This book chronicles a 10-year introduction of blended learning into the delivery at a leading technological university, with a longstanding tradition of technology-enabled teaching and learning, and state-of-the-art infrastructure. Hence, both teachers and students were familiar with the idea of online courses. Despite this, the longitudinal experiment did not proceed as expected. Though few technical problems, it required behavioural changes from teachers and learners, thus unearthing a host of socio-technical issues, challenges, and conundrums. With the undercurrent of design ideals such as "tech for good", any industrial sector must examine whether digital platforms are credible substitutes or at best complementary. In this era of Industry 4.0, higher education, like any other industry, should not be about the creative destruction of what we value in universities, but their digital transformation. The book concludes with an agenda for large, repeatable Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) to validate digital platforms that could fulfil the aspirations of the key stakeholder groups - students, faculty, and regulators as well as delving into the role of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as surrogates for "fees-free" higher education and whether the design of such a HiEd 4.0 platform is even a credible proposition. Specifically, the book examines the data-driven evidence within a design-based research methodology to present outcomes of two alternative instructional designs evaluated - traditional lecturing and blended learning. Based on the research findings and statistical analysis, it concludes that the inexorable shift to online delivery of education must be guided by informed educational management and innovation.

The use of virtual world platforms is still in its infancy and many educators are wondering how best to use such platforms as a complement to their teaching and facilitation strategies. Targeted at educators and researchers wishing to use virtual environments in their teaching practice "Higher Education in Second Life" provides practical advice specifically for educators in higher education. This book focuses on the use of Second Life - a free, readily-accessible virtual world which is increasingly being used for both formal and informal learning. "Second Life" provides a platform where people can meet and collaborate, teach and learn, play roles and live through experiences. For the experienced this publication provides case studies and ideas for implementing effective learning experiences, for the novice it offers suggestions for overcoming potential barriers and joining the community of 'new frontier educators'. It has a broad appeal to educators from a wide range of disciplines, from the academic community, to training and development managers, and companies with corporate universities looking to reduce their costs through the use of technology and distance learning.

Foundations of Embodied Learning advances learning, instruction, and the design of educational technologies by rethinking the learner as an integrated system of mind, body, and environment. Body-based processes-direct physical, social, and environmental interactions-are constantly mediating intellectual performance, sensory stimulation, communication abilities, and other conditions of learning. This book's coherent, evidence-based framework articulates principles of grounded and embodied learning for design and its implications for curriculum, classroom instruction, and student formative and summative assessment for scholars and graduate students of educational psychology, instructional design and technology, cognitive science, the learning sciences, and beyond.

All across the country, in traditional public, public charter, and private schools, entrepreneurial educators are experimenting with the school day and school week. Hybrid Homeschools have students attend traditional classes in a brick-and-mortar school for some part of the week and homeschool for the rest of the week. Some do two days at home and three days at school, others the inverse, and still others split between four days at home or school and one day at the other. This book dives deep into hybrid homeschooling. It describes the history of hybrid homeschooling, the different types of hybrid homeschools operating around the country, and the policies that can both promote and thwart it. At the heart of the book are the stories of hybrid homeschoolers themselves. Based on numerous in-depth interviews, the book tells the story of hybrid homeschooling from both the family and educator perspective.

When online learning began more than two decades ago, many universities envisioned the creation of international student markets, but this has only recently become a reality. The emergence of a global economy, advances in technology, increased market competition, reduced funding, and the growing desire for degrees from internationally recognized universities have created opportunities that promote transnational degrees. Transnational Distance Learning and Building New Markets for Universities presents the opportunities, methods, issues, and risks involved in extending university education across national borders. It is important to understand cultural, financial, and legal issues, as well as management approaches, academic delivery options, and business considerations needed to create quality programs that are marketable and cost effective in reaching emerging international markets. The purpose of the book is to review how to reach emerging international markets, increase access to education, and do so at a profit.

