Online distance education continues to grow at a fast pace, even outpacing the overall growth of U.S. higher education. Demands for quality are coming from all shareholders involved. As if caught by surprise, a patchwork response to quality is often the typical organizational response. The result can be inconsistent and uncoordinated levels of value to those invested in online learning. This often promotes negative images of the educational experience and institution.Comprised of highly regarded experts in the field, this edited volume provides a comprehensive overview of quality assurance, a snapshot of current practices and proven recommendations for raising standards of quality in online education.Topics discussed include: improving practices for teaching online; using educational analytics for quality assurance and improvement; accessibility an important dimension of quality assurance; assuring quality in online course design; assuring quality in learner support, academic resources, advising and counseling; the role and realities of accreditation.This text clearly answers the call for addressing quality from a broad, deep and coordinated understanding. It addresses the complexities of quality assurance in higher education and offers professionals top-shelf advice and support."

Technology-Enhanced Professional Learning addresses the need for continuous workplace learning that derives from the emergence of new, specialized, and constantly changing work practices. While continuous learning is fundamental to enabling individuals to function in and productively shape contemporary workplaces, digital technology is increasingly central to productive workplace practice. By examining the intersection of human learning processes, emergent work practices, and patterns of use of digital technology to support learning and work, this edited collection brings the disparate fields of professional learning and technology-enhanced learning together to advance theory and practice in both realms.

Every generation faces challenges, but never before have young people been so aware of theirs. Whether due to school strikes for climate change, civil war, or pandemic lockdowns, almost every child in the world has experienced the interruption of their schooling by outside forces. When the world we have taken for granted proves so unstable, it gives rise to the question: what is schooling for? Thrive advocates a new purpose for education, in a rapidly changing world, and analyses the reasons why change is urgently needed in our education systems. The book identifies four levels of thriving: global - our place in the planet; societal - localities, communities, economies; interpersonal - our relationships; intrapersonal - the self. Chapters provide research-based theoretical evidence for each area, followed by practical international case studies showing how individual schools are addressing these considerable challenges. Humanity's challenges are shifting fast: schools need to be a part of the response.

The Savvy Student's Guide to Online Learning prepares students of all kinds for contemporary online learning. While technologies and formats vary, this book serves as an authoritative resource for any student enrolling in an online degree program or taking an online course. Topics covered include: * How to become a great online student * Creating an online presence * Interaction and communication techniques * Online group projects and individual work * Technological requirements and how to get technical support * Online classroom "netiquette" and time management The authors, both experts in online education, introduce the information and skills required of successful online students to navigate this new learning landscape with confidence. A highly useful companion website provides video presentations that explain the different types of online learning as well as a real online course with activities for students to practice and interact with other learners around the world.

Networked learning is learning in which information and communications technology (ICT) is used to promote connections: between one learner and other learners; between learners and tutors; between a learning community and its learning resources. Networked learning is an area which has great practical and theoretical importance. It is a rapidly growing area of educational practice, particularly in higher education and the corporate sector.

This volume brings together some of the best research in the field, and uses it to signpost some directions for future work. The papers in this collection represent a major contribution to our collective sense of recent progress in research on networked learning. In addition, they serve to highlight some of the largest or most important gaps in our understanding of students perspectives on networked learning, patterns of interaction and online discourse, and the role of contextual factors. The range of topics and methods addressed in these papers attests to the vitality of this important field of work. More significant yet is the complex understanding of the field that they combine to create. In combination, they help explain some of the key relationships between teachers and learners intentions and experiences, the affordances of text-based communications technologies and processes of informed and intelligent educational change. "

Digital resources-from games to blogs to social networking-are strong forces in education today, but how can those tools be effectively utilized by educators and course designers in higher education? Filled with practical advice, the e-Learning and Social Networking Handbook, Second Edition provides a comprehensive overview of online learning tools and offers strategies for using these resources in course design, highlighting some of the most relevant and challenging topics in e-learning today, including: * using social networking for educational purposes * designing for a distributed environment * strengths and weaknesses of delivering content in various formats (text, audio, and video) * potential constraints on course design * implementation, evaluation, induction, and training Illustrated by short, descriptive case studies, the e-Learning and Social Networking Handbook, Second Edition also directs the reader to useful resources that will enhance their course design. This helpful guide will be invaluable to all those involved in the design and delivery of online learning in higher education.

