This toolkit of resources is designed to support the implementation of the What Works Clearinghouse Using Technology to Support Postsecondary Student Learning practice guide at postsecondary institutions. The toolkit consists of two distinct components:
The Institutional Guidance and Resources are designed to help administrators at postsecondary institutions learn about the practice guide recommendations, measure institutional readiness for the recommendations, and plan for institutional implementation of the recommendations.
The Institutional Guidance includes several resources for administrators:
The Institutional Guidance and Resources were developed based on the practice guide, relevant literature, recent research on the leader's role in change management, and the lived experiences of higher education leaders.
The purpose of the Institutional Implementation Readiness Assessment (Readiness Assessment) is to help you, as an administrator, measure readiness and identify gaps that your institution may have in the implementation and scaling of effective practices for using technology to support student learning. This includes implementing the recommendations from the What Works Clearinghouse practice guide Using Technology to Support Postsecondary Student Learning.
The Readiness Assessment has three sections. Each section includes items addressing the successful implementation of the practice guide recommendations. The sections are as follows:
In this Readiness Assessment, we make the following considerations when using the terms "all learners" and "all modes":
Assemble a group of administrators (e.g., instructional and student affairs administrators, department chairs, information technology managers) and other stakeholders at your institution to collectively examine the implementation of effective practices for technology use and the practice guide recommendations. Host a group discussion on these topics and complete the Readiness Assessment based on the group's collective responses. Differences in ratings among group members can be noted in the comment boxes and be considered in any future planning or implementation efforts. Use any data and information currently available to you and identify other data or information you need to collect to complete the Readiness Assessment. For each statement on the assessment, respondents should select the answer that most closely aligns with your current institutional practice or status.
After you complete the Readiness Assessment, an Institutional Readiness Assessment Feedback Report (Feedback Report) is generated that includes your responses and advice for implementing the practice guide recommendations. The Feedback Report includes action steps to help administrators organize and direct the work associated with implementing their institution's practice guide recommendations.
This Readiness Assessment is designed as an initial assessment, and it can be revisited to measure your institution's progress with implementation of the practice guide recommendations over time. The Institutional Implementation Planning Guide (292 KB) works in tandem with this assessment and provides advice on implementing strategies for technology-supported learning at your institution.
This Readiness Assessment is designed as a self-assessment solely for your institution's use. Responses are not retained or used by the Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest, the Institute of Education Sciences, or the U.S. Department of Education.
The Professional Learning Course is a four-module, facilitated professional learning series designed to help postsecondary instructors learn about and implement the practice guide recommendations for using technology to support postsecondary student learning. An institution can elect to use the Professional Learning Course as an online or in-person course. The freely available resources include a facilitator guide, slide decks, videos, and materials to set up the professional learning program. Each institution can customize the materials as they wish to best support local contexts and needs.
Facilitators who are interested in running this course should download the Professional Learning Facilitator Guide as well as the zip file of course documents. The Facilitator Guide has step-by-step instructions for setting up the course and includes instructions on how to customize and use the course documents.
The Instructor Technology Use Survey is a self-assessment and monitoring tool for postsecondary instructors. It helps instructors determine their current level of technology use in support of student learning. The survey is designed to be taken repeatedly to help instructors monitor their growth in using the practice guide recommendations for technology use to support student learning. The survey assesses and guides instructors on areas of strength and areas for development in their use of technology to support their students' learning. Instructors are encouraged to take the survey every six months as they continue to work to use technology more effectively in the courses they teach.
This survey is also utilized as part of the Professional Learning Course. The Professional Learning Facilitator Guide has instructions for facilitators on how and when to incorporate this survey.