Be reflexive about the ways you bring popular culture into your classroom. “I don’t understand the things that you are saying. They do not make sense to me.” When I heard these words, I could feel my entire body tense up. We were discussing a new theory in class, and I had just made a […]
Students are exhausted, but just how exhausted are they and why? Discover data from the Student Satisfaction Survey about student exhaustion and fatigue. If you ask your students how they’re feeling, it’s likely you’ll hear a chorus of “tired,” “exhausted,” or “low energy.” In this special two-part post, we’re going to explore the effects of […]
Configuring late passes in Canvas can offer students structured flexibility to support them in successfully completing your course. In a recent post, “Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Crisis: Why Balancing Flexibility and Structure in Course Policies Is Important,” Ellen Whitehead and Mellisa Holtzman shared their research about teaching practices adopted by faculty during the pandemic. […]
Learn more about how to focus on your own strengths when planning and designing a course. What Are My Strengths? As an educator I’m regularly reflecting on my instructional practice. Whether it’s thinking about my next brand-new course or how I might improve a previous class, I will often find my brain wandering in the […]
Read an interview with Sarah Rose Cavanagh, keynote speaker at the 2024 Teaching and Technology Summit. Researcher and author Sarah Rose Cavanagh opened the Ball State March 21-22 Teaching and Technology Summit with “Hope in a Time of Monsters: Supporting Student and Faculty Mental Health with Compassionate Challenge.” In the following post, Cheri Madewell, director of […]
Read a breakdown of one AI syllabus policy to help you consider how to craft your own AI policy. If you have (or are considering adding) an AI policy on your syllabus, this post is for you. I’m going to share my AI syllabus policy and break down how I wrote that policy. I am […]
Supplement your office hours with in-person or virtual appointments that students can book straight through Canvas using Appointment Groups. Have you ever bemoaned the fact that students don’t come to your office hours? In this post, you’ll learn about a Canvas feature that can help you increase the amount of one-on-one time you get with […]
Discover a discussion board strategy that organically encourages students to move beyond simple agreement to critical thinking and synthesis. Coming into this semester with little online teaching experience, I knew I wanted to use a weekly discussion system that would be 1) at least a little different from the post and two responses that I […]
If you’re frustrated by the restrictions that learning objectives place on your course, read this meditation on how objectives can open possibility, rather than closing it down. Teaching is an act of navigating constraints and agency – and, incidentally, helping students navigate the same. Perhaps you must use a particular textbook, but what chapters you […]
Multitasking is a constant challenge in higher education, but our Canvas Course Templates offer one concrete way to help mitigate some of that. In the lead-up to each semester, one of the most time-consuming tasks on an instructor’s plate is creating their course site on Canvas. Often, it involves creating new material (if it’s a […]
