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Learning technologies: A new hub for IT professionals

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CIOL Bureau
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S.M. Nafay Kumail

One of the most visible contributions of computer revolution is that it has changed the whole paradigm of teachers and the taught. A typical schoolteacher is now fast becoming a "learning technologist". With the educational scene shifting from blackboards and classrooms to WWW and with ‘virtual educational institutes’ becoming a reality, there are more and more learners who want to screen their teachers and not limit their interaction to the confines of classrooms. People want to learn online but don’t have time. They want specific learning to happen in a specific time period. People want to learn in real-time and at their own pace. A remote school, college, or university cannot do it for them. However, Computer-based Training (CBTs) and Web-based Training (WBTs) will. Anytime, anywhere learning is the mantra of online education. This has introduced a tremendous need for a new breed of computer professionals often called as learning technologists. The employment opportunities in this field can only increase over time.



With the new era belonging to computer, connectivity and convergence, the way the people learn is changing accordingly. According to a UNESCO report, 6,150,000 people worldwide enrolled to learn online in 1999. According to estimates, by 2002, about 2.2 million people in US alone will be learning online. The scene in Australia, Europe and other parts of the world is no different. India, due to its limited PC reach, has been unable to upload itself on the bandwagon of online education. But, the nation has become one of the largest producers of CBTs and WBTs. Technology-based Training (TBT) development has become a big business over the years. The large education and training companies worldwide are working towards adding to their already large library of electronic courses. Educational software producing companies are also gearing up efforts on the aspect of disseminating learning through the Web. And, it goes without saying that companies producing e-learning products worldwide are looking up to India to supply the kind of learning products they want.



This has created a lot of employment opportunities that are being referred to as "Learning Technologists", "Instructional Technologist" and "Instructional Designers". And since this involves a lot of technical writing, these jobs often come in the garb of "Technical Writers". This is not a plausible name for this career though. NIIT, which was the first company in India to start producing CBTs, has a group of more than 500 professionals producing CBTs and WBTs that are sold worldwide in different languages. This number is all set to multiply with the demand for such products skyrocketing. The requirement for such talent is increasing in India as well as abroad.



To start working as a CBT or WBT developer, all that one needs are good English writing skills, programming logic, and most of all, an ability to organize information in such way that it makes sense to the target audience. Programming bit is not as critical as it may sound since many of these courses are made using authoring tools which are easy to learn even for someone who is not so good at computers-it mainly involves common sense. The main authoring tools that the market is currently using are Authorware, IconAuthor, Toolbook, Director, etc. Good English is important because the audience of these learning products is mainly based in the West, although CBTs are being translated and are available in all modern European languages. The recent inroads that these learning products have made have been in the Gulf region. The demand for learning material in the Gulf is growing, although the market in this region remains largely untapped.



Instructional Designing involves a lot of thinking as to how a piece of learning is to be delivered. At the outset, it may seem very similar to "lesson planning" that B. Ed. (Bachelor of Education) students are taught. This is, however, different because one is also supposed to take into account the technology to be used to deliver that piece of learning as well as the delivery medium.



Opportunities galore


Opportunities are not limited to development of electronic courseware. There are specific requirements like those of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) or those who review the technical aspects of these courses. The need for SMEs comes from the fact that these courses are often based on highly technical subjects and a developer may not understand the subject completely. These SMEs work with developers from the scratch and finally review the finished product. SMEs can work on these projects without really loosing focus from what they are doing. These SMEs are often located at remote areas and not necessarily at the development site. For example, a software engineer sitting in Atlanta can double as a SME for a particular electronic courseware in India.



There is also a great deal of graphics and animation creation required in the electronic courses. Graphic designers are finding their careers getting a new twist. Some of these people find it challenging to deliver technical information, with the help of graphic elements based on objects used in day-to-day life. A graphic designer is often the most sought after person. This is due to the fact that these CBTs and WBTs deliver highly technical knowledge, using simple and interesting graphics.



And, with the focus on delivery of education mostly through WBTs (CBT is now actually playing a younger brother to WBTs in electronic education), the demand for Web designers in this field has shot up. These Web designers not only help make the Web-enabled educational content, they also create the Web engines to deliver these courses. This is really a challenging task. Since the transformation of business from other media to Web on everyone’s mind, a Web designer’s role becomes even more critical in terms of ensuring the speedy delivery and loading capabilities of these courses.



Opportunities are also there for people who could evaluate learning software. These evaluators are a blend of software testers and instructional designers. On the one hand, these evaluators define and monitor the quality processes based on software testing methodologies. On the other hand, they use their expertise in checking that the right content is synchronized with the right kind of screen input and that overall learning effectiveness is left intact.



Thus, learning technologies is making new ways of learning possible and is attracting the best of talents from the field of education, computer and digital art. There are plenty of opportunities for the right kind of people in India and abroad. The revolution of online education is going to change the paradigm that a computer professional can only help you write programs and set up and monitor networks. Computer professional will now also help us teach ourselves with the help of online learning. Thus, the learning technologies business has a tremendous employment opportunity for computer professionals in India and abroad.



The author is Associate Consultant, Learning Technologies Business at NIIT Ltd.

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