Technology in Education: Notes from the Closet

When I hear people talk about online instruction, I often hear how they love the ability to access content whenever they want, wherever they want. This is usually followed by, "but I don't like not being able to interact with my instructor and peers in person." This is fair. Even so, there are many ways to build community in an online course. This is by in large the responsibility of the instructor.  In humanized online courses, a phrase developed by Michelle Pacansky-Brock , students who experience a positive instructor-student relationship feel safe and trusted, allowing them to focus on absorbing information in a way that leads to real understanding. There are four principles Pacansky-Brock states, that lead to learning: trust, awareness, empathy, and presence. Her highly popular infographic, includes  8 elements she suggests instructors apply to their online courses to help humanize it. Below, see the elements and how I incorporate these into my online instruction to...

Created using NotebookLM In fall 2024, I transitioned out of working with or in a K-12 setting after over 30 years. I moved into higher education full-time. Although I’ve lived in this space for 15 years as an adjunct instructor, I still had a difficult time making the move. Not because the work was complicated or boring-it wasn’t- but because I no longer traveled in the same circles, so the people I talked to and learned with were suddenly not there anymore. That’s a hard thing to accept. Adding to the change, I also had to consider some of the certifications I achieved in K-12 that were no longer relevant to my full-time work. Some are prestigious, others not so much, and a few of them either require ongoing professional development hours or have a set expiration date. This brought a new dilemma- do I keep a certification that is no longer relevant just to have it? Do I let it go? Does keeping it mean anything when I have no intention of returning to that space? Does the accomplishme...

  Soon, I’ll teach a graduate course centered around teaching and learning online. In my roles as an adjunct instructor in higher education and the Director of Distance Learning for a community college, I live and breathe this modality. One of the assignments my students will be asked to do is to create an “Online Teaching and Learning Manifesto” in which they share their current beliefs. I love the reflective nature of this assignment and thought it was the right time to put mine on (digital) paper. In no particular order, here are some of the tenets that shape my beliefs and reflect how I teach graduate courses asynchronously and how I would like to be taught. Design matters . From user experience ( UX ) to interaction design (IX/ID), every decision made by an online instructor is important- design is not neutral. Many students (and instructors) have bitter memories of in-person courses being moved online during 2020’s Emergency Remote Learning. Taking an in-person course and mov...

Back in 2017, I wrote a blog post about how I spent my time online . Using David White's  concept of  Visitors vs. Residents,  I examined  the technology tools and sites I frequented most and reflected on whether I used them professionally or personally. I then categorized them according to White's idea:  Visitors use technology tools to get a job done quickly. They don't leave a digital trail or engage with others. Residents regularly interact with others or create with technology while openly sharing parts of themselves, whether names, comments, or resources.  At that time, I was in a different role in education as a school-based instructional technology coach. Now, I am still in the field of education, but as the Director of Distance Learning for a community college. The only role that hasn't changed in those eight years is my role as an adjunct instructor. The assignment to map digital spaces has always been one of my favorites, so this week I decided ...

Orienting students to online learning helps set the stage for success. By designing a "Start Here" or "Course Overview" module, your students see that you are invested in their learning. This 3-page document has ideas for items that can be included. https://bit.ly/OnlineOrientationIdeas

 In 2024, the Department of Justice updated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act requiring all digital assets to be fully accessible to everyone. To help move closer to compliance, I created a document with common issues that impede accessibility. The accessibility cheat sheet is embedded below. It is available for use with attribution.

In my role as the Director of Distance Learning, I am responsible for helping faculty create effective learning experiences for students in hybrid and online courses. Even though my focus is on the adults, it is important for students to be oriented to online learning and determine if this modality is for them. With that in mind, I created a series of flyers to help our community college students determine if online or hybrid learning is right for them. Click on each image below to view the flyers in full size.

This winter I am working toward adding a new credential to my learning: Quality Matter's  Teaching Online Certificate . This well-established and highly respected organization has put together a series of workshops that focuses on best practices of online teaching. I have reflected on each workshop as I completed them as a way to model metacognition. This post is the final reflection, 8 of 8. I'm fortunate to be at an institution that encourages and values continuous learning. As someone who has taught graduate courses for well known universities for 15 years, I feel I have a solid grasp of online pedagogical practices. Still, part of staying relevant is continuing to grow yourself and reflect on your learning. Having recently completed the workshops, this blog contains my thoughts about the process and content overall. In no specific order, here are my takeaways and tips for anyone considering working toward this credential. Build in space between each workshop. Not knowing an...

This winter I am working toward adding a new credential to my learning: Quality Matter's  Teaching Online Certificate . This well-established and highly respected organization has put together a series of workshops that focuses on best practices of online teaching. I plan to reflect on each workshop as I complete them as a way to model metacognition. This post is 7 of 8. When I scheduled my QM workshops I chose to take the Gauging Your Technology Skills workshop last. I was confident in my technology skills and thought it might be easier to end on a lighter note. For me, this was a great choice. In this workshop we took some skills self-evaluations to understand where our weaknesses were. While there were no areas of 'weakness,' there are always areas that need additional attention. In my case, that area would be using the internal analytics and features of the Learning Management Systems I use in my work and graduate courses: D2L, Canvas, and Blackboard. While I know how t...

