Author Archive

Vawn Himmelsbach

Vawn Himmelsbach is a journalist and tech blogger based in Toronto. Published in The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, National Post, CBC, Moneywise, Zoomer, Wheels, CAA Magazine, Explore Magazine, Canadian Traveller, Travelweek, WestJet Magazine, Ottawa Life, Flare and Consumer Reports, among others.

  1. Virtual Classrooms: The Ultimate Guide to Setting Up Your Online Course

    Creating effective and engaging virtual classrooms is more important than ever. Here’s how to get started.

  2. How Education Technology In The Classroom Can Impact Student Learning

    Technology in the classroom is essential for increasing student engagement and empowering educators to create innovative learning experiences in and out of class

  3. 25 Classroom Icebreakers For College Professors [Plus: Free List of 50 Icebreakers]

    A roundup of the best classroom icebreakers to help students connect and collaborate in any course

  4. 4 Surprising Ways To Boost Classroom Attendance

    We know from studies—and the wisdom that comes with experience—that attending class leads to improved student outcomes. And yet, it’s not uncommon for lecture halls to sit half-empty, particularly a few weeks into a course. If students are pressed for time or don’t see the value in coming to class, how can you encourage them […]

  5. How To Incorporate Midterm Course Evaluations

    Students may be busy preparing for midterms, but this time of year is also an opportunity to take a pause by carrying out a midterm course evaluation. This isn’t a form of busywork: rather, it’s a way to find out what’s working—and what isn’t—before you reach the end of the semester (and before it’s too […]

  6. 4 Emerging Education Technology Trends to Watch

    Education and technology have always developed hand-in-hand—and technology has always informed the way we educate. But we are far from the end of history in education technology and there is a great deal of transformation still ongoing, in fields from machine learning and AI, to advanced analytics. The EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: 2019 Higher Education Edition […]

  7. 6 Ways Professors Can Combat Cheating in the Classroom

    From incorporating open-book testing, to utilizing secure online assessment technology, there are a number of ways professors can prevent cheating in their courses

  8. 73% of Colleges Are Planning Active Learning Classrooms by 2020

    Students are changing—which means courses must start changing too

  9. Agile Learning: Collaboration in the Classroom

    Agile learning takes its inspiration from the concept of ‘agile’ as used in the world of technology. Agile teams collaborate on projects and provide ongoing feedback, dealing with minor bumps in the road before they become major obstacles. If something doesn’t work, they change course. Agile methodology works in the tech industry, but it’s increasingly […]

  10. How to Engage Students in Active Learning

    You’ve created new lesson plans and are experimenting with active learning in the classroom. The problem is, your students are completely resistant to the idea. Here’s how to engage students in active learning—even if they are initially reluctant. Active learning teaching strategies are effective teaching and learning methods. But that doesn’t mean everybody understands the […]

  11. Course Evaluation: What’s Wrong and How to Fix it

    Course evaluation often elicits groans from students — and can cause stress for instructors. There’s even an article1 in The Chronicle of Higher Education entitled “Everyone Hates Course Evaluations.” But there are good reasons for doing evaluations as part of the teaching and learning process — and there are ways to make it easier and […]

  12. Ethos, Pathos, Logos: How Rhetoric Can Improve Your Teaching

    The three rhetorical appeals — pathos, ethos, logos — were defined by Aristotle hundreds of years ago, but they’re just as relevant today

  13. YouTube in the Classroom: 7 Tips and Best Practices

    While YouTube is better known for Taylor Swift and video game commentary than higher education, the video hosting platform has gone from a potential classroom distraction to a multifaceted learning tool. To date, YouTube has more than one billion users in 91 countries—that’s almost one-third of the population with Internet access. Of all the videos […]

  14. How To Become a Tenure Track Professor

    Looking to get on the tenure track? Here's what you need to plan for, and how to get there

  15. Curriculum Based Measurement: How To Get Started

    While exams are designed to test and score knowledge, they don’t always indicate how well students are progressing through course material. That’s where curriculum based measurement comes in. Developed by researchers in the late 1970s, this objective assessment technique quickly measures student progress — and responsiveness to various teaching techniques — ultimately producing a better […]

  16. Course Design For Agile Teaching: 5 Ideas To Try

    Rote learning has become passé. So has passive teaching. These days, top educators are thinking about being agile and engaging, and that comes from first principles: your course design. In the same way software developers create agile software — in which they keep trying new things and improving, and mistakes are part of the journey […]

  17. How To Motivate Students: Some Different Approaches

    It’s an age-old problem faced by teachers: how to motivate students. While research has found a correlation between motivation and academic achievement, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to inspiring your students to engage in course material. But, with a bit of effort, you can effectively motivate different types of learners and, ultimately, […]

  18. Reflective Teaching: Some Tips To Get Started

    Some days, students respond well to your lesson; other days you can’t seem to get through. That’s where reflective teaching can help. As the term suggests, reflective teaching is thinking about what you’re teaching, and why you’re teaching it. But it goes a step beyond that. It’s about collecting and analyzing that data — exploring […]

  19. Educational Technology Grants: Where to Apply and How

    Finding out about educational technology grants — especially ones that are relevant to higher education — isn’t as straightforward as one might imagine. This guide will give you some places to start your search

  20. How to Become an Adjunct Professor

    If you love to teach and have a passion for your industry, you may want to consider part-time work in higher education. Here’s how to become an adjunct professor. In this role, you teach courses just like a professor with tenure, but without the same responsibilities (or pay). Typically, an adjunct professor is an educator […]