TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast

In this episode, hosts Tom and Kelvin invite “fun with syllabi” by exploring the multiple roles played by the syllabus in online courses and encouraging adjustments to make syllabi more meaningful and inviting for students.

In this time-sensitive episode (listen now!), return guests Russ Poulin and Cheryl Dowd explain how proposed actions by the US Department of Education (US ED) may negatively impact many online learners and US higher education institutions.

In this Season 10 kick-off episode, hosts Kelvin Thompson and Thomas Cavanagh revisit a “time capsule” of past predictions and pivot toward the various flavors of “possible futures” available now in online education.

Guest Dr. Jean Mandernach joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to discuss how faculty and instructional designers can design more meaningful and engaging learning assignments for students, online or anywhere.

Hosts Kelvin and Tom talk through the importance of consulting trusted sources of data and information as the basis for sound decision making in online education, no matter what role one holds.

Guest Nicolaas Matthijs joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to discuss the emergence of AI-assistance built into educational technology platforms and how this is a departure from past phases of artificial intelligence implementation.

In this episode, hosts Tom and Kelvin summarize the current issues surrounding proposed changes to “inclusive access programs” for digital instructional materials and how this affects the affordability work of digital education professionals.

Guest Dr. Carmin Chan joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to consider how we might reframe the typical institutional data that might not present clearly the needs and progress of post-traditional learners served by online education.

In this episode, spring-boarding from one of the chapters in the new SAGE Handbook of Online Higher Education, hosts Kelvin and Tom advocate for high-quality online discussions and reflect upon research-based practices that lead to well-designed and successful discussion experiences.

Guest Dr. Anna Porcaro joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to share insights on how higher education institutions can be more effective in meeting workforce needs through digital alternative educational programs.

As a follow-up to the pre-2024 call-in show, hosts Tom and Kelvin talk through the need to re-examine, challenge, and change existing institutional structures as we seek to serve learners better - both existing students and a wider variety of potential new students.

Guest Patti O’Sullivan joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to discuss the significance of advance planning for academic continuity and the role that digital teaching and learning can play. Important all the time - not just for global pandemics.

In this “call-in show” episode, hosts Kelvin and Tom are joined by multiple voices from the online education community to help us all make sense of 2023’s disruptions and make the most of 2024’s opportunities in our collective work. Themes include meeting the needs of diverse potential students and incorporating continually-evolving AI resources in this work.

Guest Dr. Safary Wa-Mbaleka joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to talk about the importance of cultivating a more global perspective on our online higher education field and shares how a new book can help. The SAGE Handbook of Online Higher Education is out now.

Emerging from the “TOPcast Live” session at OLC Accelerate 2023, join hosts Kelvin and Tom as they discuss how the framing and implementation of our increasingly AI-influenced digital learning field might continue to evolve over the next few years.

Guest Jared Stein joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to discuss the ways that we think about, talk about, and foster innovation in our higher education digital learning context, to the benefit of students and faculty.

In this episode, hosts Tom and Kelvin discuss highlights from and reactions to the CHLOE 8 report, including the importance of faculty preparation, other quality assurance practices, and more.

In this second of two back-to-back episodes on AI in higher ed, guest Dr. Rohan Jowallah joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to share his insights and advice after years of evaluating and working with AI tools.

About Episode 145: Hosts Tom and Kelvin conclude that “nobody’s through talking about AI” and provide the first of two back-to-back episodes with an update on developments within the digital teaching and learning space, reflections on institutional support, and a conclusion that we need “more of the human element.” Podcast Recording Download Transcript: PDF Episode 145 Show Notes: Episode Synopsis via Twitter View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter Coffee Links Single-Origin Kenya - Davis Roasters (Madison County, NC) Content Links [Please Click and Vote Now!] Listener Poll: Topic Selection for “TOPcast Live” session at OLC Accelerate 2023 On Wikipedia: “DALL-E” In EdSurge: “Instructors Rush to Do ‘Assignment Makeovers’ to Respond to ChatGPT” (Jeff Young) “Official Conference Report: AI x Education” (hosted by Stanford University) Participant Reflection from UPCEA/Schroeder AI Course: “Preliminary Evaluation of Generative AI and Lifelong Education” (Rod Lastra) On Diigo: AI Weblinks Shared by Ray Schroeder (+some others collected by Kelvin) UCF Conference: “Teaching & Learning with AI” Visual: “Gartner Hype Cycle” Course from Auburn University: “Teaching With AI at Auburn” Course from University of Sydney: “AI in Education” (for students and built by students) Website: “AI @ the University of Florida” Website: “Teaching and Learning with Artificial Intelligence Apps” (University of Calgary’s Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning) Website: “UCF’s Information Literacy Modules” In The Chronicle of Higher Education: “GPT-4 Can Already Pass Freshman Year at Harvard” (Maya Bodnick) Blog Post: “No, an AI could not pass ‘freshman year’ in college” (Steven D. Krause) From CNN: “ChatGPT passes exams from law and business schools” Keynote Video: “If AI is the Answer, What is the Question: Thinking about Learning and Vice Versa” (Dr. Chris Dede) On Memory Alpha: Star Trek’s “Commander Data” On Memory Alpha: Star Trek’s “Captain Picard” TOPcast Episode Episode #131: “ChatGPT: Friend or Foe?” TOPcast Episode Episode #120: “Academic Innovation Lessons: Hype vs. Hope” Just-For-Fun Pop Culture Links From “All About Psychology:” “The Fascinating Phenomenon of the Old Woman Young Woman Illusion” Annotated Photos: #KelvinsCupCollection (on the platform formerly known as Twitter) “Chock Full O’ Nuts” Coffee Extra Special Feature Video Version of this Episode!

About Episode 144: In this episode, UPCEA CEO Dr. Bob Hansen joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to discuss the intertwined histories of professional/continuing education and online education and the importance of attending to the “business” of both. Podcast Recording UPCEA CEO Dr. Bob Hansen Download Transcript: PDF Episode 144 Show Notes: Episode Synopsis via Twitter View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter Coffee Links Decaf Cafe Carmelita Blend, Tony’s Coffee (Bellingham, WA) Decaf Humbucker Blend, Fundamental Coffee (Seattle, WA) “Super Coffee” Content Links Dr. Bob Hansen’s Online Profile UPCEA - University Professional & Continuing Education Association “The Wisconsin Idea” [Article in UWisconsin alumni magazine] “Who Needs Classrooms?” TOPcast Episode #133 “Professional Development Across Our Online Education Community” TOPcast Episode #126: “COLOs, Context, and Community” TOPcast Episode #36 “Finding Online Learning Leaders: ‘Fredericksen's List’” Extra Special Feature Video Version of this Episode!