This story is part of a series on NC’s 2024 Awards of Excellence recipients. The highly coveted awards are presented annually to faculty, support staff and administrative employees in celebration of the impact they have on students, colleagues, and the college at large. A team award is also given out to a group of employees who have demonstrated outstanding collaborative work. All award winners receive a dedicated parking spot on campus.
Learning Management System Transition Team
On Niagara Day 2024, a group of employees was recognized with the Team Award of Excellence for their collaborative work in supporting the evolving teaching and learning needs at Niagara College.
The Learning Management System (LMS) Transition Team, a cross-functional team including employees from the Centre for Academic Excellence (CAE) and Information Technology Services (ITS), Purchasing, and Corporate Communications departments, worked together to transition the College’s LMS to a new platform – D2L’s Brightspace.
Combining technical expertise, pedagogical knowledge, and project management, the team seamlessly implemented the new system on a tight timeline and in doing so, fostered a culture of cooperation and understanding across departments.
The team tailored Brightspace to meet the specific needs of the College after consulting with faculty, staff and students and developed a comprehensive training program to help everyone adapt to the new system. Their meticulous planning, testing, and data migration work minimized disruption to the academic schedule and the student experience.
Overall, the project has provided students with a more engaging and interactive learning environment, enhanced the quality of education and improved the efficiency of administrative processes.
This group of employees helped transition the College into the future of teaching and learning and is a shining example of how “teamwork makes the dreamwork” at NC possible.
Congratulations to all team members: Robert Bertschi (CAE), Nick Contant (CAE), Cole Hayes (ITS), Rob Kreamer (ITS), Glenna Landry (CAE), Jenn Martin (CAE), Mike Pasquale (Purchasing), Jason Post (ITS), Claire Rosati (ITS), Whit Ross (CAE), Julie Samson (VP Academic office) and Jessica Torok (Corporate Communications).
InsideNC caught up with project leads Whit Ross and Jenn Martin from the CAE to get their thoughts on the team’s accomplishments.
The LMS project was a significant undertaking for the College. How did the team work together to implement a new LMS on a tight timeline?
This was a truly collaborative effort and we had support from many levels of college leadership that were instrumental in supporting such an aggressive timeline. With the tight timelines on this project, it was critical that the CAE, ITS, Corporate Communications, and Purchasing teams all worked together to move the LMS transition ahead as quickly as possible.
What was the key ingredient to the team’s success?
The key ingredient to the success of the transition was working collaboratively with one another and trusting in the expertise and skills of everyone on the team. With so many people working together, it was important that we let experts do the things they were best at and lean into the collective expertise of the group.
How does it feel to be recognized by your colleagues and the College with this award?
It is truly humbling to be recognized by our colleagues and the College with this award. Everyone on this project worked tirelessly to ensure a successful transition and we feel honoured that the group was acknowledged for their hard work and contributions.
What do you consider to be the most rewarding aspect of this kind of work?
For us, it is rewarding to know that we contributed to a project that will have a tremendous positive impact on student learning and experience at Niagara College. We are proud that we contributed to a project that will allow educators to continue to provide students with phenomenal learning opportunities within their academic courses.
