Last week, I saw a post on Twitter that introduced a new term to me -- Learning Engineer. The graphic had several former job titles, including Courseware Developer, Instructional Designer, and Learning Experience Designer crossed out and Learning Engineer was left untouched. I thought to myself, not another name change. I am not sure that I am ready for this.
But, then a few days later, I noticed the eLearning Guild published a primer about Learning Engineering and I decided to pay more attention. The primer accurately contends that “the advent of so many new technologies and the accompanying demands open a new world to those interested in moving from a traditional ID role to one including broader learning science and in-depth work with educational technologies, research, evaluation and data, and connecting people and information across systems.”
So, this means that one can still remain a traditional ID, but then there will be a higher-level role that encompasses learning engineering. I believe that is a lofty idea that they will remain two distinct roles. Eventually, over time, if this trend continues, we will all have to do learning engineering. I see this trend in the workplace as companies expect the instructional designer to do more and more tasks. We are expected to understand learning theory and how to build an engaging and interactive curriculum; but then if budgets are reduced, then we are often expected to be graphic designers, performance consultants, and project managers. I know when our company decided to do video-based training, I was expected to become the videographer too! The HR team automatically assumed that I should have this skillset without undergoing any additional training. I am expected to know the latest technology, whether it’s a mobile app, live video or animated videos. If the technology supports learning, I’m expected to know how to develop training using it. All in all, I’m fine with being called a Learning Engineer... as long as we are properly trained and justly compensated for our growing skillset.
Here’s a link to the research report in case you would like to read it.
Source: Wagner PhD, Ellen. "Learning Engineering: A Primer." The eLearning Guild. (2019).
I must admit, when I first saw learning engineering I was skeptical. There are so many names out there for people doing the same kind of work - instructional design.
ReplyDeleteInstructional Designer
E-learning Developer
Learning and Development Coordinator
Instructional Specialist
Learning Consultant
Learning Experience Designer
Course Developer
The list goes on and on and on and on.
I have similar experiences as you. Even though my work is ID, I am still expected to have knowledge about the latest technologies. I never thought that I would work in such a highly technical job as I am now and yet I still consider it ID. I am sure it is something many IDers are experiencing. The name of our field is always going to change. The name and definition has changed so much over the past 50+ years. As technologies continue to evolve, so will our field.
It is interesting that you mention your experience with your work expecting you to know things that generally fall outside of your skillset (videography is not, in my mind, something that instructional designers are expected to be skilled in, although they may be expected to know how to use video software. I do not think those are two things are the same). I grew up with two graphic designer for parents, and they often complained of the same thing-that you are expected to be able to do everything, with no additional pay, of course. I think this is a common misunderstanding concerning many creative fields. I wonder why that is?
ReplyDeleteHi Rebecca - you make an interesting point. I didn't realize that graphic designers had similar experiences. It's unfortunate that many 'creative' professionals aren't compensated as highly as 'technical' professionals, unless we pursue more entrepreneurial pursuits. I think that many people feel that anything that falls under the 'creative' domain should fall under the creative professionals purview. That's just not fair! My hope is that if the idea of 'engineer' is floating around, then perhaps, people are starting to see the complexity of our roles and that's a good thing.
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