It Takes a Village

Online asynchronous learning is increasingly popular in academia, providing learners with new modes of content delivery and affording new levels of convenience regarding when and how people complete degree program coursework. The same technology that benefits learning can also challenge it, and online courses should strive to be as inclusive, rigorous, interactive, and content-rich as their on-campus counterparts. One method of achieving this parity is to have guest lecturers in the online classroom. Multiple instructor voices add diversity of thought and practical expertise and enrich the standard curricular content. They also contribute to creating the online learning environment and provide a basis for discussion, elaboration, reflection, and long lasting learning.