Roles

In the initial SCoPE Project Plan the roles were sketched out as follows:

Advisory Committee

An Advisory Committee consists of informed stakeholders who can provide guidance and feedback in response to the various stages of development, and the community process. Responsibilities include:

• Attending meetings as scheduled
• Validating policies and procedures
• Confirming criteria for community evaluation
• Providing feedback on request
• Assisting in promoting the community

Project Coordinator

The Project Coordinator* (an eLINC Program Director) facilitates the development and the implementation of the eLearning community. The Project Coordinator is responsible to the Director of eLINC for:

• Consulting with the Community Coordinator
• Acting as the liaison between various SFU resource people and project participants
• Monitoring and reporting on project expenses
• Monitoring and reporting on progress in various stages of the project
• Assisting in the launch of the community
• Participating in community activities
• Facilitating ongoing evaluation of the project.

Community Coordinator

The Community Coordinator is responsible for the design and the day-to-day operations of the community. A primary responsibility for the Community Coordinator is to constantly watch for, and bring forward, actions and communication that are indicators of success, problems, and community needs. The general tasks include:

• Identifying potential opportunities for seminar topics, events, liaison, and partnerships
• Planning, organizing, facilitating, and promoting activities and events
• Monitoring community site access and dialogue
• Fostering the development of members
• Correspondence related to the community
• Continually assessing the value of the community
• Maintaining the community environment and resources
• Maintaining member accounts / mailing lists
• Consulting with the Project Co-ordinator and preparing reports as required.

Moderators

Individuals volunteer or are invited to moderate discussions because they have an interest in a topic and will benefit from sharing their knowledge, skills, research, products, and work in progress. The moderator works with the Community Coordinator to prepare for and facilitate a discussion.

Technical Support Staff

The primary roles of individuals involved in technical support are:

• to install and set up hardware and software to support the community, and
• to troubleshoot technical problems as needed.

As the need for technical support is likely sporadic, particularly after initial start-up, this support role is best assigned to an eLINC employee as part of their regular duties.

Writer

A valuable outcome of any scheduled discussion is a summary of topics, highlights, resources, further questions, and next directions. Moderators may be willing to take on this role, but do not always have the time, and may also benefit from sharing this role with another member. Having a writer available for each scheduled seminar would add value to the community archives. This could be a paid student position.**

Member

Members are individuals who choose to create a community account. They may choose to participate at a level that suits their interest, time, and comfort level.

*This title was later changed to Project Manager

** It is still felt that this role would be a valuable contribution to SCoPE, but funding has not been available.