Why are you interested in becoming an eLearning Graduate Trainee?
Transcript:
Why are you interested in becoming an eLearning Graduate
Trainee?
I have many of the experiences and skills required for the eLearning
Graduate Trainee role, and a real passion for the higher education.
In short, eLearning will be a central part of the future of
university education and I want to be a part of it. The future of eLearning is
fascinating.
As a student, I was familiar with basic Blackboard elements
and earlier types of eLearning. As a postgraduate, I designed my own seminars,
which developed focused on developing
students’ presentation, research and writing skills. I used Blackboard wikis
and group tasks to give students experience of digital collaboration. For busy
finalists, this made peer learning far more convenient. I made extensive links
to archives and prompted students to develop research for their independent
project. As a Year Abroad Assistant, I developed and improved the Year Abroad
information pages. I digitised resources and posted well-organised content,
which was especially useful for students currently abroad. I created the first
Year Abroad Guide to Italy, and guides to problems based on my experiences and
research with other students.
Some of these eLearning sites were effective, notably the cinema
module and the peer learning done on the system. Furthermore, by linking into
digital archives, I used my own research methods to inform teaching and the
next generation of scholars. However, while the Year Abroad pages were an attractive
resource, the wiki was little used, with students preferring Facebook groups or
emailing me directly.
I’m really excited by what eLearning is going to be in the
near future, often dubbed eLearning 3.0. Mobile, modern and games. Analytics
enabling greater understanding of learning. Customised platforms for different
learning styles and learning by doing. Social elements and collaboration
between students. Coaching and support, a strong feature of many British universities,
will also partly move online. Accessible platforms and ‘as standard’ features
will give greater opportunities and support to distance learning students and
those with visible disabilities, invisible disabilities and caring
responsibilities. eLearning projects will replicate the digital collaboration
increasingly common in research and in the workplace.
As with my seminars, students
will be closer to the vast changes technology has bought to research. Traditions
of research-led teaching and development of new knowledge will grow stronger in
a digital environment. Quality public engagement will further university
outreach and bring some of this richness of knowledge to people around the
world.
To conclude, I am a highly motivated recent postgraduate
with excellent communication, team-working and problem-solving skills. I see a
bright future for University eLearning and would love to be a part of it.
