{"id":298,"date":"2022-02-22T18:35:06","date_gmt":"2022-02-23T02:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0228\/?p=298"},"modified":"2022-02-22T18:35:06","modified_gmt":"2022-02-23T02:35:06","slug":"leading-in-digital-learning-environments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0228\/leading-in-digital-learning-environments\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading in Digital Learning Environments"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Leading in Digital Learning Environments<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Leading in digital learning environments is essentially parallel to leading in many organizational environments, with one particular caveat: where change is often thrust upon some organizations, change is integral to the foundation of digital learning. As in, without change, there is no digital learning; they are interwoven.<\/p>\n<style>\n       .errordiv { padding:10px; margin:10px; border: 1px solid #555555;color: #000000;background-color: #f8f8f8; width:500px; }#advanced_iframe {visibility:visible;opacity:1;vertical-align:top;}.ai-info-bottom-iframe { position: fixed; z-index: 10000; bottom:0; left: 0; margin: 0px; text-align: center; width: 100%; background-color: #ff9999; padding-left: 5px;padding-bottom: 5px; border-top: 1px solid #aaa } a.ai-bold {font-weight: bold;}#ai-layer-div-advanced_iframe p {height:100%;margin:0;padding:0}<\/style><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var ai_iframe_width_advanced_iframe = 0;var ai_iframe_height_advanced_iframe = 0;var aiOnloadScrollTop=\"true\";var aiShowDebug=false;\n\t\tif (typeof aiReadyCallbacks === 'undefined') {\n\t\t\tvar aiReadyCallbacks = [];\n\t\t} else if (!(aiReadyCallbacks instanceof Array)) {\n\t\t\tvar aiReadyCallbacks = [];\n\t\t}    function aiShowIframeId(id_iframe) { jQuery(\"#\"+id_iframe).css(\"visibility\", \"visible\");    }    function aiResizeIframeHeight(height) { aiResizeIframeHeight(height,advanced_iframe); }    function aiResizeIframeHeightId(height,width,id) {aiResizeIframeHeightById(id,height);}<\/script><iframe id=\"advanced_iframe\"  name=\"advanced_iframe\"  src=\"\/\/docs.google.com\/gview?url=https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0228\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/225\/2022\/02\/Be-the-change-leading-digital-learning.pdf&#038;embedded=true\"  width=\"100%\"  height=\"800\"  frameborder=\"0\"  border=\"0\"  allowtransparency=\"true\"  loading=\"lazy\"  style=\";border-width: 0px;;border: none;;width:100%;;height:800px;\" ><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var ifrm_advanced_iframe = document.getElementById(\"advanced_iframe\");var hiddenTabsDoneadvanced_iframe = false;\nfunction resizeCallbackadvanced_iframe() {}<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><p style=\"display:block !important; visibility:visible !important;margin: -18px 14px 0 0;padding-left: 3px;padding-top:3px;background: white; overflow: hidden; position: relative; line-height:15px;width: fit-content;\"><small style=\"display:block !important;visibility:visible !important\">powered by Advanced iFrame<\/small><\/p>\n<p>With that foundational framework, change leadership is necessary in order to be effective in the fast-paced world of e-Learning. Al-Haddad and Kotnour (2015) suggest that it is necessary for leadership to envision a new reality, motivate employees to accept it, and provide the practices, organization and resources to do so.<\/p>\n<p>Discussions with colleagues and friends confirm other aspects of leadership that is important in digital learning. Specifically, there is a need to make decisions quickly and effectively, and not have delays awaiting decisions. This is corroborated in the literature (Biech, 2007, Al-Haddad &amp; Kotnour, 2015), with Cormier (2017) adding that committees can be formed to do so effectively. Further to our discussions was the point that adaptability and flexibility was a key aspect.<\/p>\n<p>Another point that repeatedly came up in the literature and informal discussions was that some organizations and leaders seem to take change in stride, and others fight it at every turn. Here, suggestions around culture, norms and planning tend to mitigate the downsides of change (Biech, 2007, Al-Haddad &amp; Kotnour, 2015).<\/p>\n<p>Finally, specifically related to ed-tech and digital learning situations, two aspects of leader forethought can significantly impact how well the organization manages change. For one, the extent to which the leader or organization considers learner characteristics is important to organizational success (Al-Haddad &amp; Kotnour, 2015).\u00a0 Secondly, the consideration given to the day-to-day technology needs of users will be important as well. For instance, creating a plan for future hardware costs, warranty\u2019s expiration and evergreening new tech (Norman, 2017) will permit functional relevance and prevent delays, additional costs and outages. Similarly, anticipating tech support needs and providing it is a simple way to prevent problems before they start and learn organizational tech needs (Norman, 2017).<\/p>\n<p>In many ways, leading is leading no matter the environment, and managing change is a natural consequence of an organization\u2019s evolution. This is true in digital learning and beyond.\u00a0 When a digital leader can respond quickly to change, inspire followers to do the same, empower decision-making and create a culture that flexibly embraces change, organizational effectiveness will undoubtedly follow. To be able to do so while also recognizing the tech that powers the learning, and the learner who absorbs it will be the ultimate challenge today\u2019s digital learning leaders are tasked with.<\/p>\n<p><strong>References<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Al-Haddad, S. &amp; Kotnour, T. (2015). Integrating the organizational change literature: a model for successful change. <em>Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28<\/em>(2), pp. 234-262. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/JOCM-11-2013-0215<\/p>\n<p>Biech, E. (2007). <em>Thriving Through Change: A Leader\u2019s Practical Guide to Change Mastery<\/em>. Alexandria, VA: ASTD [Retrieved from Skillsoft e-book database]\n<p>Cormier, D. (2017, Dec. 8). Our schools aren\u2019t broken, they\u2019re hard. <em>Dave\u2019s Educational Blog: Building a better rhizome. <\/em>http:\/\/davecormier.com\/edblog\/2017\/12\/08\/our-schools-arent-broken-theyre-hard\/<\/p>\n<p>Norman, D. (2017, March 11). Lessons learned: AV systems design in the Taylor Institute. <em>D&#8217;Arcy Norman: Learning technologies, design, and other things.<\/em> https:\/\/darcynorman.net\/2017\/03\/11\/lessons-learned-av-systems-design-in-the-taylor-institute\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leading in Digital Learning Environments Leading in digital learning environments is essentially parallel to leading in many organizational environments, with one particular caveat: where change is often thrust upon some organizations, change is integral to the foundation of digital learning&#8230;. <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0228\/leading-in-digital-learning-environments\/\">Continue Reading &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":244,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0228\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0228\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0228\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0228\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/244"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0228\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0228\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":303,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0228\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298\/revisions\/303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0228\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0228\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0228\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}