{"id":1582,"date":"2020-06-05T16:08:54","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T06:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emedia.rmit.edu.au\/oedvedesign\/?p=1582"},"modified":"2020-06-09T14:01:30","modified_gmt":"2020-06-09T04:01:30","slug":"semester-2-course-uplift-getting-support-for-the-transformation-of-ve-courses-to-flexible-delivery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emedia.rmit.edu.au\/oedvedesign\/index.php\/2020\/semester-2-course-uplift-getting-support-for-the-transformation-of-ve-courses-to-flexible-delivery\/","title":{"rendered":"Semester 2 course uplift: Getting support for the transformation of VE courses to flexible delivery"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the closure of RMIT campuses due to Covid-19<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>restrictions\u00a0<\/span>in March<\/span>, there was a massive p<\/span>ush to\u00a0<\/span>quickly\u00a0<\/span>move\u00a0<\/span>courses online<\/span>\u00a0for remote delivery to students\u00a0<\/span>situated\u00a0<\/span>overseas, interstate, and locally<\/span>. This<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>was a\u00a0<\/span>huge undertaking<\/span>\u00a0for teachers and program managers to merge synchronous\u00a0<\/span>(e.g.,<\/span>\u00a0real-time<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>online\u00a0<\/span>lectures)\u00a0<\/span>and asynchronous<\/span>\u00a0(e.g., activities students\u00a0<\/span>could\u00a0<\/span>complete on their own time<\/span>)<\/span>\u00a0learning and teaching methods in a very short amount of time<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As part of this rapid transition, t<\/span>he\u00a0<\/span>VE<\/span>\u00a0design team<\/span>\u00a0worked\u00a0<\/span>in coordination with<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Studio<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>other departments<\/span>\u00a0to support teachers by providing\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>m with<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>information they needed to get their content<\/span>\u00a0and assessments<\/span>\u00a0up on Canvas<\/span>. This included<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>helping teachers to\u00a0<\/span>set<\/span>–<\/span>up\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0host<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>online<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>lectures\/tutorials<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>uploading a variety of\u00a0<\/span>learning\u00a0<\/span>m<\/span>aterial<\/span>s<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0devise<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>work-around solutions for previously\u00a0<\/span>taught\u00a0<\/span>face-to-face\u00a0<\/span>learning activities<\/span>, demos,<\/span>\u00a0and labs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The\u00a0<\/span>VE Essentials<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Flexible Delivery<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>web<\/span>site<\/span>s were created<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>as\u00a0<\/span>starting\u00a0<\/span>reference point<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0for\u00a0<\/span>teachers looking for<\/span>\u00a0teaching, tech, and tool reso<\/span>urces<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Additionally, t<\/span>raining and\u00a0<\/span>PD sessions<\/span>\u00a0were<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>offered<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>teachers<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>were<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>encouraged<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>ask<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>questions<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>share<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>their<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>experiences<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>through Yammer<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>online\u00a0<\/span>chat<\/span>s<\/span>, emails, one-on-one\u00a0<\/span>phone\/video\u00a0<\/span>calls,\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>online\u00a0<\/span>drop-in<\/span>\u00a0sessions<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the closure of campuses extending\u00a0<\/span>from weeks to months to possibly the rest of 2020, a QC Framework<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>review of all VE Semester 1 courses was conducted at the end of April<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Courses were evaluated across seven dimensions:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. clarity of instructions given to students in Canvas<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. presentation and accessibility to the course content (e.g., online lectures, recordings, and PowerPoint slides)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. type of learning materials available (e.g., embedded or link-outs to lib<\/span>rary or external\u00a0<\/span>resources)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. use of learning activities for students to practice developing skills and knowledge<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. teacher contact and availability details<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. student engagement and collaboration through regular announcements, queries section, and activities<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. viability of assessments in remote delivery<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The\u00a0<\/span>purpose of this review was<\/span>\u00a0to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>determine how well courses had been converted to a flexible delivery mode<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>when c<\/span>oupled with an analysis of the most\u00a0<\/span>frequently asked questions by teachers,\u00a0<\/span>provided insight into diversity and range of teacher skills, understanding, and comfort working with Canvas and associated tools.\u00a0<\/span>From here,\u00a0<\/span>key areas\u00a0<\/span>where we could provide greater support to teachers\u00a0<\/span>were identified.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n