Engaging the Online Learner


Book Description

Engaging the Online Learner This updated edition includes an innovative framework the Phases of Engagement that helps learners become more involved as knowledge generators and cofacilitators of a course. The book also provides specific ideas for tested activities (collected from experienced online instructors across the nation) that can go a long way to improving online learning. Engaging the Online Learner offers the tools and information needed to: Convert classroom activities to an online environment Assess the learning that occurs as a result of collaborative activities Phase in activities that promote engagement among online learners Build peer interaction through peer partnerships and team activities Create authentic activities and implement games and simulations Praise for Engaging the Online Learner "The Phases of Engagement framework provides a road map for creating community at each phase of an online course. This book is an invaluable guide to innovative practices for online learning." Judith V. Boettcher, coauthor of The Online Teaching Survival Guide "Engagement is the heart of online learning. The authors have developed an encyclopedia of tried-and-true learner engagement activities that are authentic and ready to use." Donald P. Ely, professor emeritus, instructional design, development and evaluation in the School of Education, Syracuse University




Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher


Book Description

A practical guide to the essential practice that builds better teachers. Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher is the landmark guide to critical reflection, providing expert insight and practical tools to facilitate a journey of constructive self-critique. Stephen Brookfield shows how you can uncover and assess your assumptions about practice by viewing them through the lens of your students' eyes, your colleagues' perceptions, relevant theory and research, and your own personal experience. Practicing critical reflection will help you… Align your teaching with desired student outcomes See your practice from new perspectives Engage learners via multiple teaching formats Understand and manage classroom power dynamics Model critical thinking for your students Manage the complex rhythms of diverse classrooms This fully revised second edition features a wealth of new material, including new chapters on critical reflection in the context of social media, teaching race and racism, leadership in a critically reflective key, and team teaching as critical reflection. In addition, all chapters have been thoroughly updated and expanded to align with today's classrooms, whether online or face-to-face, in large lecture formats or small groups. In his own personal voice Stephen Brookfield draws from over 45 years of experience to illustrate the clear benefits of critical reflection. Assumptions guide practice and only when we base our actions on accurate assumptions will we achieve the results we want. Educators with the courage to challenge their own assumptions in an effort to improve learning are the invaluable role models our students need. Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher provides the foundational information and practical tools that help teachers reach their true potential.




Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education


Book Description

This book is to explores a variety of facets of online learning environments to understand how learning occurs and succeeds in digital contexts and what teaching strategies and technologies are most suited to this format. Business, health, government and education are some of the core sectors of society which have been experiencing deep transformations due to a generalized digitalization. While these changes are not novel, the swift progress of technology and the rising complexity of digital environments place a focus on the need for further research and novel strategies. In the context of education, the promise of increased flexibility and broader access to educational resources is impelling much of higher education’s course offerings to online environments. The 21st century learner requires an education that can be pursued anytime and anywhere and that is more aligned with the demands of a digital society. Online education not only assists students to success-fully integrate a workforce that is increasingly digital, but it helps them to become more comfortable with the use of technology in general and, hence, more prepared to be prolific digital citizens. The variety of settings portrayed in this volume attest to the unlimited opportunities afforded by online learning and serve as valuable evidence of its benefit for students’ educational experience. Moreover, these research efforts assist a more comprehensive reflection about the delivery of higher education in the context of online settings.




Teacher Training and Professional Development: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications


Book Description

Regardless of the field or discipline, technology is rapidly advancing, and individuals are faced with the challenge of adapting to these new innovations. To remain up-to-date on the current practices, teachers and administrators alike must constantly stay informed of the latest advances in their fields. Teacher Training and Professional Development: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications contains a compendium of the latest academic material on the methods, skills, and techniques that are essential to lifelong learning and professional advancement. Including innovative studies on teaching quality, pre-service teacher preparation, and faculty enrichment, this multi-volume book is an ideal source for academics, professionals, students, practitioners, and researchers.




Teaching Online


Book Description

Teaching Online: A Practical Guide is a practical, concise guide for educators teaching online. This updated edition has been fully revamped and reflects important changes that have occurred since the second edition’s publication. A leader in the online field, this best- selling resource maintains its reader friendly tone and offers exceptional practical advice, new teaching examples, faculty interviews, and an updated resource section. New to this edition: new chapter on how faculty and instructional designers can work collaboratively expanded chapter on Open Educational Resources, copyright, and intellectual property more international relevance, with global examples and interviews with faculty in a wide variety of regions new interactive Companion Website that invites readers to post questions to the author, offers real-life case studies submitted by users, and includes an updated, online version of the resource section. Focusing on the "how" and "whys" of implementation rather than theory, this text is a must-have resource for anyone teaching online or for students enrolled in Distance Learning and Educational Technology Masters Programs.




