TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast

OLC’s Dr. Jennifer Mathes joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to discuss the roles we all can play in ensuring that higher ed online learning continues to be effective and strategic in meeting our society’s needs.

Guests Ray Schroeder and Dr. Melissa Vito unpack decades of practical wisdom on leadership vision in conversation with hosts Tom and Kelvin. This episode is the first in a mini-series of “pillar panels” offering distilled insights from esteemed community members on key, “structural support” topics essential in the future of strategic online/digital education.

Higher ed futurist Dr. Bryan Alexander guests alongside hosts Kelvin and Tom to reflect on the recent past and near-term possible futures of digital higher education.

Hosts Tom and Kelvin consider the role well-designed online learning can play in institutional efforts to increase student retention.

Guest market analyst Dr. Glenda Morgan joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to share a concentrated distillation of wise insights on online enrollment growth, student success online, and much more.

Hosts Kelvin and Tom examine recent trend data on the academic readiness and unique challenges of current K12 students who will be college students soon. Digital learning professionals can bring our strengths to the table to partner with other colleagues in better supporting these learners.

Return guest Dr. Jocelyn Widmer joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to discuss a brand new book focused on leading the strategy and practice of online higher education and clarifying the role of the Chief Online Learning Officer (COLO).

Hosts Kelvin and Tom speak about (and to) the “core audience” of online faculty, instructional designers, and administrative leaders, alongside many other roles, to unpack the podcast’s conceptualization of online education as centered on optimizing course design and teaching.

Return guest Dr. Sasha Thackaberry-Voinovich joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to share hard won expert tips on improving online program marketing and enrollment.

With ten years in the rear view mirror, hosts Tom and Kelvin talk through insights gained about the field of online education and the podcast itself after they reviewed the “Top10” episodes of TOPcast. [Spoiler: Tune in for a big announcement!]

1EdTech Consortium CEO Curtiss Barnes guests on the show alongside hosts Kelvin and Tom to “decomplexify” the value 1EdTech brings to the digital learning community through open standards and more.

Hosts Tom and Kelvin discuss how institutions can avoid the enrollment cliff by embracing a values-driven strategy in online higher education. Learn key insights to navigate demographic shifts, economic pressures, and the evolving digital learning landscape.

Guest Dr. Thomas J. (Tom) Tobin joins hosts Tom and Kelvin for a slightly spicy conversation about the extent to which general teaching behaviors can be meaningfully separated from other factors such as course modality, student characteristics, institutional resources, and more.

Hosts Kelvin and Tom discuss the challenge, still present after 30 years, of helping others (e.g., policymakers, potential students, etc.) understand what a “good online course” is without experiencing one themselves. They discuss why this still matters and what approaches might help.

Returning guest Dr. Nicole Johnson joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to discuss findings from the seventh annual report of the state of digital learning in Canada produced by the Canadian Digital Learning Research Association (CDLRA). Similarities with global themes and distinctives unique to the Canadian context are discussed.

As US higher ed institutions experienced shifts to remote work and instruction in early 2025, it's an ideal time for us as digital learning professionals to reflect on key lessons learned in ensuring continuity of operations as we seek to support successful future transitions. Podcast Recording Download Transcript: PDF Episode 179 Show Notes: Episode Synopsis via Twitter View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter Coffee Links Coffee “Tote” from Panera Bread Catering Starbucks Blonde Roast Content Links [In USA Today] “Brutal Winter Storm Pounds Midwest, East Coast As Over 60M Face Treacherous Conditions” (from January 5, 2025) [In Inside Higher Ed] “California Colleges Confront Loss as L.A. Burns” (from January 17, 2025) [From UofL’s Delphi Center] “Continuity of Instruction” (updated) [In Wikipedia] “2009 [H1N1] Swine Flu Pandemic in the United States by State” TOPcast Episode #152 “‘Still Be Prepared’ for Disruption with Digital Learning” (with guest Patti O’Sullivan) TOPcast Episode #168 “More Positive Hope than Ever Before” (with guest Melissa Loble) Extra Special Feature Video Version of This Episode!

Guest Dr. Vickie Cook joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to discuss unexpected career trajectories for digital learning professionals, especially COLOs, related to sought-after, transferable skill sets.

In celebration of 30 years of OLC conferences and with input and reactions from our community of online/digital learning professionals, including a live audience(!), hosts Tom and Kelvin discuss the issues inherent in predicting and shaping a desirable future for online/digital education over the next 30 years.

Guest Dr. Matt Bergman joins Tom and Kelvin to discuss the current role credit for prior learning plays in American higher education and how we can all do a bit more to use this approach effectively in our digital learning work.

In this “call-in show” episode, hosts Tom and Kelvin are joined by some of the past year’s guests in sharing observations about 2024 as it ends and predictions and hopes about 2025 as it begins. Some of the themes emerging include balancing humanness and technology-assistance and staying focused on the aspirational goals of our collective work.