Leading Innovation in a Complex World

Concurrent Session 9
Blended

Session Materials

Brief Abstract

Join this dynamic discussion of strategies and barriers to leading innovation at scale within diverse and complex institutions.  We’ll bring our best tips and share the places where our ideals didn’t quite match reality. You bring your burning questions and your own stories to share as we all build our toolset for leading innovation on our home campuses.

Presenters

Lead Presenter: Whitney Kilgore, iDesign

Whitney Kilgore is the Chief Academic Officer and a cofounder of iDesign, a higher education service provide that partners with universities to build, grow and support online and blended courses and program offerings. She previously served as Vice President of Academic Services Domestic and International for Academic Partnerships and before that as the director of academic technology services at the College of Southern Nevada. Whitney has a PhD in Learning Technologies from the University of North Texas, a post-graduate certificate in Educational Technology Leadership from George Washington University, and holds a M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas A & M Corpus Christi.

Co-presenter: Mary Niemiec, University of Nebraska | University of Nebraska Online

Mary Niemiec is the Associate Vice President for Distance Education for the University of Nebraska. She is also Director of University of Nebraska Online – the University‐wide online education initiative collectively offering more than 100 online programs from its four campuses – University of Nebraska at Kearney, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, University of Nebraska at Omaha and University of Nebraska Medical Campus. Ms. Niemiec has worked in higher education for more than 20 years, primarily in the area of online and blended learning. She was the recipient of a grant from the Sloan Foundation in 2003 for a gathering of 30 faculty, administrators and researchers from the U.S. and Canada to begin exploration of the concept of blended learning and its strategic importance to higher education. Ms. Niemiec was conference chair for the Online Learning Consortium Blended Learning Workshop and Conference for eight years. Prior to joining the University of Nebraska in 2011, Ms. Niemiec held administrative positions in outreach, blended and online education at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has received several recognitions including the University of Illinois at Chicago Model Administrator/Alumnus Award by The American Society of Public Administration, Greater Chicago Chapter. Ms. Niemiec was also selected as an OLC Fellow in 2011 for her leadership in blended learning. Niemiec frequently presents at conferences, conducts seminars and workshops on topics regarding administrative strategies and policies, adult learners, online and blended instruction. She serves on several university-wide committees and has leadership roles in various professional organizations.

Co-presenter: Cali Morrison , American Public University System

Cali M.K. Morrison, Ed.D. is associate dean, alternative learning at American Public University System. Previously Cali was the assistant director, communications and analysis at the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET) and project director of Transparency by Design at WCET, where she became interested in studying adult learners and accountability. Current research interests include competency-based education and the future of credentials. Cali lives near Bozeman, MT with her husband, two daughters, and dogs where she is active in the community, especially with the Girls for a Change and CAP mentoring programs.

Additional Authors

Tina Parscal, Colorado Community Colleges Online

Dr. Tina Parscal is the Executive Director of Colorado Community Colleges Online (CCCOnline), the online consortium of thirteen community colleges that comprise the Colorado Community College System. In this role, she provides strategic leadership and administrative direction for CCCOnline’s operational, academic, educational, and technical activities. She also chairs the Learning Technology Council for the Colorado Community College System. Dr. Parscal has more than 25 years of experience providing academic and administrative leadership in higher education and has served in such roles as provost/chief academic officer, dean, program director, and faculty. Tina has published and presented in the areas of educational leadership and online learning as well as served as the Executive Editor of an award-winning peer-reviewed journal. She was honored as a “2014 Women Worth Watching” by Profiles in Diversity Magazine for her leadership in creating inclusive learning environments. Tina brings a breadth of experience that supports CCCOnline’s strategic priorities including online teaching and learning, instructional design and innovation, open educational resources, accreditation, strategies for assessing learning outcomes, and models for enhancing the student learning experience. Tina and her husband live in Highlands Ranch. They are wine enthusiasts who love travel and photography.

Extended Abstract

Session Description:

 

Join this dynamic discussion of strategies and barriers to leading innovation at scale within diverse and complex institutions.  We’ll bring our best tips and share the places where our ideals didn’t quite match reality. You bring your burning questions and your own stories to share as we all build our toolset for leading innovation on our home campuses.

 

The presenters will begin with introductions and share the five stages with the participants by printing the following article for participants to review: http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-five-stages-of-successful-innovation/

 

Using the “Five Stages of Successful Innovation” from MIT, we will work in teams using a jigsaw approach in order to allow smaller groups of participants to discuss in great detail their assigned stage. Once each group has an opportunity to work through the essential questions for their stage we will bring the teams back together to present their findings from their conversations and come up with our own approach to leading innovation in higher education together.

 

Possible Group Discussion Questions:

  1. There are two elements of leading innovation - leading projects and leading people.  Let’s start with people, what are your key tactics to leading people? Does gender matter in leading innovation?

  2. Now projects, what is your preferred method for leading projects?

  3. What are the greatest barriers  you face in leading innovation?

  4. What is a time you struggled but were successful in implementing innovation? What elements in your organizational culture advance innovation and breakthrough thinking and what shuts it down?

  5. How do prioritize efforts for yourself and your team?