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I have a comp eng degree but was completely burnt out after graduation. I jumped into digital learning instead; it's ideal for me as it's still "IT" but combine

by jansho 9y ago

I have a comp eng degree but was completely burnt out after graduation. I jumped into digital learning instead; it's ideal for me as it's still "IT" but combined with my other favourite areas, education, product and design. The learning curve wasn't so bad, there are plenty of good WYSIWYG authoring tools with only barebone knowledge of HTML/ CSS/ JS required - although you'll quickly find that that's much less important than the skills to teach and to have a good design eye, for example. So now, most of my job is to assess training needs, design a programme solution - along with its curriculum, script, storyboard etc - then develop the actual eLearning, test-test-test then launch. So quite similar to a software development cycle - except most often this is a one-man job and shouldn't last more than a couple of months. Initially I was naive enough to think hey, I got this, but there's a reason why MOOCs generally have high drop-out rates. The bar for eLearning is extremely high. You also have to take account of other limitations, from outdated IT systems to the sizeable number of computer illiterates/ Luddites to the organisation's own conflict of whether the training should look 100% corporate (aka boring) or creative (learners cry hurray!) But I find that I enjoy navigating through them and finding the right balance. I also learnt a massive amount about how to teach, what good designs mean and how to listen to users. In terms of opportunities - well there's enough I suppose, at least for me I can work on my edtech project - for children, cos hey it's just more fun ;) - with a backup contract work to keep the money going.

rsyngh 9y ago
I just made an account here to reply to your account .Could you please elaborate on how you got into digital learning/edtech or how can a fellow software engineer get into digital learning/edtech?
- jansho 9y ago
  Oh goodness, I'm glad someone found this intriguing, I think I came across as a bit self-promotional before :o It was mainly accidental that I got into digital learning. I was pretty traumatised from my degree, even today I still feel irrationally reluctant to code. But I've always been passionate about design and education. I also wanted to "self-heal" if you like, to repair myself as a person and as a learner. And what better way than to learn how to learn and teach?? One of the best parts of my job is I can get away with being "dummy". I tell my subject matter experts that it's helpful to assume this position, so I can be empathic to all types of learners, but really I'm a slow learner myself haha. And yes you do end up designing better eLearning! Being in Learning And Development also gives a good overview of the whole organisation, as you need to understand how it works and where the gaps are in order to tackle them with training (or not.) I learnt a lot, and dare I say I am much more confident as learner, teacher and professional. Lately though I've been feeling that I have a debt to pay. I consider myself lucky to "survive" depression, and to live in a good country with lots of opportunities. So I am moving to my own edtech project focusing on literacy for children, with lots of interactive eBooks :)) I do have a backup remote gig though. If you're really interested, google up "Instructional Design" and "eLearning" just to get a flavour of the field. As I said, there are WYSIWYG tools but increasingly organisations are moving towards mobile-friendly courses, which is great news for developers as it means more coding opportunities. Have a look at "Adapt", an open source authoring tool which requires a bit of HTML/ JavaScript knowledge. "Unity" is also increasingly being used ... and there's a growing trend for VR learning. Hope that's helpful, if not just email me via my profile.
  - rsyngh 9y ago
    Thats does sound pretty interesting and helpfull too.I will definitely check those things out .Thanks for sharing!
  - Treegarden 9y ago
    Sorry if this comes off as harsh, but do you approach eLearning with this sort of wishy washy that most people tend to have in this field(as far as I observed), or do you know what you are doing, eg. the educational psychology behind it, and basing decisions on empirical evidence? "Many institutions move towards eLearning" - the impression I got from this topic is that its pretty much every time one of those "Ipad cases" - spend $$$ on Ipads even if they are useless, just to show how modern your institution is. Almost every time I hear about this, its some news-article over hyping eLearning that is so badly implemented that the teachers hate it. If you know what you are doing (not the wishy washy way) then I would really like to ask you some questions.
    - jansho 9y ago
      If I know what I'm doing? Hmm, I like to think that I can by paying close attention to the problem itself. Every organisation is unique, and though their problem sounds general and well-defined, it usually isn't. So as part of scoping, you need to dig further in order to gauge the actual problem - you may even realise that it's a symptom of a deeper problem in which case training isn't always the solution. This does mean that you have to immerse yourself in the organisation to understand the culture, biases, IT system, branding, language and so on - all this will also feed into your final design. And build relationships; rarely what people tell you at first actually match up with the real problem. My rule is to start from first principles and work my way up as logically as I can. This helps to cut through the bullshit - yep, I agree with you that there is too much of it in L&D. However it's also useful to know core pedagogy theories and the latest fads, because it will help you speak in their language. Some of them are genuinely useful, but I find myself drawing mostly from design and behaviour science. Digitalisation is a serious strategy though. You will be surprised at how dated some systems are in the biggest companies, and the amount of reluctance to adapt in the workforce. The mistake most companies do is to rush with digitalising their training, when there does need to be a proper transition sensitive to the workforce's needs and perceptions. Although I've sung praises about eLearning here, personally I prefer blended learning - but the best ones require skill in creating the complementary digital component well.
j45 9y ago
Hey, I'd love to connect on elearning a bit more, especially with your developer background. I have a similar background in content and learning platform dev.

