Developing a school-wide framework for blended and online learning and teaching (BOLT)

Abstract

This article explores the unexpected role-shift for early TELT -adopters during the COVID-19 crisis. In Universities where TELT occurs in the margins of campus-based traditional lectures (e.g. Russell Group Universities), early adopters and experts are accustomed to working in some degree of isolation and exploring digital resources independently. It will explore the rapid shift in emphasis away from micro-projects to performing in a high-pressure and strategic environment with an unprecedented interest in TELT, and show how, in a very short period of time, a group of early TELT-adopters were empowered to become strategic leaders and policy makers and to produce a robust framework for Blended and Online Learning and Teaching (BOLT) for use in all courses.
 In April 2020, the Adam Smith Business School (ASBS) made the decision that all learning and teaching for the academic year 2020-21 would move to a blended/online model. In order to action this, a working group of early TELT-adopters from within ASBS was formed, who collaboratively produced a four-part BOLT Framework for use in all courses.
 Working quickly, and with little time to consult externally, this group drew on their existing knowledge and worked iteratively in order to ensure that colleagues could quickly develop the necessary skill-sets for BOLT. The result is a BOLT strategy where all ILOs are achievable asynchronously, with synchronous sessions used to support students and build learning communities.
 This article sets out the BOLT Framework: explaining how it was developed, the principles underpinning it and using case studies to show the Framework working in practice. It explains how the sometimes informal, furtive and unstructured self-development of TELT enthusiasts played a key role in the School online pivot and perspectives of TELT changed on both sides of the TELT debate through open and earnest exchanges of ideas and problem-solving.

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