In last week’s Chronicle Teaching Newsletter, reporter Beth McMurtrie offers a thoughtful reflection on the valuing, and devaluing, of teaching within higher education. Sparked by a conference put on by a high-profile national organization, her points echo ones I’ve heard,…
Category: Academic Life
Revisiting the cognition-motivation connection: What the latest research says about engaging students in the work of learning
Posted in About Minds Online, Academic Life, Ideas and Resources, Student Success, and Trends and Change
I sometimes tell a story about my first solo book, Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology, involving a crisis that hit about 2/3 of the way through writing it. I forget what topic I’d originally planned to cover in chapter…
Academic Twitter in a post-Elon era: Why I left, and what is next
Posted in Academic Life, Technology, and Trends and Change
It was in May 2022 that I first deactivated my Twitter account. Not usually one to follow my gut when it comes to big decisions, this time I couldn’t help noticing how drained I felt after engaging on that platform.…
Student Work Showcase: Great work to watch and listen to
Posted in Academic Life, Higher Education, and Technology
At the close of Spring 2021, I was once again so proud of my students. They worked so hard, and put so much of themselves into their coursework. Two projects in particular stood out enough for me to ask permission…
One big thing I’ll keep from my remote-redesigned courses this year (Hint: It’s got nothing to do with technology)
Posted in Academic Life, Course Redesign, and Technology
For a few months now, optimists have been pointing to one upside of the pivot to online instruction.