Thoughts on Teaching

Using Pinterest

Alexis Register — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 17:44:30 -0700

I believe that for many teachers we can fall prey to getting into a set routine and we follow the curriculum set in front of us. There was an article posted on BBC Active that discusses using Pinterest, a social network, for educational puproses. Teaching, whether it is for k-12 or higher education, is a collaborative effort so why not use a…

Finding Appreciation

Alexis Register — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 15:00:17 -0700

As the holidays approach there is a lot to be thankful for, this includes being thankful for our job and feeling appreciated at what we do. Being instructors and going through large numbers of students, sometimes pretty quickly, we can forget that what we do makes a difference and that we are in fact appreciated by our peer, students, and deans. I…

Tools for Integrating Faith Into Your Classroom!!

Matthew Hampton — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 10:09:51 -0700

Integrating Faith Into Your Classroom: How Can This Be Done??

Many people struggle with the boundaries of what can be shared about faith within the classroom. Others struggle with understanding how to implement faith in the classroom when they do come from that type of background. Instructors either never attempt to do this because…

The Virtues and Vices of Online Group Work

Eric Nordin — Mon, 05 May 2014 15:25:38 -0700

Regardless of the many virtues of group work within the online classroom setting, one of the most frequent complains I receive from students is about their collaborative learning community (CLC) assignments. Students often complain about the lack or type of communication occurring in the CLC forum, a main cause might be the lack of practice…

Stretching Our Students' Intellectual Capacity

Eric Nordin — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 15:24:21 -0700

Creating teaching strategies to engage students at various levels of intellectual development is one of the significant challenges facing faculty. This challenge becomes more pronounced in the online realm as the amount of time faculty have with students is limited, there is a lack of face-to-face interaction, and many students have many other…

Onlines Communities Do Matter

Eric Nordin — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 05:49:04 -0700

Over the past several months I have devoted a significant about of time and space within this forum to the topic of establishing a sense of community in the online classroom environment. Past subjects have included strategies toward developing an online community, engendering rapport within the online classroom, the benefits of community to both…

Helping Students to become Attached to their Classrooms

Eric Nordin — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 08:04:01 -0700

Helping students develop a sense of belonging in the online classroom can be a difficult process. Online students frequently perceive a sense of isolation within the online classroom. This sense of disconnect can often stem from a lack of contact between the student and instructor and from other students, a lack of attachment to the class as a…

Ask, And You Shall Receive!

Eric Nordin — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 06:49:37 -0700

Two of the significant challenges online faculty face are promoting critical thinking amongst our students and developing dialogue within the discussion forums. The online environment poses certain issues toward achieving both goals. We lack the face-to-face communication and repertoire often required to help students extend their thinking to the…

The Paradox of Critical Feedback

Eric Nordin — Fri, 17 Jan 2014 12:23:27 -0700

One of the most important tasks an instructor has is to provide edifying and timely feedback to their students. Feedback is a cornerstone of instruction as it allows students to learn more about the material covered in a course, and integrate said material into future courses as well as in their professional endeavors. As much as instructors may…

How “Searching” Technology has effected Research and Critical Thinking

Eric Nordin — Sun, 12 Jan 2014 19:48:39 -0700

I recently had an informal debate with a colleague regarding the effect technology has on critical thinking, namely our students' ability to critically think. This conservation evolved into one about technology and research. Specifically, the effect the technologies behind entities like Amanzon.com and Wikipedia have made concerning the ability of…