Resources

I was just reading a Twitter thread from #TenureTrackHustle (Meredith D. Clark) as she re-read her handwritten notes from more than a decade ago and reflected on how far she’s come.

Last one. If you’ve ever heard me talk about my career path, you know about my initial dream career, and why/how it changed… pic.twitter.com/Qgf4DpPuek

— #TenureTrackHustle (@meredithdclark) January 5, 2019

I haven’t been podcasting Teaching in Higher Ed episodes for quite as long as that. However, it has been quite a wild ride these past five years and I’ve learned so much.

Below represents just some of what happened in 2018 – or was revisited.

Most Listened to Podcast Episodes in 2018

Below are the top 18 episodes that were downloaded in 2018. This doesn’t necessarily mean they were recorded during the 2018 year, but that they were downloaded during that time.

18. Episode #187 | Laptops: Friend or Foe? | Todd Zakrajsek

17. Episode #197 | Interactivity and Inclusivity Can Help Close the Achievement Gap | Viji Sathy and Kelly Hogan

16. Episode #178 | Igniting Our Imagination in Digital Learning and Pedagogy | Remi Kalir

15. Episode #179 | Active Learning in STEM Courses | Paul Blowers

14. Episode #191 | Creating Immersive Learning Experiences in Online Classes | Ric Montelongo

13. Episode #205 | The College Classroom Assessment Compendium | Jay Parkes and Dawn Zimmaro

12. Episode #184 | The Science of Retrieval Practice | Pooja Agarwal

11. Episode #200 | Changing Our Minds About Teaching | Robin DeRosa, Mike Truong, and Maha Bali

10. Episode #207 | Rethinking Higher Education | Wendy Purcell

9. Episode #219 | Agile Faculty | Rebecca Pope-Ruark

8. Episode #189 | Designing Online Experiences for Learners | Judith Boettcher

7. Episode #218 | Courses as Stories | Alan Levine

6. Episode #211 | Reflecting on Our Teaching | Catherine Haras

5. Episode #177 | Learning is Not a Spectator Sport | Maria Andersen

4. Episode #217 | How to Ungrade | Jesse Stommel

3. Episode #206 | Inquiry-based Learning | Jeffery Galle

2. Episode #203 | My Flipped Classroom | Jan H. Jensen

1. Episode #216 | Research on Engaging Learners | Peter Felten

If you want to learn more from Pooja Agarwal, check out her new book: Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning, coauthored with Patrice Bain.

Most Listened to Episodes of All Time

Some of these episodes go back years now, but still have a strong draw with listeners new and old. These are the top 18 downloaded episodes of all time.

18. Episode #135 | The Spark of Learning | Sarah Rose Cavanagh

17. Episode #171 | Why Students Resist Learning | Anton Tolman

16. Episode #106 | The Undercover Professor | Mike Cross

15. Episode #087 | What the Best Digital Teachers Do | Sean Michael Morris

14. Episode #105 | Professional Online Portfolios | McClain Watson

13. Episode #164 | Setting Students Up for Success from the Start | Joe Hoyle

12. Episode #089 | The Research on Course Evaluations | Betsy Barre

11. Episode #088 | Top Five Gadgets for Teaching | Dave + Bonni Stachowiak

10. Episode #159 | Dynamic Lecturing | Todd Zakrajsek

9. Episode #096 | The Clinical Coach | Jeffrey Wiese

8. Episode #114 | Engage the Heart and Mind Through the Connected Classroom | Ken Bauer

7. Episode #112 | Radical Hope – A Teaching Manifesto | Kevin Gannon

6. Episode #110 | Self-Regulated Learning and the Flipped Classroom | Robert Talbert

5. Episode #092 | Small Teaching | James Lang

4. Episode #107 | Engaging Learners | Gardner Campbell

3. Episode #137 | Teaching Naked Techniques | C. Edward Watson

2. Episode #132 | Teach Students How to Learn | Saundra McGuire

1. Episode #098 | The Skillful Teacher | Stephen Brookfield

Most Read Blog Posts During 2018

These posts weren’t all written during 2018, but they were accessed during that year. I get surprised by the ones that pop up from more than four years ago, but must have really struck a cord (at least in terms of the title, or metadata).

