This sub-section of my website is specifically focused on CMALT certification. In it, I provide insight on Operational Issues; Teaching, Learning and Assessment Processes; a View of the Wider Context; Communication; my Specialism; and Future Plans.
Working With Others
Candidates should demonstrate their knowledge and skills in communication through working with others.
Statements could describe the way in which your work involves collaboration, for example through participation in a team or acting as an interface to other groups. Relevant evidence would include reflection on collaborations with others, reports outlining your activity within a team process, how you have brokered support for a particular initiative (for example from a technical or legal support service) or how you have worked with others to solve problems.
Where your evidence involved collaboration, please acknowledge the contribution of others. You may also chose to discuss how you select appropriate forms of communication.
Communication
In this section I discuss the importance of communication beyond simply explaining things to staff and students or sending out information that needs to be shared. Creating opportunities to communicate with staff takes time, a mixture of opportunism and planning, and an approach which makes explicit how engagement will help colleagues reach their own goals.
My role as a lecturer and with other responsibilities within my department and institution means that I work with many colleagues in numerous ways.
However, to focus on work that is directly related to Learning Technology, I include some specific examples now.
Formal committees:
Faculty Learning Teaching and Assessment Committee – this role involves working with faculty level colleagues on the development of policies and making decisions regarding teaching and learning across the Higher Education courses that our college offers. This includes topics such as the use of VLEs, various learning technology tools (e.g. TurnItIn – see below). It also requires that I work with colleagues in my own department to produce.
Students, Staff and Slack
This runs within the Foundation Degree in Computing programme as a way to encourage greater communication between staff and students. It is intended to provide students with experience of using an app that is used in business and so provide them with the soft-skills of communicating with superiors in an informal but respectful manner, while also acting as an alternative avenue for learning. In this way, students will be informed of useful articles relating to a module of study and also be used as a platform for engaging with students on a Q&A forum. For example, in the lead up to exams, lecturers will set revision questions to the group, which will then be responded to by students.
What I Have Learned From This.
Communication is something that is requires careful planning, organisation and an intentional direction.
Communication is a two-way street. Simply implementing and setting up Slack will not / and did not make lecturers or students communicate more – it has to be something that I lead in by example. And even then, there will still be some that will choose to not engage.
Communication is not a Personal Announcement system.
While the above have been aspects of learning for me, one of the most meaningful parts of this communication has been to allow me to become aware of the different people, groups and expertise which are available within my institution and beyond, sharing and adapting my own practice in response to discussion with students and in undertaking the redesign of the foundation degree.