Essentials of Online Teaching


Book Description

Teachers’ active online participation and engagement with students are critical factors to the success of online courses. Essentials of Online Teaching is a standards-based, straightforward guide to teaching online in higher education, high school and vocational training, or corporate learning environments. This brief but powerful book encourages immediate application of concepts with the help of real-world examples, technical insights, and professional advice. The guide includes: a practical approach informed by, but not about, relevant learning theories; clear models and examples from a wide variety of online courses; teachers’ reflections about their online practice; a checklist of standards to help guide teaching decisions; and an accompanying website (www.essentialsofonlineteaching.com) with additional resources. Essentials of Online Teaching addresses key instructional challenges in online teaching and presents the reader with practical solutions for each phase of a course—preparation, beginning, middle, and end.




Essentials of Online Course Design


Book Description

In spite of the proliferation of online learning, creating online courses can still evoke a good deal of frustration, negativity, and wariness in those who need to create them. The second edition of Essentials of Online Course Design takes a fresh, thoughtfully designed, step-by-step approach to online course development. At its core is a set of standards that are based on best practices in the field of online learning and teaching. Pedagogical, organizational, and visual design principles are presented and modeled throughout the book, and users will quickly learn from the guide’s hands-on approach. The course design process begins with the elements of a classroom syllabus which, after a series of guided steps, easily evolve into an online course outline. The guide’s key features include: a practical approach informed by theory clean interior design that offers straightforward guidance from page one clear and jargon-free language examples, screenshots, and illustrations to clarify and support the text a checklist of online course design standards that readers can use to self-evaluate. a Companion Website with examples, adaptable templates, interactive learning features, and online resources: http://essentialsofonlinecoursedesign.com Essentials of Online Course Design serves as a best practice model for designing online courses. After reading this book, readers will find that preparing for online teaching is a satisfying and engaging experience. The core issue is simply good design: pedagogical, organizational, and visual. For more of Marjorie Vai in her own words, listen to this 2011 interview from the On Teaching Online podcast: http://onteachingonline.com/oto-16-essentials-of-online-course-design-with-marjorie-vai/




Essentials for Blended Learning


Book Description

Essentials for Blended Learning: A Standards-Based Guide provides a practical, streamlined approach for creating effective learning experiences by blending online activities and the best of face-to-face teaching. This guide is: Easy to use: Clear, jargon-free writing; illustrations; and references to online resources help readers understand concepts. Streamlined: A simple but effective design process focuses on creating manageable activities for the right environment. Practical: Real-world examples from different subject areas help teachers understand principles in context. Contemporary: The variety of modern, connected technologies covered in the guide addresses a range of teaching challenges. Forward-Looking: The approach bridges the gap between formal classroom learning and informal lifelong learning. Standards-based: Guidelines and standards are based on current research in the field, relevant learning theories, and practitioner experiences. Effective blended learning requires significant rethinking of teaching practices and a fundamental redesign of course structure. Essentials for Blended Learning: A Standards-Based Guide simplifies these difficult challenges without neglecting important opportunities to transform teaching. This guide is suitable for teachers in any content area. Please visit www.essentialsforblended.com for additional resources.




147 Practical Tips for Teaching Online Groups


Book Description

From experienced distance educators comes this comprehensive collection of strategies for teaching effectively online. Beginning with pre-instruction preparation and progressing through actual online teaching, 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Online Groups will help you feel more comfortable and competent heading into an online course, whether you're a new instructor or an experienced professor. The authors dispel popular myths in online education and anticipate the potential problems you might face teaching in the online medium. They also advise you on how to set up and implement your online course, and make the course discussions as interactive as those you have in the traditional face-to-face classroom setting. If you're involved in web-based education -- or if you're about to be -- 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Online Groups will become one of your most trusted resources.




