One of our first assignments in the Blackboard Certified Trainer program required that we write a brief statement of purpose. This statement outlines my goals as a Blackboard administrator and trainer. Read it if you would like to learn about my vision.

Purpose

Enrolling in the Blackboard Certified Training Program will enhance my role as a Distance Learning Team Leader at our academic institution. I enjoy helping instructors and students “hit the ground running” both when they first begin to use Blackboard and when they venture into some of Blackboard’s more advanced areas. The sharpening of these skills is my primary purpose for enrolling in the Certified Training Program. In addition, I have two secondary but related purposes:

1. I want to frame these skills in better outcome-oriented workshops.
2. I would like to develop cooperative relationships with other trainers in the Blackboard Certified Trainer Community.

Honing my training skills has become vitally important at our institution. Our training program is expanding to include more classes dealing with various aspects of Blackboard. In addition, I am spearheading an online site that will offer a multitude of Blackboard workshops containing animated, video, and audio components.

The site will provide an online means to train both students and adjuncts located in other parts of the state. This will be a challenging task. The Blackboard Certified Trainer Program will equip me with the principles and skills, educational models, and a network of professional trainers – necessary tools to help me meet this challenge.

Strategy

My strategy focuses on successfully completing the Blackboard Certified Training Program and then adopting a disciplined program of research, networking, and the gradual implementation of acquired knowledge and skills.

I plan to maintain ongoing contact with the trainer community. Having access to an ongoing community was one of the selling points for me as I considered the certification program. Such a community will allow me to “rub shoulders” with fellow professionals – sharing ideas and methods, sharing solutions to training challenges, and encouraging one another during the “down times.”

This course will be a platform for expanding my understanding of education’s foundations. I’d like to learn more about the historical framework of education and training; education’s philosophical underpinnings; and psychology’s contribution to our understanding of adult learning.

I will investigate how insights in educational psychology led to the development of online learning tools. Instructors need to know why they are using a tool, not just how to use it. Each year Blackboard offers more and more tools and more and more options for using those tools. An exceptional trainer needs to have an understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of online tools and be able to communicate that knowledge in a concise and effective way to educators.