013 Thereafter, Our Tools Shape Us

Online education makes learning opportunities available for millions of people who otherwise would have very limited access to teachers, peers, and classrooms. As educators continue to explore all the ways we can use digital learning environments to better reach kids, we must search for ways to make the digital space as responsive and personal as a real teacher in a physical classroom. This month’s paper looks at how providing social cues in a digital setting improves student engagement and understanding. Later we read a paper provided by the community in comments on episode 011 For Whom Does the Bell Toll. How do the demands of curricula that can scale across many classrooms conflict with a school’s ability to provide autonomy for great teachers? We’ll read commentary from a blog post and provide professional literature to guide our next steps. Finally, our peer review segment will include a phone call from a colleague in California higher education. We’ll reflect on his comments and attempt to provide some follow-up questions to which you can respond. We drink Victory at Sea, an imperial, vanilla and coffee porter from Ballast Point Brewing Company.