This carefully balanced set of studies and practitioner research projects carried out in various learning contexts around the world highlights cutting-edge research in the use of digital learning technologies in language classrooms and in online learning. Providing an overview of recent developments in the application of educational technology to language learning and teaching, it looks at the experience of researchers and practitioners in both formal and informal (self-study) learning contexts, bringing readers up to date with this rapidly changing field and the latest developments in research, theory, and practice at both classroom and education system levels.

Digital Tools for Knowledge Construction in the Secondary Grades was written for teachers who wish to gain a better understanding of how to integrate technology into their classrooms from a student-centered perspective. When done so, students must take more control of, and therefore more responsibility for, their learning. This book is divided into two sections. Part I provides a foundation and rational for student-centered learning, instructional strategies for technology integration, and using this approach to help teachers assess their students in meeting academic standards. Part II includes foundational technology information and appropriate use of digital tools for communication, collaboration, research, publishing, and even games for learning. This text provides methods and examples of technology integration that supports students' achievement of national academic standards by using today's digital tools for communication, collaboration, research and publishing. When students learn how to become knowledgeable global digital citizens they gain the requisite skills for tomorrow's creative thinkers, problem solvers, and decision makers.

Beyond the Online Course: Leadership Perspectives on e-Learning addresses a need for the growing body of professionals who are called upon to lead the online/distance learning efforts at their various organizations. It will also be of interest to those wishing to prepare for leadership positions or who are engaged in research and study of issues "beyond the online course." The book brings together scholarly and practice-based writings from the pages of the Quarterly Review of Distance Education and Distance Learning for Educators, Trainers and Leaders.

The increasing popularity of digitally-mediated communication is prompting us to radically rethink literacy and its role in education; at the same time, national policies have promulgated a view of literacy focused on the skills and classroom routines associated with print, bolstered by regimes of accountability and assessments. As a result, teachers are caught between two competing discourses: one upholding a traditional conception of literacy re-iterated by politicians and policy-makers, and the other encouraging a more radical take on 21st century literacies driven by leading edge thinkers and researchers. There is a pressing need for a book which engages researchers in international dialogue around new literacies, their implications for policy and practice, and how they might articulate across national boundaries. Drawing on cutting edge research from the USA, Canada, UK, Australia and South Africa, this book is a pedagogical and policy-driven call for change. It explores studies of literacy practices in varied contexts through a refreshingly dialogic style, interspersed with commentaries which comment on the significance of the work described for education. The book concludes on the 'conversation' developed to identify key recommendations for policy-makers through a Charter for Literacy Education. .

Mobile Learning through Digital Media Literacy proposes media literacy education as a conceptual framework for bridging mobile technologies in teaching and learning. As cell phones have become more advanced and applications more innovative and fitting, candid conversations are taking place as to how technology can be a purposeful tool in the classroom. Mobile technology already attracts students and encourages text-language development; yet its accessibility affords the potential for more extended use, offering enhancement and flexibility for instructional development. In light of a shared vision of collaboration and growth developing globally within educational circles, this book examines mobile learning as a formal literacy, as a productivity environment for creative growth in and out of the classroom, and as an advancement to social learning through online networks. The book surveys media literacy education-both within the classroom and its extended implications-for concerns of civic participation and data privacy, as more educators and policymakers internationally consider the possibilities of connected classrooms and m-learning on a universal scale.

"I was once a brand new teacher and I know that nothing can be as frustrating to a young educator as the first year of teaching. Erbes helps guide new teachers through what may be their toughest year." -Janice Hahn, City Councilwoman Los Angeles, CA "The author reminds us that teaching is about more than skills and strategies; it is about relationships and passion." -Marilyn Green, Director of Grants, Assessment, and Special Projects Moorpark Unified School District, CA "This resource offers practical advice-not just theory-on how to succeed in the crucial first year of teaching." -Erin Powers, Literacy and Leadership Partner University of California, Los Angeles Life lessons for surviving and thriving in the classroom! Even with student teaching experience and education courses under their belts, most new teachers are unprepared for their first year in the classroom. Filled with practical insider information, this resource bridges the gap between instructional theory and practice. This clear, concise, and reader-friendly text combines research, the author's personal experiences, and valuable insights from veteran educators to help new teachers: Create a positive learning environment Address classroom management issues while retaining their personal style Connect with students Collaborate with parents and families Handle personal and professional challenges This book is ideal for novice and prospective teachers as well as for mentor programs and parenting classes.

