Support Model Rollout

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Guidelines for Improving Adoption
David Wilson M.Ed. Regional Manager Global
Service Asia Pacific, Blackboard, Inc. October
2007
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Institutional Challenge Improving Adoption
Common pain point(s) ..

• Institutional adoption appears to have reached a
  plateau below the desired levels of adoption of
  the institution
• Depth of usage seems to have stalled
• Increased adoption can be at the expense of sound
  pedagogical practice and student learning
  experience
• How do we leverage our investment to maximise our
  ROI?

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Institutional Challenge.
How do we..

• Achieve Institutional Wide Adoption
• whilst
• Mapping academic practices to  institutional
  goals, sound pedagogical learning theory,
  evaluation methodologies and industry best
  practice?

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The Path to a Networked Learning Environment
INSTITUTIONAL GROWTH
MISSION CRITICAL
EXPLORATORY
SUPPORTED
STRATEGIC
TRANSFORMATIVETHE NETWORKED LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT

• Course web sites

• Commercial enterprise course management system

• Online courses, organisations, and institutional
  services integrated with back-office systems

• A full online school with learning communities
  and shared digital content resources

• When any student or teacher can view
  instructional content, collaborate with teachers,
  evaluate academic performance, and access
  learning resources at any time to achieve their
  educational objectives.

Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
Phase 5
Phase I
TIME
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Institutional Adoption - The S curve
Innovators
Early Adopters
Early Majority
Late Majority
Traditionalist
SCHOOL GROWTH

• Ability to cope with a high degree of uncertainty
  about innovation
• Access to financial resources
• Ability to understand and apply complex technical
  knowledge

• Opinion leadership
• Serve as role models
• Respected by peers
• Require little assistance

• Limited or no opinion leadership
• Often isolated
• Point of reference is in the past
• Innovation decision process is lengthy
• Resources limited

• Interact freq. with peers
• 1/3 of system
• Deliberate before adopting a new idea
• Need to see tangible benefits

• Pressure from peers
• Economic necessity
• Sceptical and cautious

Phase I
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
Phase 5
TIME
(Everett Rogers Geoffrey Moore)
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Typical Adoption Pathway
Within each of the adoption categories
individuals typically progress through 5 stages
of adoption
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A Framework Successful Implementation Adoption
Rosenberg (2002) proposed a framework which
utilises Rogers and Moores Innovation of
Adoption theory as the foundation of a successful
online learning strategy

• Step 1 Establish a Common Vision
• Step 2 Build a Community of Champions
• Step 3 Implement Pedagogical Best Practices
  Evaluation
• Step 4 Effective Professional Development
  Mentoring Programs
• Step 5 Adopt an effective Change Management
  Strategy

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Step 1 Establish a Common Vision
The implementation of an effective eLearning
strategy requires a shared common vision

• Utilise the Opinion Leadership and Peer
  Respect of early adopters to assist in
  articulating the institutions vision.
• Build a shared vision through collaboration
  and consultation across all groups not
  just innovators and early adopters
• Avoid multiple disconnected strategies targeted
  at individual pockets within institution
  confuses expectations and leads to further
  isolation of the late majority / laggards
• Respond quickly to address miss conceptions of
  Learning Strategic Plan and clearly
  articulate expectations to minimise apprehension
  and fear of the unknown

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand,
more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in
its success than to take the lead in the
introduction of a new order of things.
(Machiavelli)
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Step 2 Build a Community of Champions
Utilise the Opinion Leadership attributes of
the early adopters to build effective communities
of champions

• Communicate and demonstrate examples of the value
  proposition of the institutions eLearning
  Strategic Plan - Late Majority and Laggards
• Adopt agreed metrics/criteria for evaluating the
  effectiveness of phased implementation
  Rubric(s)
• Establish a mechanism for communicating success
  stories and examples of best practice to peers
  preference on internal vs. external increased
  acceptance
• Identify areas of greatest resistance and utilise
  opinion leadership and respect of early adopter
  to embrace the Laggards
• Consider implementing internal user groups
  schedule show and tell sessions- monitor for
  signs of rejection and .

When faced with the choice between changing
ones mind or proving there is no need to change
almost everyone gets busy on the proof.

