iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Wise words born of experience from Dr. Michelle Pacansky-Brock on the penultimate episode of TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast on a key success factor in faculty preparation and support for strategic, scalable, high-quality #onlinelearning. @brocansky.bsky.social dub.sh/topcasts11e199

screenshot of tweet from @topcastnow: "TOPcast ep199 "If we want faculty to teach online, they need to experience what it feels like to learn online, and having that be embedded in empathy, and a relationship with an instructor, and really building community with
others in the course. That works." - Dr. Michelle P-B"

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

First Generation students need our support & encouragement more than ever to engage and graduate from #highered institutions. About 57% of UofL Online undergrads this term are FirstGen students. How will you and your institution #CelebrateFirstGen this year? www.firstgenforward.org/our-initiati...

UofL Joins the National First-Generation College Celebration
UofL joins hundreds of institutions in celebrating first-gen students this week, beginning today, Nov. 4, through Nov. 7. From donuts in the BAB roundabout to panels in the Red Barn to Cardinal Preview Day breakouts, the Student Success Center, TRIO Student Support Services, Commuter & Transfer Initiatives, Undergraduate Admissions and the Student Activities Board are recognizing the approximately 37% of students who are first-gen. FGCC is celebrated annually on or about Nov. 8 to commemorate the signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

Today is #InternationalPodcastDay! in celebration, please find linked here direct links to the Top 10 episodes of TOPcast for the past 10 years. revisit old favorites, or find something #newtoyou to enjoy! #onlinelearning docs.google.com/document/d/1...

I'm celebrating International Podcast Day on September 30. [Icon of desktop microphone.]

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

give some attention and reflective thought to the ideas shared by OLC's Dr. Jennifer Mathes in this episode of TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast. via audio/video/text transcript. all available + more at cdl.ucf.edu/topcast-s11e...

TOPcast ep194 Our broad online ed community is made of more than our institutional colleagues. Other entities such as professional associations, vendors, policymakers and more have roles. The work of associations helps generate momentum toward the future we want to live in.

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

Yes, Khan, it *is* #StarTrekDay2025. let go of eugenics and embrace the diversity of #StarTrek aspirations. #StarTrekDay screenrant.com/star-trek-da...

Actor Ricardo Montalban portraying Khan Noonien-Singh with an aghast facial expression in a scene from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

it's a biggie-sized episode as the first of three "pillar panel" guest-driven conversations on timeless topics key to the future of strategic #onlineeducation. listen/watch/read transcript. (and stay tuned for the next two eps.) dub.sh/topcasts11e193

TOPcast ep193 "[Of] these three things [leadership vision, faculty professional development, and research & evidence-driven practice], not one can work without the other two, is what I would say." - Dr. Melissa Vito #digitallearning #onlinelearning

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

What are the underground, out of sight forces we should attend to in anticipating how the future of #highered will play out? what visible signals give us clues? think along with futurist Dr. Bryan Alexander in this episode for example "futures thinking." #digitallearning cdl.ucf.edu/topcast-s11e...

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

check out the linked read-more-about-it resources, and, if you missed it, read/watch/listen to the entire insight-filled conversation with Dr. Glenda Morgan on TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast. cdl.ucf.edu/topcast-s11e...

"TOPcast ep190 Making sense of our complex and evolving #highered #digitallearning field is never easy. (If it was easy, anyone could do it!) But insights from data-driven colleagues like Dr. Glenda Morgan are essential to guiding our understanding and planning."

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

#Micdrop comment from Dr. Glenda Morgan in this episode of the Final Fifteen Episodes of TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast cdl.ucf.edu/topcast-s11e...

"To carry out a higher ed institutional online strategy, 'it's going to take time, it's going to take money, and it's not going to be an easy slog' [which requires committed senior institutional leadership]. - Dr. Glenda Morgan"

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

if you haven't already, please check out issue 2 of "The Lift," not-quite-a-newsletter: "The Value of Finding a Stable Center." insights and inspiration for the work of academic #innovation, #digitallearning, and leading in #highered. www.linkedin.com/pulse/value-...

