Guest Dr. Vickie Cook joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to discuss unexpected career trajectories for digital learning professionals, especially COLOs, related to sought-after, transferable skill sets.

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Guest Dr. Vickie Cook

Episode 178 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

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Coffee Links 

• Single-Origin Guatemala San Isidro (from Lineage Coffee Roasting, Orlando, FL)
• Gorilla Decaf (from Organic Coffee Company)

Content Links 

• Dr. Vickie Cook’s Online Profile
• UPCEA 2025 Program Featuring Enrollment Management Session Panel with Dr. Vickie Cook
• UPCEA Hallmarks of Excellence in Online Leadership
• [From OLC Research Center for Digital Learning & Leadership] Publications Related to Digital Learning Professional Roles
• TOPcast Episode #74: “‘Connecting the Dots:’ Lessons for Leadership” (with guest Dr. Shubha Kashyap)

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

In celebration of 30 years of OLC conferences and with input and reactions from our community of online/digital learning professionals, including a live audience(!), hosts Tom and Kelvin discuss the issues inherent in predicting and shaping a desirable future for online/digital education over the next 30 years.

Podcast Recording

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Episode 177 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

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Coffee Links 

• [Book] Thanks A Thousand: A Gratitude Journey (by A.J. Jacobs)

Content Links 

• [From CERN] “A Short History of the Web”
• [On the Bavablog by Jim Groom] “Archie, Veronica, and Other Old Gold Technologies”
• [OLC/Sloan-C History] “Pioneering Higher Education’s Digital Future: An Evaluation of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Anytime, Anyplace Learning Program (1992-2012)” (Picciano et al.) 
• [From the Carnegie Foundation] “The Carnegie Unit” 
• [From the Christensen Institute] “Disruptive Innovation Theory” 
• Background on 2024 OLC Accelerate Keynote Dr. Christina Katopodis
• [Book via Project MUSE] Learning Online: The Student Experience (by George Veletsianos – quoted in this episode)
• Quote attributed to Alan Kay: “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” 
• On Being Uniquely Human – Poet, Philosopher, and Theologian Examples
  • [From the On Being podcast with Krista Tippett] “Seeking Language Large Enough” – Interview with Poet David Whyte
  • [Via Wikipedia] Martin Buber’s “I/Thou” Relationships

Summary of Karl Barth’s Criteria for Authentic Human Meetings (Built on Buber’s I/Thou) in Relation to AI [in Book Review: “Kinstler on Herzfeld, ‘The Artifice of Intelligence: Divine and Human Relationship in a Robotic Age’”]

Just for Fun Pop Culture Links

• [Video] “You Look Marvelous” (Billy Crystal)

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

Guest Dr. Matt Bergman joins Tom and Kelvin to discuss the current role credit for prior learning plays in American higher education and how we can all do a bit more to use this approach effectively in our digital learning work.

Podcast Recording

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Guest Dr. Matt Bergman

Episode 176 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• Yirgafecta by Sightseer Coffee (Austin, TX) | Fellow’s Brew Recipe

Content Links 

• Dr. Matt Bergman’s Online Profile
• Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL)
• [Report From AACRAO] “Embracing Credit for Prior Learning: Advancing Educational Equity and Mobility through a Learner-Centric Approach”
• [Report From CAEL] “The PLA Boost”
• [Case Study from AASCU] “Accelerating Graduation with Expanded Credit Initiative” (Lehman College)
• [YouTube Channel] “College Hacked” (recommended by Tom)

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

In this “call-in show” episode, hosts Tom and Kelvin are joined by some of the past year’s guests in sharing observations about 2024 as it ends and predictions and hopes about 2025 as it begins. Some of the themes emerging include balancing humanness and technology-assistance and staying focused on the aspirational goals of our collective work.

