8. Embedding MLEs into Institutions
A version of the core material comprising this section is available for download as a printable version in pdf format. (The Adobe Acrobat Reader to allow viewing of pdf files is available for download here).
This section assumes you will have a number of the elements of a Managed Learning Environment in place (or at least you think you have!). This should mean that your staff and students are able to get at all sorts of information in ways they couldn't do before, and that this has resulted in change in working practice for everyone - senior managers, administrators, support staff, teachers and learners. This is a new situation and will take no inconsiderable time to bed down.
These processes of embedding will take different forms for each institution and (sorry) there can be no ideal master-plan! However there are key aspects you can address including staff development, new policies and strategies, and you will need to have in place a continuous process of review and evaluation.
An MLE will impact on a large and varied number of aspects of any institution. Consider the list below, which covers just some of the possibilities:
Students can find out about and enrol on courses
They can learn online, and access a wide range of learning resources
They can access learning support through online helpdesks, tutorials, materials, etc
They can look at their timetables and their own record for any course, unit or module they've taken
They can talk online, collaborate and share resources with each other
Lecturers can develop and teach courses online and support learners in new ways
Heads of department and lecturers can track the progress of their students
Senior managers, heads of department and administrators can quickly obtain information for funding bodies and other administrative purposes
Everyone can access a range of services appropriate to their work: computers, email, the Virtual Learning Environment software, other online learning tools and facilities, the library, helpdesk etc
Staff roles will have changed to enable some services to be offered in new ways
The use of email and other networked services are part of everyone's life and are no longer 'optional'
Change has made staff development a core activity for everyone
Your MLE will (hopefully! have been designed and implemented in a way that is appropriate to your institution and will be new territory for nearly everyone. You must now face the question of how to go about embedding it and making it work so that it no longer feels new, but is just part of the way you all work. Some aspects will feel very familiar but may actually have changed in ways you have not fully appreciated, whilst others will feel radically new and different. Also, relationships and expectations will change. Both staff and students, whilst most will be used to online activities at work and home, will need to learn that there may more controls and limitations over what they can do, but new and improved services are now available to them. Everyone will need to learn and understand that just because information and documents can be exchanged almost instantaneously, this does not mean that people can or will deal with them as fast! New conventions for how to treat each other may need to be worked out.
This section looks at what might help in this change process and help you to move towards embedding your MLE so that is common practice. It also focuses on some the issues you might need to consider (and may have overlooked so far).
As the rest of this infoKit has made clear, organisations are very complex, but some key aspects that are covered here which illustrate the process include:
Implementing change
Practice and Management of Teaching and Learning
Supporting Course Development and Delivery
Administrative Issues
Staff Development
Sustaining the MLE
General Questions
