eLearning Certifications

I received an interesting and probably fairly important question. I believe this person represents a fair number of individuals who work in the world of workplace training / learning.

I am a Senior Organizational Development and Training Specialist based in San Diego, CA. I came across your blog today searching for certification programs in the area of eLearning and/or Web Based Training Design. I have about 6 years of experience of classroom training but my company has been reluctant to give us any kind of exposure to web based training or make any real changes to this effective training medium. I know that to secure my future in this field, I must gain some more knowledge in this area on my own.

So I'm wondering if you have any suggestions on some credible, relatively affordable programs that provide certification in eLearning or Web Based Training Design. Any information you might have would be greatly appreciated.

Kudos to this person for not allowing the limitations of their organization limit what they are going to learn. That said, those limits will certainly make it more challenging to find a good choice around eLearning Certifications. Let’s try to help them out.

When I asked about this last time in eLearning Certification, some of the responses:

• OU (Open University in the UK) does - you can take a full course, or simply individual modules. I think one of my colleagues is doing one. It's worth a look: http://www.open.ac.uk/. Any of their courses be offered as distance and/or online learning, so the location shouldn't be an issue.
• We have an online eLearning Certificate that may be of interest. The program uses synchronous technology with a real instructor at the other end so there are time commitments but--and I am only slightly bias in this case :)--it is a really good program.
  Check it out at Bloomsburg University's Instructional Technology page.
• The University of Southern Queensland offer a Postgrad Certificate in a variety of options:
  - educational technology
  - online learning
  www.usq.edu.au
• Friesen, Kay & Associates - http://www.fka.com/index.asp
• The Allen Academy - (need new link - help?) http://www.allenacademy.com/students/certification.htm
• ASTD eLearning Certification - http://www.astd.org/content/education/certificatePrograms/ELearning
  
• Clark Training - http://www.clarktraining.com/certification.php
• Professional eLearning Designers' Association - www.peldaglobal.com
• University of Illinois Global Campus, they have a certificate program. http://global.uillinois.edu/search?keyword=&subject=all&degree_type=all&campus=Global+Campus
• Fairmont State University offers a graduate certificate in Online Learning. Information can be found online at:
  http://www.fairmontstate.edu/graduatestudies/grad_programs.asp
• University of Texas at Brownsville http://www.utb.edu/vpaa/de/Pages/E-LearningCertificate.aspx as part of an online graduate degree in Instructional Technology. The four courses required for the e-learning certificate are Instructional Design, Educational Telecommunications, Multimedia/Hypermedia, and a capstone project course.
• University of MD, Baltimore County (UMBC) - ISD graduate program. This program also offers certifications in Instructional Technology and Distance Ed, if you are not ready for the time involved in getting the MA. http://www.umbc.edu/isd/
• San Diego State University - http://edtec.sdsu.edu/ Full Masters and certificates, online and on campus, for decades. You can't be engaged in elearning or workplace learning and performance that leverages technology without bumping into many SDSU EDTEC grads.
  

Also, check out Certification Magazine for many options. http://www.certmag.com

I’m sure there are a lot more programs out there at this point. And a myriad of online degree programs.

I also think it would make a lot of sense to look at some of the recent discussions about certifications and degrees in instructional design. Here are some quick findings via eLearning Learning – particularly I looked at best of pages around: instructional design, eLearning Certification and did queries around degrees, etc. Some really good reading…

• Instructional Design Certificate or Masters Degree
• When Accidental Instructional Designers Become Intentional
• Accidental Instructional Designers
• 10 Qualities of the Ideal Instructional Designer
• We Need a Degree in Instructional Design
• Online Programs that Offer Training in eLearning?
• Still early days for instructional design
• Getting Started with Instructional Design
• The future of certification
• New courses: Certificate in Emerging Technologies for Learning
• The Various Roles of Instructional Design (work in progress)
• Interviews on Instructional Design
• Instructional Design: What's in a name?
• Instructional Designers with ID Degrees? Survey Results...
• Why an Instructional Design Degree from Bloomsburg University ROCKS!
• The science of learning
• Instructional Design - If - When - How Much
• Do Instructional Design Degrees Get "Wasted"?
• Instructional Designers with Degrees: Survey Update
• Help, I have an Instructional Design Master's Degree and I Can't Create E-Learning
• My Response to "...Instructional Design is Dead" - by many people
• IDs - It's time for some seriously tough love
• E-Learning for Newbies
• List of e-Learning Job Descriptions