While many things can be taught asynchronously, some things seem to require a live element. Negotiation is one of those things, as body language, tone, and reaction to the other person all play a critical role in determining the outcome of a negotiation. That means
One common mistake I see among online content developers is to build videos that simply roll through content from start to finish. This is a “covering content” vision of teaching that expects students to grasp anything that is pitched to them. The model likens the
Years of teaching and coaching online faculty have taught me that the move from face-to-face to online teaching brings both benefits and dangers. One benefit is that the course’s center of gravity shifts from the lecture to discussion. Whereas much of a faculty member’s time
It is unfortunate that faculty members often deliberately avoid creating competition in their courses out of fear of damaging student self-esteem or privacy considerations. Competition is one of the best ways to achieve growth. We invariably perform better when we are striving to achieve in
Despite a faculty member’s best efforts, online discussions often degenerate into students simply taking turns answering the original question rather than genuinely speaking to one another. One problem is that many students feel that it is not their place to criticize peers. This might be
Online discussion forums can produce livelier and deeper debate than is possible in face-to-face courses, but instructors are often challenged in reaching this goal. Two of the most frequently asked faculty questions concern (1) how to get students to participate in the discussion and (2)
Cultivating student creativity is more and more being touted as a fundamental objective of education. We are also hearing more and more about the benefits of peer review activities for student learning. However, some have claimed that peer review of student work dampens creativity (Hurlburt,
I recently took a canoe paddle-making course with my son from an instructor who guaranteed that all participants would come away with a result that they could be proud of. One of the ways he ensured this was by giving us various “scaffolds” at different
I am often asked what software I would suggest for student collaboration on files, such as group projects. Not surprisingly, my go-to systems are Google Drive and Dropbox. Google Drive is ideal for shared document editing, while Dropbox is ideal for transferring files between people.
What was the last documentary you watched? I’m a big fan and watch just about any type: historical, scientific, sci-fi, inspirational, environmental, or mystery. If you haven’t watched one in a while, here’s a peek at a couple.
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