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About this post This post grew out of two conversations about digital badges and microcredentials in 2025. On May 2, I participated in City Tech’s inaugural Microcredentials Forum at the New York City College of Technology, CUNY. The event was coordinated by Benito Mendoza, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Engineering Technology, and Jose Diaz, M.Ed., Director of Academic Technologies and Online Learning (AtoL). I participated in the panel discussion with Michael Oldani, Shayla Pruitt, and Sean Carey, moderated by Jose Diaz. A few months later, my conversation with Adam Davi, M.A., M.S., Instructional Design Manager with UCATT at the University of Arizona, was published as part of the Futures in Digital Learning podcast. These two conversations gave me an opportunity to reflect on what more than a decade of building the SUNY Online Teaching badging ecosystem has taught me. |
We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Badges! Or Do We?
Designing Videos with Intention: Reflections from OLC Innovate
In early March, I had the opportunity to attend OLC Innovate, a virtual conference centered on innovative ideas and best practices for online and digital learning. One session that particularly resonated with me was “Lights, Camera, Learn! Transforming Online Education Through Strategic Video Design” (Cisneros et al., 2026), a multimedia-focused presentation led by a team from Angelo State University and the American College of Education.
Moving into 2026 with Purpose:
3 Mindsets to Master with Your Learners
Every year brings a new learning curve, and 2026 will undoubtedly have expected and surprising changes that will impact online teaching and learning. Digital literacy skills are a foundational start that can help to navigate the digital landscape, but advances in technology and resulting pedagogical shifts demand something deeper: intentional application and ethical judgment.
Annual SUNY Online Teaching Impact Report 2024-2025
The end of the year is a great opportunity to reflect and share an overview of the SUNY Online Teaching Impact Report and our accomplishments from the 2024/ 2025 academic year. I want to especially thank Lin Lin, our Online Teaching graduate intern, for turning my narrative report into the beautiful presentation.
Simple Check, Small Steps, Big Impact: Making Course Content Accessible for Every Learner
You don’t need to be an expert to make your digital course content more accessible! With a few thoughtful tweaks and the helpful SUNY Online Accessible Course Content Checklist, you can provide digital learning materials that support every learner.
If teaching online results in faculty burnout, you’re doing it wrong…
Not you, personally — but the systems around you. Burnout isn’t inherent to the online modality; it’s a symptom of course design that hasn’t been optimized for both effectiveness and efficiency, coupled with the absence of institutional infrastructure to support it.
OSCQR is NOT a Scorecard!
Why the OSCQR Rubric Uses Time as Rating Criteria rather than Scores
The OSCQR rubric is intentionally designed as a formative, diagnostic tool—not a course quality evaluation scorecard.
Creating Engagement in Online Classrooms
Department of Communication, University at Buffalo
In today’s digital age, online classrooms have become a staple in education, offering flexible learning environments for students across the globe.
SUNY Online Teaching: Measuring Impact
The SUNY Online Teaching impact report infographic covers the dates August 1, 2023 to July 31, 2024.
The infographic has 4 click-through pages of information regarding our annual accomplishments for the reporting period, including:
Introducing our new Sr. Instructional Designer, Allene Slating
Hello! I’m excited to introduce myself, Allene Slating, as the new Senior Instructional Designer on the SUNY Online Teaching team.
My journey in online education began by teaching English to learners around the world, primarily in support of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.