In recent years, virtual teams have become a feature of most corporate workplaces, yet few academic programs prepare students to work in virtual teams, and few textbooks support the development of key skills for virtual teamwork. The primary purpose of this book is to enable higher education students to participate in virtual teams with students from other institutions, who potentially operate in different countries, time zones, and/or cultures. The book guides students through the process of working in virtual team projects for their classes, and helps them to engage with the learning experiences, and to respond to potential challenges. The book is directed towards students within any of the following disciplines: Business; Information Technology; Communication Studies; and Engineering. One section of the book also guides teachers through the process of organizing virtual team projects, and explores the teacher/teacher collaboration that is an inevitable consequence of organizing inter-institutional student virtual team projects. It provides advice for teachers on how to manage administrative challenges such as conflicting institutional schedules and grading mechanisms. In addition, it discusses research themes and data gathering and analysis techniques for teachers who wish to publish findings about the virtual team process and outcomes. As well as students and teachers, the book is also useful for researchers exploring any of the following themes: Technology use in virtual teams; Communication strategies and international communication in virtual teams; Communities of learning, e-learning, and virtual teams; Challenges of virtual teamwork; Planning a virtual team collaboration project; and Gathering and analyzing data about virtual collaboration.

Blended learning is firmly established in universities around the world, yet to date little attention has been paid to how students are enaging with this style of learning. Presenting a theoretically-based and empirically-validated model of engagement, this book examines the application of the model to improve the quality and productivity of university education. Covering the key qualities of blended learning, it analyses how online learning influences campus-based education, develops the student perspective of online learning, examines online learning systems as agents of change, provides insights and guidance for educational developers and administrators attempting to improve quality of learning, and considers how institutions can maximise educational returns from large investments in online learning technologies. Illustrated with case studies and developing ideas for practice, this book will be valuable reading for researchers and developers keen to improve their understanding of the emerging dynamics of contemporary student engagement with online learning.

The United States has undergone several major transformations economically, politically, and socially. Today, the impact of artificial intelligence will bring another transformation affecting citizens' private lives as well as employment, communication, politics, and almost every other aspect of life. The question artificial intelligence raises is: what kind of education will students need in confronting the obvious and projected impact of technology? Transformations affect obvious aspects of life, but also raise significant issues that challenge values, ethics and standards. The purpose of this book is to define the role of education and its goals, content, and approaches that will assist citizens in addressing the challenges the artificial intelligence movement brings to the life of citizens. Positive aspects of the transformation include communication, productivity, and other issues. However, there are hazards and downsides to artificial intelligence that must be addressed through an educated society. Education's role encompasses assisting individuals to address the positive and negative aspects of any creative intervention. Thinking coupled with insight into principles, ethics, and the meaning of life are critical. Education prepares individuals for changing times in order to protect their freedoms and democracy and find a life of purpose and meaning.

In recent years, virtual teams have become a feature of most corporate workplaces, yet few academic programs prepare students to work in virtual teams, and few textbooks support the development of key skills for virtual teamwork. The primary purpose of this book is to enable higher education students to participate in virtual teams with students from other institutions, who potentially operate in different countries, time zones, and/or cultures. The book guides students through the process of working in virtual team projects for their classes, and helps them to engage with the learning experiences, and to respond to potential challenges. The book is directed towards students within any of the following disciplines: Business; Information Technology; Communication Studies; and Engineering. One section of the book also guides teachers through the process of organizing virtual team projects, and explores the teacher/teacher collaboration that is an inevitable consequence of organizing inter-institutional student virtual team projects. It provides advice for teachers on how to manage administrative challenges such as conflicting institutional schedules and grading mechanisms. In addition, it discusses research themes and data gathering and analysis techniques for teachers who wish to publish findings about the virtual team process and outcomes. As well as students and teachers, the book is also useful for researchers exploring any of the following themes: Technology use in virtual teams; Communication strategies and international communication in virtual teams; Communities of learning, e-learning, and virtual teams; Challenges of virtual teamwork; Planning a virtual team collaboration project; and Gathering and analyzing data about virtual collaboration.

