Joshua Parkinson / On the horizon

On the horizon

Presentation outlines, practical teaching resources, and the next questions I want to explore.

Proposed series

Practical workshops
for online teaching.

Eight proposed sessions. These are developed outlines, not completed decks or a record of delivered talks. Formats and timing are provisional.

01

Proposed · Faculty and course designers · 60-minute workshop

Accessibility in the everyday course

Identify barriers in a sample module and make a short, prioritized repair plan.

Session outline & participant takeaway
  1. Start with a student task: find, understand, and submit an assignment.
  2. Review headings, meaningful links, image descriptions, contrast, and document structure.
  3. Demonstrate a keyboard walkthrough and discuss what automated checks miss.
  4. Compare media options, captions, and useful text alternatives.
  5. Repair a sample module, then identify the next human review.

Takeaway: A before-and-after course page and a practical review checklist.

02

Proposed · New and experienced online instructors · 75-minute workshop

Build an online course students can navigate

Map an outcome to assessment, practice, and a clear weekly module.

Session outline & participant takeaway
  1. Define what students should be able to do.
  2. Choose evidence of learning before selecting content.
  3. Create a start-here page and a repeatable weekly sequence.
  4. Write assignment directions, time estimates, and a visible completion path.
  5. Peer-review one module using selected OSCQR design criteria.

Takeaway: A one-week course blueprint and module template.

03

Proposed · Faculty exploring AI · 60-minute workshop

Practical AI in the online classroom

Evaluate one useful AI-assisted activity and provide a meaningful non-AI alternative.

Session outline & participant takeaway
  1. Separate planning assistance from student-facing activities.
  2. Draft examples, practice questions, and alternative explanations using invented course scenarios.
  3. Check outputs for errors, bias, missing context, and accessibility.
  4. Set clear disclosure expectations and protect student information.
  5. Redesign one activity with instructor review and an equivalent alternative.

Takeaway: An activity brief with review steps, disclosure language, and an alternative route.

04

Proposed · Higher education faculty · 75-minute workshop

Game-based learning beyond points and badges

Design a short learning game with an assessable outcome and a debrief.

Session outline & participant takeaway
  1. Distinguish a learning game from a reward system.
  2. Match meaningful decisions to a course outcome.
  3. Build feedback, replay, and productive failure into the activity.
  4. Offer accessible participation routes without making speed the learning objective.
  5. Play a paper prototype, debrief the choices, and plan evidence of learning.

Takeaway: A playable scenario, debrief prompts, and a simple assessment rubric.

05

Proposed · Online instructors · 60-minute workshop

Feedback that helps students take the next step

Rewrite feedback so a student knows what to keep, change, and try next.

Session outline & participant takeaway
  1. Compare praise, evaluation, and actionable feedback.
  2. Use a rubric to connect comments to the task.
  3. Plan a sustainable response schedule and welcoming weekly communication.
  4. Gather midcourse student feedback and close the loop with a specific response.
  5. Practice a difficult feedback conversation using a fictional submission.

Takeaway: A feedback phrase bank and a midcourse listening-and-response plan.

06

Proposed · Faculty and instructional designers · 45-minute session

A consistent course, a clearer path to participation

Create a repeatable course structure and plan how to check whether it helps students.

Session outline & participant takeaway
  1. Walk through the same task in two contrasting course layouts.
  2. Standardize names, locations, due-date patterns, and weekly checklists.
  3. Preserve variety in learning activities within a predictable structure.
  4. Identify accessibility and mobile navigation barriers.
  5. Use student feedback and participation patterns to assess the design rather than assume an effect.

Takeaway: A course consistency checklist and a small evaluation plan.

07

Proposed · Faculty and program leads · 60-minute workshop

Assessing learning when AI is available

Revise an assessment to make student reasoning and process visible.

Session outline & participant takeaway
  1. Identify which thinking the assessment is intended to reveal.
  2. Separate permitted assistance from work students must demonstrate.
  3. Add checkpoints, rationale, revision, and short reflection.
  4. Compare access and workload implications of alternative formats.
  5. Review an assignment and its rubric together.

Takeaway: A revised assignment with process evidence and transparent AI expectations.

08

Proposed · Educators and technical practitioners · 45-minute demonstration

Working with a local AI research assistant

Trace a research question through source collection, review, and human approval.

Session outline & participant takeaway
  1. Introduce Artex and the scope of a bounded research question.
  2. Show the distinction between collected sources and generated notes.
  3. Walk through researcher, reviewer, and librarian roles.
  4. Examine a rejected or uncertain claim and document the correction.
  5. Discuss local operation, external connections, and the limits of automated review.

Takeaway: A source-review worksheet and a documented human approval step.

Proposed sequence

On the horizon

A development plan, with completion criteria instead of speculative release dates.

First · Course foundations

Build the first workshop pair

Accessibility and course-building decks, paired with an editable module template and review checklist.

Ready when: examples, references, slide reading order, speaker notes, and participant materials have been reviewed.

Next · Classroom practice

Pilot AI, games, and feedback

Develop the practical AI and game-based learning sessions, then test the feedback and consistency activities.

Ready when: a pilot produces specific revisions and each activity has a usable alternative.

Then · Document the tools

Publish a small Artex case study

Follow one accessibility research question from source collection to a reviewed note. Explore a small, accessible learning-game prototype alongside it.

Ready when: the example is reproducible, sources are traceable, and private material has been removed.

Browse existing presentation downloads