Educational technology review

Context

Educational technology is currently supported by a number of different units and staff across campus.  Given this distributed service model, it is difficult for users of the systems to understand how and where to access support.  As the use of educational technology grows, it is increasingly important that resources are aligned to best support and encourage faculty, sessional lecturers, teaching assistants and others to fully utilize the resources available to them.

Goal

To create a support model which optimizes the use of educational technologies for faculty, sessional lecturers and TAs that encourages use and provides a seamless user experience for course design/development and the integration of technology to support learning goals.

From Draft Strategic Plan Oct/11

To support Objective 12

To ensure that our undergraduate and graduate programs of teaching and learning are of the highest quality, responsive to intellectual developments and student needs, and organized around best practices in teaching and learning.

Key Strategy 12f

To "develop an institutional plan for effective use of educational technologies"

To support Objective 15

To support a broad range of flexible course delivery options, including face-to face, blended and distributed learning as part of the UVic tradition and as a mechanism for increasing access to higher education.

Key Strategy 15a and 15b

Support the development of flexible distributed and distance learning programs in national and international locations, when those initiatives support both student need and the academic priorities of the unit.

Integrate support for distributed and distance learning across the whole institution and provide professional development for faculty and staff in this area.

Scope

• To identify, understand and document the current organizational structures for all modes of delivery including online, face-to-face, blended and fully distance, and associated budgets with respect to educational technology support.
• To clarify roles, responsibilities and requirements and reporting structures of: support units, including the Learning and Teaching Centre, Learning Systems, Distance Education Services, faculty, sessional lecturers, TAs and department support staff.
• To identify an optimal organizational structure for supporting educational technology and associated instructional design including considerations of what services should be centralized.
• To develop a set of high level principles with respect to core and supplemental services that should be available.
• To implement the new support model for educational technology.

Out of scope all aspects of specific course/program selection and growth with respect to educational technology

Objectives

1. To understand the current state of educational technology support on campus.
2. To understand the requirements of the clients in need of educational technology support.
3. To understand the requirements of the educational technology support providers.
4. To develop a new model that optimizes service delivery and resources for users of the technology.
5. To implement changes identified in a new model.
6. To create a communication plan (including new process documentation) for faculty, sessionals, TAs and other service users.
7. To create a set of measures and schedule to evaluate the recommended changes.