From learning designer to associate provost for digital learning

Erin DeSilva Appointed as Dartmouth’s Associate Provost for Digital and Online Learning

Whenever someone from the learning design community moves into an institutional leadership role, it is worth noting. In this case, the story hits close to home as my friend and colleague, Erin DeSilva, has been appointed as Dartmouth’s inaugural associate provost for digital and online learning. While Erin prefers to shift the focus onto her team’s work, I convinced her that the broader learning design community would benefit from learning about her new role and career path.

Your new role combines leadership in digital and online learning. Why was it important to you that the work on residential classes be integrated with Dartmouth’s online learning portfolio?

A: I believe it is crucial that we support Dartmouth’s online and residential learning as one core team due to our values as a community. Dartmouth highly values interpersonal connections and immersive learning experiences. By working collaboratively across programs, departments, and student groups, our team can incorporate shared lessons and values into every conversation and project.

Our work as educational technologists, media specialists, and learning designers has always been boundary-spanning, allowing us to bring different worlds together. By focusing on faculty development, program development, course design, and educational technology support, our team ensures that our faculty can teach in innovative and effective ways, regardless of their students’ locations.

Through our relationships with faculty, deep understanding of effective teaching practices, technological knowledge, and commitment to problem-solving, our team can experiment with and implement teaching practices that enhance student engagement, personalize the learning experience, and foster a deeper understanding of the material. By managing the technology used for teaching, we enhance faculty capability no matter where their classroom may be.

Our team is also well-trained in a set of principles and practices that are core to all of Dartmouth’s educational offerings, including the creation of accessible and inclusive pedagogy. Our mission is to empower Dartmouth’s exceptional teaching through our pedagogical and technological expertise, which is needed by all of our faculty.

Furthermore, these different learning communities need each other. The online learning community can learn from the intimacy and community that residential learning fosters, while the residential learning community can benefit from the flexibility and inclusivity offered in the online environment. Our team is committed to ensuring that these learning communities mutually benefit each other here at Dartmouth.

Working as a learning designer may be one of the most rewarding jobs in higher education, but it comes with challenges. Can you share your own career journey?

A: I recently spoke with an undergraduate student who plans to work in higher education teaching and learning. She exudes confidence and I believe she will have a significant impact. At her age, I was far from being as confident and did not have a clear path ahead.

I gained experience in education through informal settings and taught in a high school for a year, which was the most challenging job I have ever had. After that, I worked in education at the Museum of Science in Boston, where I developed an approach that I still use today: inspiring learners and engaging colleagues with enthusiasm.

Informal education and higher education share many similarities, including deep learning experiences that can be applied across different projects, regardless of the content area. Providing professional development for teachers was a particular passion of mine. When I moved from an ed-tech agency in Ohio back to Massachusetts, I was fortunate that a director of academic technology believed K-12 teachers and higher ed faculty required similar professional development. She took a chance on me.

I entered higher education in 2008 when there was a trend to rename educational technologists as instructional designers, even though the job description often remained the same. While I was changing clicker batteries and running SQL queries in the Blackboard database, I also learned about online learning at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, another institution with a long history of distance learning that taught me a lot about project-based learning.

Starting my higher education career in that environment, with that team, was a gift. I discovered my love for the design aspect of the job, which is why I believe it is the most rewarding job in higher education. It was during that time that I also went back to graduate school to further my formal education. Balancing graduate school with twin one-year-olds was a challenge, but I am fortunate to have a great support

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDG 4: Quality Education

   • Target 4.3: By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational, and tertiary education, including university.
   • Indicator 4.3.1: Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months.

2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

   • Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending.
   • Indicator 9.5.1: Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP.

Analysis

The article discusses the role of Erin DeSilva as Dartmouth’s inaugural associate provost for digital and online learning. Based on the content of the article, the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), targets, and indicators can be identified:

1. SDG 4: Quality Education

This SDG is addressed in the article through the discussion of integrating online and residential learning at Dartmouth. The article emphasizes the importance of supporting Dartmouth’s online and residential learning as one core team to provide equal access to quality education for all students.

Targets:

• Target 4.3: By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational, and tertiary education, including university.

Indicators:

• Indicator 4.3.1: Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months.

2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

This SDG is connected to the article through the discussion of using educational technology to enhance faculty capability and support innovative teaching methods. The article highlights the role of learning designers in leveraging technology to improve the quality of education.

Targets:

• Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending.

Indicators:

• Indicator 9.5.1: Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.

Source: insidehighered.com

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