It’s Not Just Course Design… It’s EPIC Emily Holliday, Angela Washington, Patrick Williams, Beverly House Wake Technical Community College

EPIC – eLearning Preparedness Initiative across the College Image Source: http://www.profitguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/figure-pushing-down-hurdles.jpg

EPIC Teamwork Collaboration between eLearning support and faculty and staff representatives on six teams Participatory decision making from the bottom up Practitioners as leaders Faculty and staff developed and aligned EPIC strategies to improve online learning Structured as grant project for QEP

Objective 1 Student Preparedness Help students overcome online learning barriers and gain the skills they need to be successful online learners

Objective 2 FACULTY Preparedness Help faculty design and deliver online courses in accordance with Wake Tech’s e-Learning quality standards

Online Teaching Certification Developed and implemented by faculty and staff in one year: Based on EPIC Quality eLearning Standards developed by faculty Three Pathways to certification: Provide a framework of standards Offer instructional design support Develop and deliver an online teaching certification program Design and deliver quality online courses 30 Hours PD Peer Review Mentoring

EPIC Quality eLearning Standards Best practices in online design and delivery Navigation Communication Collaboration Assessment Participatory, team-based development by faculty and eLearning staff Based on research into best practices +40 versions Final version deployed 8/2015

Pathway 1 – Certification by Professional Development EPIC30 – 30 hours of PD training based on standards LMS Training Accessibility Universal Design for Learning Navigation Communication and Collaboration Assessment including rubrics Capstone Image source: Disney/Lucas Films Phased launch began September 2015

EPIC30 Courses Courses Credit Blackboard Skills: Customization and Resources, Course Files and Content, Communication Tools, Assessments, Grade Center 7 hours Introduction to Accessibility 3 hours Best Practices in Course Navigation and Design 4 hours Best Practices in Online Communication & Collaboration Best Practices in Online Assessments Introduction to Universal Design for Learning Capstone Course Total Hours 30 hours

Pathway 2 – Certification by Peer Review Rubric used is based on EPIC Quality eLearning Standards Process and rubric developed by team of faculty and instructional designers Experienced faculty submit a course, that has already been delivered, for Peer Review Experienced faculty submit a course, that has already been delivered, for Peer Review Assessed using a rubric based on standards and best practices Peer Review allows a faculty member to demonstrate proficiency in online course design, pedagogy, and delivery A three-person team of certified Peer Reviewers will assess the course based on EPIC Quality eLearning Standards All Peer Reviewers must first earn their EPIC Online Teaching Certification and Complete a 6 hour training course on peer reviewing online courses using our EPIC Quality eLearning Standards and associated rubric

Pathway 2: Peer Review Peer Review allows a faculty member to demonstrate proficiency in online course design, pedagogy, and delivery A three-person team of certified Peer Reviewers will assess the course based on EPIC Quality eLearning Standards and Quality Matters

Peer Reviewers All Peer Reviewers must first earn their EPIC Online Teaching Certification and Complete a 6 hour training course on peer reviewing online courses using our EPIC Quality eLearning Standards and associated rubric

Pathway 3 – Lateral Entry and Mentoring For new online instructors Mentoring program developed based on best practices

Mentors All Mentors must first earn their EPIC Online Teaching Certification and Complete a 6 hour training course on mentoring, with modules on: Practices, Policies, Procedures and Resources Setting Goals and Time Management Communication Skills Conflict Resolution

Pathway 3 – Lateral Entry Lateral entry – faculty are assigned a mentor, within their discipline, while they complete the EPIC30 courses towards certification (3 semesters) Pilot began in spring 2017 In fall 2017 – 36 faculty; 19 mentors

EPIC Certified Snapshot Began process in Fall 2015 21 online faculty certified by Peer Review 324 online faculty certified by Professional Development (EPIC 30) 467 total certified Includes seated, hybrid, staff

EPIC Master Certification Program for experienced faculty, who are already certified Faculty work with Instructional Designers to update courses to “exemplary status” Take training to become a mentor or peer reviewer 10 complete as of August

Faculty Comments “I am making a focused effort to improve my perceived instructor presence in my online courses. I am intentional in communicating with the students so they do not feel abandoned or alone in the course. I will focus on teamwork and assignments in applicable courses in the future.” “I have done more to orient students to the course. I have made changes to many resources so that they are accessible. I now use the Blackboard file system to post resources. This has greatly simplified things for me.”

It’s all about the Brand

EPIC Collaboration Vital to Success Every person at Wake Tech was considered a “stakeholder”–Faculty, Student, Staff, Administration EPIC Teams were created and their members were selected from every area of the college

Being EPIC Isn't Easy… Communication avenues: Collaboration between: Email Newsletter/ blogs Printed material Collaboration between: Teams Administration Faculty Students Service Areas support

EPIC CM Objective Information distribution Professional development Rewards and incentives EPIC ambassadors

EPIC Change Management (CM) Plan The CM Plan follows the Prosci ADKAR® model Awareness Desire Knowledge Ability Reinforcement The Road to EPIC Success

EPIC Information

EPIC Blog–Future Forward Thinking New Fall 2017 Blog Features: Online Eagles–Student Spotlight of the Month Student Success Corner–Student Services approach to early intervention equals early retention Instructional Design–Tricks of the Trade The Best of the Best–Best Practices in the Online Environment

Reaching Our EPIC Students Information distributed via email and print builds awareness eLearning Intro builds knowledge, ability, and desire Registration for online courses serves as reinforcement

EPIC Ambassadors Full-time faculty or staff member interested in, and supportive of, the EPIC initiative.

EPIC Ambassadors cont… Serves as a departmental resource for his or her colleagues in regards to EPIC implementation. Works with department head or supervisor to serve as a representative of the department when communicating with EPIC teams and other administrators involved in the QEP.

EPIC’s Future Transition from Change Management to focus more on sustaining the changes Creating a faculty repository Include materials that expand on our EPIC 30 course material Best practices in online teaching Resources faculty can share with students to help increase achievement

Summary Requiring students to take free online course preparation training before enrolling in an online class To better prepare students for taking online courses Offering three pathways for faculty to earn their EPIC Online Teaching Certification To better prepare faculty to design and deliver online courses

Questions? Image source: http://en.hdyo.org/tee/questions