The debate technique has the potential to encourage students to critically think and engage in anthropology courses in higher education. But debates can be challenging, especially when taking place in an online environment. This article presents the implementation of a debate in a high-enrollment, online archaeology course. Mainly, we seek to answer these questions: (1) How did students perceive their critical thinking, engagement, and interaction while participating in the online debate? (2) What was the instructor’s experience related to the quality of student responses as well as the grading time and effort? At the conclusion, we offer recommendations for educators interested in incorporating debates into their own practice.

Anthropology classrooms challenge instructors to critically engage students in theories of the field and how these are visible in everyday life. At the same time, the rise of online education has made new technologies and tools available that allow for the design of innovative pedagogical strategies. This article considers the use of photovoice, a feminist ethnographic research method, as a classroom strategy in an online discussion in an introductory linguistic anthropology course that was taught in a variety of modalities. We explore the students’ products, photographs representing the course concept of performativity, as well as accompanying discussion posts, in order to gauge the effectiveness of the activity. Specifically, we analyze students’ photos and related discussion posts to answer the following question: In what ways did photovoice as a pedagogical strategy illuminate students’ knowledge about the concept of performativity? We discuss how photovoice provides a window into student learning and consider the teaching strategy’s potential for facilitating concept mastery and relating course concepts to lived experience. Finally, we present some recommendations to fellow anthropology educators interested in implementing this activity. Content warning: This article contains an image of a combat zone and blood that some may find disturbing or distressing.

Students in higher education are facing challenges with paying for their education. Cost of course materials, primarily textbooks, continues to be a financial concern. As a result, students often delay or simply do not purchase the materials they need to perform well in courses. Openly licensed materials are becoming popular because they are free to the student, accessible from the first day of class, and can be modified by the teacher. In this study, an open textbook was co-created by two anthropology faculty with the support of two instructional designers for an introductory anthropology course at a large university in the United States. A survey was given to 1,402 students to gauge satisfaction with the textbook and elicit feedback, and final grades were compared pre- and post- open textbook implementation. In general, student satisfaction was high and poor grades declined. In conclusion, we propose recommendations for those who are interested in implementing more affordable course materials in their anthropology classes.