Exploring the latest developments in the technology and pedagogy of higher education, Technological Advances in Interactive Collaborative Learning presents information technology-oriented educational programs for the next generation of scientists and researchers. It highlights the importance of technology, pedagogy, and management in the higher education ecosystem. With a focus on technological innovations, the book explains how Web 2.0 technologies can enhance collaborative learning and how immersive learning environments and mobile technologies can improve the learning process. The text then describes novel pedagogical and methodological approaches that underpin the technological advances, facilitate collaborative learning, and enable the efficient use of games. The book also covers managerial aspects and best practices through case studies and examples. Drawing on the work of longtime researchers in computational science and e-learning, this book shows how interactive collaborative learning can help scientists and researchers acquire the multidisciplinary skills to understand and use complex mathematical models, high performance computing, and other advanced technology necessary in today's interconnected, data-rich world. It will also help computer scientists and engineers create easy-to-use and research-friendly systems.

This volume provides researchers and clinicians with an insight into recent developments in activity anorexia. Much of the basic information on the topic has come from animal literature; the theory of activity anorexia is built on an animal model of self-starvation (rats placed on a single daily feeding run more and more, over days stop eating, and die of starvation). Additionally, experiments that for ethical or practical reasons could not be done with humans may be conducted with other animals. The animal research is extending the understanding of biologically-based reward mechanisms that regulate eating and exercise, environment-behavior interactions that affect anorexia, and the biochemical changes that accompany physical activity and starvation. Increasingly, however, the impact of physical activity on human anorexia is being directly investigated--eight out of fourteen research chapters in this volume are based on human research. Some researchers are interested in the impact of hyperactivity and caloric restriction on human reproductive function. Other authors are investigating physically active subgroups of people considered to be at risk for anorexia. Finally, several clinician/researchers suggest how physical activity and extreme dieting interact for anorexia nervosa patients. Chapter authors were asked to present their views independent of the editors' argument that, when it is present, physical activity is central to anorexia. Many of the contributors disagree with the editors about the details of activity anorexia. A few suggest that excessive physical activity is either incidental to, or an epiphenomenon of, anorexia. Most authors are, however, in accord with the view that physical activity reduces food consumption which further drives up activity that results in even less caloric intake. No matter what their perspective, all contributors agree that hyperactivity frequently accompanies self-starvation in humans and other animals. The end result is a lively book that provides a source of ideas for both researchers and practitioners.

- Offers practical "how-to" advice on using virtual worlds effectively. - Written in a user friendly way for the novice user. - Gives real-world examples based on 10 years' experience in the field.

Makeology introduces the emerging landscape of the Maker Movement and its connection to interest-driven learning. While the movement is fueled in part by new tools, technologies, and online communities available to today's makers, its simultaneous emphasis on engaging the world through design and sharing with others harkens back to early educational predecessors including Froebel, Dewey, Montessori, and Papert. Makers as Learners (Volume 2) highlights leading researchers and practitioners as they discuss and share current perspectives on the Maker movement and research on educational outcomes in makerspaces. Each chapter closes with a set of practical takeaways for educators, researchers, and parents.

