Title | Facilitating Convergence: Supporting Community Engagement Through Learning Technologies |
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Faculty/College/Unit | VP Academic |
Status | Completed |
Duration | 3 Years |
Initiation | 04/01/2003 |
Completion | 03/31/2006 |
Funding Details | |
Year 1: Project Title | Building, Strengthening and Extending UBC’s Learning Technology Community of Practice |
Year 1: Project Year | Year 1 |
Year 1: Funding Year | 2003/2004 |
Year 1: Project Type | Small TLEF |
Year 1: Principal Investigator | Michelle Lamberson |
Year 1: Funded Amount | 100,000 |
Year 1: Team Members | Michelle Lamberson, Office of Learning Technology |
Year 1: Summary | This TLEF application focuses on building, sustaining and extending the capabilities of the UBC Learning Technology Community in its efforts to promote a learning-centred learning environment through effective and appropriate use of technology. It puts forward a coordinated program that will improve communication, showcase innovative and effective technology use, create online resources for students and faculty, provide face-to-face learning opportunities and create opportunities for community interaction. A portion of the funding requested in this project is directed towards personnel who will function as facilitators and community coordinators. This speaks to the diverse and distributed nature of the UBC Learning Technology community; its members comprise professional staff, students and faculty in every Faculty and Institute, and in many administrative units (e.g., Distance Education, IT Services, TAG). With the increasing use of the web to deliver what were traditionally face-to-face services (advising and other student services, library, registration, payment, etc.), this community serves a vital interface role in communicating the needs of learners and instructors ensuring that there is one UBC experience, not a mosaic of disconnected interactions. Learning Technology professional staff members serve as front-line trainers for faculty and students, and develop a significant amount of the content used in online course sites. Direct benefits to all UBC students will be seen though the availability of better help resources, opportunities for peer support and interactions with the professional community Indirect benefits will be seen through the creation of a more robust network for faculty and staff professionals to access help when and where they need it by the creation of an integrated set of online, face-to-face and hybrid learning opportunities. |
Year 2: Project Title | Building an Integrated, Community-Based Strategy for the Creative Use of Learning Technologies |
Year 2: Project Year | Year 2 |
Year 2: Funding Year | 2004/2005 |
Year 2: Project Type | Small TLEF |
Year 2: Principal Investigator | Michelle Lamberson |
Year 2: Funded Amount | 225,000 |
Year 2: Team Members | Michelle Lamberson, Office of Learning Technology |
Year 2: Summary | The Office of Learning Technology (OLT) was established in August 2002 with a mandate to provide centralized facilitation and coordination for the creative and effective use of learning technology (LT). The OLT partners with a diverse group of professionals in faculty-based and centralized academic and administrative units (e.g., TAG, Library, DE&T, ITServices, Enrolment Services). These mutual efforts focus on helping faculty understand why and how to use learning technologies and removing barriers to their use, with the end goal of improving and enhancing the student learning experience. With its 2003-04 TLEF, “Building, Strengthening, and Extending UBC’s Learning Technology Community of Practice”, the OLT worked with its partners to develop and deliver LT workshops and seminars, create LT resources, and implement a baseline electronic infrastructure that supports collaboration and LT best practice exchange amongst faculty, staff and students. The 2004-04 TLEF, “Building an Integrated, Community-Based Strategy for the Creative Use of Learning Technologies”, will build upon these efforts, and concentrate on establishing a systemic framework for responding to learning technology changes, and supporting faculty, staff and students as they use learning technology in support of their instructional goals. The primary objectives of the TLEF are:
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Year 3: Project Year | Year 3 |
Year 3: Funding Year | 2005/2006 |
Year 3: Project Type | Small TLEF |
Year 3: Principal Investigator | Michelle Lamberson |
Year 3: Funded Amount | 199,973 |
Year 3: Team Members | Michelle Lamberson, Office of Learning Technology |
Year 3: Summary | The Office of Learning Technology (OLT) provides centralized facilitation and coordination for the creative and effective use of learning technology (LT). By partnering with professionals in Faculty-based and centralized academic and administrative units (e.g., TAG, Library, DE&T, IT Services, Enrolment Services, Career Services), the OLT sponsors programs that enable faculty, staff and students to better understand why, when and how to use technology in support of an improved student learning experience. In 2005-06, UBC's faculty and staff will need to respond to changes induced by a provincially mandated increase in student numbers, the startup of UBC Okanagan, the mainstreaming of Distance Education and Technology into Faculties, and planning for a new enterprise version of WebCT. These infrastructure shifts are taking place within the context of a changing student and faculty population who bring with them accelerating expectations of the technology environment, and to whom the Internet is an integral part of their social, educational and work lives. This TLEF leverages the resources and systemic LT framework established in previous TLEF-funded work, to address expansion-related issues, to support new members of UBC's community, to explore new technologies, and to strengthen UBC's ability to support robust communities of practice, interest and expertise in support of improved student learning and professional growth. While maintaining our mission to support staff and faculty, we are bringing a new emphasis to the learner experience through partnerships with student-oriented administrative units (VP Student). The objectives of this TLEF proposal are:
Direct benefits to all UBC students will be seen though the availability of improved help resources, opportunities for peer support and interactions with the professional community. A number of students will work in project assistant roles, as well as participate in seminars and workshops. Indirect benefits will be seen through better prepared, more reflective and knowledgeable instructors and support staff. This effort will be managed out of OLT, but performed in partnership with allied Faculty and Administrative units. This proposal aligns strongly with initiatives within a variety of Faculty Units, TAG, VP Students, the Library and IT Services, drawing upon their expertise for implementation. |