(John Kenneth Galbraith)
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Step 3 Implement Pedagogical Best Practices
Evaluation

• Grant MacEwan College in Alberta, in
  collaboration with 11 US institutions, identified
  the following 9 categories as a framework for
  monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of
  the pedagogical practices in improving the
  teaching and learning experience
• Provision of General Information
• Accessibility
• Organization
• Language
• Layout
• Course Content
• Instructional or Learning Strategies and
  Opportunities for Practice and Transfer
• Learning Resources
• Evaluation
• Source http//www.imd.macewan.ca/imd/content.php?
  contentid36

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Step 4 Effective Faculty Training Mentoring

• Provide functional training programs targeting
  the specific tools and functions to be deployed
  during early phases of implementation across
  institution
• Conduct post training micro-workshops
• - Provide on-site or remote on-demand
  training (typically at the granular tool level)
  to aid in the completion of a desired task.
• Target small groups such that faculty can learn
  from and support one another post workshop.
• Provide tips and tricks to demonstrate both how
  to efficiently complete functional tasks
• Gain understanding of unique characteristics of
  individual faculty in order to be able to deliver
  customized assistance that meets their particular
  learning style.
• Provide access to individual or small group
  mentoring/coaching to provide just in time
  support
• Consider external mentoring/coaching support to
  augment internal programs

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Step 5 Effective Change Management Strategy
An effective Change Management Strategy

• Consults and considers the input and concerns of
  the stakeholders who will be required to
  implement the strategy
• Identifies clear goals and the criteria by which
  you institution will evaluate success of each
  phase Plan Do Check Act
• Understands the nature of reluctance to change,
  and offer alternative paths to success
• Utilises the institutions champions to help
  communicate the desired goals and expectations
  maintain communication levels throughout
  implementation
• Ensures that the institution has the skills,
  support and professional development programs in
  place to embrace the challenges that lay ahead of
  them
• Is implemented at the outset of implementing an
  eLearning Strategic Plan not after!

Its not the strongest of the species who will
survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones
most responsive to change (Charles
Darwin)
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Blackboard Global Services and Partner Support

• Contact Information
• David Wilson, dwilson_at_blackboard.com
• http//www.blackboard.com

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Blackboard Global Services - Supporting a
Successful eLearning Implementation Strategy

• Blackboard and its partners have worked with a
  number of clients globally to assist in the
  development of a framework for the successful
  implementation of their eLearning strategy.
• This steps involved in developing a successful
  eLearning Strategy involve
• Developing and communicating common vision
  statement mapping institutional goals to
  Global Best practice.
• Develop rubric(s) that describe the
  pedagogical best practices to enhance
  both the teaching and learning experience within
  the culture and context of your
  individual institution - phased approach.
• Establishment of a Program Board to guide and
  manage insitutional vision through a
  Unified strategy supported by key
  stakeholders.

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Blackboard Global Services - Supporting a
Successful eLearning Implementation Strategy

• Development of a framework/guidelines for
  evaluating the success of your inistutions
  eLearning Strategy against appropriate metrics
• 5. Providing Input and guidance on the
  implementation of your institutions required
  change management strategy and/or continuous
  improvement model.
• 6. Assisting to develop internal support
  materials and Training programs to augment
  institutional programs focus on micro events.
• 7. Engage as trusted partners to provide ad-hoc
  guidance and support during the ongoing
  implementation of your institutions eLearning
  strategy.

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Global Services Additional Services Support

• E Education Planning
• Implementation planning
• Technical implementation planning
• Operational readiness
• Strategic planning
• Community/Content System Strategies
• System Architecture Design
• Installation
• Load balanced/clustered installation
• High Availability (Oracle RAC)
• Health check
• Performance audit and tuning

• System Integration
• Snapshot integration
• SIS Integration design service
• LDAP configuration
• Custom SSO integration
• Mentoring
• System administration
• Production system mentoring
• Building Blocks/Powerlinks TKT
• Updates/Upgrades/Conversions
• Same platform conversions
• Oracle database update
• Course conversions

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Global Services - Case Studies

• City University Hong Kong
• Singapore Polytechnic
• Nanyang Technological University
• University of Melbourne
• University of Sunshne Coast
• University of Western Sydney / University of
  Western Australia

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Reflection Questions

• Contact Information
• David Wilson, dwilson_at_blackboard.com
• http//www.blackboard.com

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