Curricula for Advanced Learning Technologies

Need for Advanced Learning Technologies Curricula

Advanced learning technologies are the basis for the success of the e-learning revolution in recent years. They have not only taken the e-learning movement away [Page 161]from the initial shovelware attempts (where claims of e-learning were made by transferring regular classroom handouts to the Web) but also have enhanced instruction tremendously by making it possible to create highly multimedia-rich interactive learning scenarios. Advanced learning technologies-based instruction enables learning in ways that are not possible in traditional classroom instruction.

The need for advanced learning technologies curricula arises from the fact that e-learning is a huge and significantly expanding worldwide industry. Commercial e-learning companies, training departments in large companies and organizations, computer software companies, and educational institutions the world over employ large numbers of specialists in various aspects of learning technology creation (programming, graphic design, learning design, usability engineering, subject matter analysis, editing, etc.) but find it hard to employ suitably qualified workers who have knowledge beyond their subfields and disciplines. There is a strong demand for technologists who understand how learning happens and for learning designers and teachers who understand technologies. Learning technologies are becoming part of major educational programs in institutions worldwide, and the commercial training industry, still going through a period of rapid and sustained growth, is large.

The needs and requirements of the various organizations, both educational and commercial, vary widely in terms of the knowledge and skills needed to implement advanced learning technologies effectively. Further complexity comes from the fact that potential students of advanced learning technologies come from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from education, computing, engineering, design, arts to even finance and natural sciences. Their interests and expectations vary as widely as their aspirations toward what kinds of organizations they would like to serve after graduation. The aim of the advanced learning technologies curricula is to prepare students with knowledge and skills to understand the organizational needs and requirements, and not only use and manage both existing and emerging technologies effectively and be able to apply associated pedagogies to suit the environment, but also evaluate and manage technological advances of the future and the requisite pedagogical shifts to achieve efficiency and effectiveness.

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