In conversation with Wheaton College
Central to any kind of digital transformation are people and process and that often involves managing change. But how do you make behavior change stick? How do you create long lasting habits that go beyond situations and circumstances? Like most residential higher ed institutions, Wheaton College has fully returned to campus life, to offer their students the richest college experience. But the return to pre-pandemic ways of teaching is seeing a return to pre-pandemic expectations when it comes to IT software provision.
Wheaton College is navigating the human side of IT systems adoption with reduced financial and human resources, as is the case across the sector. “Before the pandemic we lived in a world where faculty asked for something and they got what they wanted, when they wanted it. If we introduced something new like AppsAnywhere and the faculty didn’t like it immediately, they would be vocal about it, and we had to accommodate their requests”, said Jaime Mejia Paula who implemented the AppsAnywhere at Wheaton College back in 2019.
“Since then, we had staff and funding reductions, so we've had to become more efficient. Servicing everyone individually when they need it, takes an enormous amount of labor, so we have had to introduce more standardization and automation. Of course, we can still be flexible, but everything can’t be custom, as we don’t have the resources to make everything custom and we can’t keep track of things”, continued Michael Rhoadarmer, Manager of Classrooms and Labs at Wheaton College.
This trend is not limited to higher education. Technology fatigue, coupled with change fatigue, can undo a lot of the good work implemented during the pandemic. In fact, a 2022 Gartner survey found that the number of employees willing to change work behaviors to support organizational change dropped to 38%, compared to 74% in 2016.
The simple answer is by applying a design thinking approach and mindset, being open to understanding the user experience, and engaging with authenticity and transparency with faculty and students. Here are 8 points on what that looks like in practice.
Wheaton College adopted AppsAnywhere in 2019, before COVID locked down the entire world and forced everyone to study and work online. The college was in a good position to transition to online learning and did that quite smoothly thanks to AppsAnywhere. Students took to it very easily and were grateful to continue learning from home without having to pay for expensive licenses.
“What we had noticed even before the pandemic - continued Michel Rhoadarmer - was that many computer labs were empty most of the time, and even when they were used, students were still using their laptops. They like to be mobile, to move from the library to the cafeteria and easily move between group work and individual study.”
Whilst the pandemic catalyzed the adoption of AppsAnywhere, it by-passed some of the human change management processes. So, when everyone returned to face-to-face learning, faculty expected to return to locally installed software in campus labs, while students didn’t want to let go of their freedom.
Another behavior challenge the Wheaton IT team is dealing with, is the fact users don’t tend to prepare in advance and test the software before class. They only engage with the documentation on how to use it after they realized things don’t work just by clicking on them.
“Until they fail, they're not going to think about what they need. As they say in marketing, it's easier to sell aspirin than vitamins,” joked Michael.
Knowing that, what are some strategies and tools you can use to nudge these behavior changes? Easy to follow instructions, how-to videos and pre-recorded demonstrations, calendar reminders, pre-scheduled emails, are just a few to add to your toolbox.
As humans, we are naturally biased to see things from our perspective first. When a change is announced, we first see its impact on ourselves, and then on others. So, when implementing new software or processes, it is important to take time and explain how the change benefits not only faculty, but also other stakeholders, and especially students. Explain why the change needed to happen in the first place, and its benefits in the long term.
Your faculty will likely want answers to some of these questions:
In marketing, the Rule of 7 states that a message needs to be repeated 7 times (in different forms and contexts) before it becomes effective, so be prepared to explain the same thing a few times and trust the process.
Use a variety of media to spread your message: visual communications, diagrams or timelines are great engagement tools.
And when it’s possible, involve stakeholders as early as possible in the change, so they feel they are an active participant. Design thinking offers a great framework for participatory change management processes, whether it’s small improvements or radical changes.
Gone are the days of the set and forget IT platforms, thankfully! IT solutions are now agile, interactive, and designed to adapt to user environments, and it takes regular user feedback and involvement to continue to optimize performance and experience.
