Marketing & Training
During operational planning, you developed a change management plan that included marketing and training materials. Now that the repository pilot launch is at hand, review these plans and make needed revisions to include any additional marketing methods you may have discovered.
You should address the following areas:
1. Marketing Materials. Review and pilot marketing materials. In the planning phase of the Blueprint, we discussed a variety of ways that you can market your repository, from print materials and promotional items to videos and websites. You should now begin to produce and distribute these materials. Develop a timeline to determine when each item will be drafted, reviewed, finalized, and introduced and how you will make it available: through the web, the repository, or via other methods (e.g., mailing, distribution at meetings and conferences). The timeline should include the minimal materials needed to introduce the pilot implementation to your selected users. Feedback on these materials from the pilot group can be used to improve your marketing for your expanded launch.
Because the pilot is geared toward a limited group of users, create marketing materials targeted toward the interests and expertise of your specific pilot audience. We suggest that you include materials that illustrate use of the repository, such how instructors might incorporate digital content into their courses. If your pilot group is focused on several disciplines, you may able to highlight repository content in those subject areas, and show how it can be incorporated into a course in the pilot LMS system(s). An excellent marketing technique is to secure a testimonial from a faculty member about the advantages of using digital content in his/her teaching. Consider creating online tutorials and/or training sessions on how to get started using the repository, flyers and information sheets that might feature particular content or other repository capabilities, and PowerPoint slide presentations. These materials can be for use by project staff, or to share with institutional staff or faculty who can carry the message to individual pilot campuses. You can store marketing materials in the repository and make them available on your project website.
A press release about the launch of the repository should be sent out in advance of the event to create interest and generate buzz around the launch. Depending on your pilot scope, consider sending announcements to institutions, newspapers, radio stations, and television stations. You may want to schedule a press conference announcing the launch, along with press releases to the media. If you are launching at one or more institutions, investigate existing campus publication vehicles to promote awareness of your initiative through announcements placed in print or online department or institutional publications. Similarly, informational brochures can be provided to potential users ahead of the pilot launch to gather support for the event. All these activities can help spread the word about the repository and solicit users, enabling a successful pilot launch.
2. Develop communication channels. A vital part of ensuring uptake of the repository is to provide adequate channels of communication that not only dispense information about the repository but also receive feedback from your users.
- A website is a natural place to invite repository users to communicate their needs or suggestions. Your website can be linked directly to the repository to allow a user to access it easily (for example, see: http://www.theorangegrove.org/).
- You may also want to include a blog, wiki, or a forum on the site to collect user responses and facilitate discussion among users.
- Newsletters, either email or print, inform users about new training opportunities, new features, new content, etc. Keep the message about the repository and its benefits for the individual faculty member center and front stage is important.
- Gather frequently asked questions to provide answers to common queries and give general information.
- Other cost effective communication tools include: discussion boards, best practice showcases, and virtual or face-to-face workshops.
- Enlist “champions” for your repository. As mentioned previously, a strategy being tested by the Orange Grove is to use two “faculty advisors” at individual institutions to champion the repository directly to faculty. Our experience is that a “trickle-down” approach of marketing through administrative channels has not been sufficient to gain the level of faculty adoption that we are seeking. That said, it is important to communicate “top-down” as well, to gain support and buy-in from key administration at relevant institutions
3. Schedule workshops and presentations Consider the timing of your repository launch and whether you can capitalize on scheduled events. For example, in the fall, there are usually institution-wide faculty meetings and department level meetings. Requesting agenda time for one or more events can allow you to reach a large population of potential users without having to organize an event yourself. You or your repository representative at the institution might make presentations based on provided PowerPoint slideshows or other materials. Reusable content works nicely here! Similarly, there will be additional opportunities to present during the year such as faculty showcases, conferences, meetings, and other events.
