ITLS Team standing together
The IT Learning Systems team, June 2023. Left to right: Brian Broniak, Hamid Taimoory, Andrew Tweedt, Jihane Najdi, Jackie Meese, Brandon Oppong-Antwi, Jason Mickel, Saujanya Mani, Santhosh Chalamalla, Ognen Duzlevski. (Not pictured: Will Fox.) Photo courtesy Brian Broniak.

In late 2022, the university announced that Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies (TLOS), which had been part of the Division of IT for nearly ten years, was moving to the Provost’s Office.

TLOS offers a broad range of services designed to help faculty design and produce pedagogically sound, accessible online and flexible courses, as well as professional development to strengthen faculty digital fluency, and the decision was made to more strongly align these functions with the university's academic mission and priorities.

As part of this reorganization, several IT professionals, who work to build, integrate and manage the university’s teaching and learning infrastructure, remained a part of the Division of IT, as the IT Learning Systems (ITLS) unit.

While no longer part of TLOS, the ITLS team continued seamlessly in its critical role in managing and maintaining technologies essential to the university’s teaching and learning operations, such as: 

  • Canvas Learning Management System (LMS)

  • Kaltura (video.vt.edu), a video content management system that integrates with Canvas

  • Zoom web-based meeting and webinar software

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the ITLS team during and following the TLOS reorganization, these and other learning systems at Virginia Tech continued operating smoothly and reliably, all while accommodating an increased user base of students and instructors. ITLS has continued working hand-in-hand with TLOS to ensure a smooth transition of people, processes, budgets, and systems responsibilities to make sure the reorganization only had positive impacts upon our teaching and learning mission. 

The dedication of all involved in this transition was paramount to its success, even while navigating the uncertainty that such an organizational change can bring. While now an independent unit within the Division of IT, ITLS remains closely aligned with TLOS on priorities and planning in service of the university’s teaching and learning missions, and in the spirit of Ut Prosim (That I May Serve).