Output $1-$The Detailed Plan:

This team assignment will focus on providing a recommendation$($s$)$ to make learning in the online environment more engaging. For some, this may be your first experience with online learning... This does not mean that you don't have opinions, it will mean that you will be responsible for doing some front$-$end researching of this topic $($as well as having conversations with others$).$ With that said, the COVID$19$ crisis has exposed all of us to virtual learning and working in one form or another, and it seems clear that it is here to stay.

Engaged Learning is an important discussion in Higher Education, and now more than ever, it is receiving more analysis and discussion. Below is a brief definition of Engaged Learning.

Engaged learning indicates that students have opportunities to engage deeply in their own learning, to practice the transfer or application of knowledge across contexts $($whether among courses or between courses and off$-$campus contexts$),$ to interact with other perspectives and voices, to receive frequent feedback about their performance, and to reflect on both that feedback and their learning.

While existing research identifies high$-$impact pedagogies that facilitate engaged learning $$ study abroad, undergraduate research, internships, service$-$learning, writing$-$intensive courses, living$-$learning communities, and so on $$ higher education needs to know more about these practices $($and others like them$)$ and how they foster engaged learning across institution types and student groups. $($Elon University$)$

Your team's objective is to identify how Nichols can continue to ensure to provide engaged learning in this environment. This will require serious brainstorming and conversations on experiences in online learning and classroom environments, and some searches on "Engaged Learning". This is a real issue in Higher Education and we want your feedback, and therefore, there's a good possibility your idea could be implemented starting here at Nichols College! As a small example, my inclusion of a Zoom Office Hour for this course would be considered an activity that supports engaged learning.

Some questions to consider:

What services do we offer$/$others offer?

How engaged are our online faculty$/$ other institutions faculty?

What do you know about the UAEP? What do you know about our Undergraduate programs? What do you know about our Master's programs?

What do you like $/$ not like about online learning?

Format of the Document

Executive Summary

Identify or Explain: a clear and high$-$level of $"$we want to accomplish the following...$$

Needs to be innovative and attainable $-$ this will require foresight into the scope of such an initiative or implementation.

It cannot be copied from stuff seen. So$,$ you can't go to SNHU$$s or another college website and pull an advertisement. This said, looking at what other institutions do is a great start to figuring out what you want at Nichols College. Often an idea from a competitor can spur an idea that can be modified to fit an organization's culture and operations.

To summarize:

"Here's what we are going to do$,$ why we are going to do it$,$ how we are going to go about doing it$."$

Explain the value to students, faculty, other stakeholders?

What value does this give to online students and ultimately, to Nichols College?

Detailed Plan

Below is a sampling of categories that will need to be address to develop your plan and recommendation.

Resources; people, technology, space, texts$/$materials$,$ etc.

Technology; specific software$/$hardware needs

Processes; how will this idea work; what is the process for implementation and oversight

Money; specific amounts may be difficult to determine, but estimates are good, and$/$or identifying a range of costs as related to resources, technology etc.

Stakeholders; a stakeholder is anyone who has an interest$/$involvement in an idea, action, plan; carefully consider all impacted parties to your idea

Training; who, how, when, where, what