Are Passive Activities Worthwhile Investments?

Hand containing money

Reading Time: 3 minutesSWFT Tax Blog, March 2020 Author:  Toby Stock Chapters Individuals, Chapter 11 Comprehensive, Chapter 11 Essentials, Chapter 12 Introduction  Students (and others) often do not understand how a “business” that breaks even on before tax cash flows can be a desirable investment. However, this was a possible outcome before Congress enacted §469. The example below […]

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SWFT Tax Update (Coronavirus Changes)

IRS placard

Reading Time: < 1 minuteThe past several weeks has seen a flurry of Federal legislative activities related to the coronavirus, as well as actions by the Internal Revenue Service: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act [CARES Act; P.L. 116–136 (March 27, 2020)]; The Families First Coronavirus Response Act [P.L. 116–127 (March 18, 2020)]; IRS Notices 2020-18 and […]

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Student Internships: Alive but Ailing During the Pandemic

Search bar containing "internship...?"

Reading Time: 2 minutesJanet Mizrahi is a continuing lecturer of professional writing at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is also an author at BizCommBuzz.   As if our students don’t have enough to contend with, many of them who were counting on internships during spring and summer are being met with shut doors. While colleges across […]

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Dear Diary: A Chronicle of My First Month Teaching Online

Typewriter with "dear diary" typed out on paper

Reading Time: 3 minutesJanet Mizrahi is a continuing lecturer of professional writing at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is also an author at BizCommBuzz.   This is a departure from my typical contributor posts. It chronicles my experiences teaching online in a journal format. I hope it resonates with you as you work to navigate teaching […]

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Helping Students Prepare for Online Courses

a busy calendar

Reading Time: 2 minutesIn some ways, having someone set a schedule for us makes our lives somewhat easier, doesn’t it? When we’re young, our parents and teachers schedule our time for us, but as we get older, we gradually become more responsible for making our own good decisions for how to manage our time. Online learning can present challenges […]

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Four Tips: Creating Prompts for Online Discussion Boards

computers in a circle

Reading Time: 2 minutesParticularly for online courses, using discussion boards can be an effective way to encourage group or team interaction. You can encourage peer-to-peer interaction as students react or respond to a prompt and then interact with one another based on those responses, or assign a prompt for each student to read and respond to that you […]

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What to Consider When Planning Assessments in Online Courses

computer quiz

Reading Time: 3 minutesIn many respects, teaching online bears many similarities to a traditional on-campus course. You need to deliver your course content, create assignments that build student learning, and design assessments that measure student learning. However, there are several factors that require you to approach your plans from a different angle. One such factor—how to assess learning—may […]

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Tips for Student Success in an Online Course

computer keyboard with the words tips and tricks in place of the return key

Reading Time: 2 minutesOnline learning may appeal to students for any number of reasons: the convenience of anytime, anywhere learning; the flexible and self-paced nature of many courses; and the asynchronous type of discussions that allow more time to reflect on an instructor or classmate’s question before responding. Though the appeal itself may be immediate, students may still […]

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