I work at Bow Valley College as a programming officer and lead instructor of online and blended learning, in Chiu School of Business and Regional Stewardship departments. As a growing institution, change is a constant aspect of our work and I have been involved in the platform changes that come with using digital technology in our classrooms.
I always knew change simply did not occur on a big or small scale but after going through the reading of Unit 2 of the LRTN525 course, I have a better understanding of what it takes to improve the success rate of organizational change.
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Organizational change is inevitable but the frequency of change has definitely increased with the use of digital technology in today’s digital age and leaders have an important role in the success of these changes. l-Haddad, and Kotnour (2015) found that the success rate of change in organizations is very low and in order to improve this rate, leaders, and organizations must work together to determine what the reasons for failure are and to try and overcome these issues. It is suggested that creating necessary readiness on large-scale change in companies is the reason for half of a project’s failures turning into successes (Weiner, 2009). It is significant to start the process of change before the actual change occurs so that everyone involved can be ready for it and expect it.
The platforms used in today’s digital learning environments should be flexible as to meet the needs of the diverse range of individuals, learners, and teachers alike. Also, the digital change should always have room for improvement and nothing should be considered a final version since the technology will be moving on soon and if we keep this in mind beforehand, we will be ready when the time for change arrives (Feldstein, 2017).
I can align myself with the six-step method of change in my officer role. For example, when I have to adapt to using Desire to Learn (D2L) as a platform for our online classes, I am leading the process of teaching our instructors to use and perform their courses in D2L. The six-step method of change is definitely a good match for this project, since I have to overcome resistance from the instructors to adapt to this platform and as stated by Al-Haddad and Kotnour (2015) the six-step method helps encourage everyone involved to have less resistance to change. This method also will help me to break down the process of the change into steps that are simple to follow.
Reference:
l-Haddad, S., & Kotnour, T. (2015). Integrating the organizational change literature: a model for successful change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(2), 234-262.
Feldstein, M. (2017, May 28). A flexible, interoperable digital learning platform: Are we there yet? [blog post].
Weiner, B. J. (2009). A theory of organizational readiness for change. Implementation Science, 4(67).
February 20, 2018 at 6:00 pm
Hi May,
Like others (see Laura’s post here https://malat-webspace.royalroads.ca/rru0036/lrnt-525-a-successful-change-the-small-wins/) you talk about how you have to overcome resistance to change to help implement new technologies. What are the steps you have taken to try to make instructors more comfortable when you move to the new system? Do you build things like D2L training, guides, policies into your plans? Are there early adopters who are keen and enthusiastic who can help others within their departments?
February 21, 2018 at 9:39 am
Thank you, Michelle, for your thoughtful questions!
We have a team of great and committed instructors in our department, but all the changes and conversion plans to full online teaching have been very challenging for many of them since they are not tech savvy and have been doing things a certain way for many years, and they are not familiar with using D2L.
I have been enthusiastic about the use of D2L because of my past experience with the platform in the last couple of years and knowing how much it can be helpful. This is why, I have been in charge of looking into ways to get our instructors ready before launching our online courses, and I proposed the following solutions to my manager:
1. Online instructor training course (OITC) to incorporate empathy and seeking to understand and negate negative feelings toward technology
2. Create training manuals on online teaching and D2L for the instructors to complete.
There will be ten instructors needing the OITC and a questioner spelling will be emailed to them to see if they had prior training for online teaching. I would assume that their level of knowledge on D2L and online teaching is at the beginner level since they have not used D2L before and the OITC will be mandatory for them to compete.
According to Dettori, Giannetti, and Persico (2006), “teachers need adaptability and invention to cope with the variety of situations they may face in the classroom and to adjust to the ever more frequent curricular revisions required by the rapid pace of technological and cultural evolution” (p. 398). I am hoping to be able to overcome the instructor’s resistance to adapt and utilize D2L to its full potential in their classes so they can be able to make connections with their students and create a productive learning environment.
Reference:
Dettori, G., Giannetti, T., & Persico, D. (2006). SRL in online cooperative learning: Implications for pre-service teacher training. European Journal of Education, 41(3-4), 397-414. doi:10.1111/j.1465-3435.2006.00273.x
February 23, 2018 at 4:12 pm
Hi May,
It sounds like you have an excellent plan – I think the piece where you try to incorporate empathy and “negating” the negative thinking about technology is an important piece that we often overlook. I look forward to hearing about how it goes!
Michelle