Rusty, bent playground carousel from yesteryear

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

such an important (but ridiculously ambitious!) goal of looking decades into the future, but how energizing to hear from colleagues about the future they *want* to create to benefit today's (and tomorrow's) students! revisit at dub.sh/topcasts10e177

TOPcast
@topcastnow
·
screenshot of posting on Twitter from account @topcastnow: "Apr 3
[Callback] Recent TOPcast ep177 “Creating the Digital Learning Future Our Students Deserve.” [crowdsourced topics and literal "voices" from the field as we look to the future.] https://dub.sh/topcasts10e177"

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

In the debut issue of "The Lift"(not quite a newsletter), I reflect on the power of small lifts, from trusted colleagues to wise words to encouraging anecdotes. Get some inspiration for our higher ed work — plus a little coffee wisdom for good measure! www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-we...

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

We're released FIVE December special episodes of TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast. See the full list and listen/watch/read any that you've missed. dub.sh/topcastspeci...

vintage CBS television animation for "special presentations:" the word "SPECIAL" rotating

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 17/09/2024

Bluesky now has over 10 million users, and I was #1,875,050! Woo hoo!

Celebrating 10M users. #1,875,050. Joined November 7, 2023.

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 10/04/2024

if you even occasionally listen to TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast, we sure would appreciate you taking a few seconds to respond to this One-Question Survey. would you please? thanks! bit.ly/topcastsurve...

sad-eyed pleading emoji with hands clasped in supplication

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 29/02/2024

nearly 8 hours of FREE video recordings of keynotes and panel discussions from the recent global "Online Higher Education Summit" from the editors of the "SAGE Handbook of Online Higher Ed." (videos embedded midway down main page.) onlinehighered.net

Zoom window of multiple panelists' video feeds from presentation

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 14/02/2024

coming up soon! February 19, 2024: FREE worldwide, day-long event: "Online Higher Education Summit" from the editors and authors of the recent Sage Handbook of Online Higher Education. register NOW to access in real-time or after-the-fact. plz share. onlinehighered.net

Join FREE! Online Higher Education Summit. A Virtual Summit. February 19, 2024. Register: www.OnlineHigherEd.net

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 10/02/2024

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 06/02/2024

it's no small thing for a university president to make time to engage with faculty during a #teachingandlearning event. this is a reflection of leadership priorities at UofL. thank you, President Schatzel! #UofLCelebrate

tweet from UofL Delphi Center: "Thank you @ULPresSchatzel for closing out our day of learning! #UofLCelebrate" accompanied by photo of President Schatzel on-stage in front of an audience against a presentation slide titled "Closing Comments"

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 03/02/2024

so great having Interim Provost Gerry Bradley and VP of Institutional Equity Lee Gill introducing 2024 UofL Celebration of Teaching and Learning Conference! “Equity-Minded Teaching”

Kelvin Thompson, Lee Gill, and Gerry Bradley

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 03/02/2024

Our keynote speaker @flowerdarby.bsky.social shares this key equity-minded strategy: "Invite your students to connect with you as a person. If you don't leave with anything else, remember to make an effort to connect with them as real people." UofL Celebration of Teaching and Learning

Flower Darby on-stage addressing room full of faculty

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 30/01/2024

FREE global online summit! a full-day of programming from colleagues around the world on February 19, 2024: "Online Higher Ed Summit" from the folks who brought you The SAGE Handbook of Online Higher Education. information and FREE registration at www.onlinehighered.net

Online Higher Education Summit February 19, 2024 Join FREE! www.onlinehighered.net.

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 29/01/2024

THIS Friday, 2/2/2024! on the UofL Belknap campus. Pop in and out as your schedule allows. FREE LUNCH for registered participants. so many great teaching ideas! register now: uofl.me/celebration-...

Title Card: "Elevate Equity-Minded Teaching: Design with Int4ention, Teach with Care" - Celebration of Teaching and Learning, February 2, 2024. Text from Twitter post from UofL Delphi Center: "#UofLCelebrate is only one week away! Don't miss out on a spot, register today at http://uofl.me/celebration-2024!"

