Arnquist, Marissa

The Role of the Technical Communicatorin the Corporate eLearning Industry

Marissa Arnquist conducted six open-ended interviews with individuals employed in eLearning. Arnquist discovered the field is varied, and still evolving. Through background research, Arnquist discovered a lack-of eLearning specific articles and defaulted to Technical Communications. Through this research they identified 10 top skill competencies, and refined them to current job market demands:

  1. Instructional design
  2. Interpersonal skills
  3. Project / Time management
  4. Writing
  5. Quick learner
  6. Assessment / analytics
  7. Visual design

Arnquist spent time breaking down key skills, such as interpersonal communication, empathy,curiosity, and additional skills (project management, visual design,strategy, and pedagogy). It was referenced many times that pedagogy is often overlooked or misunderstood by the interviewees. Some stating qualities of importance, which are foundational to andragogy, but they lumped andragogy into design models, i.w. ADDIE. Arnquist also outlined common tools, team dynamics, and points of frustration found in the field.

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