by jansho 9y ago

rsyngh 9y ago

I just made an account here to reply to your account .Could you please elaborate on how you got into digital learning/edtech or how can a fellow software engineer get into digital learning/edtech?

jansho 9y ago
Oh goodness, I'm glad someone found this intriguing, I think I came across as a bit self-promotional before :o It was mainly accidental that I got into digital learning. I was pretty traumatised from my degree, even today I still feel irrationally reluctant to code. But I've always been passionate about design and education. I also wanted to "self-heal" if you like, to repair myself as a person and as a learner. And what better way than to learn how to learn and teach?? One of the best parts of my job is I can get away with being "dummy". I tell my subject matter experts that it's helpful to assume this position, so I can be empathic to all types of learners, but really I'm a slow learner myself haha. And yes you do end up designing better eLearning! Being in Learning And Development also gives a good overview of the whole organisation, as you need to understand how it works and where the gaps are in order to tackle them with training (or not.) I learnt a lot, and dare I say I am much more confident as learner, teacher and professional. Lately though I've been feeling that I have a debt to pay. I consider myself lucky to "survive" depression, and to live in a good country with lots of opportunities. So I am moving to my own edtech project focusing on literacy for children, with lots of interactive eBooks :)) I do have a backup remote gig though. If you're really interested, google up "Instructional Design" and "eLearning" just to get a flavour of the field. As I said, there are WYSIWYG tools but increasingly organisations are moving towards mobile-friendly courses, which is great news for developers as it means more coding opportunities. Have a look at "Adapt", an open source authoring tool which requires a bit of HTML/ JavaScript knowledge. "Unity" is also increasingly being used ... and there's a growing trend for VR learning. Hope that's helpful, if not just email me via my profile.
- rsyngh 9y ago
  Thats does sound pretty interesting and helpfull too.I will definitely check those things out .Thanks for sharing!
- Treegarden 9y ago
  Sorry if this comes off as harsh, but do you approach eLearning with this sort of wishy washy that most people tend to have in this field(as far as I observed), or do you know what you are doing, eg. the educational psychology behind it, and basing decisions on empirical evidence? "Many institutions move towards eLearning" - the impression I got from this topic is that its pretty much every time one of those "Ipad cases" - spend $$$ on Ipads even if they are useless, just to show how modern your institution is. Almost every time I hear about this, its some news-article over hyping eLearning that is so badly implemented that the teachers hate it. If you know what you are doing (not the wishy washy way) then I would really like to ask you some questions.
  - jansho 9y ago
    If I know what I'm doing? Hmm, I like to think that I can by paying close attention to the problem itself. Every organisation is unique, and though their problem sounds general and well-defined, it usually isn't. So as part of scoping, you need to dig further in order to gauge the actual problem - you may even realise that it's a symptom of a deeper problem in which case training isn't always the solution. This does mean that you have to immerse yourself in the organisation to understand the culture, biases, IT system, branding, language and so on - all this will also feed into your final design. And build relationships; rarely what people tell you at first actually match up with the real problem. My rule is to start from first principles and work my way up as logically as I can. This helps to cut through the bullshit - yep, I agree with you that there is too much of it in L&D. However it's also useful to know core pedagogy theories and the latest fads, because it will help you speak in their language. Some of them are genuinely useful, but I find myself drawing mostly from design and behaviour science. Digitalisation is a serious strategy though. You will be surprised at how dated some systems are in the biggest companies, and the amount of reluctance to adapt in the workforce. The mistake most companies do is to rush with digitalising their training, when there does need to be a proper transition sensitive to the workforce's needs and perceptions. Although I've sung praises about eLearning here, personally I prefer blended learning - but the best ones require skill in creating the complementary digital component well.

j45 9y ago

Hey, I'd love to connect on elearning a bit more, especially with your developer background. I have a similar background in content and learning platform dev.