The new edition of what is now considered a classic on online learning has been expanded by about a third to reflect new opportunities offered by social media, new insights and ideas derived from the author's teaching in the eight years since she wrote the first edition, as well as from extensive research in the latest literature. In particular, Tisha Bender investigates whether the existing paradigm of teaching and learning has been changed, not so much because of the advent of the Internet, but because of the potential divide between the expectations and practices of students who are "digital natives" of the digital revolution, and those of their teachers who are mostly "digital immigrants". She addresses the question: do we need to change the way we teach in order to reach and engage digital natives fruitfully and enjoyably in their education. This accessible and comprehensive book offers an engaging and practical approach to online teaching that is rooted in the author's experience and enthusiasm for creating a virtual environment that engages students and fosters their deep learning. This is a book for all educators and administrators in higher education, in any discipline, engaged in, or contemplating offering, online classes that involve discussion or collaborative learning. It is relevant both to faculty teaching a hybrid and face-to-face classes, and courses conducted entirely online.

The new edition of what is now considered a classic on online learning has been expanded by about a third to reflect new opportunities offered by social media, new insights and ideas derived from the author's teaching in the eight years since she wrote the first edition, as well as from extensive research in the latest literature. In particular, Tisha Bender investigates whether the existing paradigm of teaching and learning has been changed, not so much because of the advent of the Internet, but because of the potential divide between the expectations and practices of students who are "digital natives" of the digital revolution, and those of their teachers who are mostly "digital immigrants". She addresses the question: do we need to change the way we teach in order to reach and engage digital natives fruitfully and enjoyably in their education. This accessible and comprehensive book offers an engaging and practical approach to online teaching that is rooted in the author's experience and enthusiasm for creating a virtual environment that engages students and fosters their deep learning. This is a book for all educators and administrators in higher education, in any discipline, engaged in, or contemplating offering, online classes that involve discussion or collaborative learning. It is relevant both to faculty teaching a hybrid and face-to-face classes, and courses conducted entirely online.

Needs Assessment for Learning and Performance offers comprehensive coverage of the knowledge and skills needed to develop and conduct needs assessments and to analyze, interpret, and communicate results to clients and organizations. Though critical to planning any performance improvement system, needs assessments can feel abstract and vague to students who have not yet managed the process in a professional setting. This first-of-its-kind textbook uses a variety of real-world examples to connect major theories and models to effective principles for practice. Each chapter offers guiding questions, key terms and concepts, recommended readings, and case studies illustrating how needs assessment training can be applied. Graduate students and researchers of instructional design, human resources, performance improvement, program evaluation, and other programs will find this volume relevant to a range of academic and organizational contexts.

This is a practical introduction to blended learning, presenting examples of implementation across a broad spectrum of disciplines. For faculty unfamiliar with this mode of teaching, it illustrates how to address the core challenge of blended learning to link the activities in each medium so that they reinforce each other to create a single, unified, course and offers models they can adapt.Francine Glazer and the contributors to this book describe how they integrate a wide range of pedagogical approaches in their blended courses, use groups to build learning communities, and make the online environment attractive to students. They illustrate under what circumstances particular tasks and activities work best online or face-to-face, and when to incorporate synchronous and asynchronous interactions. They introduce the concept of layering the content of courses to appropriately sequence material for beginning and experienced learners, and to ensure that students see both the online and the face-to-face components as being equal in value and devote equal effort to both modalities. The underlying theme of this book is encouraging students to develop the skills to continue learning throughout their lives.By allowing students to take more time and reflect on the course content, blended learning can promote more student engagement and, consequently, deeper learning. It appeals to today s digital natives who are accustomed to using technology to find and share information, communicate, and collaborate, and also enables non-traditional students to juggle their commitments more efficiently and successfully."

