If you’ve considered using virtual reality in your course but are daunted by the tech required, there is a simple version that requires nothing more than a smartphone and free online apps. Three-hundred-sixty-degree panorama images, the kind made famous by Google Street View, can
When news broke of the Margory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on Valentine’s Day 2008, students and faculty at the small liberal arts college where I taught at the time were catapulted out of the pastoral slumber and relative safety of our tiny rural
The recent emergence of ChatGPT has hit higher education like a lightning bolt, leaving many educators trying to process its implications. ChatGPT is a free website that allows users to type in questions and get a remarkably well-written response that looks like a
The first day of class is a big deal. Just as there is only one chance at love at first sight, teachers like us only have one chance to demonstrate of each class. As Sarah Rose Cavanagh (2016) writes, “On the first few days
Every January, millions of people around the world resolve to do things differently. Some want to eat better. Some want to keep in better touch with friends. Others want to travel more. Many want to get more physically active. A lot of these resolutions
Whenever a restaurant asks him for a credit card to schedule a reservation, New York Times food critic Pete Wells writes, “I hear several messages, none of them warm and fuzzy. [The practice] says that I’m not trustworthy. . . . It says that a reservation isn’t
Collaborative problem solving is an active learning strategy that promotes a richer understanding of course content, application, and significance than traditional lecture-based pedagogy. When students participate in collaborative problem solving, they not only learn course content, but they also practice critical process skills, including information
One of the strongest predictors of how easily and well a person will learn a topic is their prior knowledge about it. The more one already knows, the easier it is to learn more. Because of this fact, students often struggle more with introductory courses,
If you’ve got 20 minutes, I’ve got a video that will change the way you think about teaching. It’s aimed at K–12 educators, was released in 1987, and explores basic concepts in astrophysics. But don’t let any of that deter you. The topic is timeless
Screencasting is a great way to make quick tutorials, give students feedback on their work, and create learning content. But screencasting apps exist with a range of functionality, which can leave instructors unsure as to which is the best for their purposes, budget, and
