Putting students first in online education

I really believe in the power of online teaching. I've been doing it, off and on, since 2016 and I've seen online learning reach students who were otherwise shut out of higher education because of their work schedules, health issues, or just their skill sets. When we all pivoted to online instruction in 2020, far from being a pale imitation of in-person classes, online learning – when centered around active learning and keeping students in mind first and foremost – took all the benefits of flipped learning to their full potential. I've been an advocate for online education ever since. I enjoy teaching online and frankly, I wish I did it more often.

So I was pleased to have the opportunity to sit down with Andrew Penland, who I recently met on Twitter, to talk about online learning and how we might make online teaching as engaging and helpful as possible for students by centering it on active learning and the needs of the learner. Here is that conversation in full. Enjoy and have a great weekend!