This is a practical introduction to blended learning, presenting examples of implementation across a broad spectrum of disciplines. For faculty unfamiliar with this mode of teaching, it illustrates how to address the core challenge of blended learning to link the activities in each medium so that they reinforce each other to create a single, unified, course and offers models they can adapt.Francine Glazer and the contributors to this book describe how they integrate a wide range of pedagogical approaches in their blended courses, use groups to build learning communities, and make the online environment attractive to students. They illustrate under what circumstances particular tasks and activities work best online or face-to-face, and when to incorporate synchronous and asynchronous interactions. They introduce the concept of layering the content of courses to appropriately sequence material for beginning and experienced learners, and to ensure that students see both the online and the face-to-face components as being equal in value and devote equal effort to both modalities. The underlying theme of this book is encouraging students to develop the skills to continue learning throughout their lives.By allowing students to take more time and reflect on the course content, blended learning can promote more student engagement and, consequently, deeper learning. It appeals to today s digital natives who are accustomed to using technology to find and share information, communicate, and collaborate, and also enables non-traditional students to juggle their commitments more efficiently and successfully."

Quality assurance (QA) in open and distance learning (ODL) can be a contentious issue. Some argue that it should be judged by the same criteria and methods as face-to-face education, while others claim that it is so different in its organization, enrolments and operations that conventional QA mechanisms cannot apply. Some advocate the use of specific guidelines and standards for e-learning; others believe that, regardless of the technology, the basic principles of quality teaching and learning should apply. Providers who have enjoyed freedom from external scrutiny may resist attempts at external regulation and auditing and look upon QA as yet another imposition of corporatization and bureaucracy on education. Others see it as a means of establishing a culture of quality, self-reflection and self-improvement.

There is little research-based literature to guide policy-makers, managers and practitioners in applying QA in education and training to ensure the right balance is found between accountability and autonomy, as well as assuring quality for the time and costs involved. In this respect, Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Distance Education and e-Learning is a book that is long overdue. It explains what is involved in QA and accreditation in education. It describes and analyzes applications of these practices in open, distance, dual-mode and conventional universities throughout Europe, North America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific, looking at open schooling, e-learning in conventional schools, non-formal adult and community education, and corporate and small-to-medium enterprises.

Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Distance Education and e-Learning is edited and authored by experts with extensive international experience in ODL, e-learning and QA who give careful consideration to the possibilities and challenges involved. The book will be an invaluable guide for all policy-makers, managers, practitioners and researchers in the field.

This concluding volume in the series presents the work of faculty who have been moved to make sustainability the focus of their work, and to use service learning as one method of teaching sustainability to their students. The chapters in the opening section of this book Environmental Awareness offer models for opening students to the awareness of the ecological aspects of sustainability, and of the interdependence of the ecosystem with human and with institutional decisions and behavior; and illustrate how they, in turn, can share that awareness with the community. The second section Increasing Civic Engagement explores means for fostering commitment to community service and experiencing the capacity to effect change. The concluding section Sustainability Concepts in Business and Economics addresses sustainability within the business context, with emphasis on the triple bottom line the achievement of profitability through responsible environmental practice and respect for all stakeholders in the enterprise."

Giving your child a quality education experience for a life of happiness and purpose is possible--and it only takes four hours a day or less! We want our kids to have the best education, but less-than-ideal school environments and concern about our kids' specific needs have parents uncertain about traditional schooling. Trusted homeschool expert with 25 years of experience homeschooling her own eight children, Durenda Wilson offers a better way and promises that you already have what it takes to give your child a healthy, successful future. In The Four-Hour School Day, she unpacks the lifelong advantages of home education, both for the health of your family and your child's future. With inspiring stories about parents just like you, she demystifies homeschooling and addresses common fears like, what if I'm not qualified, how can I homeschool as a single parent, and what if I don't have enough time? Packed with encouragement and practical advice, this resource equips you with all the information you need to create a sustainable homeschooling plan customized to your child's needs. Wilson will help you to: Work with your child's interests and passions for an enjoyable learning experience Cultivate independent learning in your child so you have more time and your child develops more curiosity Navigate the different schooling stages your child will go through Find an engaged community so that you can start this adventure with all the support you need. Explore the rich and wonderful world of homeschooling because it's not only more doable than you think, but far more beneficial than you can imagine.

