2.  Contextual Statement Reading time: 2 minutes

Introduction:

Since December 2013, I have been working with several technologies such as Moodle VLE , Microsoft Office 365 , and PowToon to aid learning. This was during the time I was studying for my Diploma in Business with Information Technology at Asia Pacific University (APU, 2013 to 2015) in Malaysia. As part of my duties as a Technical Assistant (TA) at the institution, I took part in early testing of these and other learning technologies, prepared guidance and support, and delivered training to new and existing students to help them towards their use of these technologies for learning.

Upon successful completion of and graduation from the course in October 2015, I joined University of West London (UWL, 2016 to present) as an undergrad majoring in BSc. (Hons) in IT Management for Business (ITMB). While here, I got the opportunity to engage with more learning technologies such as Blackboard VLE , Blackboard Collaborate , Blackboard Ally , Panopto , Turnitin , CampusPress , Poll Everywhere , Microsoft Office 365 , Adobe Creative Cloud , Kahoot and more. These have shown me the different aspects of their use in learning and teaching, for engaging with students, for assessment, marking and feedback, and more. In one of my roles at UWL as a School Representative for Computing and Engineering, I had the opportunity to train and support new and existing students on the use of these learning technologies to aid their learning, like my duties as a Technical Assistant at APU .

As a result, in 2019 I successfully attained my first professional role as a learning technologist in Higher Education (HE) with ExPERT Academy , to support learning, teaching and assessment for students and staff. This was and continues to be challenging, fulfilling and satisfying. Since then, I have been involved in several activities to prepare and deliver training and support to staff and students, I have supported the deployment of new learning technologies, taken opportunity in early testing of new and existing technologies, finding solutions to existing problems using available learning technologies, prepare and deliver support guides in document and video format for students and staff , provide remote email and phone support to users among many other activities.

These experiences have, in unison, given me a good idea of the different possibilities associated with the use of learning technologies from different perspectives. Such as those of instructional designers, academic developers, faculty staff and students. They have also increased my awareness and knowledge of their impact, both positive and negative, towards online/remote and blended learning. I truly believe that learning technologies have a positive impact and great potential in enhancing the experience of learners due to their flexibility and wide range of opportunities they offer.

Why do I want to gain CMALT status?

For various reasons:

• I want to gain formal knowledge in learning technology that will allow me to have a deeper understanding of the field when I further my career towards it.
• I would like to gain formal recognition for the work I do from a reputable source that will be accepted internationally and would allow me to showcase my knowledge in learning technology
• This portfolio and the entire process will allow me to evaluate my current professional standing to determine what skill gaps I need to feel to further my professional life and career in future.
• CMALT will also provide me with the opportunity to showcase my projects in, and understanding of different learning technologies that will help me towards my career development.

Last updated: Monday, 12th September 2022 By: Mrisho "M" Abeid Omary