TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast

Hosts Tom and Kelvin discuss the relationship between the strategic value institutions find in online education and institutions establishing senior roles of responsibility for online and digital learning. Implications for a variety of institutional roles are considered. Podcast Recording Download Transcript: PDF Episode 169 Show Notes: Episode Synopsis via Twitter View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter Coffee Links  Mysterious Clues on “Ruthie’s Blend” from Stomping Grounds Coffee Co., Louisville, KY Content Links  [Research study] “A National Study of Online Learning Leaders in US Higher Education” (Fredericksen, 2017) [Research study] “A National Study of Online Learning Leaders in US Community Colleges” (Fredericksen, 2018) UPCEA Hallmarks of Excellence in Online Leadership [UPCEA article] “The Chief Online Learning Officer: Competencies, Roles, and Trajectories” (Herron, Lashley, Salley, and Shaw, 2016) [From UPCEA, 2023] “Definition Update: Chief Online Learning Officer (COLO)” [Edited book] From Grassroots to the Highly Orchestrated: Online Leaders Share Their Stories of the Evolving Online Organizational Landscape in Higher Education (Bouchey, Graz, Kurland, 2023) TOPcast Episodes #36: “Finding Online Learning Leaders: ‘Fredericksen’s List’” #126: “COLOs, Context, and Community” #136: “Online Higher Ed: Finding Ourselves in Other People’s Stories” Just for Fun Pop Culture Links Hidden Brain podcast Extra Special Feature Video Version of This Episode!

Guest Melissa Loble joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to share an optimistic vision for the future of technology-enabled higher education. Amidst heightened automation and AI assistance, the uniquely human affordances of relationships are all the more crucial in solving our challenges.

Hosts Kelvin and Tom explore the catalyzing personal and organizational value of individuals cultivating a “startup mindset,” regardless of personal role, in the work of digital higher education.

Dr. Justin Shaffer, an expert in high structure course design, offers insights into enhancing online STEM education. He emphasizes the importance of structured course design for boosting student engagement and improving outcomes. Strategies like scaffolding and interactive tools are discussed to create a supportive learning environment. Shaffer also advocates for incremental changes in course design, encouraging educators to adapt gradually for better effectiveness. This thoughtful conversation reveals how intentional course design can cater to diverse student populations.

In this episode, hosts Tom and Kelvin explore the rationale underlying continued institutional efforts to prepare faculty for online course design and teaching. Hint: It’s about students.

Dr. Jenny Sumner joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to discuss the growing role “coaching” plays, especially online, in centering students and their success within our higher ed work.

In this episode, hosts Tom and Kelvin invite “fun with syllabi” by exploring the multiple roles played by the syllabus in online courses and encouraging adjustments to make syllabi more meaningful and inviting for students.

In this time-sensitive episode (listen now!), return guests Russ Poulin and Cheryl Dowd explain how proposed actions by the US Department of Education (US ED) may negatively impact many online learners and US higher education institutions.

In this Season 10 kick-off episode, hosts Kelvin Thompson and Thomas Cavanagh revisit a “time capsule” of past predictions and pivot toward the various flavors of “possible futures” available now in online education.

Guest Dr. Jean Mandernach joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to discuss how faculty and instructional designers can design more meaningful and engaging learning assignments for students, online or anywhere.