AI Can Draft a Lesson. It Can’t Design Learning.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly become one of the most talked about innovations in education. New tools promise to generate lesson plans, quizzes, discussion prompts, rubrics, and even entire units in seconds. For educators balancing curriculum development, grading, student support, and countless other responsibilities, the appeal is obvious. AI can save time and reduce repetitive […]
Reading the Signals: What Global Research Trends Tell Us About Online Learning
Every day, hundreds of new studies are published across the world about online and blended learning. Individually, they tell us about specific technologies, teaching strategies, or learner populations. Collectively, however, they tell a much bigger story. By looking across thousands of publications, we can begin to identify where the field is investing its attention, how […]
From Pedagogy to Andragogy: Expanding the Learning Designer’s Toolkit
Every learning designer is, at heart, a student—of their craft, their content, and most importantly, their audience. That’s why understanding the psychology of learning isn’t just helpful, it’s transformative. When designers grasp how adults learn, what motivates them, and how they process information, they can create experiences that truly resonate. This is where the distinction […]
Do Asynchronous Courses Need Synchronous Sessions to Succeed?
At OLC Innovate this past March, Dr. Tricia Bertram Gallant raised a provocative idea: fully asynchronous courses need synchronous opportunities to truly support student success. I’ll be honest—that landed hard. As someone who has spent years designing and teaching in asynchronous graduate programs, it felt like a bit of a dismissal of what intentional asynchronous […]
Come for the Learning. Stay for the People.
There is a moment at every OLC Accelerate when you realize you are no longer standing in a room full of strangers. Maybe it happens over coffee when someone asks where you are from. Maybe you find yourself laughing with someone you met five minutes ago through an Engagement Hub game. Maybe you strike up […]