This alternative has been making waves for its revolutionary philosophy. How does it really work? — In 2016, Linda B. Nilson wrote about a grading method named Specifications Grading that she had used in her own courses. She argued that it increased student motivation, improved their performance, reduced cheating, and didn’t really take too much extra time and effort on her part. It seemed too good…

The definitive list of polling ideas to engage students in the classroom — In-class polls have been popularly used for attendance, quizzing and surveys, but they have a lot more potential to improve student learning and keeping students engaged with a course even outside lecture hours. Polling can be used to prompt in-class discussions and solicit responses on a multitude of topics, and…

Goodbye pandemic. Hello reimagined learning 👋 — A note about this article from the Acadly team The COVID-19 pandemic was, and continues to be, a global tragedy. We could not help but wonder if “silver lining” articles such as this one could seem facetious or opportunistic, so we wanted to add a foreword this time. Not to sound philosophical, but in times of loss and strife…

Deadlines. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them… but okay, how do you live with them? — About Acadly Acadly helps instructors engage students and automate attendance in any kind of class — in-person, online, or hybrid. For online and hybrid classes, video-conferencing on Acadly is powered by our Zoom integration. “ … is due in 1 day.” Unpleasant, isn’t it? Be it a credit card bill, a work project, or a college assignment — these…

What is a hybrid class? What’s HyFlex? What’s a blended class? The good news is that it doesn’t matter. You need to solve for the same issues in every kind. — Hybrid’s happening. Whether we encourage it or not. A Learning Technology Director we spoke with had this to say about hybrid classes, and clearly, everyone gets why it’s needed today. Quarantine requirements overlapped with the return to in-person classes at several universities in 2021 and 2022. This meant that students…

For some time now, we’ve wanted to discuss a topic that impacts our nations, our communities, our families, us, and indeed, our classrooms — the idea of equity. To get a holistic perspective and learn more about the pedagogical concepts that originate from the idea, we referred to MIT’s course…

Get the most out of students during discussions — Making class discussions tick is among the most crucial aspects of an instructor’s role in the classroom. No matter the discipline or subject, setting aside time for discussions can help students become more than rote learners seeking to simply absorb information. In this week’s infographic, we’re taking a look at…

Feeling invisible can help students feel seen. Learn how to use anonymous polls to invite honest feedback in your class. — Nine-tenths of education is encouragement. – Anatole France It is no secret that not all students are equally comfortable speaking up in class. Several barriers that inhibit communication can be addressed with simple in-class polls, but even polls have limitations. It can be difficult to get honest feedback when students…

In-class student engagement technology is evolving rapidly. Should you consider making a switch? — The rise of Student Response Systems (also called Audience Response Systems or Classroom Response Systems) in higher-ed seems like an inevitability now, but that wasn’t always the case. The adoption of any edtech innovation requires thousands of educators to try these products, use them regularly, evangelise their use among their…