Leading Technology Implementation

As a student and an instructor, I have engaged with various modes of distance learning. As a faculty member, I have developed and taught online courses and been involved in creating a student orientation for online learning from our institution using online videoconferencing software along with a learning management system (LMS). Reflecting on the changes in modes of delivery leads me to look to the future to explore the possibilities for immersive learning (augmented to immersive virtual reality) and other forms of technology-enabled learning.

A salient moment for me as a leader was in my former role as associate dean of teaching and learning, with two technology transition decisions. The first was when the university decided to transition to a new LMS. The second was when the faculty decided to change online videoconferencing software. At that time, the faculty was delivering a large online program. A technical issue presented a major challenge for course delivery and required a timely solution. Given our online program, this decision was a priority for the faculty, but it was not a priority for others. Without central support, we needed greater internal leadership and support. From decision to implementation, it required students and instructors to develop understanding of the new technology as well as confidence and competence in using it to support distance learning.

The leadership issues included the variety and nature of communication and the fostering of connection in support of stakeholders from the time of the announcement of the decision to the implementation of the technology for student learning. Careful and purposeful communication was needed to support everyone learning about the new technology and how to use it. For example, what I learned from the transition to the new LMS helped me to develop a plan to support students and instructors so that they had the needed knowledge and skills to use the technology at the start of the new semester. It was imperative to listen carefully and be responsive to the needs of instructors and students for such a transition to be successful and less stressful for end users.

Another characteristic supporting the leadership of these technology transitions was that of being a catalyst or an advocate of change. With the decision for new online videoconferencing software, advocating for a faculty solution was critical and challenging when the institution was not ready for it. Part of the advocacy required investigating possible solutions to see what would work within the current infrastructure and then promoting it for a faculty decision. Being a catalyst required not only helping to lead the decision process but also working with various groups (e.g., IT) to ensure that adequate and relevant educational development would meet the needs of all users.

Leading Educational Development

My first experience with distance education was in the 1990s. I registered for an independent study course consisting of modules with readings and written assignments delivered through the mail. Ten years later I took my first distance education course online. Since then I have instructed several higher education courses and facilitated hundreds of professional development sessions online. Recently, I also led a team of people responsible for supporting faculty members who teach online for a large university campus.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, my team and I had little time to prepare for the sudden intense need to help instructors move their face-to-face courses online. We had about three days in person in which we held drop-in support sessions, created an emergency remote teaching website, scheduled online professional development and support sessions, and identified topics that required resource development. After that, we abruptly shifted to an online support model. As the team leader, I had to make many decisions quickly, such as which programs and initiatives to pause, where to spend our limited time and energy in order to support thousands of instructors, and how to meet the most pressing needs. It was a stressful, busy, productive, and memorable time.

I generally prefer a consultative leadership style in which I discuss decisions with my team. I learned that it was essential in the short term to adopt a more authoritative approach when circumstances required rapid decisions. During this time, we had to branch out quickly into topics and activities not previously within our portfolio, causing some uncertainty for team members. My role as leader was to encourage them to take up these challenges and to support them as they stretched into their new roles. I acted as a catalyst in supporting them to identify topics for new online workshops and develop their online facilitation and support skills.

Another significant aspect of leadership during that time was connection both with each other and with the campus community. Some activities required us to work together with a high degree of collaboration; it was also critical that we did not duplicate efforts. I scheduled frequent team meetings so that we could coordinate our efforts. In meetings, we shared what we had heard from the campus community about challenges that they were facing and areas where increased support was needed. I learned that sometimes my own team members needed flexibility and understanding as their home lives changed dramatically, such as home-schooling their children while working or losing their child care arrangements. We also connected through Microsoft Teams, keeping track of projects, consulting with each other, and sharing resources.

Most importantly, through this experience, I realized that I could trust my team to do high-quality work, even when there was no direct daily oversight of their activities. This allowed team members to have autonomy in their work. Since most of the team had specialized areas of expertise, they played informal leadership roles in those areas. This resulted in a stronger team.

Supporting Distance Learning

My first experience with distance education was as an instructor teaching in an online program in a college in rural Canada. After years teaching in the K–12 system, I was eager to move into adult education but had no frame of reference for online teaching. In the 16 years since then, I have completed two graduate degrees online and facilitated many online workshops, and currently I lead a team responsible for providing professional development, curriculum development, and instructional design within my distance education institution.

