I was originally invited to fly to the University of Nebraska to present several topics for one of their Campus Conversations sessions. The original date for that was in April 2020, but that of course was cancelled by the COVID 19 pandemic. We rescheduled for April 2021 online. These are the three sessions I presented (archives coming soon):
Humanizing Online Learning in Times of Pandemic and Surveillance
The past year has seen unprecedented changes to how society functions, with a global pandemic forcing more people online than any institution had prepared for. Many turned to proctoring software to help with the sudden changes, only to find that students experienced multiple difficulties with these solutions. However, there are options for online learning to offset, or even replace, the dehumanizing aspects of distance learning and surveillance. This session explored how to humanize online learning using the Community of Inquiry framework to increase social, teacher, and cognitive presence. Authentic assessment as an alternative to proctored exams were also explored.
Individualized Learning Through Self-Mapped Learning Pathways
Our learners have many similarities – and many differences. We tend to design courses to meet the similarities, because true “individualized” learning is time consuming and difficult to scale. But what if it was possible to design for both similarities and individual differences? Self-Mapped Learning Pathways is a course design methodology that gives learners options to follow the instructor or create their own unique pathway… or do both at the same time. While this is not a new idea, recent research and experimentation into designing courses with these options has uncovered some interesting ways to make course individualization a possibility in various contexts.
Utilizing Gamification, Course Narratives, and Branching Scenarios to Bring a Unique Experience to Your Course
Remember Choose Your Own Adventure books? Or maybe you have looked at some complex games and thought “wouldn’t it be great if students could explore my content like this”? What about actually having some kind of relevant movie storyline guiding your class? Course narratives, gamification, and branching scenarios can bring a different learning experience to your course, whether you add a few ideas here and there, or redesign your entire course experience. This session explored ideas and tools large and small that can bring a unique personality to each learning experience you facilitate.