"Ainsley Arment has emerged as one of the most prominent voices in [this] grass-roots community." - New York Times As parents, we dream of creating a magical childhood for our kids, yet it can be so easy to slip into autopilot. Ainsley Arment-a mother of five, founder of the thriving community Wild + Free, and bestselling author-is no stranger to the barrage of decisions, opportunities, and daily tasks that each day brings. But what Ainsley has discovered is that the magic of life isn't found in the hustle and bustle of constant activity but in the intentional ordinary decisions of our days. And when we assume that a family has to look or act a certain way, we miss the opportunity to build a meaningful and fulfilling life together. Drawn from her family's stories and those shared by the Wild + Free community, The Wild + Free Family explores how to create a family culture that breaks the mold by seeking to connect with our children, unleash their gifts, pursue a shared vision together, and redeem generational brokenness, among so much more. Inside these pages are Ainsley's words of encouragement, honesty, and wisdom, guiding all parents to create a home where families can forge their own path to love stronger, live more fully, and grow closer to each other.

Transactional Distance and Adaptive Learning takes a fresh look at one of the pioneering educational theories that accommodates the impact of information and communications technologies in learning. The theory of transactional distance (TTD) provides a distinct analytical and planning foundation for educators to conduct an overarching inquiry into transitioning from mass instructional and management systems in higher education to dynamic and transformational futures that focus on each individual learner. Based on the TTD, this pragmatic approach offers instructors, administrators, students, and other stakeholders a comprehensive planning method to assess the current state of their instructional, learning, and management practices and to develop alternative models to prescribe future improvements in their institution. This complex, self-organized, and adaptive method includes current and emergent properties of: hardware, software, and telecommunications systems that allow faculty, students, and administrators to communicate; instructional and curriculum systems that provide teaching and learning environments for faculty and students; and management, societal, and global systems that influence how institutions are supported, funded, and managed.

All the questions about the mysterious and powerful Triple T Token come to a head as Arcade seeks out the truth behind this magical object once and for all.? Arcade and the Dazzling Truth Detector is the fourth and final book in the humorous and imaginative Coin Slot Chronicles series by New York Times bestselling author, former NFL running back, and?Dancing with the Stars?champion Rashad Jennings. What does the last T on the Triple T Token stand for? Where did the token come from? What did Arcade's mom do with it when she had it? And why does Arcade have it now? Arcade and Zoe Livingston have been on a quest for truth ever since the mysterious lady gave Arcade the token, said, "Happy Travels," then vanished. Now, Arcade Livingston has just one wish on his twelfth birthday: to experience the?ests?of life. From the highest, lowest, deepest, coldest, and hottest places on Earth; to some of the greatest, most influential moments in history-Arcade gets his wish and much more than he could ever dream as the Triple T Token takes him and Zoe back in time and to the top (and bottom!) of the world. It's a whirlwind journey of self-discovery in some of the most exciting and unusual places on the planet. Written and designed for reluctant readers, with shorter chapters and meaningful illustrations throughout the book.?Arcade and the Dazzling Truth Detector teaches children ages 8 and up: How to create goals and the importance of dreaming big The importance of generosity, compassion, patience, and forgiveness The journey of self discovery and never giving up If you enjoy Arcade and the Dazzling Truth Detector, check out the rest of the series:? Arcade and the Triple T Token (Book 1) ?Arcade and the Golden Travel Guide (Book 2) ?Arcade and the Fiery Metal Tester (Book 3)

As institutions and organisations around the world move to more open and flexible delivery of educational and training programmes, there is increasing need for effective forms of staff development to encourage and support change. Staff development is not only critical in helping teachers and trainers acquire and improve their knowledge and skills in alternative modes of delivery, but in helping to shape the policies, procedures and attitudes that are needed for more learner-centred approaches. This book draws together the experiences, insights and findings of some of the world's leading staff developers in open and flexible education. It is designed to provide an overview of the trends, influences and events which are shaping the work of these professionals, and the policy changes, processes and outcomes they are helping to bring about in this expanding field. The book offers various frameworks and strategies for staff development activities, with examples from commercial, professional and educational settings, and shows how these can be refined and adapted to more specific contexts.

In Issues in Technology, Learning, and Instructional Design, some of the best-known scholars in those fields produce powerful, original dialogues that clarify current issues, provide context and theoretical grounding, and illuminate a framework for future thought. Position statements are introduced and then responded to, covering a remarkably broad series of topics across educational technology, learning, and instructional design, from tool use to design education to how people learn. Reminiscent of the well-known Clark/Kozma debates of the 1990s, this book is a must-have for professionals in the field and can also be used as a textbook for graduate or advanced undergraduate courses.

