As I approach the end of my journey on the MA Technical Communication & E-Learning, I look back on the past 18 months with a sense of accomplishment and growth, as well as excitement at what the future holds. During the Covid-19 pandemic I found myself frequently contemplating my career path and ambitions and decided to extricate myself from my comfort zone and seek change. As a professional embarking on a career transition, I wanted to develop new skills that would help maximise my employability prospects and open up new opportunities for me, particularly with a view to returning to Ireland in the future.
The Decision to Enrol
I have always been interested in technology, communication, and education, and began exploring roles and industries that would allow me to combine my passion for all three. I was also aware of the rapidly changing job market and the ongoing digital transformation that had been accelerated by Covid-19. With the sudden transition to remote working and the migration of many traditional face-to-face services online, there appeared to be a growing need for professionals with the ability to effectively communicate complex information to diverse audiences through a variety of sources. After much consideration I decided to enrol in this MA as I felt it would help me develop a more thorough understanding of how education, technology and the content design process intersect, as well as further insight into best practices in these fields.
Authoring and Design Tools: Developing Competency
While I was confident in my ability to digest the theoretical components of the MA, I was slightly more excited to experiment with and learn about industry-standard authoring and content creation tools. Having been a bit apprehensive at first, I quickly got to grips with their various functions and how different tools can complement each other.
I believe that a major factor that enabled the exploration of these tools was the creative freedom afforded to students in the assignments of the respective modules on the MA. It was reassuring to know that we, as students, were not expected to re-invent the wheel in terms of design, and I feel this sense of assurance along with the creative freedom allowed us to explore the various tools in a more relaxed manner. Students could decide for themselves how deep they wanted to dive into the intricacies of variables and triggers of Articulate Storyline. They were safe in the knowledge that the integration of advanced functions was not required once their deliverable satisfied the assignment brief. This approach allowed students to learn at their own pace and make design decisions based on their level of competence without the fear of being penalised for doing so. I believe this approach has enabled me to develop important new skills in authoring and design tools such as Articulate Storyline and Rise, Powtoon, Canva, Audcatity and Wix. This learning experience has enabled me to create engaging and interactive educational content and given me the confidence to begin using the aforementioned tools in a professional context.
The Most Rewarding Aspect While learning about new software tools was exciting, and necessary, the most valuable learning experience of the MA, for me personally, was undoubtedly the theory of learning and its application to content design. While at times the modules delivering theoretical content were heavy and time-consuming, they provided me with a solid understanding of how people learn and what motivates them, as well as how to design effective instructional content that facilitates learning. Prior to beginning this MA, I had encountered but possessed limited knowledge of essential aspects of the learning process such as Bloom’s Taxonomy, the ADDIE Learning Model and Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction.
I found the process of applying these theoretical concepts to real world materials slightly daunting at first. However, through the exploration of examples and by focusing on one concept at a time I was able to slowly wrap my head around them. I feel like this is perhaps the most rewarding aspect of this MA. Nowadays, given the prevalence of, and ease of accessibility to, tutorials on platforms such as YouTube, it is quite easy for anybody to develop competency with a software tool if they wish. However, what I feel makes this MA extremely beneficial and sets graduates apart from self-taught professionals, is the value it places on developing an in-depth understanding and appreciation of the application of learning theory to instructional design. This MA has instilled in me the ability and confidence to design instructional materials that can effectively facilitate the transfer of learning to real-world situations.
Going Forward My experience on the MA has undoubtedly been a positive one. I have thoroughly enjoyed the variety in terms of content and assessment. I particularly appreciate the fact that this MA presents a balanced exploration of both the role of a technical writer and instructional designer in great detail, and clearly illustrates the parallels in both fields. This provides students with a window into both roles, while the structure and content of the course fosters the development of skills that are beneficial and applicable to both. I am excited to continue my learning journey and use the skills I have developed to create real-world learning content and solutions.
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