Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles introduce their series on online learning through the Community of Inquiry framework. Check out the episode to hear about how this framework can help create a deep and meaningful learning experience. Podcast links Show notes Online learning involves a structured learning environment; activities; and interactions between instructors, students, and content. Instructors can use the Community of Inquiry (COI) educational framework to help them develop effective online education. COI’s primary goal is to create a deep and meaningful learning experience. In the COI framework, there are three presences: Each of these presences work together to create a robust learning environment.…
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Transform Your Teaching: A Conversation with Dr. Alicia McCartney
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles talk with Dr. Alicia McCartney, Assistant Professor of English at Cedarville University. Check out this episode to hear some of her teaching and learning strategies and technology integration as well as how she incorporates student questions into her teaching. Podcast links Show notes Dr. McCartney sees teaching writing as especially important to develop critical thinking and teaching literature as an opportunity to ask big questions and find big answers through discussion and interpretation of text. She also learns from her students and looks for opportunities to incorporate their input into her teaching to clear up any confusion…
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Canvas Update: New Quizzes Can Build on Last Attempt
Reading Time: 2 minutesCanvas has allowed instructors to give students multiple attempts on quizzes for a while, but they recently modified this feature. Now, Canvas allows instructors to choose whether a student must re-do the entire quiz in subsequent attempts or if they only need to answer questions they had previously gotten wrong. Accessing this feature This feature is already live in Canvas and can be accessed in the settings page for a New Quiz. Toggle “allow multiple attempts” on, then check the box for “Build on last attempt.” When this feature is enabled, students can reattempt questions until they either get it correct or run out of allowed attempts…
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Transform Your Teaching: Back to the Basics – Content Delivery
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles discuss content delivery. Check out the episode to hear how content delivery is the “car” in the road trip metaphor. Podcast links Show notes At its core, content delivery is about communicating necessary information to learners. Content delivery started with people using their voices to share knowledge with others. Over time, various other methods have been developed, often with the help of technology. Other approaches to content delivery include collaboration, self-paced learning, labs, and interactive video quizzing. When deciding what content to deliver, instructors must ensure that their content aligns with the course objectives and assessments. This…
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Transform Your Teaching: Back to the Basics – Communication
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles discuss the value of clear communication with Professor Jim Leightenheimer. Check out this episode to hear about the benefits of communicating well with your students. Podcast links Show notes Basic communication involves a sender, a receiver, the content, and the medium by which the content travels. However, communication can travel in many different modalities, and various hindrances can arise and muddle the message. Communication struggles are still present in education, so how can we model communication that seeks to benefit both sender and receiver? One way is to set the tone early. The first week of class—even the…
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Transform Your Teaching: Back to the Basics – Instructional Management
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles discuss instructional management and the importance of building mutual respect in your course. Check out this episode to hear the foundational principles and recommendations on how to apply them with your students. Podcast links Show notes Instructional management involves all of the variables that make up a learning environment. A foundational principle is that instructors and students need to treat one another with respect. Instructors can demonstrate that respect by setting and maintaining clear expectations early. This can be done through setting the foundation (policies and procedures of your class) and adhering to that. The responsibility…
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Canvas Update: Canvas Links
Reading Time: 3 minutesCanvas is improving how linking works throughout courses. One of these changes that we’ll be talking about has already been implemented, but the other two have yet to be released. Course link sidebar displays name of current link The first change Canvas has made is already present in your courses. Previously, if you wanted to change a link that you’d already added to the Rich Content Editor, it was faster to just remove the link entirely and create a new link. Now, Canvas has made it simple to replace the link – and it shows the name of whatever you currently have linked in the sidebar. To open…
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Transform Your Teaching: Back to the Basics – Assessments
Reading Time: 2 minutesIn this episode, Rob and Jared continue the series on the basics of education by discussing assessments. Check out this episode to hear them use their road trip analogy once more to explain the differences between formative and summative assessments. Podcast links Show notes In this episode, Rob and Jared discuss how objectives relate to assessments, including four important terms. All four terms work together to create a properly aligned course structure. A good assessment is directly tied to an objective. Consider using your objective verb in your assessment to emphasize the connection between the two. Formative assessments serve as opportunities for students to try, to practice,…
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Backward Design: Starting at the Finish
Reading Time: 2 minutesLet’s take a moment and think about this statement: “Our flight is at 5 AM.” As you think about it, consider the various questions you must answer to be on that plane at 5 AM. What questions would you ask yourself to prepare? Here are some that I have on my list: You may have similar questions or ones that I didn’t ask (or maybe fewer questions…my hamartia is overplanning), but hopefully you see that those questions need to be answered before you show up at the airport. You may also need to qualify how well they’re answered: Did you pack well or throw everything at the…
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Transform Your Teaching: Back to the Basics – Objectives
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIn this episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles start a new series titled “Back to the Basics,” beginning the conversation with a discussion on objectives. Check out the episode for an acronym to help instructors identify areas for improvement. Podcast links Show notes Objectives are the targets for every course. Jared and Rob provide an easy-to-remember acronym (DRIVE) to help instructors create or refine their course objectives. Objectives must be: Designing courses with these steps helps instructors identify areas that need refinement and provide students with resources to ensure success in reaching their end goal. We would love to get your feedback! Please…