Technology has dramatically changed the way in which knowledge is shared within and outside of traditional classroom settings. The application of fuzzy logic to new forms of technology-centered education has presented new opportunities for analyzing and modeling learner behavior. Fuzzy Logic-Based Modeling in Collaborative and Blended Learning explores the application of the fuzzy set theory to educational settings in order to analyze the learning process, gauge student feedback, and enable quality learning outcomes. Focusing on educational data analysis and modeling in collaborative and blended learning environments, this publication is an essential reference source for educators, researchers, educational administrators and designers, and IT specialists. This premier reference monograph presents key research on educational data analysis and modeling through the integration of research on advanced modeling techniques, educational technologies, fuzzy concept maps, hybrid modeling, neuro-fuzzy learning management systems, and quality of interaction.

In this book, Brian Baugus examines home schooling as an education enterprise, arguing that successful home school families have the same characteristics and motivations as entrepreneurs. Baugus examines the history and economic theories behind home schooling to explain the rational decision-making that motivates home schooling endeavors, examining dissatisfaction with mainstream education, expectations of return on investment, and resistance from established providers.

Many books will be written about the latent effects COVID-19 and the response the pandemic will have on our community. Some of the impacts were immediate and obvious, like the forced move to distance learning, and the struggles, schools and families experienced. The most important factor is that school administrators must recognize that teachers and students need more than equipment and internet access. Fast Track to Online Learning describes, in detail, how schools and school districts must adopt a process for the development of advanced curriculum. Curriculum that focuses on critical thinking and leverages the technology to work in distance- and hybrid-learning models - what the author calls Tier 4 Curriculum (T4c).

Honorable Mention, Sex & Gender Section Distinguished Book Award, given by the American Sociological Association The surprising reasons parents are opting out of the public school system and homeschooling their kids Homeschooling has skyrocketed in popularity in the United States: in 2019, a record-breaking 2.5 million children were being homeschooled. In The Homeschool Choice, Kate Henley Averett provides insight into this fascinating phenomenon, exploring the perspectives of parents who have chosen to homeschool their children. Drawing on in-depth interviews, Averett examines the reasons why these parents choose to homeschool, from those who disagree with sex education and LGBT content in schools, to others who want to protect their children's sexual and gender identities. With eye-opening detail, she shows us how homeschooling is a trend being chosen by an increasingly diverse subset of American families, at times in order to empower-or constrain-children's gender and sexuality. Ultimately, Averett explores how homeschooling, as a growing practice, has changed the roles that families, schools, and the state play in children's lives. As teachers, parents, and policymakers debate the future of public education, The Homeschool Choice sheds light on the ongoing struggle over school choice.

The integration of technology into modern classrooms has enhanced learning opportunities for students. With increased access to educational content, students gain a better understanding of the concepts being taught. Flipped Instruction: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice is a comprehensive reference source for the latest scholarly perspectives on promoting flipped learning strategies, tools, and theories in classroom environments. Featuring a range of extensive coverage across innovative topics, such as student engagement, educational technologies, and online learning environments, this is an essential publication for educators, professionals, researchers, academics, and upper-level students interested in emerging developments in classroom and instructional design.

Flipped learning-in which students view recorded lectures outside of the classroom and then utilize class time to develop a broad range of knowledge and skills-is a relatively new phenomenon. This timely volume examines and organizes the emerging research on flipped learning in higher education. It identifies the types of courses, material, and learning objectives that are most effectively flipped, with specialized advice for faculty in STEM fields, the social sciences, and humanities. The book also provides evidence-based guidance on how to create and disseminate engaging recorded lectures; develop and implement in-class exercises and projects that help students meet learning objectives; orient students to the flipped classroom; and assess the effectiveness of flipped learning.

