Issues of access and affordability of college education are hotly debated topics which affect young people entering the college market, as well as approximately 44.7 million Americans who have outstanding student loans. One approach to reducing debt and increasing college completion rates is to encourage students to come to college with transfer credits from high school. In this episode, we talk with Jennifer Cook-DeRosa, author of the book Homeschooling for College Credit, about strategies that can help both homeschooled and traditional students earn transferable college credit while in high school. Resources Homeschooling for College Credit website and book. Bio Jennifer Cook-DeRosa is the founder, Executive Director, and owner of the Homeschooling for College Credit organization. Jennifer is also the author of the book, Homeschooling for College Credit. Jennifer’s inspirational teaching style encourages parents to reconsider the wisdom of getting kids INTO college, and instead builds a plan to get them OUT. Through resourceful high school planning for homeschooled teens, Jennifer teaches parents how to make the most of their teen's high school career by injecting college credit, building an exit strategy, and stepping forward as their teen's best guidance counselor.

So often in formal education we get focused on covering the content, or on hitting the outcomes or reaching the standards. The focus is on how to help learners achieve the goals set by a school, teacher, or government. While this is important, one of the main goals of education is to create learners that are self-directed and contributing members of society. In this podcast, we discuss the Japanese concept of Ikigai and describe some simple ways to create clarity and move toward a fulfilling, contributing occupation in your life. We also discuss ways to become self-directed toward achieving those goals. Our guest for this podcast is Wendy Ng. Wendy is an education and international relations specialist who is passionate about helping others through international collaborations and partnerships. She started her career as an educator and has diverse experiences in Singapore, Japan and around the world on Peace Boat. She enjoys facilitating cross-cultural exchange programs and developing experiential learning opportunities. She is also a content curator and writer who specializes in education and travel. Connect with her on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/ngwendy74/  and find out about her latest travel adventures at www.whywendywrites.com. Sources on Ikigai and self-directed learning: About Ikigai: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20170807-ikigai-a-japanese-concept-to-improve-work-and-life TedX talk on Ikigai: https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_tamashiro_how_to_ikigai In-depth discussion on Ikigai: https://medium.com/@support_35468/ikigai-is-not-a-venn-diagram-cca7abba323 Self-directed learning: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/seven-essential-elements-of-a-lifelong-learning-mind-set

Do you have questions regarding teaching online? Maria Angel Ferrero answers some of the more common questions, gives software advice, and offers tips for success.

If you are a teacher right now, you are probably facing the challenge of a fast and unexpected shift to teaching your courses online due to the global health crisis. In this podcast, we spoke with three experts who give you simple tips and strategies you need to move your course to an online format successfully.   Dr. Constance Wanstreet – coordinates Franklin's Title III grant to increase student retention and graduation. She has been training faculty to teach online for 15 years and co-wrote a book titled Jumpstart Your Online Classroom.   Jesse Fuhrman, MA – Jesse Fuhrman is a design faculty member at Franklin University and holds degrees from multiple universities, including his Master of Arts in Technologies of Instruction and Media from The Ohio State University, and has taught online at multiple universities.   Roberta Niche, M.Ed. – Roberta Niche, design faculty at Franklin, has a Master’s in Education (Instructional Technology). Prior to coming to Franklin, she had 25 years of experience working as a K-12 teacher in California and Texas and leading staff development as an officer in the US Navy.   5 Key Strategies for Teaching Online Develop an online presence and persona. Provide regular communication. To talk to your learners in videoconferencing. Stay involved with student learning activities. Take care of yourself and maintain life balance. Technologies & Resources Mentioned in this Podcast Your Online Classroom – Companion site for Jump-Start Your Online Classroom by David S. Stein and Constance E. Wanstreet Course Workload Estimator – Rice University Center for Teaching Excellence Tools for Teaching Online -– gives short summaries of the resources below and more. Teaching Online – Faculty Resources – as strategies and tools for each. Flipgrid Socrative Kahoot Peardeck Screencast-O-Matic Google Docs      Franklin University Instructional Design Resources International Institute for Innovative Instruction I4 Blog Posts: How Much Work to Assign in Our Courses? 5 Tips for Cultivating Engaged Students Begging the Question: Strategies to Increase Student Performance How to Use Media Effectively in Online Courses I4 Twitter I4 LinkedIn I4 YouTube     Additional Resources The Difference Between Emergency Remote Teaching and Online Learning – from EDUCAUSE Review How to Help Struggling Students Succeed Online – from the Chronicle of Higher Education Navigating Uncertain Times: How Schools Can Cope With Coronavirus – from EdSurge

