Bringing Life Back to Online Discussion Boards: Moving Beyond Compliance and Listening More Deeply to Students
In online learning, “engagement” is one of the most frequently used words and one of the easiest to flatten into something performative. We say we want engaged students, but too often what we actually build are routines of compliance: post once, reply twice, meet the word count, move on. That structure may produce activity, but […]
Fish With Jetpacks
I’ve recently seen several stories in the news about students who have “cheated” their way through college degrees using AI and other tools—even through the doctoral level. Interestingly, these students and some in society are celebrating this as an achievement. Educators, on the other hand, are terrified. For as long as we’ve had education, teachers […]
Using the W Curve Concept to Encourage Student Support and Success in the Online Classroom
Student success requires assistance, resources, and a holistic viewpoint from a variety of higher education professionals both inside and outside of the classroom. Taking an intentional approach to offering online classes that include meaningful engagement promotes student success, persistence, progression, and retention. Focusing on the design and delivery of the first few weeks of a […]
Cons and Misinformation: Why It’s Difficult to Understand AI Detection
A healthy and progressive dialogue about technology, particularly about AI in education, should be based on the best facts available. It isn’t easy to stay current considering how quickly the technology landscape changes. When bad actors come into the mix, it becomes impossible. Bad Actors Sell Confounding Products, and a Solution That Doesn’t Work There […]
Beyond Equivalency: Redesigning Online Labs for Rigor, Engagement, and Joy
For years, online science labs have been judged by a single, persistent question: Are they equivalent to face-to-face labs? The question is understandable. It emerged from legitimate concerns about rigor, accreditation, and student learning. But over time, this framing has quietly become one of the biggest obstacles to meaningful innovation in digital learning. Equivalency was […]