UPCEA eDesign Collaborative ThinkTank Roadshow: Western Kentucky University (Virtual)

The Instructional Design and Technology unit within the Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning at Western Kentucky University is focused on continuous improvement. Innovation goes beyond the use of the newest technology and design practices, but also includes innovation in processes that guide our services. As instructional design professionals, we know that design and development is never truly complete, but instead grows along with the stakeholders, technology, and institutions involved. With the ever-changing nature of post-secondary institutions, we constantly have to adapt and change. One area in which we have seen tremendous change over time is in our online course development agreements and related processes.

In the early stages of the adoption of online learning in the early 2000’s at WKU, the proliferation of online courses and programs was the goal. For instructional designers, the focus was to get faculty trained and comfortable with the learning management system and its features. As our numbers stabilized and faculty were comfortable with the technology, the focus turned to creating quality online courses. This would change the nature of the relationship between faculty and instructional designers, the requirements for meeting the course agreements, and our work completion and reporting workflows.

We will share our story of how changes in online course development agreements have shaped our unit, and technology adoption, specifically the implementation of Blackboard Ally and Asana into our workflow and reporting. We will also share where we are heading in the future and how we intend on growing further with these changes to ensure the best possible experience for the faculty, staff, and students we serve.

Why Western Kentucky University?
Western Kentucky University is a public, four-year institution located in Bowling Green, KY. The Instructional Design & Technology unit within the Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning is focused on bringing equitable, engaging, and effective learning experiences to our community through an emphasis on quality course design, professional development, emerging instructional technologies, and high impact practices in all modalities.