Institutions of higher education have increasingly embraced distance education with the number of students enrolled in online courses rapidly rising in colleges and universities throughout the world. Given its popularity and increased usage, it is imperative that administrators and instructors monitor the current state and future directions relating to distance education in order to meet the needs and challenges of tomorrow. Distance Learning Technology, Current Instruction, and the Future of Education: Applications of Today, Practices of Tomorrow provides present and prospective directions of online education from various research fields, reporting on discussions from students, faculty members, researchers, and practitioners. This innovative publication contains significant and unique research findings influencing future developments in technology-enhanced education and industry.

A major investment in professional development is necessary to ensure the fundamental success of instructors in technology-integrated classrooms and in online courses. However, while traditional models of professional development rely on face-to-face instruction, online methods are also gaining traction-viable means for faculty development.Virtual Mentoring for Teachers: Online Professional Development Practices offers peer-reviewed essays and research reports contributed by an array of scholars and practitioners in the field of instructional technology and online education. It is organized around two primary themes: professional development models for faculty in online environments and understanding e-Learning and best practices in teaching and learning in online environments. The objective of this scholarship is to highlight research-based online professional development programs and best practices models that have been shown to enhance effective teaching and learning in a variety of environments.

Online education plays an important role across numerous industries. These processes and strategies can be adopted into the library and information science programs for use in assisting with educational developments. Library and Information Science in the Age of MOOCs is a critical scholarly resource that explores the ideas on how library and information science professionals implement the use of massive open online courses in the library and information science domain. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics, such as distance learning, technology enhanced learning, and online learning, this book is geared towards academicians, librarians, and researchers seeking current research on solving problems related to massive open online courses.

This open access book presents how Open Science is a powerful tool to boost Higher Education. The book introduces the reader into Open Access, Open Technology, Open Data, Open Research results, Open Licensing, Open Accreditation, Open Certification, Open Policy and, of course, Open Educational Resources. It brings all these key topics from major players in the field; experts that present the current state of the art and the forthcoming steps towards a useful and effective implementation. This book presents radical, transgenic solutions for recurrent and long-standing problems in Higher Education. Every chapter presents a clear view and a related solution to make Higher Education progress and implement tools and strategies to improve the user's performance and learning experience. This book is part of a trilogy with companion volumes on Radical Solutions & Learning Analytics and Radical Solutions & eLearning.

A volume in International Social Studies Forum: The Series Series Editors Richard Diem, University of Texas at San Antonio and Jeff Passe, University of North Carolina, Charlotte The purpose of this volume is to provide a review and analysis of the theory, research, and practice related to geospatial technologies in social studies education. In the first section, the history of geospatial technologies in education, the influence of the standards movement, and the growth of an international geospatial education community are explored. The second section consists of examples and discussion of the use of geospatial technologies for teaching and learning history, geography, civics, economics, and environmental science. In the third section, theoretical perspectives are proposed that could guide research and practice in this field. This section also includes reviews and critiques of recent research relevant to geospatial technologies in education. The final section examines the theory, research, and practice associated with teacher preparation for using geospatial technologies in education.

Language teachers, social studies teachers, and school library media specialists will find this resource invaluable for providing lessons and activities in critical thinking for students in grades 7-12. It is filled with over 200 primary source Internet sites covering the Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, and Latin languages. Each Web site will help reinforce language skills while providing students with interactive lessons on the unique culture of the peoples who speak the language. The next best thing to visiting the country itself

For each of the 56 primary Web sites, a site summary is given describing its contents and usefulness to teachers and school library media specialists. Site subjects may include: a country's radio or news program; the history of a country and its visual arts, including museums; foods eaten by the people who speak this language and recipes on how to prepare them; ceremonies, customs, and sports enjoyed; geography of the countries who speak this language; and sites to help practice the language itself. Following are a list of questions and activities which students can prepare orally or in written form, and at least four more related Web sites are provided for further study. Using this book will not only help students increase their language skills, but it will also open up the entire culture, to enable students to experience it just as if they were visiting

