The LMS Divide: Should Online and In-Person Students Have Different Access?

The LMS as a Repository…or a Learning Environment Historically, the LMS often served as a storage space. The “real” teaching happened in the classroom, while the LMS acted as an administrative support system around it. That distinction is no longer as clear. Today, the LMS determines how students navigate units, access content, revisit concepts, prepare…

Teaching as Performance vs Teaching as Design

Teaching is often perceived and judged as a performance. We walk into a room, deliver content, facilitate discussion, respond in the moment, and manage the energy of the class. When it goes well, it feels engaging, dynamic, and successful. When it doesn’t, it can feel flat, disconnected, or difficult to recover from. In this framing,…

The Myth of Engagement in Higher Education

Engagement has become one of the most frequently used yet least interrogated terms in higher education. It appears in course reviews, teaching frameworks, institutional strategies, and professional learning sessions. We are encouraged to design “engaging” classes, monitor student engagement, and respond when engagement appears to drop. It is presented as both a marker of quality…

From Optional to Essential: Rethinking Placement in Higher Education

Why industry experience should be designed into every degree—not left to chance In higher education, placement is often seen as optional. It’s included in certain courses but not others, viewed as a competitive opportunity rather than a standard part of the curriculum, and considered supplementary rather than central to the degree. However, if we acknowledge…

From Click, Read, Submit, Repeat to Listen, Watch, Think: Designing Learning Beyond the LMS

Click.Read.Submit.Repeat. For many students, this has become the dominant rhythm of university study. Log in to the LMS. Browse pages that seem more like relics from the late 90s than modern learning spaces. Scroll through text-heavy content. Download a PDF. Upload an assignment. Move on. A rhythm built for compliance, not for curiosity. A cycle…