Textbook affordability is important to students, parents, policymakers, and online education professionals. Reducing the functional cost to students of course materials is a complex challenge. In this episode, hosts Tom and Kelvin discuss one multifaceted strategy for meeting this challenge. For show notes and interaction opportunities, please visit: http://cdl.ucf.edu/topcast-s05e51/br /

Episode 51: How Can We Make Textbooks More Affordable for Students?

Hosted by Thomas Cavanagh and Kelvin Thompson, the Teaching Online Podcast (TOPcast) takes a fun and informative look at the various trends, best practices and technologies in the realm of online education.

Education

Training

Language Courses

Higher Education

K-12

Educational Technology

In this episode, hosts Tom and Kelvin invite “fun with syllabi” by exploring the multiple roles played by the syllabus in online courses and encouraging adjustments to make syllabi more meaningful and inviting for students.
Podcast Recording


Download Transcript: PDF

Episode 163 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter
View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 


Single-Origin Burundi Kurusah from Sunergos Coffee (Louisville, KY)


Content Links 

Publisher’s Site: The SAGE Handbook of Online Higher Education


Social Media Artifact: One Example of the Syllabus “Easter Egg” of Instructions to Find Cash [from Dr. Conner Ewing]
Related Entries from the Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository (TOPR)

“Use Three-Before-Me as a Communication Strategy in a Large Class”
“Incorporate a Syllabus Quiz to Orient Students”


Dr. Michelle Pacansky-Brock’s Guidance for Creating a “Liquid Syllabus”
Prior TOPcast Episodes

#155: “High Quality Online Discussions – Here’s How”
#160: “‘Remember the Why:’ Designing Meaningful Learning Assignments”



Just-For-Fun Pop Culture Links

[video: 30 sec] Wile E. Coyote Painting an Exit (from Warner Brothers, not Hanna-Barbera)

Extra Special Feature

Video Version of This Episode!


Episode 163: The Online Syllabus: “A Welcome Mat for the Course”

In this time-sensitive episode (listen now!), return guests Russ Poulin and Cheryl Dowd explain how proposed actions by the US Department of Education (US ED) may negatively impact many online learners and US higher education institutions.
Podcast Recording


Download Transcript: PDF

Episode 162 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter
View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 


Photo of the Now-Extinct “Eclipse: A Spring Blend” Coffee from Sunergos Coffee (Louisville, KY)
Other Coffees from Sunergos Coffee


Content Links 

Russ Poulin’s Online Profile
Cheryl Dowd’s Online Profile
“In Defense of Reciprocity – A Joint Letter to the Department of Education & Call to Action” [signed by WCET, UPCEA, OLC, QM, AACC, and NACUBO]
WCET Frontiers Blog Posts Tagged “Regulation” (for new updates)
Prior TOPcast Episodes featuring Poulin & Dowd

Episode #58: “Fun with Regulations”
Episode #112: “SARA (and More!) Under Siege”



Extra Special Feature

Video Version of This Episode!


Episode 162: Listen and Act Now! US ED’s Proposed Online Changes

In this Season 10 kick-off episode, hosts Kelvin Thompson and Thomas Cavanagh revisit a “time capsule” of past predictions and pivot toward the various flavors of “possible futures” available now in online education.
Podcast Recording


Download Transcript: PDF

Episode 161 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter
View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 


“Yes, You Can Freeze Coffee Beans (If You Follow This Trick)” from Coffee Bros. Roastery, New York


Content Links 

All 10(!) TOPcast Season Kick-Off Episodes
Related TOPcast Episodes

#65: “Field Report #2: Preparing for the Post-COVID Future” 
#83: “Re-thinking Synchronous for the Post-COVID Era”
#85: “Blended Is the Future. (And It’s Not Just Courses)”
[From “The Key” Podcast] Episode #75: “Anticipating Higher Education’s Near Future(s)” with guest Dr. Bryan Alexander (Produced by Inside Higher Ed)


The SAGE Handbook of Online Higher EducatIon 
[Reminder] 2024 TOPcast Listener Survey 

Just-for-Fun Pop Culture Links

[Inspiration for This Episode’s Set-Up] The Last Archive Podcast from Pushkin Industries, hosted by Dr. Jill Lepore and Ben Naddaff-Hafrey
[In Reactor Magazine] “5 Insane Cliffhangers from the 1960’s Batman [Adam West TV Show]”
[In Wikipedia] “Transformers”
[In Wikipedia] “LifeSavers”

Extra Special Feature

Video Version of This Episode!






Episode 161: Taste the Rainbow of Online Ed’s Possible Futures






Guest Dr. Jean Mandernach joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to discuss how faculty and instructional designers can design more meaningful and engaging learning assignments for students, online or anywhere.

Podcast Recording







Guest Dr. Jean Mandernach






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Download Transcript: PDF

Episode 160 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter
View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 


Liberica Species of Coffee
Liberica Compared to Arabica and Robusta Coffees


Content Links 

Dr. Jean Mandernach’s Online Profile
The Journal of Educators Online    
[Book Co-Authored by Dr. Mandernach] Evaluating Online Teaching: Implementing Best Practices
[From Indiana University, Bloomington] “Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT)”   
“TILT Higher Ed”                       
[Book] Teaching Naked Techniques: A Practical Guide to Designing Better Classes 

Just-for-Fun Pop Culture Links

[In the Louisville Courier-Journal] “Is Louisville the North or the South? Let’s decide this once and for all”

Extra Special Feature

Video Version of This Episode!


Episode 160: “Remember the Why:” Designing Meaningful Learning Assignments

Hosts Kelvin and Tom talk through the importance of consulting trusted sources of data and information as the basis for sound decision making in online education, no matter what role one holds.
Podcast Recording

Download Transcript: PDF

Episode 159 Show Notes:

Episode Synopsis via Twitter
View complete list of episode highlights via Twitter

Coffee Links 


Single-Origin Honduras Las Flores (David Munoz) From Sightglass Coffee (San Francisco, CA)


Content Links 

[Reminder] 2024 TOPcast Listener Survey
(From Phil Hill’s On Ed Tech Newsletter) “Fall 2022 IPEDS Data: Profile of US Higher Ed Online Education”
(From the National Center for Educational Statistics) “IPEDS Trend Generator”
The Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE) Report Project
(From Wiley) “Voice of the Online Learner” Reports
(From the Online Learning Consortium) “Online Learning Journal”
Publications from OLC’s Research Center for Digital Learning & Leadership
Publications from WCET
EDUCAUSE Research
Past TOPcast Episodes

#96: 25 Years of “Conscientious, Methodical Research” with guest Dr. Patsy Moskal
#98 “I Don’t Ever Want to Do [Online] Again!” with guest Ryan Rogers
#130: Data, DETA, Design, and More with guest Dr. Tanya Joosten
#156: Reframing the Data That Tell the Stories About Online Students with guest Dr. Carmin Chan



Extra Special Feature

Video Version of This Episode!


Episode 51: How Can We Make Textbooks More Affordable for Students?

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