As emerging technologies drive innovation, educators and administrators have an array of resources at their disposal. Thank to outstanding developments in technology which have greatly improved the delivery of distance education course delivery, the number of students and educators taking part in online education has grown exponentially. Cases on Distance Delivery and Learning Outcomes: Emerging Trends and Programs provides a firm foundation of best practices for distance course delivery and learning outcomes in order to discuss the rapid developments in online education technologies. The cases presented in this reference publication detail best and emerging practices of distance education, issues that develop as distance education grows, and an international perspective on distance education. Discussing such topics as cost and design strategies of distance course design, communication and dealing with student conduct in distance courses, developing distance programs to meet student needs and how to manage the growth of these programs, as well as the use of new technology tools in distance courses, this essential reference publication provides professional developments through a case book for distance education practitioners, administrators, librarians, and students.

Digital integration is the driving force of teaching and learning at all levels of education. As more non-traditional students seek credentialing, certification, and degrees, institutions continue to push the boundaries of innovative practices to meet the needs of diverse students. Programs and faculty have moved from merely using technology and learning management systems to unique and innovative ways to engage learners. The Handbook of Research on Innovative Digital Practices to Engage Learners is an essential scholarly publication that offers theoretical frameworks, delivery models, current guidelines, and digital design techniques for integrating technological advancements in education contexts to enforce student engagement and positive student outcomes. Featuring a wide range of topics such as gamification, wearable technologies, and distance education, this book is ideal for teachers, curriculum developers, instructional designers, principals, deans, administrators, researchers, academicians, education professionals, and students.

This book explores in detail the role of laboratory work in physics teaching and learning. Compelling recent research work is presented on the value of experimentation in the learning process, with description of important research-based proposals on how to achieve improvements in both teaching and learning. The book comprises a rigorously chosen selection of papers from a conference organized by the International Research Group on Physics Teaching (GIREP), an organization that promotes enhancement of the quality of physics teaching and learning at all educational levels and in all contexts. The topics covered are wide ranging. Examples include the roles of open inquiry experiments and advanced lab experiments, the value of computer modeling in physics teaching, the use of web-based interactive video activities and smartphones in the lab, the effectiveness of low-cost experiments, and assessment for learning through experimentation. The presented research-based proposals will be of interest to all who seek to improve physics teaching and learning.

Digital and social technologies are changing the education field. Interactive whiteboards and blackboards, e-books, and computer-mediated communication are accelerating the processes of the evolving classroom. These technologies continue to support problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration skills among students. Transforming K-12 Classrooms with Digital Technology brings together research and practices regarding digital and social technology integration in the K-12 classroom. By sharing practical and conceptual aspects of using digital and social technologies as tools for transforming K-12 learning environments, this reference source is essential for teachers, support staff, school and district administrators, college students, and researchers working teaching and learning in the digital era.

Institutions of higher education are at the forefront of the technological interface with life and society. Such technological innovations within university research centers, university library resource developments, and new tools available for teaching and learning, are nurturing in new educational approaches and debates concerning the appropriate use of new technologies. Cases on Digital Technologies in Higher Education: Issues and Challenges provides a collection of practical case studies exploring the application of digital technologies in higher education along with strategies to address new challenges facing educational institutions in the 21st century. This book establishes a selective synthesis of research on technology to help guide individuals within institutions of higher education faced with technological change. Focusing greatly on engineering education, it addresses technological concerns in order to find solutions that will help maximize the utility of new digital technologies and minimize their adverse effects in a variety of learning environments.

Technology Literacy Applications in Learning Environments presents readers with a view of technology literacy in a learning environment. While word processing skills are important, the development of technology skills covers the areas of presentation software, storage, human interaction, and virtual reality. Instructional technology is dedicated to discovering and developing the pedagogical skills of teaching and learning in a technology-enhanced learning environment. Technology Literacy Applications in Learning Environments discusses many important topics, such as: the defining aspects of instructional technology skills, the use of technology literacy in higher education, and the growing digital divide. This book provides readers a series of examples and guides that support instructional technology literacy, making it a necessary collection addition for academics, researchers, educators, and IT professionals everywhere.

