Insights
WHAT’S ON OUR MINDS. 
We’re always learning, wondering and sharing. Here’s what we’re thinking about lately.
Resiliency in the Now Normal: Spending for Sustainability and Scale is Key
Published By Carrie O'Donnell
on Apr 22, 2021
Earlier in April, Matt Reed proposed the best use of the $12B included in President Biden’s infrastructure legislation for updating infrastructure in community colleges, would be “ways that situate colleges to be more resilient in future economic headwinds.” For those of you unfamiliar with Reed, not only does he write the “Confessions of a Community College Dean” blog on Inside Higher Ed, nearly 18 years of his career has been in community college leadership positions. Dr. Joshua Kim, director of online programs and strategy at Dartmouth College, fondly refers to him as “Dean Dad.” In fact, Kim penned a response in support of the infrastructure spending recommendations Reed made in his post and offered an additional recommendation of his own: learning designers.
Learn While Doing: Course Innovations in Real Time
Published By Brett Christie, PhD
on Mar 30, 2021
We recently learned there are approximately 20,000 learning designers in the US compared to over 1,500,000 faculty creating online courses. Additionally, a study we conducted last summer with 475 higher ed faculty revealed: Nearly half were simply mirroring their face-to-face instruction, Only 22% were designing their courses differently for online, More than 40% had never taught online or had only taught online for one to two terms. But here’s an even more startling fact: faculty were spending nearly 49 hours prepping an online course for the first time. Converting an existing course for online? Twenty-three hours.
Right Now, External Partners Might Be Higher Ed’s Greatest Ally
Published By Joana Jebsen
on Mar 09, 2021
A recent Hechinger report raised the alarm on the increasing amount of OPM contracts secured in 2020. While there seems to be great concern over the cost and number of these contracts, there also seems to be a lack of correlation between this increase and the pandemic. Have we all forgotten the sudden shift to online learning every university across the nation had to make? Whatever online learning institutions had in place at the time, if any, had to be scaled on a massive level.
Propel: Driving Learner Success Through Purposeful Instructor Support
Published By Carrie O'Donnell
on Mar 05, 2021
In a study we conducted last summer with nearly 500 higher education faculty, we learned most were spending 49 hours prepping new online courses prior to the start of the semester. For existing courses, 23 hours per course. And fine tuning content throughout the term? Eight hours per week. This is in addition to teaching, not to mention other duties like research and service. However, we also learned that while most were confident in their ability to teach online, 42% have little experience and nearly half were attempting to mirror their face-to-face teaching in the online environment. Both of these factors are strong indicators of not understanding the intentionality involved in developing and delivering effective online courses. As we move beyond emergency remote instruction towards improving the online learning experience, how do we ask faculty to do even more preparation? The reality is, we shouldn’t. Instead we should purposefully support instructors to help them more effectively and efficiently develop their online courses.
4 Ways to Use Peer Learning to Increase Learner Engagement
Published By Brett Christie, PhD
on Feb 22, 2021
Peer learning has long been shown to increase student knowledge over lecture-dominant methodologies, particularly when unpacking and understanding difficult concepts. Think about conversations in your everyday life. How dialogue among your peers helped you gain new knowledge and examine different points of view. The same can be true for the classroom. Not only is peer learning effective among students, it is especially well-suited for the virtual environment. The beauty of peer learning is it brings small groups of students together to effectively collaborate, communicate and think in both critical and creative ways. Additionally, fostering peer learning inside the classroom naturally encourages sustained dialogue and authentic learning outside the classroom.
Hope for Navigating Mental Illness in Online Learning: Connection, Community & Compassion
Published By Cathryn Mattimore
on Feb 12, 2021
Learning to navigate mental illness challenges as a higher ed student is something that especially resonates with me. I’m currently working towards a Master’s degree in eLearning and Learning Design while managing a significant mental illness that can be debilitating. Aside from my own experience, I’ve seen the prevalence of mental illness amongst my peers, particularly since the start of COVID.
Building Learning Communities in the Classroom and with Faculty
Published By Brett Christie, PhD
on Feb 09, 2021
In our latest webinar, “Building Learning Communities in the Classroom and with Faculty”, O’Donnell Learn Founder and CEO, Carrie O’Donnell, and I offer practical ideas and examples for helping students take their learning to the next level through connection and community. We’re also passionate about cultivating professional learning communities among faculty and offer ways to develop this critical support to overall faculty satisfaction.
The WOW Factor: Creating Faculty Development That Sparks Interest and Envy
Published By Carrie O'Donnell
on Jan 19, 2021
Imagine our surprise last summer when we reached out to 475 faculty and learned the online courses for nearly half were simply mirrors of their face-to-face instruction. In fact, only 22% were designing their courses differently for online. With all of the faculty development around online learning being offered, why weren’t more faculty designing courses specifically for this type of instruction? As it turns out, faculty weren’t engaging with development options at a level you might expect given COVID-19 and the rapid shift to online learning. Something we’d also learned in surveys and interviews with170 provosts and academic leaders a year earlier. The solution? The WOW Factor.
Purposeful Learning FrameworkTM – Why People are at the Center of Everything We Do
Published By Carrie O'Donnell
on Jan 15, 2021
I’m often asked why our company is so good at collaborating with faculty. The first time I heard this question, I didn’t realize clients found this unique to O’Donnell Learn. We’ve always been great partners because people are at the heart of everything we do. In fact, our entire design philosophy - Purposeful Learning DesignTM - is anchored around people. It starts with this truth: learning is for people. As such, learning design should be grounded in empathy and it should promote success for both learners and faculty. Purposeful Learning Design is the philosophy we embrace to ensure we never lose sight of this truth. It is comprised of six key considerations.