Harnessing Technology to Empower Learners

September 30, 2002CUPA-HR National Conference

Toronto

Barbara Lema, Wheaton CollegeHuman Resources (Moderator)

Doreen Nicastro, Boston University Medical CampusOffice of Information Technology

Colleen Wheeler, Wheaton CollegeInformation Technology & Services

Josh Wilson, Tufts UniversityInformation Technology Services

About This Session

• Learn about the presenters & how we came to work together

• Compare our three institutions• Explore themes & patterns• Hear three stories about learners • Hear three stories about

programs• Ask questions and discuss

About The Boston Consortium

• Association of 13 higher education institutions in the Boston area– a diverse mix of colleges and universities,

large and small– collaborative environment– sharing best practices and information – cost management

• 13 working groups, including– HR– Organizational Development & Training– IT Training Group (ITTG)

ITTG Milestones

Compare Our Three Institutions

Boston University Medical Campus

• private medical teaching institution• located in the Boston’s South End• 2.53 million square foot campus• comprised of hospitals, labs, and instructional

buildings • opened in 1848 as “N.E. Female College”• includes School of Medicine, Goldman School of

Dental Medicine, Division of Graduate Medical Sciences, School of Public Health.

Wheaton College

Private, 4-year, liberal arts college

Founded in 1834 as a female seminary

Co-educational since 1987Residential,

300-acre campus in southeastern Massachusetts

Tufts University profile

Private Research I university

Founded by the Universalist Church in 1852

Tufts originally sought to “promote virtue and piety and learning”

3 schools on the Medford campus: Arts & Sciences, Engineering,Fletcher School, Nutrition

3 campuses in MA: Medford, Boston, Grafton

One campus in Talloires, France

8 schools at Tufts

On the Medford campus:•1450 faculty & staff•6500 students

Institution Profile

Faculty 1200 700 150

Staff 2000 750 355

Students 1992 6530 1500

Hear Three StoriesAbout Learners

Listen for Themes inOur Learner Stories

• Support learning in my daily work• Connect learning goals &

milestones with evaluation of my performance

• Help me choose opportunities to apply what I learn

• Help me discover what questions to ask so that my learning can continue

One Web-based Learning Solution

• Needed just in time learning

• Needed skill assessments• Needed both depth &

breadth of learning materials

• To meet these needs, the Boston Consortium investigated several providers of WBL services

• After extensive research, we partnered with Element K

BUMC Learner Profile:

Teresa Tsang

Theresa’s Goals• Learn in the context of a long-range plan for

professional growth • Acquire skills to solve work-related problems • Use and interact with online reference tools and

resources to resolve immediate problems

About Teresa• DB Analyst/Administrator I, Office of Information Technology• Responsible for DB administration and webapplication development• Completed BS in Business Administration in 2002

BUMC Learner Profile:

Teresa Tsang

How Theresa’s Getting There• Uses Books 24x7 online reference for

immediate access• Enrolls in courses to acquire new skills for

current projects• Immediate access to reference material for

specific programming skills• Relevant courses address goals for skill

enhancement & professional development

Observations• Highly motivated, self starter• Self directed learner with specific learning

goals• Harnessed web-based learning to meet

professional development goals

About Janet • Department:Physical Plant; C.P.O.• 4 years at Wheaton• Worked in dorms & athletic facility• “People person” • Courageous, fearful, excited, determined

Where Janet Wants to Go• Wants to develop skills not obvious to her current job

category • Move into higher education administration• Improve her ability to gather info & find solutions • Update her skills to improve future opportunities

Wheaton Learner Profile:

Janet Sebetes

Wheaton Learner Profile: How Janet’s GettingThereHow Janet’s Getting There•Manager support

•Clear focus on her goals & req’d skills

•Motivated and finds time

Observations•This local cheerleader spreads training news

Her message to managers and to you: •Meet me halfway.

•Give me time to develop.

•Remember that every person makes a difference; every person is an educator.

Tufts Learner Profile:

Jeanne BeckAbout Jeanne• Staff Assistant,

Economics Dept.• 17-year

Tufts employee• Administrative

support & information resource

• Started using WBL in 2000

Jeanne’s Goals• Acquire skills for tomorrow to address a challenge

identified today• Learn every day & every year• Apply tools in innovative ways

Tufts Learner Profile:

Jeanne BeckHow Jeanne learns• Uses a skill development plan with her

manager• Learns at home to minimize interruptions• Focuses her learning around specific projects• Repeats modules to reinforce new skills

Evaluation & Observations• Uses WBL to work toward professional

certification• WBL allows her to become progressively more

effective in her work• Starting with a problem, she creates valuable

solutions

Hear Three Stories About Programs

Update Computer Skills

The Situation• Purchasing department needed to remove

obsolete terminals and replace with Windows based PCs

• Department staff had limited computer skills & time to learn new skills

• Repeated and redundant calls to IT help desk

Goals• Create positive atmosphere for change• Create independent motivated learners • Increase computer and application skills• Decrease calls to IT help desk

Update Computer Skills

How• Support time to learn • Give specific deadline for course completion• Map skill competencies to WBL modules• Tie deployment & upgrade of PC to course completion

Evaluation & Observations• Staff received computers, acquired baseline skills in

windows and email– Self directed learners demonstrated a higher degree of

success with WBL• Help desk reported a decrease in calls from staff in

the purchasing department

Growing a Learning Community

Where Wheaton Was• spotty participation in available learning• myriad but fragmented options• limited senior management participation

Where We Want to Go• approach development holistically • instill sense of shared responsibility• get people talking & sharing best practice• improve & expand learning opportunities• develop reasonable benchmarks • build awareness & simplify navigation

Growing a Learning Community

How We Are Getting There • HR/IT collaboration• partnering with departments to ID needs• link to college-wide quality initiatives• connect existing “pockets of practice”• leverage good ideas (Seedlings contest)• communicate unified message

Our Community Learning Garden• Many contributing as teachers and learners• Help learners become aware of & navigate learning options• Learning Paths program & other resources• Our Seedlings Winner: “I need to allocate time to practice what I

have learned.”

Why Blended Learning?

The Situation• Existing instructor-led learning program for faculty &

staff• Increasing requests for learning opportunities,

especially on design & media skills• Growing web-based learning program for faculty &

staff

Goals• Enrich instructor-led learning courses• Focus in-class instructional time on highly relevant &

useful skills• Create a unified learning program• Blend the strengths of ILL and the strengths of WBL

Making Blended Learning Work

How• Blended WBL with new

courses and selected existing courses

• Asked learners to complete 2-3 selected WBL modules before the course

Evaluation & Observations• Offers self-paced learning of

fundamental skills, with reinforcement & review at the start of the course

• Allows peer learning and rapport-building at the start of a course session

• Replaces dry fundamental skills instruction with high-energy discussion of fundamental techniques

• Models the process of in-stream learning

Themes fromOur Learning Stories

• Support learning in my daily work• Connect learning goals & milestones

with evaluation of my performance• Help me choose opportunities to apply

what I learn• Help me discover what questions to

ask so that my learning can continue

The Power of Partnership

• Learner with learner• Learner with manager• Learner with organization• Manager with organization• Organization with organization• Higher education with learning

providers

• Harness technology and partnerships to:– Promote the power & potential of people– Increase performance

Finally….

• Thank you• Evaluations

Ask Questions & Discuss