In this Season 10 kick-off episode, hosts Kelvin Thompson and Thomas Cavanagh revisit a “time capsule” of past predictions and pivot toward the various flavors of “possible futures” available now in online education.

Podcast Recording

Download Transcript: PDF

Episode 161 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• “Yes, You Can Freeze Coffee Beans (If You Follow This Trick)” from Coffee Bros.
  Roastery, New York

Content Links 

• All 10(!) TOPcast Season Kick-Off Episodes
• Related TOPcast Episodes
  • #65: “Field Report #2: Preparing for the Post-COVID Future”
  • #83: “Re-thinking Synchronous for the Post-COVID Era”
  • #85: “Blended Is the Future. (And It’s Not Just Courses)”
  • [From “The Key” Podcast] Episode #75: “Anticipating Higher Education’s Near Future(s)” with guest Dr. Bryan Alexander (Produced by Inside Higher Ed)
• The SAGE Handbook of Online Higher EducatIon 
• [Reminder] 2024 TOPcast Listener Survey 

Just-for-Fun Pop Culture Links

• [Inspiration for This Episode’s Set-Up] The Last Archive Podcast from Pushkin Industries, hosted by Dr. Jill Lepore and Ben Naddaff-Hafrey
• [In Reactor Magazine] “5 Insane Cliffhangers from the 1960’s Batman [Adam West TV Show]”
• [In Wikipedia] “Transformers”
• [In Wikipedia] “LifeSavers”

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

Guest Dr. Jean Mandernach joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to discuss how faculty and instructional designers can design more meaningful and engaging learning assignments for students, online or anywhere.

Podcast Recording

Guest Dr. Jean Mandernach

Download Transcript: PDF

Episode 160 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• Liberica Species of Coffee
• Liberica Compared to Arabica and Robusta Coffees

Content Links 

• Dr. Jean Mandernach’s Online Profile
• The Journal of Educators Online    
• [Book Co-Authored by Dr. Mandernach] Evaluating Online Teaching: Implementing Best Practices
• [From Indiana University, Bloomington] “Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT)”  
• “TILT Higher Ed”                      
• [Book] Teaching Naked Techniques: A Practical Guide to Designing Better Classes

Just-for-Fun Pop Culture Links

• [In the Louisville Courier-Journal] “Is Louisville the North or the South? Let’s decide this once and for all”

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

Hosts Kelvin and Tom talk through the importance of consulting trusted sources of data and information as the basis for sound decision making in online education, no matter what role one holds.

Podcast Recording

Download Transcript: PDF

Episode 159 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• Single-Origin Honduras Las Flores (David Munoz) From Sightglass Coffee (San Francisco, CA)

Content Links 

• [Reminder] 2024 TOPcast Listener Survey
• (From Phil Hill’s On Ed Tech Newsletter) “Fall 2022 IPEDS Data: Profile of US Higher Ed Online Education”
• (From the National Center for Educational Statistics) “IPEDS Trend Generator”
• The Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE) Report Project
• (From Wiley) “Voice of the Online Learner” Reports
• (From the Online Learning Consortium) “Online Learning Journal”
• Publications from OLC’s Research Center for Digital Learning & Leadership
• Publications from WCET
• EDUCAUSE Research
• Past TOPcast Episodes
  • #96: 25 Years of “Conscientious, Methodical Research” with guest Dr. Patsy Moskal
  • #98 “I Don’t Ever Want to Do [Online] Again!” with guest Ryan Rogers
  • #130: Data, DETA, Design, and More with guest Dr. Tanya Joosten
  • #156: Reframing the Data That Tell the Stories About Online Students with guest Dr. Carmin Chan

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

Guest Nicolaas Matthijs joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to discuss the emergence of AI-assistance built into educational technology platforms and how this is a departure from past phases of artificial intelligence implementation.

Podcast Recording

Guest Nicolaas Matthijs

Download Transcript: PDF

Episode 158 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• Organic French Roast from Alakef Coffee Roasters (Duluth, MN)
• About Alakef Coffee Roasters

Content Links 

• [Reminder] 2024 TOPcast Listener Survey
• Nicolaas Matthijs’ Online Profile
• (From Den of Geek): “Netflix Thumbnails Say Much More About You Than You Think”
• (From AnalyticSteps): “Netflix’s use of Artificial Intelligence Algorithms”
• (From EdSurge): “Georgia Tech Is Trying to Keep a ChatGPT-Powered Teaching Assistant From ‘Hallucinating’”
• (From Anthology’s Education and Research Center): “AI Policy Framework”
• (White Paper from Anthology): “AI, Academic Integrity, and Authentic Assessment: An Ethical Path Forward for Education”
• TOPcast Episode #146 “Get Hands-On with AI” (with guest Dr. Rohan Jowallah)

Just-for-Fun Pop Culture Links

• 20-Second Video Clip from Elf: “World’s Best Cup of Coffee”

First 10 Seconds (Out of 30) Video Clip: “Like Sands Through the Hourglass” (from Days of Our Lives)

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

In this episode, hosts Tom and Kelvin summarize the current issues surrounding proposed changes to “inclusive access programs” for digital instructional materials and how this affects the affordability work of digital education professionals.