This winter I am working toward adding a new credential to my learning: Quality Matter's  Teaching Online Certificate . This well-established and highly respected organization has put together a series of workshops that focuses on best practices of online teaching. I plan to reflect on each workshop as I complete them as a way to model metacognition. This post is 6 of 8. In the Evaluating Your Institutional Policies workshop we had the opportunity to explore both public-facing and internal policies our institutions have in place. As someone new to Triton College, this was extremely helpful for me. Many of these policies don’t directly relate to my position as Director of Distance Learning so having a dedicated block of time to explore these will allow me to reflect on suggestions I’d like to make for our online learning programs. Having an opportunity to explore classroom behavior, academic integrity, learner privacy, copyright, and accessibility policies as well as others helped s...

This winter I am working toward adding a new credential to my learning: Quality Matter's  Teaching Online Certificate . This well-established and highly respected organization has put together a series of workshops that focuses on best practices of online teaching. I plan to reflect on each workshop as I complete them as a way to model metacognition. This post is 5 of 8. This week the focus shifted to assessment. The first conversation revolved around academic honesty- a topic that has been discussed since assignments have been given! We talked about reasons why some students might cheat. One literature review on academic dishonesty cited poor time management, academic pressures, and low-stakes assignments as some of the reasons students go this route. Best practices seem to fall in three buckets: Inform & Educate Protect & Prevent Practice & Support I'm a firm believer in being honest and transparent with my graduate students in hope that they will be honest and t...

This winter I am working toward adding a new credential to my learning: Quality Matter's  Teaching Online Certificate . This well-established and highly respected organization has put together a series of workshops that focuses on best practices of online teaching. I plan to reflect on each workshop as I complete them as a way to model metacognition. This post is 4 of 8. This week the focus shifted to learning theories. Often, learning theories are covered in preservice education and then not touched on regularly once 'in the field.' It was nice to revisit and reflect on these. In a Behaviorism-based classroom information is transferred from the teacher to the student. Students learn through positive reinforcement if a desired response elicits a reward or a punishment and tend to act accordingly. This occurs through observations and the motivation is extrinsic, relying on verbal praise and rewards. In a Cognitive Constructivism classroom  (also referred to as Cognitivism) ...

This winter I am working toward adding a new credential to my learning: Quality Matter's  Teaching Online Certificate . This well-established and highly respected organization has put together a series of workshops that focuses on best practices of online teaching. I plan to reflect on each workshop as I complete them as a way to model metacognition. This post is 3 of 8.  In this workshop I spent time thinking about how I create presence for students in my online graduate courses. We expect our students to make a commitment to engage in our courses- we need to make a commitment to them, as well, to be present even when we aren't face-to-face.  The overarching theme of this workshop centers on the Community of Inquiry framework which states that effective online courses contain three types of entangled interactions: Social Presence- how students connect with the class community. Cognitive Presence- how students are able to construct and infer meaning from course content t...

This winter I am working toward adding a new credential to my learning: Quality Matter's  Teaching Online Certificate . This well-established and highly respected organization has put together a series of workshops that focuses on best practices of online teaching. I plan to reflect on each workshop as I complete them as a way to model metacognition. This post is 1 of 8.  The second workshop I participated in was EYCD- Evaluating Your Course Design. This workshop was a two-day synchronous session (the first workshop was an asynchronous weeklong commitment). The audience was very small- only three participants. This was both slightly awkward but also an advantage. Having such a small group meant we had the opportunity to ask detailed questions of the facilitator. It also forced me to pay attention the entire time! Often, its very easy to become distracted when there is a larger crowd and your camera can be off.  An additional bonus was the use of a new video conferencing p...

This winter I am working toward adding a new credential to my learning: Quality Matter's  Teaching Online Certificate . This well-established and highly respected organization has put together a series of workshops that focuses on best practices of online teaching. I plan to reflect on each workshop as I complete them as a way to model metacognition. This post is 2 of 8. As the Director of Distance Learning for Triton College, one of my responsibilities is to ensure the delivery of high-quality online education that offers innovation and supports faculty and student success aligning with institutional goals. While I bring a wealth of knowledge and experience having been an adjunct in higher education for over 14 years and being fully engulfed in digital learning for the past 16 years, there is always room for improvement.  This winter I am working toward adding a new credential to my learning. Recently I wrapped up my first workshop in Quality Matter's Teaching Online Certific...

 Recently in my role as Director of Distance Learning I shared an infographic that I made for adult learners: How to Succeed in Online Courses . It's been well-received, and I plan to expand on this in the future. 

In June 2024 I presented the lessons I learned from coaching at the ISTELive Conference in Denver. I first wrote about this topic when I left my role as a school-based coach in 2018. EdTech K-12 Magazine asked me to write an article for their online publication. The text below is from the online article , published August 14, 2024. 10 Lessons Learned from 10 Years of Coaching K–12 Educators Water the flowers, not the rocks. By Nicole Zumpano Nicole Zumpano spent a decade as an instructional technology coach in  Chicago Public Schools . She has left her mark on education as a teacher, coach, director and adjunct instructor.  The role of instructional coach is a complicated position in education. It requires flexibility, self-reflection and a thick skin. Instructional coaches often work with the entire faculty of a school building — or, in some cases, an entire district. Just as  teachers modify instruction each year  when new students enter their classrooms, coaches ...