This volume includes a variety of first-hand case studies, critical analyses, action research and reflective practice in the digital humanities which ranges from digital literature, library science, online games, museum studies, information literacy to corpus linguistics in the 21st century. It informs readers of the latest developments in the digital humanities and their influence on learning and teaching. With the growing advancement of digital technology, humanistic inquiries have expanded and transformed in unfathomable complexity as new content is being rapidly created. The emergence of electronic archiving, digital scholarship, digitized pedagogy, textual digitization and software creation has brought about huge impacts on both humanities subjects and the university curricula in terms of nature, scope and design. This volume provides insights into what these technological changes mean for all the stakeholders involved and for the ways in which humanities subjects are understood. Part 1 of this volume begins with a broad perspective on digital humanities and discusses the current status of the field in Asia, Canada and Europe. Then, with a special focus on new literacies, educational implications, and innovative research in the digital humanities, Parts 2-4 explore how digital technology revolutionizes art forms, curricula, and pedagogy, revealing the current practices and latest trends in the digital humanities. Written by experts and researchers across Asia, Australia, Canada and Europe, this volume brings global insights into the digital humanities, particularly in the education aspect. It is of interest to researchers and students of cultural studies, literature, education, and technology studies. The strongest point of this collection of work is that, it brings important concepts to the study of digital literacies, for example, looking at it from the perspective of new literacies, languages and education. Daniel Churchill, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong With a rapidly growing advancement in digital tools, this book has made a relevant contribution by informing readers what the latest development of these tools are, and discusses how they can aid research, libraries, education and even poets across different continents. Samuel Kai-wah Chu, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong

In an environment where some countries are coming out of the recession at different speeds and others remain in a gloomy economic environment, education plays a vital role in reducing the negative impact of the global economic problems. In this sense, new technologies help to generate human resources with a better quality of education. Augmented Reality for Enhanced Learning Environments provides emerging research on using new technologies to encourage education and improve learning quality through augmented reality. While highlighting issues such as global economic problems impacting schools and insufficient aid, this publication explores new technologies in emerging economies and effective means of knowledge and learning transfer. This book is a vital resource for teachers, students, and aid workers seeking current research on creating a new horizon in science and technology to strengthen the current system of learning.

Distance education technology combines communication with educational and intelligent methods to develop software and hardware systems that support learning activities with spatiotemporal flexibilities. ""Future Directions in Distance Learning and Communication Technologies"" presents theoretical studies and practical solutions for engineers, educational professionals, and graduate students in the research areas of e-learning, distance education, and instructional design. This book provides readers with cutting-edge solutions and research directions pertinent to these evolving fields.

"Respecting Childhood" critically examines modern day views and practices related to children and childhood.
It begins with a discussion of how Western society conceptualizes and often idealizes children as being fragile, innocent and 'incompetent' (or 'immature'). Childhood is often reduced by adults to being seen as preparation for the future, instead of being viewed as a stage of life worthy of respect in its own right. This is evidenced in parenting styles, practices and structures in schools, and media representations. As a result of these views of childhood, many extreme ways of living and working with children have been proposed, from over-permissiveness on the one hand, to a call for a 'back to basics' strict style of discipline and education on the other.
Childhood is now seen as being so complex that parents and teachers frequently feel the need to seek out and follow often conflicting 'expert advice' on how to raise and teach children, rather than following their natural instincts and common sense.
"Respecting Children" advocates a more balanced approach, calling for views of children that allow them to be children, and to live their childhood in the present, rather than constantly having to follow the dubious proposition of 'maximizing' their learning and development in order to become more competitive, successful adults in the future.

Each chapter explores a different aspect of children's lives, such as their relationships with others, their capabilities, their behaviour, and looks to how these compare in the different contexts of society, home and school life. 'Windows on research', case studies and discussion questions engage the reader, making this book accessible for undergraduate students of courses such as Childhood Studies, Early Childhood Education and Education Studies, and to those of MA Education and MA Childhood and Society programmes.