During 2018, these blog posts were accessed most frequently.

18. The Best Kind of Feedback You’ll Ever Receive | 12/05/18

17. Getting the Most From Screencasting | 04/19/18

16. My Updated Personal Knowledge Management System | 12/14/16

15. How to Increase Our Digital Literacy Literacy | 02/07/17

14. How to Apologize as a Professor | 03/31/15

13. How to Create a Pencast | 01/24/17

12. More on Blind Grading | 11/17/15

11. Ways to Use Screencasting in Your Teaching | 03/13/18

10. Making the Most of Mistakes | 12/11/18

9. Top Tools 2018 | 07/13/18

8. How to Make a Seemingly Boring Topic Come Alive | 10/07/14

7. How to Create a Video For a Class | 08/10/16

6. How to Respond When Students Give Wrong Answers | 07/22/14

5. Digital Reading | 09/11/17

4. Listener Question: Essential Reading on Pedagogy | 01/30/18

3. HeadsUp Game Is A Lively Edtech Tool | 09/23/14

2. Hosting or Participating in Video Conferencing Sessions | 06/13/17

1. Engaging Students Using Quizlet Live | 10/18/16

Phew. It’s been such a learning journey. Thanks for being on it with me.

This blog post was originally posted on ACUE's website. Thanks to Geoff Decker for getting me to reflect on these questions. 

When it comes to producing podcasts, a quick audio cut or fade can help polish over mistakes. When it comes to Dr. Bonni Stachowiak’s popular Teaching in Higher Ed, mistakes are worthy of celebration.

Stachowiak’s willingness to grapple with gaffes was on display a few years ago when she turned an on-air blunder into an opportunity to highlight the importance of embracing failure as part of the learning process. The memory stands out as Stachowiak reflects on more than four years—and 230 episodes—of Teaching in Higher Ed (TiHE), which features weekly expert guests on a range of teaching and learning topics, from instructional practices and digital pedagogy to the faculty profession. A common thread through them all is the sense that each conversation is part of a “learning journey” that she’s on with her listeners and guests.

ACUE is thrilled to be along for the ride. Since 2016, we’ve been connecting TiHE to some of the inspiring experts and educators with whom we’ve partnered, from Saundra McGuire, to Catherine Haras, to Viji Sathy and Kelly Hogan. As the TiHE-ACUE partnership kicks off its third year, we sat down with Stachowiak to hear her reflections on podcasting and teaching.

Q: What’s a favorite memory or funny story from the podcast?

A: It was my first interview with Ken Bain, and I was so excited—and nervous—because his book, What the Best College Teachers Do, was the very first book that I read about teaching in higher ed. When we finished, he mentioned off air that there was one more thing he wanted to share, but before I could hit record again, he had already started talking. I didn’t want to be rude and interrupt him, so I started taking notes because he was mentioning some people I was unfamiliar with at the time, including Eric Mazur, who’d just become the first-ever winner of the Minerva Prize, a half-million dollar prize for teaching excellence.

When he was through, I looked back over my notes and said, “Tell me again about the Manure Prize.” I said it three times before he very gently said, “Bonni, it’s actually the Minerva Prize.”

Yes, my autocorrect had changed ‘Minerva’ to ‘manure.’ It was one of those things I initially wanted to edit out of the show, but if this podcast is about going on a learning journey, then how would I have known who Eric Mazur was without these kinds of experiences?

Not only did we keep it in, but we ended up doing an episode that celebrates failure and how we learn from it. Episode 100—The Failure Episode— is one of my favorites because it featured people sharing their failure stories. We gave the ‘Manure Prize’ to the person with the greatest failure. (The winner was Maha Bali, a professor and faculty developer at the American University in Cairo.)

Q: How does the craft of interviewing apply to the craft of teaching?

A: Asking simple questions applies to both worlds of teaching and interviewing. A lot of people ask a question like “How do you approach this?” and then begin to answer it with multiple choices: “Do you do it this way? Do you try it this way?” There’s no need for that. Ask a simple question and then stop talking. It’s in the silence that the richest answers will come.

