After you ENVISION, RESOURCE, PLAN, DEVELOP and TEST to Bring your Online Learning Strategy into Focus, it is time to IMPLEMENT.
The implementation process may follow or coincide with testing and should be an ongoing iterative process of revision and improvement. As much as possible, the adherence to strong project management principles included in the planning and development stages should continue throughout implementation.
Keep Good Records
More than anything, clarity through documentation will support everyone. Keep track of feedback and perspectives of users with a backlog. Create a “next time” file for recording plans to make changes based on lessons learned and hold team members accountable for making those changes. Pay attention to issues with student registration and scheduling. Learn what common issues arise in the first run so your “help desk” is ready with troubleshooting guidelines. Offer an Online Policies and Procedures Manual as a handy reference.
Prioritize Faculty Involvement
Faculty development and continuous engagement should be a priority. Evidence shows that faculty effects are paramount to student learning experiences—we still remember amazing teachers more than learning activities or reading content. Through smart implementation, you can allay the worries faculty have about standardization or being shuffled into irrelevance by automation or becoming cogs in a machine of central delivery systems of knowledge through a mother ship. Support faculty with processes that let them easily reuse materials. Make and maintain a system that supports faculty involvement- that might even reenergize faculty with a new vision of their role- while creating new opportunities for your institution. Take a look at this article by David Stone, Director of Collaborative Programs at Penn State: Responsive Responsibility: Empowering Faculty and Staff to Improve Organizational Effectiveness .
Here’s your To Do List:
- Coordinate with registrar and admissions for online learning schedules
- Introduce online learning evaluation protocols
- Provide an Online Learning Polices & Procedures manual
- Maintain faculty development for online learning
- Keep service desk updated for technology support
- Maintain repository for reusable courseware
