Professional Engagement AssignmentIT 6750: Current Trends and Issues in IT

By: Mae Guerra

As part of my professional engagement assignment I subscribed to a professional

organization called the Denver Metro E-learning Developers group. This group uses e-

mail to share meeting and industry announcements, job leads, plus tips and techniques

within the scope of instructional technology. This is the seventh year it has been in

existence and it is growing every day! The group grew from the Denver Metro

Authorware Users Group (DMAUG). Group members develop e-learning and

multimedia using a wide variety of tools. Featured tools include Authorware, Captivate,

Director, Dreamweaver, and Flash, along with other Adobe/Macromedia applications and

various development environments. This group provides opportunity for exchange,

interaction and conversation that are vital for improving skills within the IT field. The

group collaborates to write, code, and produce cross-platform programs deployed on CD-

ROM and DVD, as well as on intranets and the Internet. Questions and activities are

brought to during the informal yet educational meetings. Meetings are free and open to

the public. I enjoy this group because it provides learning activities within the meetings

and allows me to participate in conversations with other professionals within the field.

All activities are directly connected to learning more about the IT field and advanced

made within education.

The second organization I joined is called the American Society for Training and

Development - Rocky Mountain Chapter. On the website for the American Society of

Training and Development it states the purpose of ASTD-RMC is to support the goals of

the national society in linking people, learning and performance. The website also states

that the mission of ASTD-RMC, is to be a leader in the profession of human learning and

performance, to provide services, products, and resources for its membership and to

achieve professional competence and fulfillment. The American society of for Training

and Development has established the following goals on their website:

Ensure provision of quality resources, educational programs and member services

for professional development of its membership.

Inform and educate practitioners of human learning and performance, both within

its membership and within the workplace, about human learning and performance

issues, trends and the role of ASTD-RMC.

Continually assess and anticipate needs within the field of human learning and

performance and build programs and services to meet the needs of the Chapter's

membership.

Encourage the participation and affiliation of its members through Chapter

activities, special interest groups, Chapter publications, Web site, and other means

that build a forum through which members can exchange ideas, resources and

current trends with other members.

Create opportunities for partnerships and alliances with other ASTD chapters,

other professional societies, educational institutions, the workplace and the

community-at-large.

Self-graded Assignment: I give myself the total 10 points because I fulfilled all

objectives in the rubric and have joined two organizations that help me build a better

foundation in the understanding of the field.