What do you do if your online learning tools aren't cutting it?

If your online learning tools aren't meeting your needs, explore alternative resources such as educational websites, forums, or online tutorials relevant to your studies. Consider reaching out to your instructors or academic advisors to express your concerns and seek guidance on supplemental materials or strategies. Collaborate with classmates to share additional resources and study techniques. Additionally, explore different learning platforms or software that may better suit your learning style. Remember to stay proactive in finding solutions and advocating for your educational experience to ensure you're getting the support you need.

Ideally, we don’t scramble to assess after a problem presents itself. I led teams that created technology roadmaps to stay engaged with technology companies and track capabilities against competitors, our regularly administered student and faculty surveys, and the research in instructional technology.

Go back to basics. A lot of times, the newest online learning platforms are overcomplicating instruction. Teacher + student activities sometimes can lead to better results. Discuss with students what they think work for them and what they don't seem to know how to use. A lot of times, students get frustrated with the technology because they just don't know how to use it and the lose focus of the learning because they are focusing on how to use the tech.

I learn through my Tech Trends editorial work and attending training technology conferences across different sectors namely the military. I also learn about tools through analysts’ reviews and email lists like Owler. Finally, companies like Anthology have advisory roles that connect engaged customers to their R&D function.

Being and participating in professional communities are also things to take into consideration as it's impossible to monitor all the new technology coming out. If you belong to a professional community/network, you're more likely to filter all the emerging tech out to what suits you best based on the recommendation of someone who is in the same type of situation as you.

Design thinking at its best is to engage in pilots and iterate based on the feedback. The testing has to be holistic to include all stakeholders points of view. Their feedback should be transparent to all. At one of my universities, we used a blog to share the testing and feedback during the LMS transition. Test before you invest.

Doing in-depth research is something that should be emphasized here. A tool that you think will be excellent but has really poor user reviews should act as a warning. Make sure to take other people's advice with a grain of salt, but still make sure to listen to what others have to say.

Customizing online learning tools to align with personal and professional goals enhances their effectiveness. By exploring settings and features, users can tailor tools to suit their preferences and needs. Integrating multiple tools can create a more robust learning environment, such as combining video conferencing and collaboration tools for enhanced group work.

I’m not sure that I would put “seek support” this far down or signal it is a fixed linear step. Being clear about the levels of support is foundational and it is best embedded throughout the adoption process. In fact, the levels of support available in the adoption and testing phase are an indicator of whether this is a true partnership or merely vendor exchange.

The review is a recursive activity and it takes many forms, especially if one adopts an enterprise-wide design thinking approach. We should regularly ask this does this tool advance teaching and learning and what’s the evidence. The technology roadmap helps track the updates of tools against at least the top three competitors. We used a matrix for this at one of my previous universities.