This is an information science reference. Distance learning technologies have reshaped the diffusion of communication within the educational system. Within this expanding field, the possibilities for an interactive, cross-boundary education are endless.""Strategic Applications of Distance Learning Technologies"" provides tactical uses of distance education technologies to assist instructors and researchers in their quest to provide a progressive, alternative approach to traditional education techniques. This collection of advanced research incorporates global challenges and opportunities of technology integration while outlining strategies for distance learning within developing countries.

Within the past decade, many higher education institutions have begun to offer degree programs online, but there are a lack of resources for institutions to rely on when choosing to introduce an online program. With the prevalence of technology in education, the importance of providing quality distance education programs cannot be ignored. Ensuring Quality and Integrity in Online Learning Programs is an essential reference source that delves into the requirements and essential technologies needed to create and encourage effective and inclusive online educational programs. The book examines and offers best practices for all factors that contribute to building quality online programs including faculty buy-in and training; student motivation, interest, and retention; program planning, pedagogy, and design; program administration; and the use of appropriate and up-to-date technology. Administrators, educators, online program directors, instructional designers, curriculum developers, faculty, researchers, and students will benefit from the emerging research contained within this publication.

As face-to-face interaction between student and instructor is not present in online learning environments, it is increasingly important to understand how to establish and maintain social presence in online learning. Student-Teacher Interaction in Online Learning Environments provides successful strategies and procedures for developing policies to bring about an awareness of the practices that enhance online learning. This reference book provides building blocks to help improve the outcome of online coursework and discusses social presence to help improve performance, interaction, and a sense of community for all participants in an online arena. This book is of essential use to online educators, administrators, researchers, and students.

Web sites are increasingly being used by educators in place of traditional content media and instructional approaches such as textbooks and lectures. This new teaching philosophy has led to myriad questions concerning instructional design principles, learners' cognitive strategies, human-Internet interaction factors and instructional characteristics of Web media that transverse political, geographical and national boundaries. Instructional and Cognitive Impacts of Web-Based Education is a compendium of materials by noted researchers and practitioners that addresses national and international issues and implications of Web-based instruction and learning, offering suggestions and guidelines for analyzing and evaluating Web sites from cognitive and instructional design perspectives.

The discipline of education is a multi-faceted system that must constantly integrate new strategies and procedures to ensure successful learning experiences. Enhancements in education provide learners with greater opportunities for growth and advancement. Open Learning and Formal Credentialing in Higher Education: Curriculum Models and Institutional Policies is an authoritative reference source for the latest scholarly research on learner-focused approaches within adult education environments. Featuring expansive coverage on topics relating to open education, lifelong learning, and formal qualifications, this book is a crucial reference source for researchers, educators, policy makers, and educational administrators interested in the relationship between formal credentials and open education. This book features timely, research-based chapters across a variety of relevant topics including, but not limited to, educational resources, lifelong learning achievements, and the benefits of formal qualifications and licensing.

In the last decade, due to factors of ICT infrastructural and broadband maturation, rising levels of educational attainment and computer literacy, and diversification strategies, e-learning has exploded in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. However, significant barriers remain in the region's e-learning development: lack of research on outcomes and effectiveness, paucity of Arabic language learning objects, monopolies and high cost of telecommunications, cultural taboos, accreditation, censorship, and teacher training. This unique volume is the first comprehensive effort to describe the history, development, and current state of e-learning in each of the 20 MENA countries from Algeria to Yemen. Each entry is expertly written by a specialist who is acutely familiar with the state of e-learning in their respective country, and concludes with a bibliography of key reports, peer-reviewed books and articles, and web resources. E-Learning in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) proves itself as a vital compendium for a wide readership that includes academics and students, transnational program directors, international education experts, MENA government departments, commercial vendors and investors, and ICT development and regulatory agencies involved in e-learning in the Middle East.

