Instructional design team’s innovations support UW Flexible Option
D2L honored six Excellence Award winners from around the world, including a University of Wisconsin-Extension instructional design team, for delivery of innovative, collaborative or impactful learning experiences via the educational technology company’s Brightspace platform. D2L recognized the UW-Extension team’s support for UW Flexible Option to:
· Enable timely communications with students, faculty and support staff
· Provide a streamlined, easy-to-navigate design with superior tech support
· Present students with customized content
The UW Flexible Option is the first system-wide, competency-based initiative in the country. The program allows students to start any month, work at their own pace and earn credit using knowledge they already have, whether that knowledge was gained through prior coursework, military training, on-the-job training or other learning experiences. As a result, the learning environment design needs differ substantially from instructor-led, time-based online courses.
“I congratulate the design team for its groundbreaking work designing and building tools that support the personalized, accessible and seamless learning that defines the UW Flex educational experience,” said UW-Extension Provost and Vice Chancellor Aaron Brower.
CEOEL_Award_D2LD2L CEO John Baker presented the award at the Brightspace global eLearning conference in Orlando, Fla., June 22-24, 2015, to, from left, Eileen Horn, senior instructional designer; Ryan Anderson, director of instructional design and development; and Nate Ewings, instructional designer. Other team members include Scott Reeser, Brightspace administrator; Darci Lammers and Terry Tao, senior instructional designers; and Stephan Beers, instructional designer. All work in the Continuing Education, Outreach and E-Learning Division of UW-Extension. They also worked closely with Kim Kostka, UW Flexible Option coordinator for UW Colleges, one of the first UW System institutions to offer a degree in this format.
UW Colleges and UW-Extension also received an award at the 2014 conference, when Ryan Misura of Central IT Services became the first ever student D2L award winner. He was honored for his work in automating the creation of personal discussion areas in Brightspace and worked with Pat Fellows, now a UW Colleges project manager.
