In Spring 2020, a group of individuals from across the college formed the Facilitating Faculty Online (FFO) working group. The focus of this group was to assist faculty transitioning from in-person classes to teaching fully online. The FFO grew to include one representative from each faculty, the Training Group, Learning Designers and Manager from Academic Technology Services (ATS); as well as members from support units such as the Library, Learning Centre, Student Affairs & Services (including Indigenous Student Services and Accessibility Services), and Business Development.
As classes returned to mostly in-person instruction, FFO saw an opportunity to expand their work by bringing together pedagogical/andragogical knowledge, technical skills, and key support services to assist our instructors with teaching at Douglas College. This led to the creation of the Douglas Educational Support Community (DESC).
One of the main tasks of DESC is to encourage faculty- and student-centric learning and collaborative initiatives. These initiatives may include targeted faculty development events (e.g., Stumbling Blocks and Stepping Stones sessions), guest speakers, focused activities, and instructional resources. As well, DESC can offer a combination of teaching strategies and technology solutions intended to address instructional and technological needs and concerns.