Podcast Recording

Download Transcript: PDF

Episode 157 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• Single-Origin Papua New Guinea Nebilyer Valley from Sunergos Coffee (Louisville, KY)

Content Links 

• Single-Question 2024 TOPcast Listener Poll
• (In Inside Higher Ed): “Biden Administration Looks to Clamp Down on Inclusive Access”
• (From InclusiveAccess.org): “Department of Education Tackles Textbook Billing in Negotiated Rulemaking”
• (From WCET Frontiers Blog): “Major Changes to Distance Ed Proposed: Department of Education Back to Rulemaking Table”
• (From Phil Hill on Twitter): Annotated news item about McGraw-Hill and Inclusive Access
• (In On EdTech Newsletter): “Faulty Logic – Updating my thinking about ED plans for 2024”
• (From SPARC): “Decoding Inclusive Access”
• Related Past TOPcast Episodes
  • #11: “Getting to the Goal of Going Textbook Free”
  • #51: “How Can We Make Textbooks More Affordable for Students?”
  • #70: “Student Access to Digital Materials During COVID and Beyond”
  • #82: “Fostering Large Scale OER Adoption”

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

Guest Dr. Carmin Chan joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to consider how we might reframe the typical institutional data that might not present clearly the needs and progress of post-traditional learners served by online education.

Podcast Recording

Guest Dr. Carmin Chan

Download Transcript: PDF

Episode 156 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• El Tigre Farms Coffee Producer Daniel Hernandez (Colombia)
• The Story of the Caturra Chiroso Coffee Varietal

Content Links 

• Dr. Carmin Chan’s Online Profile
• FREE Online Higher Education Summit – February 19, 2024. (Register for real time access or for links to recording access.)
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the (US) National Center for Education Statistics
• Distance Education In IPEDS
• (In Inside Higher Ed) “Equity, Data and the In-Person/Online Divide”
• TOPcast Episode #149: “‘Baking AI into the Process’ of Digital Learning Over the Next Five Years” (includes “post-traditional students” resources)
• TOPcast Episode #79: “The 2020 TOPcast & Friends Holiday Special” (Cameo by Carmin Chan)

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

About Episode 155

In this episode, spring-boarding from one of the chapters in the new SAGE Handbook of Online Higher Education, hosts Kelvin and Tom advocate for high-quality online discussions and reflect upon research-based practices that lead to well-designed and successful discussion experiences.

Podcast Recording

Download Transcript: PDF

Episode 155 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• Storyville Coffee (Seattle, WA)

Content Links 

• REGISTER NOW – 2/19/2024 Online Higher Education Summit (FREE!)
• Publisher’s Site: The SAGE Handbook of Online Higher Education
• Online Profile: Dr. Susan Wegmann
• Online Profile: Dr. Aimee deNoyelles
• The Community of Inquiry Framework
• TOPcast Episode #150: “A Global, Holistic, 360 Degree Perspective on Online Higher Education”
• TOPcast Episode #117: “Discussion-Enhancement Tools”

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

About Episode 154

Guest Dr. Anna Porcaro joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to share insights on how higher education institutions can be more effective in meeting workforce needs through digital alternative educational programs.

Podcast Recording

Download Transcript: PDF

Episode 154 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• Single-Origin “La Unica Honey” Honduras from Quill’s Coffee (Louisville, KY)

Content Links 

• Dr. Anna Porcaro’s Online Profile
• Kansas Leadership Center
• Wichita State University’s Guidelines for Undergraduate Certificate Programs (Gainful Employment)
• Wichita State University’s Workforce Education Badges
• TOPcast Episode #13: “The MOOC Gets a Toddler Check-Up” (featuring “honey process” coffee)

Just-for-Fun Pop Culture Links

• Kelvin’s #DoctorWho Meets #TheGrinch Coffee Mug from #KelvinsCupCollection

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

About Episode 153

As a follow-up to the pre-2024 call-in show, hosts Tom and Kelvin talk through the need to re-examine, challenge, and change existing institutional structures as we seek to serve learners better – both existing students and a wider variety of potential new students.

Podcast Recording

Download Transcript: PDF

Episode 153 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• Single-Origin Coffees from Swiss Mountain Coffee (Zion, Illinois)
• Coffee Creations, LLC (Charlestown, Indiana)                                                        
• “Rose Garden Collection” (coffee blends created by Rose Meurer; money flows differently)

Content Links 

• From UPCEA: “Predictions 2024: Insights for Online and Professional Education”
• From Ithaka S+R: “University Budget Models and Indirect Costs: A Primer”
• The Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE) Project
• Past TOPcast Episodes
  • TOPcast Episode #116: “3Fold Gains and the Improvement of Higher Ed” (with Dr. Steve Ehrmann)
  • TOPcast Episode #126: “COLOs, Context, and Community” (with Dr. Jocelyn Widmer) 
  • TOPcast Episode #151: “‘What a Year [of Disruption] It Has Been! […But] 2024 Is Upon Us!’” (2023 Call-In Show)

Just-for-Fun Pop Culture Links

• Florida’s “Tervis Tumblers”

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

About Episode 152:

Guest Patti O’Sullivan joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to discuss the significance of advance planning for academic continuity and the role that digital teaching and learning can play. Important all the time – not just for global pandemics.

Podcast Recording

Download Transcript: PDF

Episode 152 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• Single-Origin Guatemala from Heine Brothers Coffee (Louisville, KY)
• Diet Coke

Content Links 

• Patti O’Sullivan’s Online Profile on the Every Learner, Everywhere “About Us” Page
• Free Publication: “Planning for Academic Continuity: A Guide for Academic Leaders” (written by Patti O’Sullivan et al. for Every Learner, Everywhere)
• Every Learner Everywhere Organization Website
• From UCF: Policy Document “Continuity of Operations” (COOP)
• TOPcast Episode #61: “Beyond the Coronavirus: Continuity of Operations and Online Learning”

Just-for-Fun Pop Culture Links

• From Scouting Magazine: “Be Prepared: The origin story behind the Scout motto”

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

In this “call-in show” episode, hosts Kelvin and Tom are joined by multiple voices from the online education community to help us all make sense of 2023’s disruptions and make the most of 2024’s opportunities in our collective work. Themes include meeting the needs of diverse potential students and incorporating continually-evolving AI resources in this work.