A Community approach to staff development in eLearning

Abstract

This narrative seeks to identify practices that have enabled staff in eLearning roles to support their peers to increase the use of eLearning within a New Zealand tertiary education context. Specifically, it examines those factors that have contributed to the development of institutional capability in eLearning over a two-year funded period.

Unitec New Zealand has recently implemented a transformative eLearning Development Strategy with the aim of developing the capability and capacity of Unitec academic staff in integrating learning technologies. The eLearning Strategy has seen the funding of a number of temporary roles to support and foster increased staff capability and capacity in eLearning. These roles have had the responsibility of engaging in an institute wide Community of Practice, and encouraging a local community of practice within Faculty departments.

In completing this narrative we ask ourselves what factors can contribute to the development of a sustainable learning culture at Unitec with specific regard to eLearning. The authors identify how a community approach has enabled greater confidence and capability across not only an eLearning community but the wider Unitec Academic staff. In this narrative, we will explore and reflect upon the enablers and barriers experienced in the eLearning roles, the insights, and the implications arising from this model and its efficacy in meeting institutional goals . The merits of a funded time release as a prerequisite for change of teaching practice are examined, so as to inform recommendations for future initiatives that foster growth in eLearning integration without dedicated funding. Options are envisioned for the future direction of eLearning capacity development, informed by community participants, literature and the authors’ own reflections. These discussions anticipate which measures are sustainable solutions for the future, and consider other measures which could be employed to improve the status