Also, Alex Blumberg, an amazing podcaster, has a formula for how to think about storytelling: “I’m telling a story about X. It’s interesting because Y.” That could be applied more in our teaching. For so many of my classes now, I think, “What is the story? What is really the overarching question I’m hoping to ignite my students’ curiosity around? What makes it interesting?” To me, you could build your entire teaching philosophy on that.

Q: What advice would you give to yourself in your first year of teaching?

A: I would tell myself to slow down and mellow out, both for the sake of my students and for my own sake. It isn’t about covering all the material, it isn’t about ensuring everything goes according to the plan, it isn’t about trying so hard to make sure everyone is riveted at all times by what’s going on in the classroom. I’d tell myself that part of the process for slowing down is to listen a lot more and ask a lot more questions.

Q: If you could interview anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?

A: Brené Brown. She is such a wonderful researcher, thinker, writer, and speaker who has written so many compelling things. Her TED Talk on vulnerability is the most powerful TED Talk I’ve ever seen, and I’d just love the opportunity to talk to her about how vulnerability could—and should—inform our work in teaching. I’m curious about how she handles her classes and brings her life’s work into the classroom. She’s written about this somewhat, but it would be wonderful to speak to her and ask what specifically can be integrated into teaching. I also have a sense from watching so many interviews with her that she’d be so warm and engaging, and that would probably shave off at least some of my nervousness.

 

Last year, Dave and I did a shared episode between our two podcasts (Coaching for Leaders and Teaching in Higher Ed) on:

Episode 181: Gifts for Teaching and Productivity

Somewhere along the line, we decided not to do that, again, this year. However, I do have some ideas to pass along.

Educational Technology Gifts

I still think the episode that Dave and I did even earlier on top five gadgets for teaching is still relevant, though some of the versions of things have advanced (like the iPad). Last year’s shared episode with Dave also still has some good stuff worth exploring. In the meantime, two educational technology gifts that are standing out to me today are a presentation remote (on the lower end of the cost spectrum) and the iPad (on the upper end, in terms of cost).

Presentation Remote

Standing behind a podium while teaching opens up the possibility for a lack of connection with our students. A presentation remote frees us up to move around a classroom and really engage with people. This one is the one I used for many years, until I moved to a laptop without USB-a – so now I have one that connects via Bluetooth. If you have USB-a on your laptop, there are plenty of choices that won’t break the bank.

iPad

The prices on iPads have come down considerably, at least for the entry-level ones. The Pro versions have gone in the opposite direction – but are packed with power. My iPad is used primarily for consumption, though I can certainly get work done from coffee shops with my Smart Keyboard folio.

The Apple Pencil remains the best stylus I’ve ever used on a tablet. And the new one now magnetically attaches to the side of the iPad and charges as it sits there. Remarkable and functional design.

Lifelong Learning Gifts

I recently took the Strengths Finder assessment, again, after taking it more than ten years ago during my doctoral program. Not surprisingly, one of my top five strengths is learner – which really helps me see why my chosen profession is so rewarding to me. Below are just some of the gifts you could buy a learner in your life to get them even better at what they do.

The Academic Book Promotion Toolkit

Katie Linder has put together a phenomenal toolkit to help academic writers get your work discovered by more people. She shares over 30 ways to boost your book sales and get more people reading what you spent all that time putting out into the world.

MacSparky Field Guides

If you have a Mac user in your life, the MacSparky Field Guides are a wonderful way to discover how to get even more out of your technology. I’m working my way through the Hazel Field Guide right now and am really enjoying it.

Andy Traub’s Master Zoom Course

If you know anyone who uses Zoom in their teaching, I can almost guarantee you that they aren’t getting all that they could out of this powerful video conferencing platform. Andy Traub shares in his Mastering Zoom Course with clarity how to set up your equipment (and what kind to buy, if you don’t have any equipment right now), how to set up Zoom, and how to coach and consult (which applies to teaching).