User experience, learner experience design…if you’re in the e-learning business, you’ve probably heard these terms bounced around, but what exactly do they mean, and how to they apply to instructional design? Today we’ll be diving into these questions with Kyle Clements, who has a background in both instructional design and learner experience design. Kyle works for WGU Labs, a non-profit innovation center associated with Western Governors University, where he designs and guides the development of products and experiences from ideation through implementation and evaluation.   Resources: Nielsen Norman Group

We talk a lot about learner engagement in instructional design, especially for online learning experiences, but what do we really mean by that? With the fast pace of innovation, it seems like there are new learning tech tools available every day, but we know that simply throwing technology at students doesn’t equal engagement. Today we’ll be talking with Cara North about how to sift through all these available strategies and tools to best engage our learners. Cara North is an award-winning Senior Learning Experience Designer at The Ohio State University. As part of her role, she creates online courses and facilitates workshops for the College of Education and Human Ecology. She serves as President of Central Ohio ATD and is also a Ph.D. student in Learning Technologies at The Ohio State University. Cara was previously an instructional designer at Amazon where she created learning materials for Amazon Kindle. A self-proclaimed professional development and social media junkie, you can often find her on Twitter (@caranorth11) or hosting her show about Learning Technologies on The Training Learning and Development Cast (https://www.tldc.us). Resources: Connect with Haji Kamal Broken co-worker Multiple-Choice Mayhem

This is an interesting time in higher ed. There are news stories every day about the effects of crippling student loans, disparities in who is able to access higher education, and whether a college degree is even a good investment. At the same time, the demographics of the average student are changing. Students once considered non-traditional are quickly overtaking the typical image of a college student as a teenager straight from high school who goes away to a four-year residential campus. The new majority will be students who are older, already have workplace experience, and who expect flexible, mobile-enabled learning experiences that fit more easily into their busy lives. Today we’ll be talking with Dr. Patrick Bennett about these issues and how his team’s approach is turning some of these challenges into opportunities for creative design. As Vice President of the International Institute for Innovative Instruction, Dr. Bennett leads a diverse team of faculty and staff dedicated to improving learning. The Institute unites the university's curriculum design capabilities with teaching and learning assessment in order to develop and deliver successful education solutions. Dr. Bennett works closely with Franklin’s centers of excellence to assist in the development and implementation of high-quality learning solutions for Franklin and external partners. Clients include universities (domestic and international), Fortune 100 corporations, and governmental entities. In addition, Dr. Bennett serves as Dean of the School of Education (SOE) at Franklin and Urbana University. Dr. Bennett has more than eighteen years of experience in higher education. He provides executive leadership and management for projects that are mission critical to the university’s strategic objectives and worldwide partnerships.

Instructional design and training are fast-growing fields, especially within workplace settings, but the role of a learning professional is so much more than just designing and delivering necessary employee training. In this episode, we talk with Sonya Overstreet about creative strategies for taking workplace learning outside the box. Sonya Overstreet is a Learning and Development Manager and Certified Performance Technologist with over 20 years of experience in engineering, performance improvement, and workplace learning.

Collaboration is an essential element of the instructional design process, but it’s not without obstacles. Today’s guest Dr. Niccole Hyatt talks about strategies for effective collaboration with instructional design clients.

In this episode, Dr. Chenelle Jones shares the TEACH model, which she developed to keep her criminal justice students engaged. She also shares her experiences working with the TAPS Academy mentorship program, which connects youth and police officers with the aim of reducing social distance.