Is e-learning for me? Experiences of an intern program in a Centre for Educational Technology

1. Is e-learning for me? Experiences of an intern program in a Centre for Educational Technology Cheryl Brown & Kathy Lewis

2. University of Cape Town

3. Our colleagues

4. E-learning as a profession in SA • Lack of • Skills • Diversity • Interest

5. Aim of program

6. Grow Capacity

7. Amongst previously disadvantaged South Africans and Africans

8. Build the next generation of e-learning professionals

9. Challenges • Net generation in the workplace • Internships and learning process • Organisational culture • E - learning versus e - working

10. Net generation in the workplace

11. Characteristics • civic minded with a strong sense of local and global community. • prefer to experience the world at first hand rather than being told what to like or do. • function at speed • distinctive sense of entitlement and narcissistic attitude • want a lot of reinforcing feedback and, in a world of the “instant celebrity”, expect to be admired.

12. Net generation in South Africa

14. Characteristics • still a work in progress - socio-economic conditions produce graduates with very different life experiences and exposure to technology • skills shortage enables graduates to negotiate the terms of their employment more than any previous generation • black graduates see themselves as more mobile than white graduates. • While graduates believe they are entrepreneurial, they rate themselves low on having a “free agent disposition”

15. Organisational culture • high performance organisation • people who are “self-authoring” and use their jobs to take ownership of and create their own work, at whatever level.

16. Organisational culture • requires people to be self-starters, capable of working independently, able to learn autonomously and figure things out for themselves • Deep-ending” is a norm in this kind of culture

18. Internships and learning process • Apprentice-style internship • Managing learning and managing performance are inter-related • Independence and creative self-reliance are intrinsic and necessary to culture

19. Internships as learning process • Experimented with various approaches to reflection • public blogs • individual journal writing • Wiki • performance management system

20. E-learning versus E-working

21. Work challenges • adapting to the nature of a workplace • working in a team • being part of a group • what is entailed in having a job • responsibility • interacting with people • working collaboratively • managing work pressure:

22. Outcomes

23. Benefits • real, live projects • training and travel • build personal profiles • motivate for new activities and infrastructure and be responsible for their implementation • form external connections across the globe that have remained valuable. • hone teaching skills by running workshops • ability to understand technical issues • CET culture • personal “edge”

24. Lessons learnt • a better understanding of interns learning styles • formal sharing of aspects of learning facilitation and supervision • external management coaching to work with interns individually and collectively • training in mentoring • submission of reports or case studies - another strategy for reflection • informal learning “events”

25. New Approach • “Developing e-learning professionals in African higher education”

26. Thank you