Recently, I was looking for a web-based tool to create quizzes to use in class as polls. I found the 2020 Typology of Free Web-based Learning Technologies written by Bower & Torrington and published in the EDUCAUSE’s digital library. This typology has a LOT of interesting tools listed in 14 categories, with links to each … Read more
What is a Backchannel Backchannel communication is basically a minimal- or non-verbal response. Traditionally, these have been puzzled or bored looks, nods, smiles, or ‘yeah’, ’huh’, and ‘hmm’. While these are very beneficial, you may not be able to see all of these or interpret them correctly. In a large classroom and in remote/online courses, … Read more
Comparison Grids to Help Decision Making One of life’s joys and pains is making choices between options. Talking with someone recently, it occurred to me that some instructors may not be familiar with comparison grids that can make this type of decision making easier, so here are some basics… (These are sometimes referred to as … Read more
Although some people refer to active learning and transformational learning as the same thing, I think we should differentiate… Active learning [emphasis added] is generally defined as any instructional method that engages students in the learning process. In short, active learning requires students to do meaningful learning activities and think about what they are doing… … Read more
On more than one occasion, I have been assigned a course to teach with less than two weeks’ notice. As I had never taught this course before, I didn’t have enough time to plan the entire semester (in one instance I hadn’t read the assigned text and didn’t have a copy!). To give myself breathing … Read more
You may have heard about learning styles and thought you should consider them in planning your course. However, you may also get overwhelmed knowing where to start. A Google search on ‘learning styles inventories’ will get over 110,000,000 hits. An ERIC search on ‘learning styles inventories’ will get almost 1,000 results. Five of the most … Read more
Both my kids went away to university for their first year. They were both miserable and came home for their second year. Part of this was the complete change in social life, but a major part was that they were lost on what was expected of them academically and how to study. First-year students often … Read more
Angelo & Cross’s Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATS) Most instructors are truly trying to provide a good learning experience for their students. An obvious method for determining success is to look at student grades. However, this is a reactive approach, rather than proactive, and may not tell you WHY the students are learning/not learning. A proactive … Read more
Chat GPT is a free, online artificial intelligence product. You can create a free account at https://chat.openai.com/auth/login. ChatGPT and similar AI tools can be helpful to researchers, but to instructors, they provide yet another barrier to identify student cheating. Instructors keen on determining honest student responses have a difficult task. You could try comparing all … Read more
Why While grading most assessments and assignments can be fairly simple, more complex student work such as essays and creative work may require more instructor time and thought for grading. For these and many other student works, you may find a rubric helpful. Developing a rubric can help you identify what is important about the … Read more