Digital Technologies and Change in Education provides professionals and other leaders with a road map of the processes of change for teachers, schools, universities, and educational systems, including extensive case studies and evidence that clarify the benefits and challenges of digital technologies in education. To this end, Niki Davis offers a theoretical framework-the Arena-as a tool for exploration and analysis of our own experiences of teaching, leadership, and research. With a blend of local, regional, and global examples from all sectors of education, this book allows readers to move past the potentially misleading glitter of new technologies and into the co-evolving ecologies that make up education and training locally and globally.

Reprint of classic Emma Serl Language Art text for second and third graders. Edited and with new lessons by Margot Davidson, this book includes dictation, copywork, picture study, conversation, letter writing, composition, and language usage lessons. Perfect companion for Charlotte Mason style education and used in classical home education program.

Streamlined ID presents a focused and generalizable approach to instructional design and development - one that addresses the needs of ID novices as well as practitioners in a variety of career environments. Highlighting essentials and big ideas, this guide advocates a streamlined approach to instructional design: producing instruction that is sustainable, optimized, appropriately redundant, and targeted at continuous improvement. The book's enhanced version of the classic ADDIE model (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation) emphasizes the iterative nature of design and the role of evaluation throughout the design/development process. It clearly lays out a systematic approach that emphasizes the use of research-based theories, while acknowledging the need to customize the process to accommodate a variety of pedagogical approaches. This thoroughly revised second edition reflects recent advances and changes in the field, adds three new chapters, updates reference charts, job aids, and tips to support practitioners working in a variety of career environments, and speaks more clearly than ever to ID novices and graduate students.

Every year, more online or technology-enhanced learning experiences are added to the landscape of education, and the number of students taking online courses on residential campuses continues to grow. In addition, new instructional tools are creating environments that are mobile, interactive, and collaborative. These trends present challenges to the online classroom, and this book will help instructors meet those challenges. Jump-Start Your Online Classroom prepares a first-time online instructor to successfully manage the first few weeks of a course, including activities to help instructors plan, manage, and facilitate online instruction; and resources helpful during the beginning weeks of class. Each chapter is developed around the immediate challenges instructors face when teaching online. The authors address everyday problems and suggest solutions informed by their extensive research and experience. The five challenges, which are designed to be addressed in five days, are to: Make the transition to online teaching Build online spaces for learning Prepare students for online learning Manage and facilitating the online classroom Assess learner outcomes in an online classroom The book is based on the authorsaEURO (TM) design and facilitation model that identifies five elements comprising an online learning environment: digital tools, participants, social practices, learning community, and outcomes. The book shows how each of those aspects influences instructional practices and interacts to create an environment for a meaningful online educational experience.

Every year, more online or technology-enhanced learning experiences are added to the landscape of education, and the number of students taking online courses on residential campuses continues to grow. In addition, new instructional tools are creating environments that are mobile, interactive, and collaborative. These trends present challenges to the online classroom, and this book will help instructors meet those challenges. Jump-Start Your Online Classroom prepares a first-time online instructor to successfully manage the first few weeks of a course, including activities to help instructors plan, manage, and facilitate online instruction; and resources helpful during the beginning weeks of class. Each chapter is developed around the immediate challenges instructors face when teaching online. The authors address everyday problems and suggest solutions informed by their extensive research and experience. The five challenges, which are designed to be addressed in five days, are to: Make the transition to online teaching Build online spaces for learning Prepare students for online learning Manage and facilitating the online classroom Assess learner outcomes in an online classroom The book is based on the authorsaEURO (TM) design and facilitation model that identifies five elements comprising an online learning environment: digital tools, participants, social practices, learning community, and outcomes. The book shows how each of those aspects influences instructional practices and interacts to create an environment for a meaningful online educational experience.

How to Be a Successful Student is a clear, concise, evidence-based guide to the habits that are scientifically proven to help people learn. Acclaimed educational psychologist Richard Mayer distils cutting edge research to focus on the 20 best study habits for college students, including habits for motivating yourself to learn, managing your learning environment, and effectively applying learning strategies. This accessible, practical book covers all three areas with evidence-based, approachable suggestions to help you become a successful student by developing effective study habits and rejecting ineffective ones.

