Tips for Teaching Adult Students Online

Demographic studies of distance learning students indicate that they are older than students in traditional campus-based programs, they usually work outside the home, and many are married with families. Most students take courses on a part-time basis while holding down a job, with the intention of pursuing education to help them advance in their careers….Continue Reading Tips for Teaching Adult Students Online

The MOOC and You!

Communities of Practice have been long standing features at Higher Education Institutions; Journal Clubs, Special Interest Groups, User Groups, and even Study Groups are all examples of how we come together in academia to form focused groups interested in learning and developing together.  I do not think that anyone out there would argue with me…Continue Reading The MOOC and You!

The online quiz feedback conundrum

Giving feedback to students taking online quizes can be tricky.  While it is very easy to provide feedback to students immediately this is not always desirable;  sometimes you want to wait until after the quiz is over to provide feedback to only those students who took the quiz.  In the past this was a fairly manual process, but…Continue Reading The online quiz feedback conundrum

What do new WPI faculty need the most?

A few weeks ago, we in the TTL team met with WPI’s newest faculty members, and the excitement was palpable.  I shared some of the FAQ’s from that session here.  As we prepare to support these folks throughout their (hopefully very long) careers at WPI, I am wondering what your thoughts are about the things…Continue Reading What do new WPI faculty need the most?

Hammering home your (power)Point – Presenting Part II

In my last post, I shared some ideas from EDUCAUSE’s Malcolm Brown on presenting.  I ran out of time and space before I had a chance to finish!  Here are some more of my thoughts on his tips. Idea 15:  Who do you think you’re talking to?!?  Though it is impossible to address your entire…Continue Reading Hammering home your (power)Point – Presenting Part II

Use of the WeBex Chat Window during student presentations

Editors Note: This week we welcome a guest Blogger Professor Wally Towner from the School of Business.  While Professor Towner was using a tool called WebEx his methodology can be applied to any web conferencing tool including Wimba Classroom, the WPI Supported Web Conferencing tool.  We here in the ATC were excited to hear of…Continue Reading Use of the WeBex Chat Window during student presentations

If Powerpoint is the hammer, is my presentation the nail?

Maslow said, “I suppose it is tempting, when the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.”  We constantly hear phrases like “Death by Powerpoint”, but is it Powerpoint’s fault that it just happens to be a really good hammer?  I think not. I recently had the…Continue Reading If Powerpoint is the hammer, is my presentation the nail?

Examples of Media in Education: Shaping Curriculum

A few years ago, I worked with a professor to plan an interactive media component to help students with the concepts of a chemistry lab that spanned several weeks and several experiments. The professor found that students were having a hard time figuring out which data to use in what way when they reached the final experiment….Continue Reading Examples of Media in Education: Shaping Curriculum