Master Mobile Photography Course from The Sweet Setup

There’s a saying among photographers. The best camera is the one you have with you. For many of us, that’s the camera on our phone. This course on mobile photography from The Sweet Setup shares how to take betters photos, manage your collection, and their recommended photo apps.

Unlock 1Password from The Sweet Setup

The 1Password service has been recommended multiple times on Teaching in Higher Ed. If what has been stopping one of your loved ones is that they don’t know how to use it – that barrier can be broken through the Unlock 1Password course from The Sweet Setup.

Your Turn

What is something new that you’re learning, lately, and what is supporting you in that learning?

It’s been more than three weeks since I blogged (and the last post was a re-post of an article I had written on EdSurge, so I’m not sure it counts).

A lot has been going on…

Can Innovate Conference from The Online Network of Educators (@ONE)

On October 26, 2018, I had the pleasure of attending the Can*Innovate Online Conference, put on by the Online Network of Educators. While the event was created for community college faculty, it was equally relevant to those of us teaching in other contexts.

Here are just a few of the resources I recommend checking out:

• Main Can*Innovate Schedule Page with Video Playback of All Sessions
• Canva (Graphic Design Site) for Canvas Session Page
• Surprise! Good Things Can Happen When Students Get Creative, with Laura Gibbs
• Promoting Equity with EdPuzzle and Canvas Mastery Paths (Marvin Patton finally helped me comprehend mastery paths in Canvas)

I'm honored to have been invited to be the keynote speaker for the CCC Digital Learning day in 2019, which is also put on by the Online Network of Educators (@ONE). Please consider joining in on the learning with us on 2/28/19.

Creating Healthy Organizations Conference

On October 12-13, I presented at my institution’s Creating Healthy Organizations conference. Here are some resources and more information about each session I collaborated on.

Leverage Positive Politics to Influence Change in Your Organization, with April Akinloye, PhD

Before transitioning to academia, I used to get asked to talk about organizational politics more than any other topic in my consulting work. I enjoyed collaborating with my colleague, April Akinloye, on this workshop. She’s our Chief Diversity Officer and was able to share the ways in which we might approach various people in our organizations when seeking to influence change.

Tools and Approaches to Maximize Your Productivity, with Dave Stachowiak, EdD

If that last name sounds familiar, it is because I’m married to that guy! It was great to present together – after not having joined forces for many years in this capacity.

On the resources page, the left side holds our ideas for how to be more productive, while the attendees contributed to the ideas on the right-hand side of the post.

University of Houston’s Learning, Design, and Technology Program

I was grateful to have been invited to facilitate at the University of Houston’s Learning, Design, and Technology Program. I gave two sessions:

CREATE: Practical Tools for Course Content Creation

I have got a resources page with the slide deck I used at the session, along with tools that I mentioned or demonstrated during the talk. One thing I didn’t share about publicly (as it was unlikely to be all that interesting), was how I attempted to be more playful in partially hand-drawing some of my slides. My intention in doing this was to show that we all have the capacity to create and it is most often our mindset that holds us back from achieving our potential.

The images below are representative of the kind of experimentation I was using while creating the deck.

HANDS ON: Practical Tools for Course Content Creation

My second session was smaller, as they limited it to no more than 25 people who had registered in advance. I used an approach that the teachers use at our kids’ school called “planned possibilities.”

I had some ideas of the kinds of things we could experiment with during the session, which I displayed in a visual way on a slide.

Then, I invited them to add to the list with ideas that emerged out of some early discussions we had during the session. Then, I showed them how I would take this visual slide, turn it into a PollEverywhere image selection poll. Finally, they voted on the possibilities that were of most interest to them for our time together.

Laura Pasquini’s Keynote: What’s Your Story

It was already an honor to get to join the University of Houston for their event. However, it was even more of a bonus that I got to meet Laura Pasquini in person.

I know Laura from Twitter. We have done some collaboration via online meeting spaces. But this was my first chance to meet her in “real life” (that’s supposed to be a joke – as what happens online is also a part of our lives).

