WebCT as a catalyst

•Distributing Instructional Support across the UBC campus

Challenge

• Pockets of IS

• Decentralised

• Duplication of effort

History

• Numerous initiatives to support learning technologies

• CET, TLEF, ACIT

• Emphasis on content not process

Organisers of LT

• ACCULT

• WebCT Institute

• Instructional Support (IS) Units

• Others– Library, DE & T, TAG

Model of Instructional Support

• Features– Flat, Decentralised, local

expertise

– Not cost recovery

– Scalable

– Sharing of resources (content and process)

– Object oriented

Communication channels

• Working in the background

• Repeater, amplifies signal

• Passive conduit

• Non filtering

• Benevolent

early adopt

2° users

3°users

ISUnit

ISUnit

ISUnit

ISUnit

Switch

ISUnit

Participants - roles

• Lone Ranger, 2° wave,3° wave

• Departments, IS Units

• TAG , DE&T and the Library

• ITServices

• University Administration

Character of Communications

• No expectations

• No financial transaction

• No coercion

• Opportunity to develop long term vision

• Resources with faculty

• Non-competing

• Open source

Costs vs Benefits

• Less overlap

• Develops Areas of technical and pedagogical expertise

• Promotes standards

• Sharing process

• Supports all roles

• Community of practitioners

• Promotes Standards

Scalability-down

– 30/70 split

– Discipline specific support

– Dedicated support within departments

– Departmental memory

– One on one

Scalability-up

– Areas of expertise (content/process)

– Cooperation for similar projects across boundaries (e.g. university level cooperation)

– collaboration across like units

The Outside World?

• Process– Communication

• Standards– Learning objects

– IMS

Conclusion

– Guidelines to participate

– Roles of IS units are changing from being 1° resource provider to being networked.

– Communication (of process) vs content

– Sharing of resources - content and process