Podcast Recording

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Episode 175 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• Single-Origin Guatemala Miramundo from Sunergos Coffee (Louisville, KY)
• Green Mountain Half-Caff 

Content Links 

• Past Years’ “Special December Episodes” of TOPcast
• Past TOPcast Episodes Featuring Call-In Guests (in order of appearance in #175)
  • (Dr. Anna Porcaro) TOPcast #154: “Alternative Educational Programs and Digital Higher Ed”
  • (Dr. Justin Shaffer) TOPcast #166: “High Structure Course Design for Online STEM Courses”
  • (Angie Rocha) TOPcast #172: “Online Education in Guatemala”
  • (Dr. Jenny Sumner) TOPcast #164: “Student Success Coaching Online”
  • (Dr. Jean Mandernach) TOPcast #160: “‘Remember the Why:’ Designing Meaningful Learning Assignments”
  • (Russ Poulin & Cheryl Dowd) TOPcast #162: “Listen and Act Now! US ED’s Proposed Online Changes”
  • (Dr. Carmin Chan) TOPcast #159: “‘Adjusting Your Sails’ in Online Ed Based on the Data” 
  • (Patti O’Sullivan) TOPcast #152: “Still ‘Be Prepared’ for Disruption with Digital Learning”
  • (Melissa Loble) TOPcast #168: “‘More Positive Hope than Ever Before’”

• Related Previous Episodes of TOPcast
  • Episode #171: “The ‘North Star’ of Online Learners’ Needs”

Just for Fun Pop Culture Links

• [2.5 minute video] Dorothy Wakes Up – “There’s No Place Like Home” (The Wizard of Oz)
• [On Wikipedia] “Serenity Prayer”

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

Guest Phil Hill joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to discuss substantive insights on the role of the LMS and trends in online higher ed enrollments. (Must see TV. Even if it is a podcast.)

Podcast Recording

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Episode 174 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• Trader Joe’s Small Lot Single-Origin Mexico La Concordia Coffee
• Starbuck’s Maple Pecan Coffee

Content Links 

• Phil Hill’s Online Profile
• “On EdTech Newsletter”
• Phil Hill and Associates
• [On Apple Podcasts] “Online Education Across the Atlantic” Podcast (hosted by Phil Hill, Glenda Morgan, and Neil Mosley)
• LMS Provider Websites
  • Blackboard by Anthology
  • Brightspace by D2L
  • Canvas by Instructure
  • Moodle
• [On Corporate Finance Institute Website] “[Everett Rogers’] Diffusion of Innovation”
• Related Prior TOPcast Episodes
  • #159: “‘Adjusting Your Sails’ in Online Ed Based on the Data” [includes shoutout to Phil Hill’s work]
  • #140: “Maturing the Core Work of Online Education” (with guest Neil Mosley)
  • #110 – “The LMS: Institutional ‘Linchpin’” (with guest Kerlene King)
  • #12 – “The LMS: Past, Present, and Future”

Just for Fun Pop Culture Links

• [2.5 minute video] “Pecos Bill Rides A Tornado in Texas”
• [In All Recipes] “Wait—How Do You Pronounce ‘Pecan?’”
• [Craft Beer from Hop Atomica] “It’s Pronounced Peecan”

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

Hosts Tom and Kelvin talk through themes from the CHLOE 9 report that stand out as broadly applicable to all online education professionals while we all seek to anticipate or shape the future.

Podcast Recording

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Episode 173 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• Pecan Crunch Oat Milk Latte (Starbucks)

Content Links 

• The Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE) Project (2017-present)
• [Hosted by Bayview Analytics] Historic “Babson Reports” AKA “Sloan Surveys of Online Learning” (2003-2016)
• Reflections on That [Attributed to] Gretzky Quote
• “Primer” on “Movement” within US Department of Education in Phil Hill and Associates’ On EdTech Newsletter
• Related Past TOPcast Episodes
  • #161 – “Taste the Rainbow of Online Ed’s Possible Futures”
  • #147 – “Faculty Preparation and More QA Insights from CHLOE 8”
  • #123 – “Hybridity Predicted and More from CHLOE 7”
  •  #93 – “‘A More Generalized Perspective:’ Reflections on the CHLOE 6 Report”

Just for Fun Pop Culture Links

• [In All Recipes] “Wait—How Do You Pronounce ‘Pecan?‘”
• [From Wikipedia] “Krampus”
• [From Marvel.com] Groot and Arbor Day
• [Re-release, Extra Pop Culture] Past Present Podcast’s tracing of “the history of the pumpkin spice phenomenon”

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

Guest and former Hubert Humphrey Fellow Angelica Gabriela Rocha Guevara joins hosts Tom and Kelvin from Guatemala to discuss the similarities and differences of her country’s pursuit of online education compared to that of other countries around the globe.