I enjoyed Laura's cadence of presenting. She would present a flurry of thought-provoking ideas – but then would pause and give us room for reflection. One of my favorite tools she used was this one:

Table Topics

Laura hand-selected questions from the Table Topics deck that would most apply to our conversations. Between that interaction and the tremendous ITLD Breakout Game that the University of Houston team put on – I found such authentic opportunities to connect with the people who had gathered for the conference.

It's been a whirlwind couple of months, though I'm grateful for all of these opportunities to learn and teach. Thanks for reading through a little bit on what I've been up to…

 

 

“Bonni! Bonni! Bonni!” I heard echoing across the parking lot as I walked into work this morning. My friend stopped me in my tracks to share how much she got out of the recent Teaching in Higher Ed episode with Rajiv Jhangiani on Critical Open Pedagogy.

Like her, I was also incredibly inspired by the conversation with Rajiv. He can both spell out the magnificent vision of open education, while also still increasing our collective capacity to take practical steps to move closer to that set of ideals.

I sometimes feel like I am fumbling toward more of an open education approach in my teaching. However, people like Rajiv help me believe I’m at least moving in the right direction and that I possess some markers to guide my path.

The Critical Open Pedagogy episode with Rajiv aired while the 2018 Open Education Conference was occurring (#OpenEd18). While I couldn’t be there in person this year, I sure did get a lot out of the interactions that were happening on Twitter.

Below are just a few of the resources that were shared on the #OpenEd18 hashtag:

• OER Training, by Billy Meinke: “A three-part training guide for bringing higher education instructors up to speed with Open Educational Resources (OER).”
• OER: From Vision to Action, by Rajiv Jhangiani: “Keynote address at #OERVisionAction18 in Denver on August 2, 2018”
• CADET – Caption and Description Editing Tool: “CADET is a free, downloadable caption-authoring software that enables anyone to produce high-quality caption files that are compatible with any media player that supports the display of captions. CADET does not require an internet connection in order to operate: it runs locally in any Web browser, so users do not need to upload private videos or proprietary content to servers or video-hosting sites in order to create captions.”
• Accessibility, Diversity, and Inclusion: (part of the BCcampus’ open textbook self publishing guide) “For a textbook to be truly accessible, people of all abilities need to be able to access the content. This means designing a textbook that accommodates people with diverse learning styles and ensuring the content can be accessed by all, regardless of disability. It also means creating materials that include diverse viewpoints and voices. As you plan your textbook, contemplate how to design it so it is accessible, diverse, and inclusive.”

I have also been gathering open education bookmarks for over a year now. Other notable resources include:

• Textbooks, OER, and the Need for Open Pedagogy, by Jesse Stommel: “Textbooks are a social justice issue.”
• An Open Education Reader, edited by David Wiley: “A collection of readings on open education with commentary.”
• 7 Things You Should Know About Open Education: Practices: “Building on open educational resources (OER), open educational practices seek to fully use the potential inherent in OER to support learning and to help students both contribute to knowledge and construct their own learning pathways. Such open practices provide the architecture and philosophical underpinning for fulfilling the promise of using OER to expand collaborative, inclusive, accessible, and active learning and related pedagogy. Open educational practices also give agency to students by giving them more control over the structure, content, and outcomes of their learning and by creating opportunities for them to create learning materials.”
• What Makes an Open Lab ‘Open’?, by Robin DeRosa and Dan Blickensderfer: “As public universities divert resources into new kinds of learning spaces, they should promote collaborative and mutually enriching connections among students and institutions, write Robin DeRosa and Dan Blickensderfer.”
• The Impact of Open Educational Resources on Various Student Success Metrics, by Nicholas B Colvard, C. Edward Watson, and Hyojin Park: “This article reports the results of a large-scale study (21,822 students) regarding the impact of course-level faculty adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER). Results indicate that OER adoption does much more than simply save students money and address student debt concerns. OER improve end-of-course grades and decrease DFW (D, F, and Withdrawal letter grades) rates for all students. They also improve course grades at greater rates and decrease DFW rates at greater rates for Pell recipient students, part-time students, and populations historically underserved by higher education.”

Your Turn

What open education resources have you found particularly useful?