A CMALT Journey: Insights from Emily Armstrong 

For this month’s blog profile, in celebration of CMALT Week 2025, we are excited to introduce Emily Armstrong, a passionate CMALT Assessor. We asked Emily a series of questions to gather her invaluable insights and experiences, aiming to provide guidance and inspiration for those embarking on their CMALT journey.

How has having a certified ALT membership impacted your career?

During my career, I’ve moved from being a Chartered Librarian to a Learning Technologist as jobs in libraries became more scarce. CMALT and my MSc in Technology-Enhanced Learning enabled me to build my skills and knowledge so as to be able to make this move.

What do you find exciting about working with learning technology?

I love problem solving and being able to help find a solution or fix something – the helpdesk side is my favourite part of my role. 

How did you first learn about CMALT? 

I first learned about CMALT when my role at Hull College expanded to cover eLearning as well as libraries and I was looking for a way to accredit my skills in this area.

What made you decide to become a CMALT Assessor? Why might other individuals consider it too? 

I first became a CMALT assessor when I worked in Further Education as I was aware there were only a few assessors with that background. However, I kept doing it because it is just really interesting! Anyone should consider doing a bit of assessing if they have the time as it is a fascinating way to see the different roles that make up the learning technologist community and to be inspired by the knowledge and ideas of a whole range of people.

What skills or attributes do you think are essential for success in learning technology today?

I feel the skills I learned in libraries continue to serve me well as a Learning Technologist – friendliness, responsiveness, teamwork, listening and asking the right questions as well as, of course, the more technical skills of trying out new technologies and possibly most important of all, not being afraid to break something…

Who has been the most influential person in your professional journey?

It is hard to pick a single person. A blog by James Gray from JISC made me realise that the issue with getting staff to try something new was not lack of time but lack of prioritisation. This later fed into my own MSc Research on digital competence vs digital confidence.

In terms of a person, my great friend Val Maybury at Hull College was probably the most influential as together I think we came up with the most influential tools I continue to use in my career – using a coaching approach to digital training, ‘Small Change Big Difference’ (bitesize drop-in training) and departmental digital champions.

What was the last thing you read or watched?

I am currently watching ‘Drive to Survive’ in preparation for the new Formula One season and reading a book by Stuart Maconie about the welfare state.

If you were on a deserted island, what is the one thing you would take?

Assuming I am not allowed to take my boyfriend (I think the rule is normally an inanimate object and he is not quite that!) – then I would go for my knitting needles as that is my favourite form of relaxation and a large quantity of wool (if I am lucky, it is a deserted Scottish island with sheep…).

We hope you enjoyed hearing from one of our CMALT Assessors. If Emily Armstrong has inspired you to start your professional development journey, explore registering as a CMALT candidate or register your interest to be a CMALT Assessor. Future profiles will feature colleagues involved with Special Interest and Members Groups, CMALT holders, ALT Members, Trustees, assessors, apprentices and ALT staff. If you are a current member of ALT and would be interested in featuring in an upcoming post or want to recommend someone members would be interested in hearing from, please contact us at blog@alt.ac.uk.