TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast

Return guest Nicolaas Matthijs joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to discuss some of the trends he’s seeing in the rapidly changing AI-assisted technology space with an eye toward how digital learning professionals can make wise use of the tools in our work. Podcast Recording Download Transcript: PDF Nicolaas Matthijs Episode 170 Show Notes: Episode Synopsis via Twitter View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter Coffee Links  Tanzania Peaberry Lyamungo from Sunergos Coffee (Louisville, KY) Content Links  [Please Click and Vote Now!] Listener Poll: Crowdsourced Input on “TOPcast Live” Session at OLC Accelerate 2024 Visual: “Gartner Hype Cycle”  Video Interview: “Exploring the Frontiers of AI: A Conversation with [Columbia University] Professor Hod Lipson” Keynote Video: “If AI is the Answer, What is the Question: Thinking about Learning and Vice Versa” (Dr. Chris Dede) Prior TOPcast Episodes #158: “AI-Assistance Built-In: Less Obvious/More Useful” (with Nicolaas Matthijs) #146: “Get Hands-On with AI” (with Dr. Rohan Jowallah) Just-for-Fun Pop Culture Link [On vinyl 45 rpm records] “Bemused and a Bit Bereaved on Behalf of the B Side” Extra Special Feature Video Version of This Episode!

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. Podcast Recording Guest Melissa Loble Download Transcript: PDF Episode 168 Show Notes: Episode Synopsis via Twitter View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter Coffee Links  Single-Origin Costa Rica Central Valley from Dunn Brothers Coffee (Minneapolis, MN) Content Links  Melissa Loble’s Online Profile Melissa Loble’s Reflection Post on InstructureCon 2024 (referenced in this episode) Dr. Mary Murphy’s (Stanford U/Indiana U) Work on Growth Mindset in Organizational Cultures Past TOPcast Episodes Episode 64: “Principles for Humanizing Online Education… and Remote Teaching/Learning” [with guest Dr. Michelle Pacansky-Brock] Episode 151: “What a Year [of Disruption] It Has Been! […But] 2024 is Upon Us!” [featuring remarks from Jared Stein] Extra Special Feature Video Version of This Episode!

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. Podcast Recording Download Transcript: PDF Episode 167 Show Notes: Episode Synopsis via Twitter View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter Coffee Links  Fellow Drops’ profile page for “Funkonia,” a single-origin Rwanda from Portrait Coffee Portrait Coffee (Atlanta, GA) Instagram page for multidisciplinary artist, “The Color” Content Links  [In Medium] “Embracing the Startup Mindset” (by Guy Kawasaki) [In Medium] “What Is ‘Futures Literacy’ and Why Is It Important?” (by Niklas Larsen) [In Medium] “Inviting Innovation… Running Hack Day” (by Ian Turgeon) “Life is Better When You Make Stuff” pilot episode of (2016) Megamaker podcast “Cultivating Your Purpose” episode of Hidden Brain podcast TOPcast Episodes Episode #148: “Fostering Digital Learning Innovation” (with guest Jared Stein) Episode #133: “Professional Development Across Our Online Education Community” Episode #161: “Taste the Rainbow of Online Ed’s Possible Futures” Extra Special Feature Video Version of This Episode!

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. Podcast Recording Download Transcript: PDF Episode 165 Show Notes: Episode Synopsis via Twitter View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter Coffee Links  “New Orleans Style Coffee with Chicory” from Lucile’s Creole Cafe (Boulder, CO) Content Links  TOPcast Episode #59 “Online Faculty Development” TOPcast Episode #99 “The Importance of ‘Faculty Voice and Faculty Valuing’ in Online Education” Extra Special Feature Video Version of This Episode!

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. Podcast Recording Guest Dr. Jenny Sumner Download Transcript: PDF Episode 164 Show Notes: Episode Synopsis via Twitter View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter Coffee Links  “The Future” experimental coffee blend from Black and White Coffee Roasters (Raleigh, NC) Content Links  Dr. Jenny Sumner’s Online Profile  “UCF Online Connect Center” UCF’s “Transfer Connect” Success Coaches (transfer students only) UCF’s “Academic Success Coaching” (University-wide) UCF’s Directory of “Student Success Resources” UCF “Higher Education Coaching Academy” Extra Special Feature Video Version of This Episode!

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. Podcast Recording Download Transcript: PDF Episode 163 Show Notes: Episode Synopsis via Twitter View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter Coffee Links  Single-Origin Burundi Kurusah from Sunergos Coffee (Louisville, KY) Content Links  Publisher’s Site: The SAGE Handbook of Online Higher Education Social Media Artifact: One Example of the Syllabus “Easter Egg” of Instructions to Find Cash [from Dr. Conner Ewing] Related Entries from the Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository (TOPR) “Use Three-Before-Me as a Communication Strategy in a Large Class” “Incorporate a Syllabus Quiz to Orient Students” Dr. Michelle Pacansky-Brock’s Guidance for Creating a “Liquid Syllabus” Prior TOPcast Episodes #155: “High Quality Online Discussions – Here’s How” #160: “‘Remember the Why:’ Designing Meaningful Learning Assignments” Just-For-Fun Pop Culture Links [video: 30 sec] Wile E. Coyote Painting an Exit (from Warner Brothers, not Hanna-Barbera) Extra Special Feature Video Version of This Episode!

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. Podcast Recording Download Transcript: PDF Guest Russ Poulin Episode 162 Show Notes: Episode Synopsis via Twitter View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter Coffee Links  Photo of the Now-Extinct “Eclipse: A Spring Blend” Coffee from Sunergos Coffee (Louisville, KY) Other Coffees from Sunergos Coffee Guest Cheryl Dowd Content Links  Russ Poulin’s Online Profile Cheryl Dowd’s Online Profile “In Defense of Reciprocity – A Joint Letter to the Department of Education & Call to Action” [signed by WCET, UPCEA, OLC, QM, AACC, and NACUBO] WCET Frontiers Blog Posts Tagged “Regulation” (for new updates) Prior TOPcast Episodes featuring Poulin & Dowd Episode #58: “Fun with Regulations” Episode #112: “SARA (and More!) Under Siege” Extra Special Feature Video Version of This Episode!

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. Podcast Recording Download Transcript: PDF Episode 161 Show Notes: Episode Synopsis via Twitter View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter Coffee Links  “Yes, You Can Freeze Coffee Beans (If You Follow This Trick)” from Coffee Bros. Roastery, New York Content Links  All 10(!) TOPcast Season Kick-Off Episodes Related TOPcast Episodes #65: “Field Report #2: Preparing for the Post-COVID Future” #83: “Re-thinking Synchronous for the Post-COVID Era” #85: “Blended Is the Future. (And It’s Not Just Courses)” [From “The Key” Podcast] Episode #75: “Anticipating Higher Education’s Near Future(s)” with guest Dr. Bryan Alexander (Produced by Inside Higher Ed) The SAGE Handbook of Online Higher EducatIon  [Reminder] 2024 TOPcast Listener Survey  Just-for-Fun Pop Culture Links [Inspiration for This Episode’s Set-Up] The Last Archive Podcast from Pushkin Industries, hosted by Dr. Jill Lepore and Ben Naddaff-Hafrey [In Reactor Magazine] “5 Insane Cliffhangers from the 1960’s Batman [Adam West TV Show]” [In Wikipedia] “Transformers” [In Wikipedia] “LifeSavers” Extra Special Feature Video Version of This Episode!