Schedule hands-on workshops throughout the academic year to help faculty learn how easy it is to use the repository. The workshop format allows users to actually use the repository and ask questions as they go. Include training on core repository functions (e.g., how to search for items, options for using repository resources in courses, and how to contribute items). The Orange Grove has been pursuing a strategy of first teaching faculty how to start using the repository by searching and linking/downloading items for their courses and then how to contribute items they’d like to share. When possible, The Orange Grove has tried to integrate the repository with the faculty users’ learning management systems, for visibility and easier access.
Another approach is to offer a workshop on teaching with digital resources. Whether they teach online or on-campus courses, many faculty members may not be aware of how digital content could benefit their teaching. During the session, focus on areas that are of particular interest to the users attending the workshop. For example, if the audience is Mathematics instructors, show them high quality math resources. Your audience will be more likely to embrace the new technology if they are able to envision how these new resources can be immediately incorporated into their teaching.
The most important point in any workshop occurs when faculty share success stories about using digital content. For example, the Orange Grove Scholars/Advisors at Florida Gulf Coast University presented at ameeting of faculty from the College of Heath Professions. Prior to this meeting, the Scholars/Advisors searched The Orange Grove for resources that they thought might be of interest to this group. They found several resources which they presented in the session. They used a resource called The Nursing Station (http://florida.theorangegrove.org/og/items/33223552-24a8-eeed-542e-94985a50c597/1/nursing_station.swf [SWF]) and engaged session participants by asking them to answer the questions about patient diagnosis. They also introduced a resource on IV dosages. (http://florida.theorangegrove.org/og/items/30df028c-159c-5c1d-3b06-014a2304929e/1/iv_practice.swf [SWF]).
Finally, remember to collect feedback from participants in your training sessions (face-to-face, online, and recorded) to get their opinions and suggestions for improvement. These data will be helpful in your longer term evaluation, as well as useful in making adjustments to your system, training sessions, and processes.
Once users have become familiar with searching for and using the resources in your repository, you should encourage them to contribute some of their own resources to the repository. This creates a sense of ownership among your users, as well as helping to grow your content. An advanced session to create and share digital resources would also be beneficial. Creating high quality resources often involves more than just a faculty member. Sound instructional and graphic design practices are vital to the development process, so you may want to involve institutional or state-wide partners to support high end digital content development projects. The Orange Grove tried this type of session via a three-day workshop at Daytona Beach Community College (now known as Daytona State College). Faculty members, developers, and graphic designers from multiple institutions gathered to create sharable content objects (SCOs) for mathematics courses. During the workshop, groups were able to create design documents specifying the content of each resource, practice questions, and accompanying graphics. Final production took place after the three-day workshop Sessions such as these can prove beneficial in that faculty members will become familiar with the process of creating digital content and may then become sources of new content for the repository.
In addition to face-to-face sessions, consider offering regular webinars on repository usage. For example, The University System of Georgia kicked off their repository launch with a series of presentations for their users (http://coa.colstate.edu/usgshare_webinarseries.pdf [PDF]). The Orange Grove offers monthly webinars, many of which are archived, focusing on different aspects of repository usage. Webinars offered on a variety of days and at different times will provide users with scheduling flexibility and allow you to reach users who may be at remote locations or who are unable to attend a face-to-face session.
4. Create user tutorials It is good practice to create short, asynchronous tutorials that users can access on an as-needed basis. They can be created in multiple formats: video, print, and screen captures with audio explanation provided by tools such as Camtasia, Captivate, or similar products, to provide “just in time” training and review opportunities. The Orange Grove staff has created a number of tutorials in Camtasia and Captivate. Over time, we’ve shortened the length of each tutorial, so that users can access very brief explanations of only those functions they are interested in.
Continue to offer training sessions and workshops to faculty and administrators on a regular basis. There will always be individuals who need training or would like to review a recorded session. As mentioned earlier, you may also want to offer an “advanced” training opportunity which would include the development and contribution of content.
