What is involved with working with Learning Environments on a FlexAP online, blended and alternative delivery project

Who is the project funding for?

The online, blended and alternative learning modes FlexAP stream supports subjects that intend to re-design or/and enhance their study mode to achieve learning flexibility for students. Study mode options supported in this stream include:

  • Online subjects, where study is entirely off-campus and predominantly asynchronous
  • Blended learning subjects, where study is a mix of online and campus offerings with a balance of asynchronous and synchronous learning experiences
  • Intensive subjects, where study is completed within a short period by intensifying the study load (online, on-campus or blended)
  • Alternative delivery mode subjects, where study may include online, blended or intensive learning elements.

What is the funding for?

Successful applicants will receive the following:

  1. Financial support for the faculty staff who are involved (time relief from other duties) and
  2. Partnership with Learning Environments who will provide expertise in learning design, digital and video media production, project management and educational technology integration.
  3. Support for planning the evaluation of the project via the Faculty Educational Innovation Fellow.

The following table summarises what the funding is and isn’t intended for.

Table 1: Summary of FlexAP funding conditions
  Can be used for... Cannot be used for...

Financial support for applicants

(FlexAP funding guidelines)

  • Time relief for applicants from other duties (eg. delegating marking load)
  • Assigning a subject matter expert to provide parts or all of the curriculum or learning materials.
  • Hiring of staff to assist you in your teaching or research so you can complete the project
  • Subscribing or adopting third party technologies etc.
  • Resourcing of subject delivery (eg. tutors or teaching staff).

Partnership with Learning Environments

  • Learning design
  • Assessment consultation, design and build
  • Digital and video media production
  • Project management
  • Educational technology integration
  • Relevant professional development for your and /or your team
  • Module and / or activity builds
  • LMS templates
  • Technical support beyond the lifetime of the project
  • Direct involvement in subjects outside of the project
  • Any work outside of the agreed scope of the project

What is involved?

Joining this stream involves academic and professional staff from faculties working in partnership with Learning Environments personnel (learning designers, educational technologists, video producers, project managers) to deliver well defined project outcomes.

Application phase - scoping

The scope and needs for each project are defined at the application stage in consultation with the subject team and under the guidance of a Learning Environments learning designer and a project manager.

The scope determines the lifetime of the project as well as the Learning Environments resources that will be deployed and an estimate of hours that faculty will need to allocate for their staff who are involved. As an example, for the full development of an online subject approximately 200-250 hours of effort is needed from the academic team. Typically, a project is completed in six months to one year, depending on the size of the project.

Example online, blended and alternative delivery projects

The following are some examples of projects that vary in size and scope but are indicative of the work that can be covered under this stream:

  • The development of one or more online modules in a subject
  • The redesign of the LMS site to better support the learning journey
  • The development of asynchronous activities and resources to replace or supplement synchronous teaching, including video development.
  • The curriculum review and development of a subject to be offered fully online or mostly online
  • Development of online collaborative activities in a subject site such as peer review activities or team project activities
  • A group of 2-6 subjects that wish to apply a similar LMS site design and online learning approach to their subjects
  • Online assessment review, consultation and development.

Application phase – project plan draft

Following the scoping consultation, the initial application/expression of interest is drafted into a project plan which includes well defined project outcomes and deliverables, the funding that the subject team will need to realise these and details of the approach that will be taken.

Application phase – project plan sign off

Applications are reviewed by senior teaching and learning staff (typically the Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning) or equivalent and the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education). Those that are successful are then funded accordingly.

The following shows the stages that are part of the application stage for this stream:

Image 1: Application stage for FlexAP Online, blended and alternative learning mode subjects

Project stakeholders

Table 2: Summary of FlexAP personnel, roles and responsibilities
PersonnelRoles (indicative and determined by project needs)Responsibilities

Academic and professional subject team staff

  • Project sponsor
  • Subject coordinator(s)
  • Content contributors or subject matter experts
  • Teaching team members

Subject/discipline expertise, curriculum oversight, learning materials/content, applications for academic approvals if/as needed

Learning Environments

  • Learning designers
  • Educational technologists
  • Video/media producers
  • Project manager(s)
  • Learning design
  • Project scoping
  • Project leadership
  • Production of multimedia assets
  • Implementation of educational technologies
  • Subject build in the LMS

Education Innovation Fellows

One staff per faculty

  • Scholarly project evaluation support
  • Local FlexAP champions

Chancellery (Academic)

Central governance

  • Program communications
  • Funding distribution
  • Program reporting

FlexAP steering committee

Program oversight

  • Direction setting
  • Financial responsibility
  • Progress monitoring

How to apply

Projects will be funded according to their size, scope, and impact and reflect the hours and resources needed to complete the project. Please contact your learning and teaching leaders in your faculty or school to discuss applying for the ‘Supporting small to large subject development projects for flexible learning’. See this page for local FlexAP contacts

If you would like to discuss the feasibility of your project and what is likely to be involved, Contact the Learning Environments team. Use the Learning Environments contact form, selecting FlexAP as your request type.

Resources

This page was last updated on 18 Apr 2023.

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