The mathematics curriculum - what mathematics is taught, to whom it is taught, and when it is taught - is the bedrock to understanding what mathematics students can, could, and should learn. Today's digital technology influences the mathematics curriculum in two quite different ways. One influence is on the delivery of mathematics through hardware such as desktops, laptops, and tablets. Another influence is on the doing of mathematics using software available on this hardware, but also available on the internet, calculators, or smart phones. These developments, rapidly increasing in their availability and decreasing in their cost, raise fundamental questions regarding a mathematics curriculum that has traditionally been focused on paper-and-pencil work and taught in many places as a set of rules to be practiced and learned. This volume presents the talks given at a conference held in 2014 at the University of Chicago, sponsored by the Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum. The speakers - experts from around the world and inside the USA - were asked to discuss one or more of the following topics: changes in the nature and creation of curricular materials available to students transformations in how students learn and how they demonstrate their learning rethinking the role of the teacher and how students and teachers interact within a classroom and across distances from each other The result is a set of articles that are interesting and captivating, and challenge us to examine how the learning of mathematics can and should be affected by today's technology.

This book serves as a platform for educators and researchers to unite educational technology and social justice. While educational technology is a rapidly changing and progressive field of research and practice, it remains largely separate from education for social justice. Current literature about educational technology is often approached from a technical, how-to perspective that emphasizes ways to implement technology into the classroom. Technology is often viewed as inevitable, yet neutral and value-free. Educational technology, however, is anything but neutral. The contributors collectively advance a hopeful discourse by exploring the potential of technology as a vehicle to transform and emancipate, while not forgoing a critically reflective measure of self-conscious critique of our own role as educators, students, or scholars in oppressive silences, constraints and conditions. This edited collection makes an important and unique contribution to the field, as it will be the first published volume to detail research, theory, and practice regarding student use of technology in achieving liberatory aims since IAP's 2009 publication, ICT for Education, Development and Social Justice. The fields of educational technology and social justice are vast and applicable in many domains, including teacher education, graduate programs, and K-12 education. This work is intended to appeal to a diverse academic and professional audience of K-12 teachers, teacher educators, educational technology and social justice scholars, and policy makers. Scholars and academics instructing graduate-level educational technology courses can reference this edited collection as the most current text on socially just educational technology. Educational practitioners from teacher education programs and the K-12 sector may use this book as a source of ideas and inspiration to incorporate student use of technology toward emancipatory aims. This title could be adopted as a course text for both undergraduate and graduate education courses in: media literacy, digital literacy, distance education, education for social justice, and teacher preparation, and educational technology courses. Readers will also be able to use the book as a guide when critically analyzing their own professional practice, whether it is in research, working with K-12 students, or preparing future educators or scholars.

This book looks at the changing nature of literacy and at the way in which new and different literacies are emerging in the first part of the 21st century. It considers how children are shaping and being shaped by these changes, it also looks at how teachers need to bridge-the-gap between children's out of school interests and school based curriculum demands. This edited collection, which features chapters by international experts and voices in the field, aims to: Take a closer look at (and demystify) some of the influences on literacy in the 21st century e.g. popular culture, multi-modal texts, email, text messaging and critical literacy. Enhance teachers' awareness of these developments and show how they can use them to improve the literacy skills of their pupils. Show, through the Implications for Practice sections, how teachers can find different but straightforward ways of linking children's personal, out-of-school interests with the demands of the school curriculum.

This book reports an attempt to introduce change in schools using a computer-based curriculum innovation for teaching higher-order thinking skills to middle and high school students. One of the volume's themes is the extraordinary complexity and difficulty of facilitating such change in schools. A corollary of that theme is the fact that patience must be an integral part of the strategy when promoting or studying change in schools. In reporting the activities during the early years of a technological innovation and research project in which the emphasis thus far has been primarily on establishing the change, this book focuses on describing the move to a technology-based learning environment. As such, it details an ongoing process -- a fascinating process -- and one that is likely to be repeated in the near future in countless schools throughout the nation.

While the importance of the role of storytelling can hardly be overestimated, the impact of digitalization on this role is more ambivalent. In this second book-length publication of the programme Media and Education in the Digital Age - MEDA, the authors take a critical stance towards the alleged emancipative affordances of digital storytelling in education. The collection is inspired by the effort of making professional educators aware of the risks of the digital turn in educational storytelling but also of the opportunities and the conditions for critical engagements. Based on their research and field experience, fifteen scholars discuss in nine chapters these risks and opportunities, providing ideas, evidence, references and inspiration to educators and researchers.