The Essentials of Teaching Health Education


Book Description

The Essentials of Teaching Health Education, Second Edition, presents a skills-based approach to teaching K-12 health education, offering practical strategies for curriculum design and program development and an individualized approach to student learning. Its ancillaries facilitate the learning




Making Online Teaching Accessible


Book Description

Making Online Teaching Accessible offers online teachers, instructional designers, and content developers a comprehensive resource for designing online courses and delivering course content that is accessible for all students including those with visual and audio disabilities. Grounded in the theories of learner-centered teaching and successful course design, Making Online Teaching Accessible outlines the key legislation, decisions, and guidelines that govern online learning. The book also demystifies assistive technologies and includes step-by-step guidance for creating accessible online content using popular programs like Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat, as well as multimedia tools. Including a wealth of helpful tips and suggestions for effectively communicating with disabled students, the book contains practical advice on purchasing accessible course management systems, developing solutions for inaccessibility issues, and creating training materials for faculty and staff to make online learning truly accessible. "This valuable how-to book is a critical tool for all instructional designers and faculty who teach online. Coombs' many years as a pioneer of online teaching show in his deep knowledge of the principles that can allow the reader to apply these lessons to any learning management system (LMS)." —Sally M. Johnstone, provost and vice president academic affairs, Winona State University, Minnesota; former executive director of WCET at WICHE "As more and more of our social and professional lives come to be mediated by technology, online accessibility is a fundamental right, not a luxury. This book is a must-read for anyone concerned with maximizing access to learning." —Richard N. Katz, former vice president and founding director, EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research "This valuable book reflects Coombs' unique experience and commitment to the best teaching, learning, and accessibility options for all kinds of students and teachers." —Steven W. Gilbert, founder and president, The TLT Group-Teaching, Learning, and Technology Group




Teach Now! The Essentials of Teaching


Book Description

Being taught by a great teacher is one of the great privileges of life. Teach Now! is an exciting new series that opens up the secrets of great teachers and, step-by-step, helps trainees to build the skills and confidence they need to become first-rate classroom practitioners. Teach Now! The Essentials of Teaching provides the fundamental knowledge for becoming a great teacher. Combining a grounded, modern rationale for learning and teaching with highly practical training approaches it covers everything you need to know from preparing for your teaching practice to getting your first job. Harnessing a range of simple, but powerful techniques, the book shows you how you can translate the Teachers’ Standards into your own classroom practice and provide the evidence that you have met them. It also demystifies what the best teachers know and do instinctively to create students who want to learn and get a buzz from developing new skills. The book is structured in clear sections which are then divided into short, easy-to-absorb units offering clear, straightforward advice on all aspects of teaching including: why teach? the application and recruitment process for training helping students’ achieve good progress planning, differentiation and assessment behaviour management using language effectively in the classroom managing parents’ evenings being an effective tutor how to have lunch! With talking points to encourage reflection and a wide range of examples to illustrate practice, Teach Now! The Essentials of Teaching provides expert guidance as you start your exciting and rewarding career as an outstanding teacher.




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




Culturally Responsive Teaching Online and In Person


Book Description

This resource explains how to merge the essential skills of embedding culturally responsive teaching practices into online and in person learning settings. The Dynamic Equitable Learning Environments (DELE) framework assists in building the knowledge, awareness, skills, and dispositions to pivot instruction to facilitate equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist learning experiences that transcend cultural, social, and linguistic backgrounds--regardless of student environments.




Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching


Book Description

Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching This important new resource shows how a strong sense of online presence contributes to greater student satisfaction and retention. The authors explore the psychological and social aspects of online presence from both the instructor and student perspective and provide an instructional design framework for developing effective online learning. Based on solid research and extensive experience, the book is filled with suggested methods, illustrative case scenarios, and effective activities for creating, maintaining, and evaluating presence throughout an online course. "The authors have taken the mystery out of the critical concept of presence by providing the theory that supports its importance and simple techniques to make it happen. Instructors who read this book will be able to develop effective online learning communities and achieve desired learning outcomes." Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt, program directors and faculty, Teaching in the Virtual Classroom Program, Fielding Graduate University "Lehman and Conceição blend hands-on experience, research, and a collection of practical tips to provide every online instructor with strategies for 'being there.' If you want to bring the real you into your online classes and take your online teaching to the next level, this is the book to read." Chip Donohue, director of distance learning, Erikson Institute "This book provides a practical and interactive model to help readers reflect on why and how they can guide online and blended learning activities, characterized by a personal 'sense of presence.'" Alan B. Knox, professor, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison