Collaborative Partnerships: Supporting Students' Success With Educational Technology

Faculties spend a majority of their educational years on discipline-specific research, which often does not include educational pedagogy or the utilization of technology. While many of these faculties may have used technology in their own education they remain reluctant to embrace new teaching strategies paired with digital advancements. This low digital fluency and confidence among faculty can be addressed with the assistance of an instructional designer. Providing ideas, instruction, and pedagogical expertise to faculty who are subject matter experts, instructional designers are perfectly suited to bring emerging technology to the online education experience.

While partnership between faculty and instructional designers are vital for successful online course delivery, a collaboration including the student is needed to ensure success in online education. Graduate schools face challenges in retention related to the online learners’ apprehension with educational technology. It is vital for colleges and universities to embrace technology in teaching and learning, and recognize early those students who may be struggling with use of technology in their educational experience. Preventing technology from being an obstacle to student learning and student success requires new strategies to help students overcome angst with online educational technology. While graduate students may be experts in their respective fields, the lack of exposure to educational technology is a potential barrier for their success.

In a quest for success with online graduate education, faculty and an instructional designer formed partnerships with students to promote success with educational technologies. This relationship can be beneficial to educators, instructional designers and graduate students. This involvement of multiple stakeholders increases accountability and promotes collaboration. Providing students with support and expertise with access to an instructional designer can promote success in the online educational experience. This additional resource of the instructional designer can allay students’ fear of technology, which can ultimately impact student performance and success.