International Advances in Education: Global Initiatives for Equity and Social Justice is an international research monograph series of scholarly works that focuses primarily on empowering children, adolescents, and young adults from diverse educational, socio-cultural, linguistic, religious, racial, ethnic, and socio-economic settings to become non-exploited/ non-exploitive contributing members of the global community. The series draws on the international community of investigators, academics, and community organizers that have contributed to the evidence base for developing sound educational policies, practices, and innovative programs to optimize the potential of all students. Each themed volume includes multi-disciplinary theory, research, and practice that provides an enriched understanding of the drivers of human potential via education to assist readers in exploring, adapting and replicating innovative strategies that enable ALL students to realize their full potential. Among these strategies are the integration of digital technologies (DT) and information and communication technologies (ICT) into contemporary education platforms. However, technology must be more than just a tool to deliver content and stimulate engagement; it must become a means to broaden access to learning, advance equity, promote social justice, and encourage social inclusion. Especially reaching out to address the academic and social needs of rural, impoverished, marginalized, and displaced populations. Though the digital divide continues to hinder educational attainment for underprivileged populations, ICTs are providing significant opportunities to deliver literacy and basic skills instruction to disadvantaged segments of the global population as well as engage, motivate, and customize learning to address local needs. Nonetheless, the availability of ICT is not a deterministic process. Other societal, cultural, political and contextual factors are of fundamental importance to acceptance and integration that enables people to benefit from technology. The relationship between educational access, instructional delivery, and ICT should be considered in more complex terms. In particular, digital technologies should be viewed as instructional tools that improve access to educational opportunities, strengthen cultural resources, promote social and economic equity, and provide students with the knowledge and competencies to prepare them for a future that cannot be predicted. Therefore, developing ICT and media capabilities that instill citizenship and stewardship in today's students is crucial to gleaning the social and the cultural advantages of a contemporary global society that encourages full and equal citizenship. personality of children to the community of solidarity and shared norms. The second understanding of citizenship complements the `roots' with `roads', with the choices made by the individual, with the capacity to form and develop the child's personality into the actor and author of his/her educational, professional, and life projects. The adolescent prepares to become an active, committed, and engaged citizen with the intellectual capacity for critical thinking that leads to responsible actions. Digital citizenship expresses the transformations of both belonging to and engaging in the information society and contributes to the development of generation "Y" with the aspiration to innovate and experiment, to explore the possibilities of the new digital world, to question authorities and instances of knowledge and power. Education addresses digital citzenship by opening more avenues for the intersection of Internet, imagination, and exploration. Volume 10, E-learning and Social Media: Education and Citizenship for the digital 21st century addresses the use of technology in: developing and expanding educational delivery systems to reach rural populations, providing access to equitable education opportunities for disadvantaged and marginalized populations, and encouraging student civic engagement. The volume evaluates e-learning programs (distributed through the internet, via satellite and hosted on social media) that promote equitable education for disadvantaged populations; examines the challenge and benefits of social media on student self-identity collaboration, and academic engagement; shares promising practices associated with technology in education an e-citizenship in the 21st century, and advances the discussion on blending global citizenship education and social media that raises student awareness, accountability and social justice involvement.

Beyond the Online Course: Leadership Perspectives on e-Learning addresses a need for the growing body of professionals who are called upon to lead the online/distance learning efforts at their various organizations. It will also be of interest to those wishing to prepare for leadership positions or who are engaged in research and study of issues "beyond the online course." The book brings together scholarly and practice-based writings from the pages of the Quarterly Review of Distance Education and Distance Learning for Educators, Trainers and Leaders.

