spiraling clock face with a single hand on 12

If only I’d known then…

I’ve been working in the Academic Technology field for the last twenty years, aiding faculty through significant changes in technologies to deliver content and philosophies on what even should be delivered. And I’ve just finished shepherding my institution from nineteen-and-a-half years of using Blackboard’s course management system (from way back when it was called “CourseInfo” – version 2, to be exact) to now using Instructure’s Canvas system. This most recent leg of my career contains an important point that I wish I could send back to the me of two decades ago:

Train them in the abstract concepts, not the product.

Perhaps I could never have achieved this, since the product used in many (sometimes subtle) ways does influence what content is delivered and in what ways. But after helping hundreds (possibly over a thousand) faculty to construct courses using one particular system, and then seeing the process hundreds just went through in trying to transfer over to using a new system, I feel I’ve done them a disservice.

Of course that’s the advice I’d give past me on behalf of my faculty. The suggestion to myself on behalf of older me is a bit more blunt:

If you aren’t be paid for it, don’t provide it.

Over the years I worked shifts easier measured in days than hours, just to get the systems back up and running. One year, on my anniversary, my wife napped out in the car while I fixed a problem with the course management system servers from before dusk until after one in the morning… and yet somehow I’m still married to the woman. I sometimes share this lesson with others, though I struggle to follow it even to this day: There is no such thing as an academic emergency.

If I’d known then what I know now, I suspect my faculty would be better prepared for the years to come, and I know my health and work/life balance would be better.

4 thoughts on “If only I’d known then…”

  1. …and then we changed the LMS again. Everybody freaked out. Just like they did the last time. And the time before…

    That abstract concept, part pedagogy and part simple digital literacy, is an ongoing process for me. And I don’t think it has an end to it. That is a hard sell. Most of us want answers, not ongoing questions. We need a solution, not something better or more options. I think the most useful “training/learning” is part pondering and part clicking a digital button and knowing for certain the outcome to follow. I remember telling faculty back when we changed from Blackboard to Canvas that this fancy new one, was going to go away soon too. Never went over well, but the lesson under it it valuable.

    Not so sure about the “Not paid for it don’t provide it.” I don’t rely on my official “job description” very much. It can’t keep up and I am not that interested in making any part of it permanent. Like the LMS comment above, it is just a bit too uncertain. And strangely, the most rewarding parts of my job, the times when I feel like I am really being helpful, are not clearly stated as part the job description. In many ways, like the LMS comment above as well, the best opportunities for things we do in the digital world are not purchased by the university. Be they the coffee shop down the street or YouTube. For some parts of learning, they work better than a classroom or Panopto/Tegrity/etc.

    Balance is key as you note. “I struggle to follow it even to this day.” I do too. Thankfully, to me, it is a wonderful place to be 🙂

    1. Yes, everybody wants system training to be “how do I use the system.” But what they really NEED is “how do I get my job done with the system.”

  2. Both of these are so important. Just learning an app without understanding the strategy or pedagogy involved isn’t helpful for seeing the possibilities for similar situations. Which tool is the best for this academic purpose?

    I’ve been there with the unpaid aspect — it just seemed so important to get system set up so the staff can learn and be successful. I don’t regret it: I want the school and staff and students to be successful. I see that you do too.

    1. Historically at my institution there’s been a training disconnect, where there are options for pedagogic information and technical information, but somehow never a solid combination of both. We’re getting closer, particularly since we FINALLY have hired an Instructional Designer, but that’s still so new that only time will tell if our efforts will work.

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