I feel comfortable in saying that the book you now hold in your hands is well worth your time: it's a book that I believe to be basic to any instructor's appreciation of the full value of blended teaching and learning."- Alan Aycock, Professor of Anthropology and Acting Director , University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee's Learning Technology Center This is practical handbook for designing and teaching hybrid or blended courses focuses on outcomes-based practice. It reflects the author's experience of having taught over 70 hybrid courses, and having worked for three years in the Learning Technology Center at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a center that is recognized as a leader in the field of hybrid course design. Jay Caulfield defines hybrid courses as ones where, not only is face time replaced to varying degrees by online learning, but also by experiential learning that takes place in the community or within an organization, with or without the presence of a teacher; and as a pedagogy that places the primary responsibility of learning on the learner, with the teacher's primary role being to create opportunities and environments that foster independent and collaborative student learning. Starting with a brief review of the relevant theory - such as andragogy, inquiry-based learning, experiential learning and theories that specifically relate to distance education - she addresses the practicalities of planning a hybrid course, taking into account class characteristics such as size, demographics, subject matter, learning outcomes, and time available. She offers criteria for determining the appropriate mix of face-to-face, online, and experiential components for a course, and guidance on creating social presence online.

The 60-Year Curriculum explores models and strategies for lifelong learning in an era of profound economic disruption and reinvention. Over the next half-century, globalization, regional threats to sustainability, climate change, and technologies such as artificial intelligence and data mining will transform our education and workforce sectors. In turn, higher education must shift to offer every student life-wide opportunities for the continuous upskilling they will need to achieve decades of worthwhile employability. This cutting-edge book describes the evolution of new models—covering computer science, inclusive design, critical thinking, civics, and more—by which universities can increase learners’ trajectories across multiple careers from mid-adolescence to retirement. Stakeholders in workforce development, curriculum and instructional design, lifelong learning, and higher and continuing education will find a unique synthesis offering valuable insights and actionable next steps.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Reconceptualizing Higher Education and Lifelong Learning in the Era of the Synergistic Digital Economy

Chris Dede

2. Education, Age, and the Machine

Andrew Scott

3. Are We Ready for the Jobs That the Digital Economy Will Offer to Us?

Michel Servoz

4. Employing the 60-Year Curriculum as a Strategic Approach

Ann M. Brewer

5. Creating the Next in Higher Education at Georgia Tech

Stephen W. Harmon and Nelson C. Baker

6. Known for Whom We Include: Designing Models for Lifelong Education at Arizona State University

Punya Mishra and Jacqueline Smith

7. Market-Driven Education: The Imperative for Responsive Design and Application

Jason Wingard and Christine Farrugia

8. The Role and Potential of University-Based Executive Education and Professional Development Programs in the 60-Year Curriculum: A Case Example of an Intensive Residential Program for Higher Education Leaders

James P. Honan

9. Implementing 60YC Learning at the Harvard Division of Continuing Education

Huntington D. Lambert and Henry H. Leitner

10. Assessment of the Current State of the 60YC and Research Agenda for the Future

John Richards/

The fourth edition of this book updates background information about the definition and supporting theories and updates the glossary with new terms related to distance education and instructional technology.

Exploring how digital resources are being used to engage students in learning and improve educational quality, Digital Agency in Higher Education promotes an awareness of relations and interplay between humans and digital artifacts. Examining the impacts in higher education through experience-based knowledge and a conceptual framework, this book: * provides a detailed analysis of how transformative agency can be identified, enacted, and cultivated, * offers up-to-date cases and a future-orientated perspective on technology and knowledge work, * addresses fundamental assumptions about how teacher education has needed to and needs to continue to develop, * explores issues of epistemology and ethics when facing increasingly 'intelligent' technologies, and * argues for transformative agency to place a firm focus on human interests. Essential reading for teachers in higher education and educational researchers with an interest in how technologies impact learning and teaching, Digital Agency in Higher Education uses cutting-edge research to bridge the gap between theoretical perspectives and practices.