Podcast Recording

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Angie Rocha

Episode 172 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• Single-Origin Guatemala Santa Felisa Yellow Catuai from Bean & Bean Coffee Roasters (New York, NY)

Content Links 

• Angelica Gabriela Rocha Guevara’s Profile on the UCF Digital Learning Website
• Hubert Humphrey Fellowship
• Universidad del Valle de Guatemala
• Past TOPcast Episodes
  • #24 “Multilingual Musings: International Connections in Online Education” (with guest Alejandra (“Alex”) Pickett)
  • #150 “A Global, Holistic, 360 Degree Perspective on Online Higher Education” (with guest Dr. Safary Wa-Mbaleka)

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

Hosts Kelvin and Tom consider the centrality that online learners’ needs must have in shaping the work of online higher education. Particular attention is given to how responsibility for this common goal must be shared between individual faculty and institutional processes to assure quality at scale.

Podcast Recording

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Episode 171 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• “Equinox: A Fall Blend” from Sunergos Coffee Roasters (Louisville, KY)

Content Links 

• [Please Click and Vote Now!] Listener Poll: Crowdsourced Input on “TOPcast Live” Session at OLC Accelerate 2024
• Publisher’s Site: The SAGE Handbook of Online Higher Education
• [Book via Project MUSE] Learning Online: The Student Experience (George Veletsianos)
• [Supported by ProctorU] “Student Bill of Rights”
• Past TOPcast Episodes
  • Episode #133: “The Three Students You Might Meet in Your Online Class”
  • Episode #99: ““The Importance of ‘Faculty Voice and Faculty Valuing’ in Online Education””
    

Just for Fun Pop Culture Links

• Access (and Translate!) a Morse Code Excerpt from this Episode

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

Return guest Nicolaas Matthijs joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to discuss some of the trends he’s seeing in the rapidly changing AI-assisted technology space with an eye toward how digital learning professionals can make wise use of the tools in our work.

Podcast Recording

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Nicolaas Matthijs

Episode 170 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• Tanzania Peaberry Lyamungo from Sunergos Coffee (Louisville, KY)

Content Links 

• [Please Click and Vote Now!] Listener Poll: Crowdsourced Input on “TOPcast Live” Session at OLC Accelerate 2024
• Visual: “Gartner Hype Cycle” 
• Video Interview: “Exploring the Frontiers of AI: A Conversation with [Columbia University] Professor Hod Lipson”
• Keynote Video: “If AI is the Answer, What is the Question: Thinking about Learning and Vice Versa” (Dr. Chris Dede)
• Prior TOPcast Episodes
  • #158: “AI-Assistance Built-In: Less Obvious/More Useful” (with Nicolaas Matthijs)
  • #146: “Get Hands-On with AI” (with Dr. Rohan Jowallah)

Just-for-Fun Pop Culture Link

• [On vinyl 45 rpm records] “Bemused and a Bit Bereaved on Behalf of the B Side”

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

Hosts Tom and Kelvin discuss the relationship between the strategic value institutions find in online education and institutions establishing senior roles of responsibility for online and digital learning. Implications for a variety of institutional roles are considered.

Podcast Recording

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Episode 169 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter

View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 

• Mysterious Clues on “Ruthie’s Blend” from Stomping Grounds Coffee Co., Louisville, KY

Content Links 

• [Research study] “A National Study of Online Learning Leaders in US Higher Education” (Fredericksen, 2017)
• [Research study] “A National Study of Online Learning Leaders in US Community Colleges” (Fredericksen, 2018)
• UPCEA Hallmarks of Excellence in Online Leadership
• [UPCEA article] “The Chief Online Learning Officer: Competencies, Roles, and Trajectories” (Herron, Lashley, Salley, and Shaw, 2016)
• [From UPCEA, 2023] “Definition Update: Chief Online Learning Officer (COLO)”
• [Edited book] From Grassroots to the Highly Orchestrated: Online Leaders Share Their Stories of the Evolving Online Organizational Landscape in Higher Education (Bouchey, Graz, Kurland, 2023)
• TOPcast Episodes
  • #36: “Finding Online Learning Leaders: ‘Fredericksen’s List’”
  • #126: “COLOs, Context, and Community”
    
  • #136: “Online Higher Ed: Finding Ourselves in Other People’s Stories”

Just for Fun Pop Culture Links

• Hidden Brain podcast

Extra Special Feature

• Video Version of This Episode!

Guest Melissa Loble joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to share an optimistic vision for the future of technology-enabled higher education. Amidst heightened automation and AI assistance, the uniquely human affordances of relationships are all the more crucial in solving our challenges.