Edufolio Proposal and Course Management System Implementation
 

REFLECTIVE STATEMENT
Description:  This artifact is a proposal that I wrote for implementation of a course management system (CMS) and the addition of a full-time educational technologist position into the academic setting at Sherman College. The CMS isEdufolio, an online learning system that allows instructors and students to interact in a multimedia-rich environment. The Edufolio CMS software lease was approved and I single-handedly rolled out the system to faculty and students over an extended period of time. My rollout plan for Edufolio consisted of my personal training and the subsequent online integration of all Sherman College courses, students, faculty and employees into Edufolio over a 6 month period. Following that, I presented 3 months of intensive workshops and one-on-one sessions with faculty to help them ready their courses for Edufolio. The students were introduced to Edufolio through email tutorials as well asonline tutorials.

Analyze: This artifact demonstrates my leadership skills in the implementation of new technology. This artifact showcases my roles as technology leader as well as instructional designer. The artifact shows my ability to assess an instructional need and follow through with a proposal for implementation of technology appropriate for the organization’s budget. Furthermore, this artifact shows my ability to prepare and initiate faculty and student assimilation and use of a new technical modality.

Appraise: I believe my proposal was clear and deliberate in assessment of the instruction technology situation at Sherman College. The strength of the proposal was that it provided a solution to an overdue problem, and I was rewarded with partial acceptance of my proposal suggestions. I received approval for the annual lease of Edufolio software and implementation, but not for a full-time position as Director of Educational Technology. Three years later I am still at a part time Instructional Designer position, yet solely in charge of the Edufolio course management system for both faculty and students. A subsequent request for part time help for my part-time position has been denied. The weakness of my proposal is that it failed to achieve the desired result of a full commitment from Sherman administration to this initiative. I was unable to convince them of the impact that instructional technology must have in higher education to remain competitive. It is my philosophy that cultural change in an organization requires support from top administrators. Unfortunately, this is not yet the case at Sherman College.

The faculty orientation workshops for Edufolio were well attended. Most faculty members were very receptive to Edufolio and eager to learn how to transfer existing content to an online venue. The strength of the orientation workshops is that initially, a third of our faculty had Edufolio courses developed and functional, with content other than their syllabi, by the time Edufolio was unveiled for student usage. A weakness of the workshops is that they were a bit rushed. I believe that if I had the time and manpower, more workshops could have been scheduled as well as more individualized help given. Student Edufolio orientation through use of the online tutorials is discussed here.  Faculty surveys have shown that Edufolio is now widely utilized in a variety of ways and has a high satisfaction rating.

Transform: The implementation and rollout of Edufolio challenged me to practice the ADDIE model of instructional design. The development and implementation phases of training for faculty were the most time consuming, and is a challenge I still face. I am currently developing multimedia tutorials to reduce the need for face to face basic Edufolio skills workshops. Furthermore, an instructional technology website is also in development to house these tutorials as well as other issues that pertain to technology-based pedagogy. Persuading administration that instructional technology is not a frivolous novelty is an ongoing challenge, and one that I am prepared to face through proposals, recommendations, and through advancement in my personal education through my course work atGeorge Washington University.