Whilst much has been written about the doors that technology can open for students, less has been said about its impact on teachers and professors. Although technology undoubtedly brings with it huge opportunities within higher education, there is also the fear that it will have a negative effect both on faculty and on teaching standards. Education Is Not an App offers a bold and provocative analysis of the economic context within which educational technology is being implemented, not least the financial problems currently facing higher education institutions around the world. The book emphasizes the issue of control as being a key factor in whether educational technology is used for good purposes or bad purposes, arguing that technology has great potential if placed in caring hands. Whilst it is a guide to the newest developments in education technology, it is also a book for those faculty, technology professionals, and higher education policy-makers who want to understand the economic and pedagogical impact of technology on professors and students. It advocates a path into the future based on faculty autonomy, shared governance, and concentration on the university's traditional role of promoting the common good. Offering the first critical, in-depth assessment of the political economy of education technology, this book will serve as an invaluable guide to concerned faculty, as well as to anyone with an interest in the future of higher education.

This book serves as a platform for educators and researchers to unite educational technology and social justice. While educational technology is a rapidly changing and progressive field of research and practice, it remains largely separate from education for social justice. Current literature about educational technology is often approached from a technical, how-to perspective that emphasizes ways to implement technology into the classroom. Technology is often viewed as inevitable, yet neutral and value-free. Educational technology, however, is anything but neutral. The contributors collectively advance a hopeful discourse by exploring the potential of technology as a vehicle to transform and emancipate, while not forgoing a critically reflective measure of self-conscious critique of our own role as educators, students, or scholars in oppressive silences, constraints and conditions. This edited collection makes an important and unique contribution to the field, as it will be the first published volume to detail research, theory, and practice regarding student use of technology in achieving liberatory aims since IAP's 2009 publication, ICT for Education, Development and Social Justice. The fields of educational technology and social justice are vast and applicable in many domains, including teacher education, graduate programs, and K-12 education. This work is intended to appeal to a diverse academic and professional audience of K-12 teachers, teacher educators, educational technology and social justice scholars, and policy makers. Scholars and academics instructing graduate-level educational technology courses can reference this edited collection as the most current text on socially just educational technology. Educational practitioners from teacher education programs and the K-12 sector may use this book as a source of ideas and inspiration to incorporate student use of technology toward emancipatory aims. This title could be adopted as a course text for both undergraduate and graduate education courses in: media literacy, digital literacy, distance education, education for social justice, and teacher preparation, and educational technology courses. Readers will also be able to use the book as a guide when critically analyzing their own professional practice, whether it is in research, working with K-12 students, or preparing future educators or scholars.

An engaging and authoritative guide to the impact of reading medium on learning, from a foremost expert in the field We face constant choices about how we read. Educators must select classroom materials. College students weigh their textbook options. Parents make decisions for their children. The digital revolution has transformed reading, and with the recent turn to remote learning, onscreen reading may seem like the only viable option. Yet selecting digital is often based on cost or convenience, not on educational evidence. Now more than ever it is imperative to understand how reading medium actually impacts learning-and what strategies we need in order to read effectively in all formats. In How We Read Now, Naomi Baron draws on a wealth of knowledge and research to explain important differences in the way we concentrate, understand, and remember across multiple formats. Mobilizing work from international scholarship along with findings from her own studies of reading practices, Baron addresses key challenges-from student complaints that print is boring to the hazards of digital reading for critical thinking. Rather than arguing for one format over another, she explains how we read and learn in different settings, shedding new light on the current state of reading. The book then crucially connects research insights to concrete applications, offering practical approaches for maximizing learning with print, digital text, audio, and video. Since screens and audio are now entrenched-and invaluable-platforms for reading, we need to rethink ways of helping readers at all stages use them more wisely. How We Read Now shows us how to do that.

In computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments, it is often observed that learners' collaboration processes are suboptimal in at least two aspects: First, learners often experience problems concerning acting in CSCL environments, e.g., how to establish smooth coordination and communication in an environment that is quite often new and unfamiliar to the learners. Secondly, similar to collaborative learning in face-to-face settings, learners often fail to engage in higher-order learning like explaining complex issues or monitoring one's own learning processes. A promising way to deal with these problems is to provide learners with scripts that support them both in communication/coordination and in higher-order learning. In this book, the term script is approached from at least three perspectives: cognitive psychology perspective, computer science perspective, and an educational perspective.