These opening comments are based on my experiences in collaborating with faculty involved and supporting students in on-line courses. One of the key resources that we need to have to support faculty teaching and student learning in on-line environments is the availability of competent support staff. In my work for the past two years, I learned the importance of getting to know whom I am dealing with. One way of getting that information is by spending time with faculty clients. Another way is by getting to know who their friends are.
Peers are powerful entities in terms of influencing an individual behavior.
Friends tend to recommend good things to their friends. Most of the time, course design request that asked specifically for my services is a result of a recommendation from a former faculty client. It is important to familiarize myself with my client's content area of one's client. Having the knowledge is helpful because by knowing what the faculty client is excited about their discipline, then I can be more effective in accessing information that is relevant to the course. It is important to know the level of technology skills of the faculty client.