Having formal reviews and open communication channels to engage with faculty and students on finding more efficient ways of doing things will buy you a lot of good will, and you will learn a few tricks and hacks in the process.
It’s important to be open and transparent about your mistakes to build trust. As technology evolves so quickly, you may sometimes find yourself behind the curve, but being honest about it the best way forward.
When adopting AppsAnywhere, Wheaton College decided to use the client version as the most robust way of accessing software for most users. This, however, provided a less desirable experience for Mac devices, and a complex arrangement to work around it. This could have been avoided by using the web-based version of AppsAnywhere, which most institutions use.
“Now we have to go back to all the Mac users next fall and say, hey, you know we kept telling you to install the client… you might find it easier if you just use the HTML interface” admitted Michael.
Software access can be an enabler, and contribute to the learning flow, or can be a source of frustration, and add to the cognitive load.
At Wheaton College, the IT department is well aware of the cognitive load theory and the impact of education technology on learning. This is why the team are doing a lot to reduce the cognitive load in accessing software and make everything more intuitive.
Some examples include simplifying the control panel, re-arranging the icons to make things flow naturally, and doing things in the back end to remove friction and make everything as seamless as possible.
The IT team learn about users’ habits and preferences by observing them interact with the software on their own devices. “They will find shortcuts to avoid a problem or save time, so it’s great to see where we can continue to simplify things and remove friction.”
In the early days of AppsAnywhere there were few supporters of the new system among the Wheaton College faculty but working with tech-savvy academics to unpack the full potential of the platform really helped convert them into the biggest advocates.
Dan Burden, Professor of Analytical Chemistry at Wheaton College was one of AppsAnywhere’s early adopters and remains a big champion. His course requires multiple applications for measuring and analysing data, and he even writes his own code that he can embed into AppsAnywhere to customise it to his requirements.
His support, and that of other faculties, is very powerful in creating a ripple effect of adoption and internal change. Once people talk to their peers or see the benefits in practice, they become less resistant.
Don’t let resistance build up and spread like wildfire. It’s important to tackle it in its early stages and have a direct, even though uncomfortable conversation where issues arise. This will go a long way to making faculty feel seen, supported, and valued, and they will be grateful for your early intervention.
Remember people are not always comfortable seeking help, and they may attempt to find solutions or workarounds before they contact you, so it’s a good idea to check in regularly, and give them an opportunity to get help early on.
Make your vendors your allies! Staying connected to the software developers and their support teams will save you a lot of time in trying to work out solutions by yourself. It’s possible other customers may experience the same issues, and if the vendor is responsive, they may have already made changes to the product to improve your experience and fix your issues.
Wheaton College maintains a close partnership with AppsAnywhere, which has been incredibly useful during internal personnel changes. When the AppsAnywhere lead moved to a different role, he used AppsAnywhere resources to train the incoming lead and supporting team. The pre-packaged applications, the training in the AppsAnywhere Academy, the Student Hub videos and the advice from the support team have been very useful in a smooth transition and upskilling the new staff.
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AppsAnywhere is a global education technology solution provider that challenges the notion that application access, delivery, and management must be complex and costly. AppsAnywhere is the only platform to reduce the technical barriers associated with hybrid teaching and learning, BYOD, and complex software applications, and deliver a seamless digital end-user experience for students and staff. Used by over 3 million students across 300+ institutions in 22 countries, AppsAnywhere is uniquely designed for education and continues to innovate in partnership with the education community and the evolving needs and expectations of students and faculty.
Register your interest for a demo and see how AppsAnywhere can help your institution. Receive a free consultation of your existing education software strategy and technologies, an overview of AppsAnywhere's main features and how they benefit students, faculty and IT, and get insight into the AppsAnywhere journey and post launch partnership support.
Register your interest for a demo and see how AppsAnywhere can help your institution. Receive a free consultation of your existing education software strategy and technologies, an overview of AppsAnywhere's main features and how they benefit students, faculty and IT, and get insight into the AppsAnywhere journey and post launch partnership support.