Lessons from the Virtual Classroom


Book Description

Lessons from the Virtual Classroom, Second Edition The second edition of the classic resource Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom offers a comprehensive reference for faculty to hone their skills in becoming more effective online instructors. Thoroughly revised and updated to reflect recent changes and challenges that face online teachers, Lessons from the Virtual Classroom is filled with illustrative examples from actual online courses as well as helpful insights from teachers and students. This essential guide offers targeted suggestions for dealing with such critical issues as evaluating effective courseware, working with online classroom dynamics, addressing the needs of the online student, making the transition to online teaching, and promoting the development of the learning community. Praise for Lessons from the Virtual Classroom, Second Edition "Palloff and Pratt demonstrate their exceptional practical experience and insight into the online classroom. This is an invaluable resource for those tasked with creating an online course." — D. Randy Garrison, professor, University of Calgary, and author, Blended Learning in Higher Education: Framework, Principles, and Guidelines "Faculty will deeply appreciate and make use of the many explicit examples of how to design, prepare, and teach both blended and fully online courses." — Judith V. Boettcher, faculty coach and author, The Online Teaching Survival Guide: Simple and Practical Pedagogical Tips "Lessons from the Virtual Classroom is filled with insightful caveats and recommendations, pointed examples to enhance your practice, succinct summaries of the research, and engaging visual overviews. Each page brings the reader a renewed sense of confidence to teach online as well as personal joy that there is finally a resource to find the answers one is seeking." — Curtis J. Bonk, professor of education, Indiana University-Bloomington, and author, Empowering Online Learning: 100+ Activities for Reading, Reflecting, Displaying, and Doing




Health Behavior Change E-Book


Book Description

Engagingly written by experts with worldwide reputations in the field, Health Behavior Change presents an exciting method which can be used to helps patients change their behaviour in both hospital and community settings. The method is applicable to any behaviour, such as overeating, physical inactivity and smoking or with patients struggling with the consequences of chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease. Using brief, structured consultations with the client, the practitioner encourages the patient to take charge of decision-making concerning their health. It relies upon partnership between professional and patient rather than dominance of one over the other and is carried out in a spirit of negotiation rather than confrontation. The text clearly outlines the fundamental principles behind the method while applying it to practice. Problems of resistance and lack of motivation are explored and practical strategies to manage them are suggested. The patient is at the centre throughout. Short case examples and dilemmas from clinical settings ground the method in the reality of practice. Well accepted method. Reflects professionals' current concerns with health promotion and effective use of time. Highly respected authors. Community focus. Genuine international market. Particularly relevant to US practice. US spellings throughout. text revised and updated throughout to reflect developments in the field e.g. new studies that have been conducted since the first edition published improved appearance with addition of a second colour and more modern page design to increase appeal chapter summaries added to aid assimilation more material relating to obesity




The Theory and Practice of Online Learning


Book Description

"Neither an academic tome nor a prescriptive 'how to' guide, The Theory and Practice of Online Learning is an illuminating collection of essays by practitioners and scholars active in the complex field of distance education. Distance education has evolved significantly in its 150 years of existence. For most of this time, it was an individual pursuit defined by infrequent postal communication. But recently, three more developmental generations have emerged, supported by television and radio, teleconferencing, and computer conferencing. The early 21st century has produced a fifth generation, based on autonomous agents and intelligent, database-assisted learning, that has been referred to as Web 2.0. The second edition of "The Theory and Practice of Online Learning" features updates in each chapter, plus four new chapters on current distance education issues such as connectivism and social software innovations."--BOOK JACKET.




Theoretical Principles of Distance Education


Book Description

According to UNESCO statistics, 10 million of the world's 600 million students study at a distance. Theoretical Principles of Distance Education seeks to lay solid foundations for the education of these students and for the structures within which they study. As a more industrialised form of education provision, distance education is well adapted to the use of new communication technologies, and brings to education many of the strengths and dangers of post-industrialism. The central focus of the study of distance education is the placing of the student at home or at work and the justification of the abandonment in this form of education of interpersonal, face-to-face communication, previously considered to be a cultural imperative for education in both east and west. This book explores the problems that distance education poses to the theorist, bringing together an international team of distance educators to address these issues for the first time in a systematic way. The team comprises theoreticians, administrators, experts in educational technology and adult education, experts in learning from video machines, from computers and other forms of technology. Contributions from Italy, and Scandinavia contrast with viewpoints provided by scholars from the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK.




Teacher Education Programs and Online Learning Tools: Innovations in Teacher Preparation


Book Description

While online learning has become pervasive in many fields in higher education, it has been adopted somewhat slower in teacher education. In addition, more research is needed to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of online education in teacher preparation. Teacher Education Programs and Online Learning Tools: Innovations in Teacher Preparation presents information about current online practices and research in teacher education programs, and explores the opportunities, methods, and issues surrounding technologically innovative opportunities in teacher preparation. It presents empirical evidence of teacher candidate learning and assessment in the context of various online aspects of teacher licensure.