The integration of technology has become an integral part of the educational environment. By developing new methods of online learning, students can be further aided in reaching goals and effectively solving problems. The Handbook of Research on Innovative Pedagogies and Technologies for Online Learning in Higher Education is an authoritative reference source for the latest scholarly research on the implementation of instructional strategies, tools, and innovations in online learning environments. Featuring extensive coverage across a range of relevant perspectives and topics, such as social constructivism, collaborative learning and projects, and virtual worlds, this publication is ideally designed for academicians, practitioners, and researchers seeking current research on best methods to effectively incorporate technology into the learning environment.

This book makes a contribution to the field of distance education by presenting key perspectives on the state of the field and examining and discussing specific current trends and issues faced by the distance learning community. To this end, the book brings together Quarterly Review of Distance Education's most respected authors and other internationally known experts in the field of distance education to provide insight into a wide array of themes revolving around current work on communities of learning in distance education.

A selection of international perspectives on on-line learning and the virtual university. The essays are divided into three sections: Overview and Theoretical Background; Projects and Tools; and Conclusions and Visions.

The application of emerging technology in educational settings has proven to significantly enhance students' experiences. These tools provide better learning opportunities and engagement between students and instructors. Integration of Cloud Technologies in Digitally Networked Classrooms and Learning Communities is a pivotal reference source for the latest scholarly research on the implementation of cloud pedagogies and innovations in classroom environments. Highlighting concepts related to learning engagement, curriculum design, and theoretical perspectives, this book is ideally designed for researchers, practitioners, professionals, and students interested in the use of cloud technology in digital classrooms.

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

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

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

In recent years, distance education programs have grown to allow greater educational opportunities to a diverse set of learners from all over the world. As remote learning becomes a widespread practice, universities too must adapt to this changing educational landscape. Critical Examinations of Distance Education Transformation across Disciplines provides an interdisciplinary look at the development of distance learning in higher education. This reference work bridges the gap between disciplines by offering practical tools and solutions for successful distance education implementation. Educators, administrators, and researchers across academia will find this publication a timely and relevant resource.

This work discusses issues relating to distance education and distributed learning. There are essays covering: rethinking assessment for the online environment; the role of collaborative learning in social and intellectual development; and the embodiment of knowledge in virtual environments.

Service-learning is an exciting pedagogy and field of study, offering insight into how academic study and community engagement blend to create social change. In its most traditional conceptualization, servicelearning activities typically manifest within communities where outside individuals address a need. Servicelearning is purported to have a transforming effect on individual student perspectives by providing students the opportunity to interact with people and enter into situations that allow students to test their predisposition towards others. However, the literature on the impact of service-learning on participants' acceptance of diversity and development of open-mindedness reports mixed outcomes. The purpose of this book is to explore cultural tensions and dynamics within the field of service-learning. It is not meant to be an exhaustive review of the interplay between culture and service learning, but rather a starting point for an ongoing conversation about how this complex topic impacts the field. In 18 chapters, educators, students, and administrators investigate the cultural values of servicelearning itself and the tensions created when this is at odds with the values of others within K-12 and higher education in the United States and abroad. Authors include community organization representatives, researchers, directors of offices of community engagement, university administrators, junior and senior faculty, and former service-learning undergraduate students. Submissions reflect a range of genres, including theoretical/conceptual pieces, position papers, case studies, and other traditional academic essays, challenging how students and community members are affected by the cultural tensions within service-learning engagement.

Information and communication technologies play a crucial role in a number of modern industries. Among these, education has perhaps seen the greatest increases in efficiency and availability through Internet-based technologies. E-Learning as a Socio-Cultural System: A Multidimensional Analysis provides readers with a critical examination of the theories, models, and best practices in online education from a social perspective, evaluating blended, distance, and mobile learning systems with a focus on the interactions of their practitioners. Within the pages of this volume, teachers, students, administrators, policy makers, and IT professionals will all find valuable advice and enriching personal experiences in the field of online education.