Covers research on ODL systems, competence-based learning, the project process based on personal and group competencies, knowledge repository development, an ontological model of didactic materials, a theoretical game approach to motivational and incentive modelling, collaboration between a teacher and a team of students, and computer simulation Includes contributions from and is coedited by Prof. Emma Kusztina and Prof. Dr Zenon Gniazdowski, editor of Scientific Notebooks of the Warsaw School of Computer Science located on the list of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education Covers for the first time motivation modelling in ODL, collaboration modelling in ODL and incentive modelling in ODL Is illustrated throughout with excellent figures, a glossary and references to accompany each section

Winner of the Outstanding Book Award (Society for Professors of Education) This book offers a re-assessment of the educational and occupational value of MOOCs based on developments since 2013. When MOOCs appeared--amidst great fanfare in 2012, leaders proclaimed an educational "revolution." By 2013, however, dramatic failures, negative research findings, and sharp critiques ended the MOOC hype. This book examines both MOOCs and prior distance learning innovations, and offers a broad overview of their educational, economic and social effects. Chapters explore ties between MOOCs and emerging pedagogical models as well as exponentially rising tuition rates, student debt, and chronic underemployment of university graduates worldwide. It offers readers a comprehensive, up-to-the-moment guide to the MOOC phenomenon.

This book addresses the gap in the literature concerned with global case studies of successful Digital, Mobile and Open Education. The book shares experiences from international teaching and learning projects at all levels of Education, and provides advice for future policy and investment in digital teaching and learning and Open Education projects. It also provides an expectation on the future capacity and sustainability of Open Education.

* Defines and situates the key concepts, primary issues, and historical development of digital identity management. * Introduces the core issues, configurations, industry trends, and market influences of digital identity technologies. * Addresses the meaning and significance of digital identity in terms of educational organizations' governance, strategy, and policy, including the developmental of large-scale identity infrastructures. * Explores the legal aspects of identity management with a specific focus on compliance, liability, and application of the theory of property rights and data protection. * Includes findings from the social sciences and psychology to consider ethical actions within cyberspace and how perception and reputation are linked base on the transience or permanence of identity.

As enrollment numbers continue to grow for online education classes, it is imperative instructors be prepared to teach students from diverse groups. Students who engage in learning in classrooms where their backgrounds are recognized and the instruction is welcoming and all-inclusive perform better. Individuals who teach in online settings must endeavor to create caring and culturally appropriate environments to encourage learning among all students irrespective of their demographic composition. Care and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Online Settings is a collection of innovative research on the incorporation of culturally sensitive teaching practices in online classrooms, and how these methods have had an impact on student learning. While highlighting topics including faculty teaching, restorative justice, and nontraditional students, this book is ideally designed for instructors, researchers, instructional designers, administrators, policymakers, and students seeking current research on online educators incorporating care and culturally responsive pedagogy into practice.

Anyone who has entered a college classroom in the last 5 years has recognized a clear transformation in the context of higher education. A dynamic revolution in practice and delivery is underway, and the implications of multi-faceted change are ripe for analysis. Administrators are increasingly charged with revenue production and institutional leadership. Faculty are experimenting with new andragogical models and advances in interactive technology. Students are embracing new modalities, as they strive to make curriculum immediately transfer able into industry. The Consumer Learner: Emergence and Expectations of a Customer Service Mentality in Post-Secondary Education examines the new reality and emerging patterns shaping the experiences of these three diverse, yet interconnected constituencies. This book provides a distinctive approach to the transformation of the higher education culture within the United States. Authors Dr. Gillian Silver and Dr. Cheryl Lentz, noted content experts, professors, and curriculum/program developers, explain that the contents will initiate an intensive dialogue about the implications and impacts on administrative structure, faculty practice, and learner outcomes. According to Dr. Lentz, "This is a frank, encompassing work which has the capacity to ignite a national dialogue. We think the review will give voice to the significance of this evolving environment. The voices of experience leading this change will emerge." Follow the authors on the Web: www.consumerlearner.com