricula and pedagogies to achieve these expanding objectives. Also, employers are becoming increasingly concerned that the instructional process makes adequate linkages to the requirements of the workplace, not only by developing knowledge and process skills but in ways that encourage innovation and collaborative working. And such criteria are of interest to professional organisations as they decide their accreditation and Chartership standards. With these considerations in mind the IEEE Technical Committee on Learning Technology established a Working Committee to develop specifications for new curricula for advanced learning technologies. [The Working Committee includes Roger Hartley (Chair, University of Leeds, UK); Kinshuk (Athabasca University, Canada); Rob Koper (Open University of the Netherlands); Toshio Okamato (University of Electro-Communications, Japan); and Mike Spector (University of Georgia, USA).] In its response the Working Committee has adopted and developed a competency based perspective with regard to curricula and assessments to cover undergraduate, postgraduate and training levels. The competences have been elaborated and assembled as a framework of competence domains, classes and tasks which--in association with the curricula themes and topics specified by the Working Committee, should be useful to educators and practitioners in adopting a broader multi-disciplinary approach, and in developing greater skill and understanding when applying technology to improve education and training. In brief the Working Committee was intent on determining and meeting the requirements of professionals working in ALT: what they are expected to know and to do, not only now but throughout the next five to ten years. The Competences Perspective Interest in adopting competence perspectives as an aid to understanding and managing human resources within organisations came to the fore in the 1980s, and during the last decade this approach has also become increasingly important in the management and assessment of courses in education and training. Competence places the focus on behaviours that demonstrate effective performance in context, but the term is not narrowly interpreted as a performance that draws only on knowledge and skills, but on attitudes and personal attributes such as innovation and collaborative working. …