 Professional accreditation provides staff with both knowledge and recognition. For learning technologist, Alts Peer Assessed Seamolk framework enables practitioners to develop skills further. To tell me more, our Sarah Sherman, Director of the Bloomsbury Learning Exchange and Carol Wersfold, Learning Technologist at UCL. Welcome to both of you. Sarah, if I can start with you, why is professional accreditation so important? I would say there's a personal side to that, first of all, which is it validates somebody, someone's experience, it provides recognition across a community that they've done something, they've achieved something, they belong to a group of people who've got the same accreditation. But also I think it's a way of providing a standard, so a manager or a team can say, yes, our team members, our colleagues have got this accreditation, they're of a standard and we're all going to do really well together. So tell me more about this Seamolk accreditation. So Seamolk is certified membership of the Association for Learning Technology and it's been running for over a decade and a growing number of Seamolk holders have come into being over the last 10 years or so. The Association has provided a framework whereby anyone who works with learning technology to support learning, teaching and assessment can work towards the accreditation, puts together a portfolio to evidence and describe work that they have done and reflect on that work. Now Carol, you've been involved in Seamolk for a number of years now. Tell us a bit about your journey. My journey with Seamolk has been a totally brilliant and surprising one to me as well because I didn't realise I would learn so much and I would grow so much in personal development. Seamolk for me was not just learning skills in learning technologies, it was career development and it was personal development. Back in 2017, when I first started my Seamolk, I was a course administrator and a VLE coordinator. So I felt slightly like an imposter in the world of learning technologies. But as time went on, my confidence grew and I never realised that I would get to where I am today which is a learning technologist at UCL and that journey has been brilliant because it was, I didn't ever realise or, you know, dream that big if you like. So after completing my Seamolk, I became an assessor and a mentor with Seamolk and that too was for me confidence gaining and I was able to work with peers as well and feel validated for the work that I was contributing. So yes, Seamolk has been a wonderful journey for me. There are three pathways to Seamolk as well. So for an associate Seamolk would be somebody who might not have worked with learning technology for very long, they might be early careers. So having the possibility of putting something together just to show what they've done so far, then there's Seamolk which Carol and I both have and then there's Senior Seamolk which is a pathway for those in a leadership position who have taken on maybe led on projects or leading a team to really demonstrate some seniority and experience of a senior level. Just to end on, tell me why this Seamolk accreditation is so important. So Seamolk in specifics has got a lot going for it. There are now that they didn't used to be but now you can get a masters in learning technology. You can do a PhD, a doctoral degree, looking at educational technology. That is if you've got the funding, if you've got the time, if you're able to do something like that. Seamolk is much more accessible. You put together a portfolio of stuff that you've done. You describe projects, you describe activity, you provide evidence to prove that you've done what you said you've done and then you reflect on that practice and that's key to Seamolk which is really about what did I do, what went well, what did I learn from the experience and what can I do next? So by getting your Seamolk accreditation you have demonstrated, you have reached a standard, you have thought about it and you're ready with goals for the future and what you want to do next. This has been great. I mean this is something that I've learned about really for the first time, being in education myself. So it's been lovely talking to you today. Both thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for having us.