Category: Teaching and Learning
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The Role of Social Presence in Online Graduate Courses
To create truly engaging and transformative online graduate programs, we must ensure that students develop strong social presence skills—competencies that shape how they interact, collaborate, and lead in digital spaces. These skills are not just academic necessities but essential professional competencies that Students will carry into their careers. Using Bloom’s…
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When Teaching Becomes Training
In online graduate education, the line between teaching and training is becoming increasingly blurred. Traditionally, teaching is associated with fostering intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and deep learning, while training focuses on developing specific, applicable skills. As online education grows, many programs are adopting training-oriented models, prioritizing structured, skills-based learning over…
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Community of Inquiry (CoI)
Online learning has evolved far beyond its early days as a simple content-delivery model. Today, the most effective online courses foster rich interaction, deep engagement, and meaningful learning experiences. But how can educators ensure that students in virtual environments feel connected to both the material and their peers? The Community…
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Planned and Unplanned Online Discussions
Introduction In a graduate online course, the weekly discussion forum can make the difference between a class that sparks deep reflection and one that feels like a perfunctory exercise. Thoughtfully facilitated online discussions serve as a bridge between passive content consumption and active intellectual engagement. When students engage in meaningful…
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Social Media Simulations
A Social Media Simulation is an innovative, real-world-inspired presentation format that requires students to develop and execute a digital campaign or explanatory thread that mimics the structure and engagement dynamics of social media platforms. Unlike traditional presentations that emphasize long-form explanations, this method challenges students to distill complex ideas into…
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Digital Storytelling
A Digital Storytelling Presentation is a multimedia-rich narrative format that combines narration, visuals, and music to convey complex ideas in a compelling and emotionally engaging way. Unlike traditional presentations that rely on static slides or straightforward spoken explanations, digital storytelling integrates text, images, audio, and video to create an immersive…
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PechaKucha Presentations
A PechaKucha (Japanese for “chit-chat”) or Ignite Presentation is a fast-paced, visually driven presentation format that challenges students to communicate ideas concisely, engage audiences effectively, and enhance their visual storytelling skills. Unlike traditional presentations where students can linger on slides, PechaKucha and Ignite formats impose strict timing constraints—typically 20 slides…
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Town Hall Meeting
A Town Hall Meeting Presentation is an interactive, role-based discussion format that simulates a public forum where diverse stakeholders debate, deliberate, and negotiate solutions to real-world issues. Unlike traditional presentations that focus on individual or group reports, the Town Hall format requires students to engage with multiple perspectives, defend their…
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Devil’s Advocate
A Devil’s Advocate Presentation is a structured argumentative exercise designed to challenge assumptions, encourage critical thinking, and deepen analytical reasoning by requiring students to argue against a commonly accepted viewpoint. Unlike standard debates, where students may be assigned to either side of an issue, this format specifically tasks students with…
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Impromptu Presentations
Impromptu Presentations are a dynamic learning strategy designed to challenge students to think on their feet and communicate effectively with minimal preparation. This format pushes learners out of their comfort zones, requiring them to organize their thoughts quickly, articulate ideas clearly, and respond confidently to unexpected prompts. Unlike traditional presentations,…
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