Policy for Open and Distance Learning considers the questions that planners and policy makers in open and distance learning need to address at any level of education.
Starting by analysing the range of purposes for which open and distance learning is used, the book places the issues in context and examines experience in both the public and private sector. As well as discussing in detail new agenda set by new information and communication technologies, the book covers:
* inputs
* processes
* outcomes.
The editors, Hilary Perraton and Helen Lentell, have drawn together an international team of contributors who have examined the varied roles of the new technologies as well as low-technology approaches to open and distance learning throughout the world.
This book will be invaluable to policy makers in education and those planning or managing open and distance learning programmes. It will also be of interest to students and teachers of education and anyone concerned with comparative education.

Distance learning is now more prevalent in the developing world than ever before. This book reconsiders the suitability and success of established modes of distance learning for current contexts in the developing world. It examines what adaptations are necessary to suit shifting needs including:

• the move from elite to mass higher education
• increased emphasis on knowledge base economies
• greater demand for lifelong learning and professional development
• the effects of technical and societal changes
• demand for post-secondary education.

Drawing upon research into students' conceptions of, and approaches to learning, this critical analysis of the state of open and flexible learning examines the characteristics, needs and learning approaches of students, considering whether or not current provision is successful, what changes are necessary, and, crucially, how student retention can be improved.

A "Learning Network" is a community of people who help each other to better understand and handle certain events and concepts in work or life. As a result - and sometimes also as an aim - participating in learning networks stimulates personal development, a better understanding of concepts and events, career development, and employability. "Learning Network Services" are Web services that are designed to facilitate the creation of distributed Learning Networks and to support the participants with various functions for knowledge exchange, social interaction, assessment and competence development in an effective way. The book presents state-of-the-art insights into the field of Learning Networks and Web-based services which can facilitate all kinds of processes within these networks.

Including standout works from the twenty-first century as well as essential readings in science, The Well-Educated Mind offers brief, entertaining histories of six literary genres-fiction, autobiography, history, drama, poetry and science-accompanied by instructions on how to read each type. The annotated lists at the end of each chapter preview recommended reading and encourage readers to make connections between ancient traditions and contemporary writing. In her best-selling work, The Well-Trained Mind, Susan Wise Bauer provided a parents' guide to classical education for home-schooling children. In The Well-Educated Mind, she takes the same elements and techniques and adapts them to the use of adult readers. Followed carefully, her advice will restore and expand the pleasure of the written word.

Based on the empirical case of an e-learning project of the International Cooperation agency InWEnt / Capacity Building International, this study does all three-in-one: First, it reflects current Web-based and Blended Learning scenarios. Second, it provides a space-theoretical discussion of the foundations of Internet research: the online and physical environments of reference. Moreover, it applies Actor Network Theory to blending online and physical interaction spaces.

Mobile Learning: The Next Generation documents the most innovative projects in context-aware mobile learning in order to develop a richer theoretical understanding of learning in modern mobile-connected societies. Context-aware mobile learning takes advantage of cell phone, mobile, and pervasive personal technologies to design learning experiences that exploit the richness of both indoor and outdoor environments. These technologies detect a learner's presence in a particular place, the learner's history in that place or in relation to other people and objects nearby, and adapt learning experiences accordingly, enabling and encouraging learners to use personal and social technologies to capture aspects of the environment as learning resources, and to share their reactions to them.

As colleges, universities and other learning institutions explore teaching and learning through online environments, online communities of practice may provide solutions to organizational and professional development needs. The purpose of this book is to develop a set of guidelines for creating a virtual community of practice for faculty teaching at a distance that can easily be implemented by faculty development professionals. Designing a virtual community of practice can be operationalized using the ADDIE model to guide the process. Based on an instructional systems design process, the ADDIE model emphasizes the five core elements of the instructional systems design process: analyze, design, develop, implement and evaluate; often it serves as a project management tool or to provide a visual aid for organization of relevant tasks.

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/

Conducting Research in Online and Blended Learning Environments examines various perspectives, issues, and methods for conducting research in online and blended learning environments. The book provides in-depth examinations of the perspectives and issues that anyone considering research in online or blended learning will find insightful as they plan their own inquiries. Grounded in educational research theory, this is invaluable to both the serious researcher as well as the occasional evaluator. Conducting Research in Online and Blended Learning Environments provides comprehensive, useful information on research paradigms, methodologies, and methods that should be considered in designing and conducting studies in this area. Examples of the most respected research in the field enhance each chapter's presentation.

