TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast

In this Season 7 opener, Tom and Kelvin try out seven slogans intended as rallying cries to capture succinctly the aspirational goals of high quality online education and to serve as antidotes to widespread mischaracterizations post-pandemic.

The MOST downloaded episode from Season 06. Currently, that episode is Episode 74: “Connecting the Dots: ‘Lessons for Leadership’” with guest Dr. Shubha Kashyap. You can find this episode wherever you’re listening to this message or online at the following direct url: http://bit.ly/topcast_s06e74. Whether you’ve heard it before or not, give a listen to this time capsule from when Episode 74 was released in September of 2020.

Transcript Hi. This is Kelvin popping into your podcast feed in anticipation of TOPcast’s upcoming SEVENTH season. For each of the seven weeks leading up to the first episode of Season 07 we are popping in to draw your attention to the most popular episodes of the preceding six seasons. Now up: Season 06. We will feature two episodes from Season 06 as we round out this “TOP 7” promotion. Currently, the SECOND-most downloaded episode from Season 06 is Episode 72: “Pro Tips on Vocal Care for...

Guest Shannon Riggs joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to discuss her book “Thrive Online” and a key principle that, when pursuing quality, regardless of online, blended, synchronous, or in-person course modality, “it really always comes back to design.”

Transcript Hi. This is Kelvin again popping into your podcast feed in anticipation of TOPcast’s upcoming SEVENTH season. For each of the seven weeks leading up to the first episode of Season 07 we are popping in to draw your attention to the most popular episodes of the preceding six seasons. Now up: Season 05. Currently, the most downloaded episode from Season 05 is Episode 64: “Principles for Humanizing Online Education… And Remote Teaching/Learning” with guest Dr. Michelle Pacansky-Brock....

Season 04. Currently, the most downloaded episode from Season 04 is Episode 37: “6 Deadly Sins of Online Teaching.” You can find this episode wherever you’re listening to this message or online at the following direct url: http://bit.ly/topcast_s04e37. Whether you’ve heard it before or not, give a listen to this time capsule from when Episode 37 was released in May of 2018.

Join hosts Kelvin and Tom for a consideration of the need across higher education to collaboratively wage a campaign of accuracy to repair the damage done to the reputation of online education during the remote instruction response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently, the most downloaded episode from Season 02 is Episode 15: “It’s More About the Social than the Media” with guest Dr. Tanya Joosten. You can find this episode wherever you’re listening to this message or online at the following direct url: http://bit.ly/topcast_s02e15. Whether you’ve heard it before or not, give a listen to this time capsule from when Episode15 was released in July of 2016.

Currently, the most downloaded episode from Season 02 is Episode 15: “It’s More About the Social than the Media” with guest Dr. Tanya Joosten. You can find this episode wherever you’re listening to this message or online at the following direct url: http://bit.ly/topcast_s02e15. Whether you’ve heard it before or not, give a listen to this time capsule from when Episode15 was released in July of 2016.

Transcript Hi. This is Kelvin popping into your podcast feed in anticipation of TOPcast’s upcoming SEVENTH season. For each of the seven weeks leading up to the first episode of Season 07 we are popping in to draw your attention to the most popular episodes of the preceding six seasons. First up: Season 01. The most downloaded episode from Season 01 remains the one that started it all, Episode #1. The pilot “WHAT IS ONLINE LEARNING? DEFINITIONS, BOUNDARY OBJECTS, AND BAGGAGE.” You can find...

In this episode, join Kelvin and Tom for a discussion of how “blended” is likely to permeate higher education institutions far beyond the bounds of blended learning course design. Ponder the opportunities afforded by blended campus workplaces and blended co-curricular experiences in the post-COVID era.

Guest Dr. Jessica Knott from OLC joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to discuss the mutual benefits of engaging with our online education community.

Join hosts Tom and Kelvin as they think through the post-COVID role of synchronous online teaching and consider how to ensure the best quality possible.

In this episode, Dr. Tanya Spilovoy joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to discuss the importance of faculty adoption of free or low-cost open educational resources (OER) at scale. This is an important part of lowering educational costs for students. Fostering widespread adoption initiatives is harder than it looks.

In this episode, hosts Tom and Kelvin consider how the various technology adoption decisions we make either enable or prevent others from doing “the right thing” in online teaching and learning.

Guest Dr. Luke Dowden joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to remind us all that people are the most valuable part of any online learning organization. He helps us identify how to add value to our team members, our organizations, and our collective work through deliberate caring. These other-centered practices are valuable every day but are especially relevant in the COVID-era.

With a touch of holiday fun and whimsy, hosts Tom and Kelvin are joined by a panel of past guests and a live audience of regular listeners to celebrate the end of 2020 and reflect upon its lasting impact on the field of online education. Enjoy this holiday gift to our community, and please consider sharing a link with your colleagues.

About Episode 78: Calbright College President and CEO Ajita Menon re-joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to discuss the lessons learned from leading a “start-up” public college. This is the second of two interviews with President Menon. Podcast Recording Download Transcript: [PDF] Episode 78 Show Notes: Episode Synopsis via Twitter View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter Coffee Links "S’Morey Time" Coffee from Bones Coffee CompanyBones Coffee Company Content Links Ajita Menon’s Online...

Tom and Kelvin consider the strategic role blended learning can have during the pandemic as higher ed institutions begin planning for their eventual return to f2f instruction. This episode is the eighth in a mini-series of monthly “field reports” offering collegial advice in getting through the current era of “remote teaching” necessitated by COVID-19.

Q&A Bonus Session between IELOL participants, guest Dr. Shubha Kashyap, and hosts Tom and Kelvin.