Training the e-trainer


According to a survey conducted in 2001 by the European Training Village (ETV) of 446 trainers and vocational teachers across the EC, a surprisingly high amount of training for e-learning professionals is already taking place. 60% have undertaken some form of informal self-development. 30.5% have had formal classroom-based training, 18.6% formal web based training programmes and 16.4% some form of hybrid. Just over 17% of the training that respondents received was in ICT skills, 24.2% in the 'exploration of new pedagogical approaches in e-learning' and 18.9% in project management skills. Surprisingly, only 2.1% were undertaking skills development for e-tutoring. Of greatest concern are the quality ratings that the training received – 21% rated them poor, 45% only fair, 26% good, 7% very good and only 1% excellent. According to the ETV, “the overall low ratings may be attributable to the fact that trainer training programmes in this domain are very immature and often somewhat experimental.”

Certainly, there has been a lively response within the UK to the call for better quality training for e-trainers. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) have launched a range of new programmes, including its flagship, the Certificate in Online Learning (CoL). Karen Ver is Business Manager, e-Learning: “The CoL programme has been launched as part of the Institute’s new strategy for e-business and recognises the new opportunities for trainers afforded by e-learning. The course provides a thorough grounding, from the basics of the Internet upwards. Students obtain a familiarity with the online environment, opportunities to collaborate online and the chance to create of a framework for a real e-learning course.” Clearly the course is meeting a demand, because 126 booked on the 18-20 week online course within the first year. Graduates of the course can then progress to a number of more advanced courses providing specialist skills.

Case study: Unipart

start example

Unipart Advanced Learning Systems (UALS) had its origins as a small team looking at exploiting the web for sharing knowledge of manufacturing procedures. When the team spotted the opportunity to create a series of small learning objects that would save trainers from travelling around the UK to deliver the same sessions over and over again – and these were received extremely well – the in-house e-learning department was born.

Barry Conway is Head of e-Learning for UALS: “We realised straight away that we wouldn’t be able to buy what we wanted off-the-shelf – if we wanted these learning objects, we’d have to create them ourselves. We also knew how important it was, at this early stage, to provide a sound business justification for what we were doing – something we have maintained ever since.”

“We charge our internal customers for what we do and that focuses the mind. If there was no charge, we’d have to deal with a long queue. Because we charge, it’s important that we check ourselves from time-to-time against outside rates, so we’re providing a competitive solution. We believe that, because of our subject expertise, we can deliver more than our outside competitors. We’re also much more pragmatic – there are no prima donnas here.”

“When we started, it was important that we could all turn our hand to every aspect of the task. As the team grew – and there’s now around 20 of us – we began to specialise. Apart from project manager/designers, we have separate graphics and programming personnel, some of which we bring in on contract. We also like to bring members of the company in on secondment, for cross-training.”

“UALS has a promising future, not least because we are business-driven and not the personal crusade of a single product champion. We are confident enough that we are doing it right to offer our services widely to other companies, and that ensures that we’re always matching ourselves up to the competition.” Clearly everyone stands to benefit from in-house development at Unipart.

end example

Perhaps strangely, some trainers prefer to learn about e-learning in the classroom. Rodney Thomas is CEO of Academy Internet: “These are early stages. Many trainers want to learn about this new medium in the comfort of familiar surroundings. At present all of our courses for trainers are classroom-based, although we will shift to online delivery as demand increases. We’ve also found that more and more of our customers want their own customised solution, so at present all of our courses are offered on an in-company basis.”

The Training Foundation has been running a programme of classroom and online courses for project managers, developers and e-tutors for some two years now, based on its own widely-endorsed competency framework. As of 2002, the offering has been considerably enhanced, under the umbrella heading of Certified e-Learning Professional (CeLP). Explained Nick Mitchell, Chief Executive: “More than 1,000 individuals from industry and academia have enrolled on our Online Tutor and Online Trainer courses over the last two years. This new certification programme builds on the experience we’ve gained and offers a much wider curriculum to those wishing to make a career in e-learning. Research continues to show that a global shortage of skills is holding back companies from implementing and benefiting from e-Learning - this is not just a UK need, it’s world-wide.”

Whether you see yourself as an e-learning manager, a developer or an e-tutor; whether you like to receive your training in the classroom or online, it seems that now there are no excuses. The UK is providing quality training for the e-learning professional and that’s what’s needed to ensure that we take our place as a leading e-learning provider and that e-learning fulfils its potential in transforming education and training in the UK.




E-Learning's Greatest Hits
E-learnings Greatest Hits
ISBN: 0954590406
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 198

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