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 19/01/2024

a thing of beauty a long time coming! arrived in the evening mail. thanks, SAGE Publishers!

cover of The SAGE Handbook of Online Higher Education

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 14/01/2024

“‘Go and do’ is absent from [Jesus’] call to discipleship. Indeed, the first call is very different: ‘Come and see’.” Reminder from @dianabutlerbass.bsky.social so much to see. open.substack.com/pub/dianabut...

After all, Jesus told us to “go and do likewise.” And so we do stuff. Busy Protestants. Busy, busy, busy. It is holy work. We follow that we might “go and do.”

But that’s not the Gospel of John. “Go and do” is absent from this call to discipleship. Indeed, the first call is very different: Come and see.

Come and see is the call of discipleship.

The light beckons us, lures us, woos us, invites us to see. In particular, it calls us to see three things in brighter, truer, hues — God, ourselves, and the world. Let the light shine on these three. See them anew. Seeing is following.

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 05/01/2024

it's tastier than a kale salad! think through with us the important issue of business model transformation in this episode of TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast. bit.ly/topcast_s09e...

[Post from X] TOPcast ep153 Question to Ponder: "What's the most effective [business model] structure for accomplishing the mission that... online learning has been charged to do [at your institution]? [hint: there isn't one perfect answer. context varies.]

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 02/01/2024

get all the slides (and audio recording!) - including this one - on "Best Practices in Asynchronous Learning" at bit.ly/thompson_gra...

[title] "Asynchronous Methods (content, practice, and assessment):" continuum from "closed system" (prescribed, fixed, determined) to "open system (elective, variable, emergent) with preferred balance depicted as intersection between "instructor structure" and "learner latitude"

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 31/12/2023

it’s the #7thDayofChristmas! plenty more days in this holiday season. How will you commemorate? here is a reflection from @dianabutlerbass.bsky.social to help: “Baby Jesus, the Cosmic Christ” dianabutlerbass.substack.com/p/sunday-musin…

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 25/12/2023

Merry Christmas and happiest of holidays to everyone!

nativity bathed in starlight in the shape of a Christmas tree

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 24/12/2023

as long as I’m making recommendations, the Hannah Waddingham “Home for Christmas” special airing in Apple TV+ is worth a watch. closest thing to an old-school variety show you’ll find. talent, humor, strong music, and genuine emotion from Waddingham as she sings for her parents.

promotional poster for Hannah Waddingham’s “Home for Christmas” special featuring the performer in a shining outfit on stage

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 24/12/2023

if you have Prime, you can watch the vintage “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas” for free. I watched it as a kid when it originally aired on tv in the 70s. just watched it for the first time in years. classic Henson + muppeteering. Paul Williams songs are beautiful tho saccharine.

promotional poster with muppet cast of Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas with special appearance by Kermit the Frog

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 16/12/2023

listen up! lots of podcast recs from me this week since I was under the weather, incl: @20korg @famsecretspod @VerityPodcast @nprfreshair @HomebrewedXnty @lorepodcast @heavyweight… and @topcastnow. (if only there were all on BS.) what about u?

man with large half-circle amplification apparatus affixed to both sides of head

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 13/12/2023

We’ve been offering year-in-review/prep-for-the-new-year TOPcast special episodes for four years running now. take a look at how these have evolved and gauge for yourself how helpful each has been in the work of online education. recordings, photos, links, and transcripts. cdl.ucf.edu/tag/holiday

“Special” in the style of a vintage tv bumper

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 02/12/2023

RT @BBCDoctorWho Into the unknown... #DoctorWho: Wild Blue Yonder, arriving 6:30pm GMT on @BBCOne in the UK and Ireland, @BBCiPlayer in the UK and @DisneyPlus in the rest of the world.

BBC promo image of 14th Doctor and Donna Noble in front of a comedic robot and a futuristic mechanical backdrop.

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 02/12/2023

listen up!… to podcasts this weekend. some recent recommended listens from me include: @HomebrewedXnty @99piorg @lorepodcast and… @topcastnow. what about you? (if only they were on this platform for easy linking.)

man holding victrola funnel to ear while squinting intently

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Kelvin Thompson @kthompso.bsky.social · 01/12/2023

despite my appreciation for a friend kindly inviting me over here to BlueSky, recent busyness has kept me from posting anything here. i hope to get going with following, posting, etc.

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