Successful collaboration is a major factor in creating quality online experiences, but there are many variables preventing us from cultivating that dynamic. Join us for a focused discussion on the most successful strategies implemented for overcoming barriers and fostering positive faculty/designer relationships during the course design process.
No two institutions are the same, yet we often face similar challenges when developing learning experiences for our students. The most critical of these is the faculty and designer relationship. When this dynamic is formed with mutual respect and value, the resulting course is one that offers the greatest benefit to the learners. The reality is, this relationship is often the most challenging to establish and develop into a productive scenario.
The goal of this session is to provide instructional designers and educational technology professionals with an opportunity to share and discuss their most successful strategies for overcoming barriers encountered when creating meaningful learning experiences.
The session will focus on four main outcomes.
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Identify shared and unique barriers that impact the faulty and designer relationship from three key perspectives; institutional culture, technology integration, and misconceptions about blended/online learning.
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Discuss various strategies that have successfully fostered collaborations between faculty and designers at other institutions.
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Design action plans or strategic initiatives that will support our colleagues as they work toward overcoming barriers in pursuit of more positive dynamics.
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Establish a shared resource of strategies which will extend the positive impact of this discussion to others professionals in our industry who may benefit.
Attendees will collaboratively identify barriers they see that hinder faculty collaboration with instructional designers or educational technology professionals. The resulting information will serve as a reference point for both the session conversation and follow up. The facilitators will connect the collected data with common research defined barriers such as time, fear of technology, disinterest in online or technology infused instruction, and institutional culture.
Participants will be asked to share strategies implemented in their institutions that have successfully overcome the identified barriers and facilitate initial connections between faculty and instructional technology professionals. We want to know what is working at the different institutions represented in the room. The discussion facilitators can share some of the different techniques attempted at our institutions to facilitate initial connections between faculty and instructional technology professionals including but not limited to external expert workshops, generating excuses to meet with faculty, using faculty promoters, administrative support, and money.
The next portion of the conversation will focus on different strategies to utilize once that initial contact has been created and the relationship is developing. Again, we will ask the audience to share their strategies for relationship development before connecting those with some of our own experiences. Those include establishing the process as a professional development opportunity, addressing technology fears and skill levels, and building relationships beyond support.
At this point in the session it will be time to turn to reflection. We will ask the audience to reflect on their unique institution and how it relates to the barriers, connection facilitation strategies, and relationship building strategies discussed in the session. Which ideas and concepts do you think will best work at your institution? What makes them a good fit given your setting?
At every question point throughout the conversation, the discussion facilitators intend to have individuals share in smaller table groups first before having each group report out key concepts discussed to the larger group.