Welcome to the EDUCAUSE Learning Technology Leaders Institute! By the end of this institute, you will be able to:
- Contribute to learner success by providing access to diverse learning opportunities and resources
- Use effective communication practices to collaborate with organizational stakeholders across the institution
- Use management strategies to support technology and leadership initiatives
- Prioritize the use of relevant data to make effective decisions, propose solutions, and track benchmarks
- Provide leadership in institutional, digital, and other transformation efforts in support of the learner
These competencies contain the following components:
- Introduction: Overview, learning objectives, and activity checklist
- Learning Materials: Readings, videos, and websites that contain the key content and information you will need to progress through the competency
- Recommended Resources: Readings, videos, and websites that provide additional information relevant to your professional development
- Activities/Assignments: Practice activities and assignments
- Reflections: Summary and highlights of each competency and your actionable goals
Schedule
During the institute, learners are expected to dedicate approximately 5-10 hours per week (synchronous and asynchronous) to have an engaged and successful learning experience. We ask that participants actively plan the time they will spend on the program each week, even on a daily basis. Once a week, we will hold a live, synchronous online meeting to discuss resources, activities, and projects in support of the five competencies:
All live sessions will take place on Tuesdays from 2:00–3:00 p.m. ET.
- Tuesday, August 31 - Launch session and start Competency 1
- Tuesday, September 7 - Competency 1
- Tuesday, September 14 - Competency 2
- Tuesday, September 21 - Competency 2
- Tuesday, September 28 - TBD
- Tuesday, October 5 - Competency 3
- Tuesday, October 12 - Competency 3-4
- Tuesday, October 19 - Competency 4
- Tuesday, October 26 - Competency 5
- Tuesday, November 2 - Competency 5
- Tuesday, November 9 - Live wrap-up session
Competency 1: A Learner-Driven Approach
Learner-driven approaches are instructional frameworks that view students as active participants in constructing their own pathways to knowledge. This type of approach recognizes and accounts for the unique characteristics and needs of students. When instruction is learner-focused, students take greater ownership of their learning and are more engaged. There are many different models and tools that help support student-driven learning. As a learning technology leader, you have an important role in shaping the student experience of higher education and promoting an inclusive and supportive learning environment.
By the end of this competency, you will be able to:
- Develop a service mindset: Describe how a service mindset applies to leadership in technology
- Pedagogy and technology: Identify effective learning models of pedagogy and technology to support student learning
- Supporting Learner Engagement: Assess products and services supporting learner engagement
- Supporting Universal Design for Learning: Analyze techniques for supporting an inclusive learning environment based on Universal Design for Learning principles
Competency 2: Academic Communication
Effective communication and networking are essential leadership skills in higher education. Because each institution has a unique culture, it is vital for emerging leaders to understand basic communication principles and apply these techniques in different workplace settings. Though certain aspects of communication are universal, it is important to remain cognizant of the needs of each stakeholder across your institution. This allows you to communicate clearly during difficult conversations, build relationships, and collaborate effectively.
By the end of this competency, you will be able to:
- Communication Styles: Analyze communication styles used in different workplace situations
- Communicating with Campus Stakeholders: Identify communication strategies to engage stakeholders across campus
- Project Collaboration: Identify methods of promoting cross-institutional partnerships and collaboration
- Engaging in Difficult Conversations: Practice communication skills during difficult conversations
- Relationship Management: Identify communication practices that strengthen trust with internal and external partners
Competency 3: Managing Technology Projects
Contemporary project management dates back more than a century. However, it has only become an essential part of technology management in recent years. Project management now intersects with nearly every aspect of technology planning, acquisition, implementation, and maintenance. Developing project plans, managing personnel, controlling for risks, and monitoring performance are now considered essential competencies for leaders in higher education. Regardless of your role, you are responsible for the success of your projects.
By the end of this competency, you will be able to:
- Leading Project Teams: Discuss strategies for developing and leading high-performing project teams
- Planning Technology Projects: Use planning techniques to manage project budgets, stakeholders, and deliverables
- Project Execution: Apply project management skills to ensure projects are completed on time and under budget
- Performance and Control: Assess strategies for reducing risk and monitoring the progress of technology projects
- Continuous Improvement: Analyze continuous improvement processes to ensure the long-term success of technology projects
Competency 4: A Data-Driven Approach
Data and business analytics are critical components of effective decision-making in higher education. Data provide insight into the challenges faced throughout the institution, allowing leaders to appropriately allocate resources to produce desired results. However, data alone cannot solve organizational issues. Decisions ultimately come from people. This means that leaders and managers play an important role in collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data. This competency focuses on the human processes that turn otherwise meaningless factoids into useful and actionable information.
By the end of this competency, you will be able to:
- Data Utilization: Use local and national sources of teaching and learning data to support work across the institution
- Data Security and Privacy: Develop an understanding of security and privacy issues that intersect with teaching and learning
- Data-Based Decision-Making: Use data to support institutional decision-making and justify recommendations on organizational initiatives
- Data Visualization: Incorporate best practices of data visualization and delivering presentations to effectively communicate with institutional stakeholders
Competency 5: Supporting Transformation in Higher Education
Digital transformation (Dx) is a series of deep and coordinated culture, workforce, and technology shifts that enable new educational and operating models and transform an institution's business model, strategic directions, and value proposition. The next generation of higher education leaders will need to understand how to transform their organizations so they can prepare and support their institutions to be more resilient, flexible, and relevant as they face an array of increasingly difficult challenges. This competency introduces you to Dx within the context of higher education, provides examples of Dx in practice, and explores how to drive and lead Dx through change management.
By the end of this competency, you will be able to:
- Principles of Digital Transformation: Analyze how workforce and technological trends are impacting business models of higher education
- Systematic Approaches to Innovation: Identify ways to support and justify innovation across the institution
- Maintaining Momentum for Change: Incorporate best practices of change management to support learners
- Communities of Practice and Inquiry: Assess best practices of supporting communities of learners through education technology