{"id":218,"date":"2025-02-21T19:27:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-22T03:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru300\/?p=218"},"modified":"2025-03-20T22:29:28","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T05:29:28","slug":"leading-change-in-digital-learning-environments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru300\/leading-change-in-digital-learning-environments\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading Change in Digital Learning Environments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Published by Weri Gadou February 21, 202<\/em>5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Change is inevitable, especially in digital learning environments, and effective leadership is key to guiding teams through it. Mansaray (2019) argues that leadership is one of the most important elements in implementing positive change in any organization. One useful model for managing change is ADKAR (Thekkekara, 2023), which breaks the process into five stages: awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement. Drawing from my own experience as a former educator in a K-12 public school, a conversation with Rachel Grange, a former learning and development consultant, let\u2019s explore how ADKAR can help lead change in digital learning environments. These insights, along with academic research, will highlight how leaders can support their teams through each stage of the change process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ADKAR model simplifies the change process by focusing on five stages (Thekkekara, 2023):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Awareness<\/strong>. Leaders must communicate why the change is necessary, whether it\u2019s for better accessibility, improved learner engagement, or more efficient tracking. They should clearly explain the problem the new tool solves. During my time as a K-12 public school teacher, the introduction of the digital tool FreshGrade faced significant resistance from educators. The lack of clear communication about its benefits led many to perceive it as an added burden rather than a helpful resource. Leadership failed to effectively convey how the platform could support teachers, resulting in hesitation and pushback.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Desire<\/strong>. Leaders need to foster the desire to support the change (Al-Haddad and Kotnour, 2015). This involves helping the team see the personal value in the change. They can show how the change will make work easier or improve the learning experience. For that, they should involve the team, making them feel like active participants. Rachel Grange  emphasized the power of personal stories and testimonials in fostering desire for change (R.Grange personal communication, February 16h, 2025). Sandra Norum goes further and found it important to \u00ab really put boots on the ground and walk a day in their shoes\u201d (Interview with Sandra Norum: Transcript Introductions, Role and Leadership Focus, n.d.). In other words, it is a way to really understand how the change could affect the team and better create the desire to change. When leaders clearly demonstrate how a change benefits employees on a personal level, it strengthens buy-in and makes the transition smoother.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Knowledge<\/strong>: Leaders should provide team members with the knowledge they need to use new tools effectively. This might involve training sessions or resources. They must ensure everyone, especially those less familiar with technology, has access to the necessary information. Rachel Grange emphasized the importance of structured training and hands-on practice (R.Grange personal communication, February 16h, 2025). Her team succeeded an important change implementation: transitioning the organization from a traditional LMS to a more flexible, cloud-based learning experience platform (LXP). The old system was outdated, difficult to navigate, and lacked integration with other workplace tools. The transition took about a year and involved extensive consultation with stakeholders, piloting, and phased implementation. They relied on support resources and training sessions to build confidence and competence in using new digital tools.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Ability<\/strong>: Leaders must provide opportunities for practice, addressing challenges as they arise. This could include workshops, real-world scenarios, or access to help desks. From my personal experience, when implementing FreshGrade at the K-12 public school, dedicating time during staff meetings for teachers to practice using the new tool would have boosted our confidence and provided real-time support. This proactive approach could have significantly reduced resistance to change from educators.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Reinforcement<\/strong>. Leaders should celebrate successes, acknowledge efforts, and provide ongoing support. This could include regular check-ins, feedback loops, or rewards for those who embrace the new tools. With retrospect, Rachel Grange shared how leadership could reinforced the use of digital tools by integrating it into performance reviews and offering positive feedback for successful implementation (R.Grange personal communication, February 16h, 2025).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Leading change in digital learning environments requires a structured approach. The ADKAR model provides a proven framework to help leaders guide teams through the stages of change: awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement. By using this model, leaders can implement new tools effectively and foster inclusivity. As organizations continue to adapt to the evolving digital landscape, ADKAR offers a valuable strategy for embracing change and creating lasting transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    References<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Al-Haddad, S., & Kotnour, T. (2015). Integrating the organizational change literature: a model for successful change. Journal of organizational change management<\/em>, 28<\/em>(2), 234-262.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dempsey, M., Geitner, L., Brennan, A., & McAvoy, J. (2021). A review of the success and failure factors for change management. IEEE Engineering Management Review<\/em>, 50<\/em>(1), 85-93.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Interview with Sandra Norum: Transcript Introductions, Role and Leadership Focus. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2025, from https:\/\/malat-coursesite.royalroads.ca\/lrnt525\/files\/2022\/01\/Sandra-Transcript.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Mansaray, H. E. (2019). The role of leadership style in organisational change management: a literature review. Journal of Human Resource Management<\/em>, 7<\/em>(1), 18-31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Parlakk\u0131l\u0131c, A. (2013). E-learning change management: Challenges and opportunities. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education<\/em>, 14<\/em>(4), 54-68.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Thekkekara, J. V. (2023). Change Management: A Survey of Literature in View of Analysing the Advantages of ADKAR Model. RGUHS Journal of Allied Health Sciences<\/em>, 3<\/em>(2).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Published by Weri Gadou February 21, 2025 Change is inevitable, especially in digital learning environments, and effective leadership is key to guiding teams through it. Mansaray (2019) argues that leadership is one of the most important elements in implementing positive change in any organization. One useful model for managing change is ADKAR (Thekkekara, 2023), which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":319,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lrnt525","category-uncategorized","has-post-thumbnail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/319"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":220,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218\/revisions\/220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru300\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}