Digital 20/20 | Skills for a connected region

Accreditation for people using technology to help learners

Digital 20/20 Theme: Delivery Capacity: Digitally Adept Educators

Funding available towards accreditation of e-learning skills

As part of its drive to recognise and encourage the use of technology in education, Digital 20/20 is helping teachers, trainers and IT support staff to gain accreditation for their use of learning technology.

CMALT (Certified Membership of the Association for Learning Technology) involves producing a portfolio of evidence under specific headings. The portfolio is assessed by 2 CMALT-holders who will either approve the award or suggest how you could change what you've written so it can be approved.

The beauty of CMALT is its flexibility: rather than obliging candidates to do a course and learn skills that may not be relevant to their work, they are simply asked to reflect on their own practice. It’s great for those who have taught themselves e-learning skills, but have no certificate to show they have any expertise in the field. It’s an incentive for staff to do their CPD with a clear goal in mind, as well as providing a formal record of their achievements for Performance Management targets.

As part of the initiative, eligible candidates are entitled to register for CMALT on payment of Certification Fee of £47.50, reduced from its usual £95.00. Up to 150 CMALT registrations can be funded under this initiative, with places allocated on a first-come first-served basis.

Who is eligible?

Any individual working in education and training in Yorkshire and Humberside (including Adult & Community Learning and Work Based Learning) is eligible to register for CMALT under this initiative. You are not required to be an individual member of ALT prior to registering for CMALT, nor to be working for an ALT member organisation.

How to register

Before registering for CMALT you are encouraged to consult the guidelines for candidates and the CMALT prospectus available from the CMALT website http://www.alt.ac.uk/cmalt.

You or your employer should then complete the relevant registration form which is available at http://www.alt.ac.uk/docs/cmalt_digital2020_register_2009.pdf and return it together with payment of the certification fee of £47.50 to ALT, or a purchase order for the same amount.The certification fee covers the cost of registration, portfolio submission, certification, support and guidance as well as a range of ALT membership benefits designed to help candidates get the most out of this development opportunity.

Support for candidates

Candidates will have a range of support available to them including guidance on portfolio building and submission, documentation and submission templates, workshops and webinars, peer support and online networking. Candidates will join a community of other CMALT candidates and CMALT holders, supported by ALT staff and the Certification Manager, with whom they can share ideas and experiences or reflect upon their own development.