As the demand for education at all levels has increased, so have the models of meeting these increased demands for education. As in many other parts of the world, public education has expanded to serve large populations across the regions of Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Many nations in these regions have instituted mandates, policies, and frameworks intended to simultaneously increase access to public education opportunities as well as improve the quality of education provided and to address a wide populace. Because the increase in educational demand has occurred at all levels, these efforts often address various levels of education from early childhood through primary schooling, junior secondary and secondary schooling and into tertiary education. Efforts also have been made to increase participation in education by marginalized and/or special populations. The range of efforts is large with some focusing on involving migrants/immigrants/refugees in primary education while others aim at opening up choices at the university level. Recently, nations in the region have recognized the possibilities of digital learning (online learning) as cell phones and other widely used portable wireless devices have made it possible to sell the idea that one can learn from anywhere at any time. This widespread access to technology has made it possible for governments as well as private entities to expand learning opportunities even to populations previously unreached or to address difficult to reach sectors of the population. At the same time, the population itself has not only increased in numbers but in diversity. Maintaining quality through digital and other means of quick expansion of educational opportunities continues to be challenging if not problematic. Effects of Government Mandates and Policies on Public Education in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East is Book IX of the series, Research on Education in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Chapters document, describe and/or raise critical issues and/or questions resulting from government policies, mandates and frameworks intended to make available public education to an ever-growing populace while at the same time being mindful of improving quality of education being availed to an increasingly diverse populace.

The face of education is constantly being transformed due to rapid changes in technology. It is imperative that leadership trends and techniques be evaluated in the educational field, particularly in reference to alternative learning programs. The Handbook of Research on Administrative Leadership in Open and Distance Learning Programs is a pivotal scholarly resource that discusses emerging issues surrounding the administration of non-traditional education practices. Highlighting relevant topics that include policy development, quality assurance, accreditation, and assessment systems, this publication is an ideal reference source for educators, academicians, graduate students, and researchers that are interested in the progression of open and distance education.

The effective communication of science through language, including reading, writing, listening, speaking, and visual representation, is an essential part of scientific learning, understanding, and practice. Language is the medium by which scientific reasoning occurs, whether be it formal language or symbolic representations of scientific phenomena. Sustainable Language Support Practices in Science Education: Technologies and Solutions presents cases on the results of a study done in Australia on first-year university students and the impact of new techniques of language acquisition on science education. The project covered biology, chemistry, and physics. Nearly 3,400 students were involved in the project, drawn from the University of Canberra, the University of Technology-Sydney, the University of Sydney, the University of Tasmania, and the University of Newcastle in Australia. This book serves as the latest research available on meta-cognitive assessment and language needs for a diverse student body; it is a vital resource for academics and practitioners designing and implementing science education around the world today.

Let an award-winning school library media specialist who has implemented a local area network (LAN) in her media center help you plan this important addition to your media center while avoiding the pitfalls. This hands-on practical guide contains all the information the network novice needs to plan, fund, create, and maintain a LAN in the media center. Based on the experience of the school library media specialist who received the 1994 Follett/AASL "Microcomputer in the Media Center Award" for creating a local area network in the high school media center, this guide describes the procedures for planning, designing, funding, installing, organizing, training, evaluating, and maintaining a LAN in a library media center setting. Step-by-step nontechnical instructions and advice for creating an information network are presented in an understandable format. How to expand into a school-district wide area network (WAN) and gain access to the Internet are also discussed. This comprehensive work takes the network novice from dream to implementation, maintenance, and evaluation of a local area network. It covers funding sources, tips for writing technology grants, requests for proposals from vendors, staff inservice and student training, evaluation and assessment, student internships, technology teams, troubleshooting equipment, and network administration. Useful forms, simple network schematic diagrams, a model school-board approved electronic resources policy, a glossary of technical terms, and sample assessment tools are included. No other book walks the library media specialist through every step in creating a LAN. Media professionals who want to provide networked electronic information to thestaff and students but are not sure of how to proceed will benefit from this clear, nontechnical guide to the process.