August 2026 Snap Survey Results: When Technology Reduces Effort, Where Should Learning Go?
Technology has long changed how much time and effort students need to complete academic work. Calculators reduce the mechanics of computation. Search tools make information easier to locate. Word processors simplify drafting and revision. Statistical software can perform analyses that would be impractical to calculate by hand. When technology reduces the effort required for a […]
I Gave Students a Choice Between Instructor-Created and AI-Generated Content. Most Chose Both.
Artificial intelligence has quickly become part of higher education. Faculty are using AI to brainstorm activities, summarize readings, create study materials, and develop instructional resources. Along with the excitement comes a common question: When students have a choice, will they choose instructor-created materials or the AI-generated version? Rather than speculate, I decided to look at […]
Vendor Trouble
I know I’m stating the obvious when I say that online and digital learning would not exist without modern technology tools. During my time in higher education, however, I’ve observed that many users of those tech tools (faculty and administrators in particular) express disdain toward the companies that provide them. Some of this tension comes […]
The Future Isn’t Something We Inherit. It’s Something We Illuminate.
Two years ago, we attended an OLC conference and walked away energized by a presentation on an AI tool we had never seen before. We could immediately picture how it would support our students’ learning and how to integrate it into our courses. At the time, it felt like the future of online learning. […]
How to Turn AI Panic into Institutional Learning
Think about the last AI conversation you were part of on your campus. Was it about a dazzling new tool someone wanted to get up and running immediately? A policy that got bogged down? A student question that made you realize you don’t have the answer? We’re all having those conversations each day, sometimes every day… and sometimes it’s even the same conversation but with different groups, different units! And […]