Part of the groundbreaking Connecting with e-Learning series, A Guide to Authentic e-Learning provides effective, working examples to engage learners with authentic tasks in online settings. As technology continues to open up possibilities for innovative and effective teaching and learning opportunities, students and teachers are no longer content to accept familiar classroom or lecture-based pedagogies that rely on information delivery and little else. Situated and constructivist theories advocate that learning is best achieved in circumstances resembling the real-life application of knowledge. While there are multiple learning design models that share similar foundations, authentic e-learning tasks go beyond process to become complex, sustained activities that draw on realistic situations to produce realistic outcomes.

A Guide to Authentic e-Learning:

• develops the conceptual framework for authentic learning tasks in online environments
• provides practical guidance on design, implementation, and evaluation of authentic e-learning tasks
• includes case studies and examples of outcomes of using authentic e-learning tasks

Written for teaching professionals in Higher Education who teach online, A Guide to Authentic e-Learning offers concrete guidelines and examples for developing and implementing authentic e-learning tasks in ways that challenge students to maximize their learning. This essential book provides effective, working examples to engages learners with authentic tasks in online learning settings.

Constructivist Instruction: Success or Failure? brings together leading thinkers from both sides of the hotly debated controversy about constructivist approaches to instruction. Although constructivist theories and practice now dominate the fields of the learning sciences, instructional technology, curriculum and teaching, and educational psychology, they have also been the subject of sharp criticism regarding sparse research support and adverse research findings. This volume presents:

• the evidence for and against constructivism;
• the challenges from information-processing theorists; and
• commentaries from leading researchers in areas such as text comprehension, technology, as well as math and science education, who discuss the constructivist framework from their perspectives.

Chapters present detailed views from both sides of the controversy. A distinctive feature of the book is the dialogue built into it between the different positions. Each chapter concludes with discussions in which two authors with opposing views raise questions about the chapter, followed by the author(s)' responses to those questions; for some chapters there are several cycles of questions and answers. These discussions, and concluding chapters by the editors, clarify, and occasionally narrow the differences between positions and identify needed research.

Invaluable...one-stop shopping for homeschoolers. This book is comprehensive and user-friendly."
-Jon Reider, former senior associate director of admission,
Stanford University

Foreword by Robert T. Kiyosaki

The fastest-growing alternative in education today, homeschooling boasts over 2 million families whose children perform better on standardized tests and work far above their grade level. Now this practical, hands-on guide from the #1 homeschooling Web site Homeschool.com gives you everything you need to create a customized education plan that works with your child's unique intelligence and learning style. Veteran homeschoolers and interested newcomers alike will benefit. You'll discover:

• Different styles of homeschooling: School-at-Home, Charlotte Mason, Classical, Waldorf, Montessori, Unit Studies, Relaxed/Eclectic, and Unschooling

• Strategies for single and working parents, tips for telecommuting, job sharing, part-time work, home-based businesses

• How to get started: from setting goals and obtaining learning materials to designing a curriculum that fits your child's needs.

Includes Complete Resource Guide:

- Books, Web sites, Curricula, and Products

- Homeschooling support groups and homeschooling laws-all listed by state...and much more.

CAN YOU IMAGINE A SCHOOL MISSION STATEMENT THAT PROMISED THE FOLLOWING?

• Each child's learning style will be identified and all material will be presented in a format that honors that style.

• Each child's "readiness" will be considered before he or she begins an area of learning.

• Each child will be encouraged to follow his or her interests.

• Each child will learn by doing.

• Each child will be honored as an individual.

• Each child will have downtime to play and just be a kid.

• Each child will be encouraged to pursue his or her passions in life.

• Each child's special genius will be discovered, nurtured, and preserved.