My institution uses a Supported Distance Learning (SDL) model, which involves online instruction in a supportive environment, also offered entirely by distance education. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, there was little change in terms of program and course delivery. Students were already taking their courses online, and many faculty members worked from a home office, so there was little notable change. Because the college had campuses in remote communities that provided technology and internet connectivity to students attending their online classes, it became a challenge for some students to access their online courses. This meant figuring out how to provide internet access when campus doors were closed to the college community. This hurdle was overcome by offering “drive-up” internet access by which students could drive to the parking lot of any campus to access their synchronous classes or course content. In rare instances, course materials were downloaded to external drives and sent to students who had no means to access internet connectivity.

Many staff who worked on campus found the transition to working from home difficult. My team, also dispersed, had to find creative ways to remain connected with peers and to ensure that they were adequately supported so that in turn they could support their students. This was a noteworthy moment for me, the importance of maintaining connections with our faculty members so that they were supported and able to support their students. Weekly virtual coffee breaks were scheduled in an effort to maintain personal connections.

My team had been in the process of transitioning to a new LMS. Upon reflection, though the transition occurred fairly smoothly from a technical perspective, it added to the anxiety of faculty members and students during an already stressful time. The synchronous teaching platform also had to change, which caused further stress for faculty members and students. Because faculty members were experienced online educators, we were able to move forward positively with minimal disruption to students.

My leadership style is centred on connections. When I was a high school teacher, relationships with my peers and students were a priority, and they remain a priority for me as a leader in higher education. During the pandemic, finding ways to maintain connections with my team and the broader college community was essential and had to be strategic. I found myself in constant meetings and had little time to work on new initiatives. Although it was challenging at times, I learned many lessons that have since become part of my post-pandemic practice and support greater connections among all members of the college community.

Connection

Evident from each narrative above is the intentional building and sustaining of relationships that support the work of distance education. Intentionality is critical in fostering connections with various stakeholders and forging relationships with each other within the campus community. Developing relationships requires getting to know the people with whom we work on such initiatives. Relationship building requires empathy for and understanding of our colleagues and their circumstances and the needs of the campus community. Such work requires a sustained approach and a commitment to soliciting other people’s perspectives and feedback.

As leaders, it is important that we create and foster connections with colleagues given their various roles and expertise as well as with others within the institution given the scope of the initiatives. The nature of the connections might be two people working together for a limited time or large groups working together for a sustained period. The length and vitality of the connection are grounded in a reciprocal relationship. As leaders, we acknowledge a continuum of connection in which one end might have limited but timely interactions with people and at the other end there are prolonged and sustained relationships. The nature of these connections is continuous but not constant over time based on the needs of the work and the people involved.

Our first recommendation for practice is the commitment to develop and foster relationships with various stakeholders when leading distance learning initiatives. Identifying and fostering connections and developing relationships require finding time and being open to listening carefully to the needs in order to support the work moving forward.

Communication

Ongoing communication is critical in leading distance learning initiatives. It is important for everyone on the team to know the expectations and goals. Effective communication plays a critical role in the development of trust, connection, and collaboration. As leaders, we need to develop trust among members of the team as well as trust the team in doing the work. When leading initiatives, there is a high degree of collaboration. What becomes imperative is that the collaboration occurs without duplication. As leaders, we need to know who has the expertise and skills so that we can consult with them, ask them questions, and/or invite them to lead particular components of the work. We need to understand what people are working on and how we can best support them in their work.

Communication is critical to the transparency of leadership. Through our selected communication channels, we strive to be open about our practice as well as demonstrate the integrity of our leadership. We use communication to inform and engage colleagues and stakeholders. When managing change, “communicating directly about what you know and what you do not know and how it affects employees shows your transparent nature and that you are also sharing the same feelings of uncertainty” (Leekang, 2020, p. 55).

Our second recommendation for practice is that leaders require humility and a strong sense of trust in the people with whom they work each day. Leading initiatives can be stressful and challenging. As leaders, we need to listen carefully and communicate effectively to foster transparency and trust.

Catalyst

Leaders play an important role in sparking initiatives to create change. In some cases, we created the conditions for change to occur; in others, we led the process of change. Evident from our experience is the need to recognize the expertise of various people in their roles and of the teams and create opportunities for them to lead the process of change. As noted in their study of online learning, Ives and Walsh (2021, p. 37) stated that “leaders at all levels must facilitate the conditions for change by enabling conversations throughout the institution about the value of online teaching and learning. Those with knowledge, skills, and competencies in distance education and experience in online learning are essential to effective implementation.” As catalysts of change, we need to encourage the agency and autonomy of others and to support them as leaders in their work.

Our third recommendation for practice is to act as a catalyst to develop the expertise and skills of others on the team, thereby empowering them. Leadership is not a solo task. By creating the conditions that empower others to take on tasks and develop their leadership skills, they can contribute to leading the process of change.