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What Do You Do When Online Discussions Fall Flat?
Published: November 5th, 2015
The value of discussions and other interactive strategies in online instruction is to get the student active in exploration, discovery, and deep learning which leads to critical thinking. Learning that enables critical thinking is a collaborative process in which content is generally constructed or discovered rather than transmitted.
What Do Online Students Want?
Published: May 26th, 2015
In a May 30, 2014 issue of Faculty Focus , Rob Kelly mentioned five things that online students want from their instructors. Let’s look at those five points and consider how we can integrate these concerns into our online courses:
The Sport of Solving Quadratic Equations
Published: June 14th, 2016
Have you solved any quadratic equations lately? Chances are you have. In fact, many Americans spend several hours each week not only solving quadratic equations, but watching other people solve them as well!
If you haven’t guessed by now, I am talking about watching sports on television. You didn’t pull out your pencil and paper and work through the quadratic formula to solve the equation, but your brain still makes an attempt to do it just by watching.
The Hidden Value of Gaming in Education
Published: May 17th, 2016
I recently asked my nine-year-old daughter if she thought playing video games helped kids with reading. She looked up from her world in Minecraft and said, “No!” If you ask an adult the same question, you will likely receive the same response along with many reasons why video games might be considered harmful to children. Some of those reasons might include violence or inappropriate content; sedentary lifestyles that result in obesity; lack of social skills development; little use of imagination; or a waste of time. While those are valid concerns, researchers and educators are discovering the positive impact video games have in the classroom.
The Effects of Anchoring Bias on Human Behavior
Published: May 23rd, 2016
Consumers today are bombarded by more daily advertising messages than at any point in history. Demonstrated by the Superbowl, watching ads is now a pastime unto itself.
What consumers do not realize is that there are psychological tactics that are the invisible arrows in an advertiser's quiver. In this post, we'll discuss the power concept of anchoring bias on human behavior.
Solomon's Twitter Account
Published: December 1st, 2016
Imagine King Solomon gawking at an iPad. We’ve come a long way from papyrus scrolls, cuneiform tablets, scribes, printing presses, telegrams, and even being solely dependent on handwritten letters delivered by the Pony Express. Technological advancements and globalization have definitely changed how our society (and most of the world) engages information. We are constantly inundated with massive amounts of information; we rarely encounter any data solely by itself. TV shows have ads for other TV shows in the bottom corners of screens. News channels will report on one issue, while several other headlines cruise by underneath. No single web page is complete without multiple scrollbars, links, and the bombardment of the occasional pop-up; we automatically know that no matter where we travel on the Web, we will be greeted with an onslaught of images, colors, and words.
Is our Assessment Procedures Truly Assessing Learning?
Published: April 7th, 2015
When reflecting on assessment, one often thinks of quizzes, mid-term exams, or final exams. In online instruction, tests are often the assessment of choice because of the automated systems for grading that saves time. In reflecting on your assessment of online courses, consider these questions:
How to Teach Non-Techies Online
Published: May 4th, 2016
I have discovered that all students taking online courses aren’t necessarily techie ! We know that the majority of online learners are classified as non-traditional learners who are older and have normally been out of school for a number of years. Many of them will have just purchased a computer and acquired access to the Internet just to enroll.
Creativity in the Classroom
Published: January 26th, 2016
I’ve taught criminal justice, at the college level for many years now. I was recently asked to teach some of the same criminal justice concepts I normally teach at the college level to a younger group of learners. One topic I was required to instruct was “The Criminal Justice System.” I had a two-hour time block for the instruction.
The idea of reducing this concept down to a two-hour block time frame was almost laughable.
7 Tips for Creating a Professional Résumé
Published: May 3rd, 2016
When is a résumé necessary? What’s important to list? What is a résumé?
You were asked to submit a résumé for a career position, and you realize you haven’t updated yours in years, or maybe you haven’t even written one before. Where do you begin? There are a lot of questions: how long should it be?, how much information should I include?, do I list my personal information?, and more.
5 Reasons to Create a Personal Learning Network on Twitter
Published: April 19th, 2016
I recently joined the Twitterverse. I resisted at first because I wasn’t into following celebrity tweets or re-reading what my friends had already posted on Facebook. I also did not want another social media account to follow However, after a conversation with a fellow educator , I was convinced I needed to create a Twitter handle to connect professionally with other educators.
4 Strategies for Effective Online Lectures
Published: September 3rd, 2015
There is an opinion in higher education that lectures are over-rated, boring, and they create passive learners. I’m of the opinion that lectures can be learner-centered and extremely effective for active learning.
4 Math Tricks to Outsmart your Calculator
Published: August 24th, 2016
Are there computations that you can do mentally that cannot be done with a calculator? Yes! God created our minds to do some amazing things. In this blog I'll show you 6 math tricks that you compute using only your mind.