No one knows and loves your children the way you do. So who is better qualified than you to help them learn? HOMESCHOOLING FOR SUCCESS

The phenomenon of using Free and Open Source Software in education has increased significantly in the last decade. Free and Open Source Software for E-Learning: Issues, Successes and Challenges reviews open and free software used in e-learning, examines the pedagogy behind FOSS and how it is applied to e-learning, and discusses the best practices for FOSS through real world examples, providing guidelines for e-learning designers and instructors who use FOSS. This engaging compilation is ideal for those using FOSS programs to design, develop, and manage educational and training programs. It is also well suited for adoption in instructional technology related courses in advanced degree programs.

The book that shows homeschooling in action!

What does it really mean when parents say they homeschool their child or children? For Rhonda Barfield -- a homeschooler for the past 10 years -- the definition is as diverse as the 21 families she studies in this eye-opening book.

Real-Life Homeschooling

From the city to the country, apartments to split-levels, you'll enter each household and see education in action. Discover the challenges and rewards of tailoring instruction to each child's needs while catering to his or her inquisitiveness and curiosity. See why the number of children being taught by their parents is growing nationwide -- at home, there are no overcrowded classrooms, no unknown dangers lurking in the halls, and no doubts as to the quality of the education.

Whether you are just contemplating homeschooling or are a veteran seeking fresh ideas and help in overcoming obstacles -- look no further: Real-life Homeschooling shows just how practical and rewarding it is to educate children and provide them with what they need most -- you!

Take early readers on an adventure through God's Word with the #1 Bible for kids! Includes thumb-indexed tabs to make finding the books of the Bible easier. The bestselling NIrV Adventure Bible (R) for Early Readers gets kids 6-10 excited about God's Word! They will be captivated with the full-color features that make reading Scripture and memorizing their favorite verses engaging and fun. Along the way they'll meet all types of people, see all sorts of places, and learn all kinds of things about the Bible. Most importantly, they'll grow closer in their relationship with God. This Bible includes the complete New International Reader's Version (NIrV) which is written at a third-grade reading level and based on the accurate, readable, and clear New International Version (NIV). The NIrV is perfect for children learning to read and explore the Bible for the first time on their own. Over 10 million copies within the Adventure Bible (R) brand have been sold. The Adventure Bible is recommended by more Christian schools and churches than any other Bible for kids! Features include: Complete text of the easy-to-read New International Reader's Version (NIrV) of the Bible Full-color design throughout - Makes learning about the people, places, and culture of the Bible even more engaging Life in Bible Times - Articles and illustrations describe what life was like in ancient days Words to Treasure - Highlights great verses to memorize Did You Know? - Interesting facts help you understand God's Word and the life of faith People in Bible Times - Articles offer close-up looks at amazing people of the Bible Live It! - Hands-on activities help you apply biblical truths to your life Twenty special pages - Focus on topics such as famous people of the Bible, highlights of the life of Jesus, how to pray, and the love passage for kids, all with a jungle safari theme Book introductions with useful facts about each book of the Bible Dictionary/concordance for looking up tricky words Color map section to help locate places in the Bible Thumb indexed with fun, brightly colored tabs to make it easier to find each book of the Bible Satin ribbon marker 9-point font size

Featuring essays by an international array of literature scholars, this volume examines the challenges and opportunities of teaching literature at Open and Virtual Universities in a wide range of national, cultural and linguistic contexts. It presents cutting-edge explorations of seminal issues, including: literature pedagogy and curriculum building; canon and theory debates; the uses of hypertext and other digital tools for literary instruction; the writing and evaluation of educational material; and the teaching of digital literature. These issues are addressed from various critical and theoretical viewpoints, which reflect the contributors' long educational and administrative involvement with open and distance learning (ODL) in a rich diversity of cultural and academic frameworks. As the first scholarly attempt to bring together questions of literature pedagogy and issues in open and distance, online and blended learning, this book is an essential resource for literature instructors and administrators in ODL, e-learning and b-learning programs. It offers techniques enabling scholars in more traditional academic settings to make literature courses more effective and stimulating by using tools developed for distance learning. >