“Inspect what you expect.” Years ago when I was a network marketing rep, one of our leaders shared this concept. She shared how it is important to check on your team throughout the week to ensure that they were on target for their personal goals and the team goals. This
Have you ever thought about how you can cover all bases when it comes to increasing or strengthening your presence in your online course? I would encourage you to think about what makes your presence felt in your face-to-face courses. Is it the fact that your students can see you,
When you have taught college students online for almost two decades, you will encounter students with various personalities, obstacles, skillsets, mindsets, and dilemmas. And, you will most definitely come across those who make excuses. An excuse is defined as “a reason or explanation put forward to defend or justify a
When Mature Students Need Support One of the things that I love about teaching online is teaching students ages 17 to 65…yes, 65. In 2020, I was blessed to have a 65-year-old student in my courses. She was so precious to me and had the energy of a 20-year-old. Her
When Academic Integrity is Lacking I am so glad that you have decided to spend some time with me on my blog because I have created a new series just for you. This series focuses on the issues, challenges, and common experiences that you might face as you teach college
If you have been rocking with me, reading my blog, you know that I have been doing a series on Discussion Frameworks Versus Discussion Boards. I have shared with you how much I loathe discussion boards, so we will not belabor that point; but, what we will do is put
Discussion Boards are a standard component in today’s online college courses. They can be implemented well, but often are not the most exciting aspect of taking an online course. In Episode 3 of the Discussion Frameworks Versus Discussion Boards Series, I gently breakdown five reasons students hate discussion boards. Now,
Welcome, welcome, welcome! You have made it here just in time to experience the Discussion Frameworks Versus Discussion Boards Battle, I meant series. Now, you may have heard about the VERSUZ Battles going on in the internet streets of Instagram where two artists from R&B or Hip-Hop battle using their
I am so glad you are here because it is time for me to get some things off my chest. Well, I guess there are not multiple things but more so, a collective dedicated to one issue. Are you ready? Here it is. I abhor discussion board forums in online
This past spring while teaching a language and literacy course, my students revealed that they read very little in high school and wrote few papers. I was astonished by this as I attended a Christian school wayyyy back over yonder and reading “classics” amongst other works, and becoming skilled in
This week, I am sharing another project with you from the Online Group Projects Made Easy series. This project is special because it gives students the opportunity to delve deeper into understanding a concept and then apply that understanding in a mighty way. So, let me break it down for
Have you ever heard someone say, “If you can teach a thing then you know you know a thing?” Well, I find that to be true although you can know something and not be gifted with the ability to teach someone else. In fact, I remember when I was an
Every fall, I assign a group project that I call Who Makes the Team? I designed the project for my Families, Professionals, and Communities course so that my students could develop a deeper understanding of the roles and responsibilities of an individual education plan (IEP) team or an individual family
Oh, how I love group projects! I just do not feel right when my students do not get to experience group projects online. As a result, only three of the nine courses that I teach miss out on these amazing experiences. For 13 years, I have assigned group projects–not because
I did not have good experiences with group work as a teacher education major. It seems that every time I was paired with someone or assigned to a group, there would always be issues with scheduling or getting everyone to pull his or her weight. As if it were yesterday,