When I first started writing this portfolio I was a Grade 6 Learning Technologist for Edinburgh College of Art. During my time writing this, I became a Grade 7 Learning Technologist for the School of Informatics, also within the University of Edinburgh.
By by mid-30s I had noticed a pattern in my professional life. Every 3-5 years I grew bored with my job and, despite being happy with my colleagues and working conditions, felt the need to move on to a new challenge. Recognising that this was unlikely to change, I thought that I should move to a large organisation where I could move ‘internally’ – thereby keeping myself challenged without having to accrue a dozen or so pensions throughout my working life.
I still see myself doing this. However, another pattern of my working life has been to take up a new, temporary post, and work hard and well to ensure the project wins the trust of management and leave post in a healthier, more robust condition than when I joined. I would like to do so with my current post. A little over 12 months into this post, I know there is a budget to recruit another learning technologist. There is a pattern at the University of Edinburgh to this kind of service growth:
- a School recruits a full-time learning technologist
- said learning technologist quickly becomes very busy – too busy in fact
- the School recruits another full-time learning technologist.
I would like to move away slightly from this model. I’m not convinced that two-person teams, with the same grade, and same job description is optimal. In addition, the role of learning technologist is so wide it narrows the potential applicant pool. I have therefore proposed we do the following:
- recruit one part-time learning technologist with a focus on technical skills (eg managing integration between the various centrally supported services and any in-house bespoke tools we create / co-opt)
- recruit one part-time learning technologist with a focus on learning design.
The latter, I believe, would be of particular interest to teachers (who are leaving the profession in huge numbers), and to parents – in particular mothers – who are often looking for part-time work.
I am also getting older. I have a young family and it’s important to me that I spend as much time at home with them as possible. I doubt I will ever be able to afford to work part-time and therefore a post similar to my current role, which affords me the flexibility of picking my daughter up from school when I need to, the trust that I will perform a good job on time, and a world class learning and teaching and working environment will do just nicely.
Informatics Forum [Chris Malcolm]
