TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast

TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast

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.

Episodes

Episode 200: Last Call at the TOPcast Cafe

January 5, 2026 • 36 mins
Recorded in front of a plenary audience at the OLC Accelerate 2025 conference and drawing upon crowdsourced listener input and live audience questions, this is it: the final, regularly-scheduled episode of TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast. Please enjoy this cumulative synthesis of insights from the podcast. Good-bye and thanks for joining us for all the coffee and all the conversations!
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Episode 199: Pillar Panel #3: Faculty Professional Development in Online Ed

December 1, 2025 • 58 mins
Guests Dr. Michelle Pacansky-Brock (“Brocanksy”) and Dr. Alejandra (“Alex”) Pickett unpack decades of experience in conversation with hosts Tom and Kelvin on the topic of scaling high-quality, impactful online design/teaching through preparing and supporting faculty. This episode is the final episode in a mini-series of “pillar panels” offering distilled insights from esteemed community members on key, “structural support” topics e...
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Episode 198: “An Instructional Design Institute in a Book!”

November 17, 2025 • 34 mins
Dr. Safary Wa-Mbaleka and Dr. Baiyun Chen join hosts Tom and Kelvin to discuss the future of the field of higher education instructional design and their comprehensive(!) new book on the subject. 
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Episode 197: Pillar Panel #2: Evidence-Based Practice in Online/Digital Ed

November 3, 2025 • 55 mins
Guests Dr. Tanya Joosten and Dr. Patsy Moskal unpack decades of expertise in conducting research and fostering evidence-based practice in conversation with hosts Tom and Kelvin. This episode is the second in a mini-series of “pillar panels” offering distilled insights from esteemed community members on key, “structural support” topics essential in the future of strategic online/digital education.
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Episode 196: The Future of Student Success and Digital Learning is “Co-created”

October 20, 2025 • 31 mins
Guest Dr. Cristi Ford returns to the show to discuss with hosts Kelvin and Tom revolutionary forces, wicked problems, and the importance of seeing the future of digital learning and student success as “co-created.”
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Episode 195: Managing the Online Expectations of Presidents and Provosts

October 6, 2025 • 28 mins
Hosts Kelvin and Tom synthesize themes from three 2025 industry reports and more in this episode to focus on the importance of aligning leadership ambitions of presidents/provosts and quality assurance operations of online education.
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Episode 194: Becoming Ambassadors of “Acceptance”

September 15, 2025
OLC’s Dr. Jennifer Mathes joins hosts Tom and Kelvin to discuss the roles we all can play in ensuring that higher ed online learning continues to be effective and strategic in meeting our society’s needs.
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Episode 193: Pillar Panel #1: Leadership Vision in Online Ed

September 2, 2025 • 61 mins
Guests Ray Schroeder and Dr. Melissa Vito unpack decades of practical wisdom on leadership vision in conversation with hosts Tom and Kelvin. This episode is the first in a mini-series of “pillar panels” offering distilled insights from esteemed community members on key, “structural support” topics essential in the future of strategic online/digital education.
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Episode 192: Futures Thinking and Digital Higher Ed

August 18, 2025 • 30 mins
Higher ed futurist Dr. Bryan Alexander guests alongside hosts Kelvin and Tom to reflect on the recent past and near-term possible futures of digital higher education.
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Episode 191: Student Retention Through Online Learning

August 4, 2025 • 29 mins
Hosts Tom and Kelvin consider the role well-designed online learning can play in institutional efforts to increase student retention. 
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Episode 190: “When Will Online Learning Stop Growing?” (Plus More Market Insights!)

July 21, 2025 • 40 mins
Guest market analyst Dr. Glenda Morgan joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to share a concentrated distillation of wise insights on online enrollment growth, student success online, and much more. 
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Episode 189: “We Have a Problem” with Many of Our Incoming Students

July 7, 2025 • 32 mins
Hosts Kelvin and Tom examine recent trend data on the academic readiness and unique challenges of current K12 students who will be college students soon. Digital learning professionals can bring our strengths to the table to partner with other colleagues in better supporting these learners.
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Episode 188: How Do You Do It? Leading Strategy and Practice in Online Education

June 16, 2025 • 33 mins
Return guest Dr. Jocelyn Widmer joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to discuss a brand new book focused on leading the strategy and practice of online higher education and clarifying the role of the Chief Online Learning Officer (COLO).
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Episode 187: The TOPcast “Core Audience” and Strategic Online Education

June 2, 2025 • 30 mins
Hosts Kelvin and Tom speak about (and to) the “core audience” of online faculty, instructional designers, and administrative leaders, alongside many other roles, to unpack the podcast’s conceptualization of online education as centered on optimizing course design and teaching.
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Episode 186: Expert Tips for Online Program Marketing and Enrollment

May 19, 2025 • 30 mins
Return guest Dr. Sasha Thackaberry-Voinovich joins hosts Kelvin and Tom to share hard won expert tips on improving online program marketing and enrollment.
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Episode 185: What Do the Top 10 TOPcast Episodes Tell Us?

May 5, 2025 • 33 mins
With ten years in the rear view mirror, hosts Tom and Kelvin talk through insights gained about the field of online education and the podcast itself after they reviewed the “Top10” episodes of TOPcast. [Spoiler: Tune in for a big announcement!]
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Episode 184: The Digital Learning Value of 1EdTech “Decomplexified”

April 21, 2025 • 31 mins
1EdTech Consortium CEO Curtiss Barnes guests on the show alongside hosts Kelvin and Tom to “decomplexify” the value 1EdTech brings to the digital learning community through open standards and more.
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Episode 183: No Lemmings! Avoid the Enrollment Cliff with a Values-Driven Strategy

April 7, 2025 • 28 mins
Hosts Tom and Kelvin discuss how institutions can avoid the enrollment cliff by embracing a values-driven strategy in online higher education. Learn key insights to navigate demographic shifts, economic pressures, and the evolving digital learning landscape.
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Episode 182: When is “Good Teaching” Just “Good Teaching?”

March 17, 2025 • 31 mins
Guest Dr. Thomas J. (Tom) Tobin joins hosts Tom and Kelvin for a slightly spicy conversation about the extent to which general teaching behaviors can be meaningfully separated from other factors such as course modality, student characteristics, institutional resources, and more.
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Episode 181: Help in Grasping “Good Online Course”

March 3, 2025 • 32 mins
Hosts Kelvin and Tom discuss the challenge, still present after 30 years, of helping others (e.g., policymakers, potential students, etc.)  understand what a  “good online course” is without experiencing one themselves. They discuss why this still matters and what approaches might help.
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