Week 10: Guest Speakers Reimagined

Review the pedagogical and technical information below to inform your progress in Week Ten. Have questions about what you learned here or ideas for future tips? Join Coffee & Answers (open support Zoom sessions with the Academic Technology Team) or email the Office of Teaching and Learning.

Pedagogical

What do I want students to learn from a guest interview?

How might the guest’s expertise, experiences, or real-world perspective deepen those learning goals?

When schedules, distance, logistics, or a guest’s uncertainty about speaking to a large class make a live visit difficult, an asynchronous recorded interview can still bring valuable outside expertise into your course. Rather than abandoning the guest-speaker idea, record a conversation with the guest at a mutually convenient time and share the video with students as a course activity.

A recorded guest interview gives students access to professional perspectives while allowing the speaker to participate in a lower-pressure, more flexible format. It also lets you pause, revisit, caption, annotate, or frame key moments in ways that may not be possible during a live presentation. 

How to Make It Work:

1. Prepare students before viewing - Create an online form that introduces the guest speaker, explains their background, and identifies the relevance of their work or experience to your discipline. Include space for students to submit questions they would like you to ask during the interview. This preparation helps students view the recording with purpose and gives them a role in shaping the conversation. 
2. Choose an appropriate level of editing - Decide how polished the video needs to be for your instructional goals. A minimally edited video or “raw” recording may feel conversational and authentic, and it may be perfectly suitable for many classes. If additional support would strengthen the learning experience, work with the Academic Technology team to brainstorm ideas and learn how to add contextual references, captions, introductory text, on-screen terminology, or other supporting language and visual elements.
3. Build in accountability and reflection - Create a discussion board or other structured reflection activity for after students watch the interview. Ask students to identify an idea that stood out, connect the guest’s comments to course concepts, raise a remaining question, or respond thoughtfully to a classmate’s post. This moves the activity beyond passive viewing and helps students process the guest speaker’s contribution together. 
4. Close the experience with appreciation - Send the guest speaker a thank-you note. A handwritten card sent by mail is especially meaningful, though a digital card can also work well. Invite students to add brief notes describing what they learned or how the interview affected their thinking. This models professional gratitude, helps students recognize the value of others’ time and expertise, and gives the guest speaker a tangible sense of impact. 

One example of a recorded guest interview is in the EDL 850: Learning Design & Environment hybrid course. Guest speaker, Erin Downey, Assistant Curator, Frances M. Maguire Art Museum, shares a unique perspective on how the programming and experiential opportunities in this campus learning environment enhances student learning and development. The video was embedded on a Page in Canvas where students were able to submit additional questions via a Google Form.

Other Guest Speaker Offerings through SJU Resources:

1. Office of Learning Resources - The OLR can do a full class presentation on study skills, how to read a textbook, or how to take notes, or simply do a 10-minute presentation to students about the services they offer (supplemental instruction, one-on-one peer tutoring, or individual learning strategies consultations). You can find faculty resources or learn more about workshops and request one (scroll down to the Workshop section). You can request a workshop or you can contact Kris Goldberg, the director, directly.
2. Career Center - Invite the Career Center into your classroom to deliver an in-depth Career Readiness presentation.  Review the presentation descriptions here and complete the Career Center Presentation Request Form a minimum 2 weeks prior to your requested date(s). Confirmation details along with the name of the Career Center representative visiting your class will be emailed to you. 
3. Invite Academic Advising for a class visit to help with student registration.
4. Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) - The professional staff of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is available to provide educational programs in classrooms or residence halls for students, faculty and staff. Requests and suggestions for programming are always welcome. In addition, the therapists are available to consult with RAs, student leaders, faculty, and staff to help them develop programs tailored to the needs of their particular groups.

Technical

What tools are available to record and edit an interview?

The mechanism used to record guest speakers or conduct an interview can vary, from simple Zoom recordings to enhanced, podcast-quality videos. Choose a production level that balances your time and skills with learner needs.

Video Considerations:

• Accessibility First: Update auto-captions & audio descriptions with manual edits for 100% accuracy.

• On-Screen Terminology: Insert text overlays for industry-specific jargon or complex concepts mentioned by the guest.

• Chapters & Timestamps: Chunk a video into 3–5 minute digestible segments around core learning objectives.

• Quizzes & Knowledge Checks: In Panopto, you have the ability to add questions to any point in a video.

Are these tips helpful? Do you have a topic we should include in future weeks? Please let us know by emailing otl@sju.edu!

Additional Resources