"Online, Blended and Distance Education in Schools" provides students enrolled in Education Technology and Masters and PhD programs with expert opinions and insights on the practice and policy regarding K-12 distance, online and blended programs, including curriculum, instruction, technology and management aspects. It describes the status and trends of the field, provides illustrative program examples, explores the issues and challenges that programs face and highlights ongoing research in key areas related to program effectiveness. Topics discussed: * The current status of K-12 online, distance and blended learning in the U.S.* Policy, funding, and management issues in relation to program implementation* Research on effective programs within governmental jurisdiction and various program types* Global case studies that represent the variety of ways programs are being successfully implemented * A synthesis of key findings and lessons learned, and local and global visions for the future of K-12 distance and online learningThis text is highly appropriate for students enrolled in Educational Technology and Higher Education Administration Masters and PhD programs. The pedagogical features added throughout were created to enhance the text in a classroom setting.

"Online, Blended and Distance Education in Schools" provides students enrolled in Education Technology and Masters and PhD programs with expert opinions and insights on the practice and policy regarding K-12 distance, online and blended programs, including curriculum, instruction, technology and management aspects. It describes the status and trends of the field, provides illustrative program examples, explores the issues and challenges that programs face and highlights ongoing research in key areas related to program effectiveness. Topics discussed: * The current status of K-12 online, distance and blended learning in the U.S.* Policy, funding, and management issues in relation to program implementation* Research on effective programs within governmental jurisdiction and various program types* Global case studies that represent the variety of ways programs are being successfully implemented * A synthesis of key findings and lessons learned, and local and global visions for the future of K-12 distance and online learningThis text is highly appropriate for students enrolled in Educational Technology and Higher Education Administration Masters and PhD programs. The pedagogical features added throughout were created to enhance the text in a classroom setting.

Are there better ways to address community challenges than expending funds on international service-learning? In attempting to wed learning and service, are we are exploiting the "other" for new, or recycled, aims? As these questions attest, of all types of service-learning, international service-learning (ISL) most starkly illuminates the tensions between the liberatory and oppressive potentials of practice. This book explores the ramifications of realizing a new age of service-learning that pushes beyond single episodic course-based projects to rebalance student learning and community outcome priorities, and provides insight into what it looks like in its execution. In describing eleven international programs designed to achieve reciprocal, sustained relationships in which learning is co-created, the contributors reveal their struggles to change the balance of power relationships and move to a more transformative practice. Common themes are the developmental nature of this work; the recognition that it takes multiple attempts, often over years, for an individual or an institution to get this work even nearly right; that resolving the challenges of unequal resources, power, and privilege can never be completely erased; and that attention has to be given to the micro-level details. What emerge are seven guiding principles that define the nature of partnerships in liberatory practice, and that apply to all forms of service learning. They must be: strategic--linked to the mission and expertise of the institution; long-term; multifaceted--allowing both partners to play a multiplicity of roles; developmental in building capacities; contextualized in historic and cultural understanding; fully reciprocal; and create the potential for community-driven change. In addressing the problematic nature of ISL, and of service-learning in general, this book interrogates whether its experiences create the necessary conditions for the formation of individual values, convictions, and action; and whether their pivotal teaching and learning moments are indeed replicable and transferable across individual, institutional and even cultural contexts. Its conclusions and insights will be of intense interest to administrators and practitioners alike.

Culture plays an overarching role that impacts investment, planning, design, development, delivery, and the learning outcomes of online education. This groundbreaking book remedies a dearth of empirical research on how digital cultures and teaching and learning cultures intersect, and offers grounded theory and practical guidance on how to integrate cultural needs and sensibilities with the innovative opportunities offered by online learning. This book provides a unique analysis of culture in online education from a global perspective, and offers: * An overview of the influences that culture has on teaching, online learning, and technology* Culture-sensitive instructional design strategies and teaching guidelines for online instructors and trainers * Facilitation and support strategies for online learners from different cultures * An overview on issues of design, development, communication, and support from a cross-cultural perspective* An overview of how online education is perceived, planned, implemented, and evaluated differently in various cultural contextsWritten by international experts in the field of online learning, this text constitutes with a comprehensive comparative introduction to the role of culture in online education. It offers essential guidance for practitioners, researchers, instructors, and anyone working with online students from around the world. This text is also appropriate for graduate-level Educational Technology and Comparative and International Learning programs.