Leading the eLearning Transformation of Higher Education: Leadership Strategies for the Next Generation - A Roundtable Discussion with the Authors
Concurrent Session 2


Brief Abstract
Originally published in 2015, Leading the eLearning Transformation of Higher Education (2020) showcases original and new chapter authors discussing diverse perspectives on leadership in the current digital higher education landscape. Join these e-learning leaders in a rich conversation about significant developments, challenges, and opportunities that will shape our e-learning future.
Presenters








Extended Abstract
E-learning has entered the mainstream of higher education as an agent of strategic change. This transformation requires e-learning leaders to develop the skills to innovate successfully at a time of heightened competition and rapid technological change. There are few comparable positions in higher education than that of e-learning leaders who work across multiple academic and support units and whose work fundamentally affects the institution as a whole.
In this environment e-learning leaders must act within their institutions as much more than technology managers and assume the prime role of helping their institutions understand the opportunities that e-learning presents for faculty, for students, and for client organizations in the community. They need to prepare to participate in policy development around these opportunities. They must understand the multiple dimensions of practice in the field—operations, administration, and working within the complex culture of a higher education institution—while also functioning as scholars of the field who can bring the best ideas from other institutions to help shape policy around e-learning.
Leading the eLearning Transformation of Higher Education: Leadership Strategies for the Next Generation presents both the collective expertise of veterans who have pioneered the field for 20 years, and of a rising generation of e-learning leaders that are transforming online programs at their own institutions, to address these challenges. This session is organized as a roundtable discussion with many of the chapter authors—some of whom contributed to the original volume, and others who bring new voices to the table in the second edition—offering diverse perspectives on leadership in the current digital higher education landscape. Participants will not only hear from leading and emerging e-learning experts on a wide range of leadership topics, but will also be invited to pose questions and offer commentary as active participants in the discussion.
Session participants can expect to:
- Increase their knowledge and understanding of a broad array of current and emerging leadership issues, challenges, and opportunities in higher education e-learning
- Identify strategies to address e-learning leadership challenges and opportunities and serve as change agents within their own institutional context
- Broaden their understanding of e-learning scholarship and its relationship to policy development in higher education
- Examine the evolving role of the chief online/digital learning officer in higher education institutions
- Deepen their understanding of the importance of accessibility, diversity, equity and inclusion in e-learning leadership; the affordances of technological advances in computing, teaching and learning; the increasing role of learning analytics and data-informed decision-making; the open educational resources movement, among others
- Extend their professional network with e-learning pioneers and emerging leaders who contributed chapters to the new book
Additional authors for this session include:
- Meg Benke
- Kathleen Ives