This is a volume in ""Perspectives in Instructional Technology and Distance Education Series"". Editors: Charles Schlosser and Michael Simonson of Nova Southeastern University. ""The Perfect Online Course: Best Practices for Designing and Teaching"" was edited under the assumption that a perfect online course can be delivered following different instructional methods and models for design and for instruction, and by implementing different teaching or instructional strategies. Such methods, models, and strategies are framed within quality educational guidelines and must be aimed towards attaining the online course's learning goals. The book seeks to make a contribution to the existing body of literature related to best practices and guidelines for designing and teaching distance courses, specifically online education. The process of selecting works suitable for this compilation included an extensive review of the journals ""Quarterly Review of Distance Education"" and ""Distance Learning"". The book begins by covering literature related to general approaches and guidelines, continues with proposed methods and models for designing and instruction, and ends with instructional strategies to achieve engagement through interaction. The book is divided into four independent, yet interrelated, parts and a concluding section: Part I: Introduction; Part II: Best Guidelines and Standards; Part III: Best Instructional Methods and Models; Part IV: Best Engagement Strategies; and the concluding section, And Finally..., with words from Simonson who delineates the structure of a perfect online course.

A volume in Perspectives in Instructional Technology and Distance EducationSeries Editors: Charles Schlosser and Michael SimonsonNova Southeastern UniversityAs the title indicates, this book highlights the shifting and emergent features that represent life online, specificallyin and around the territory of e-learning. Cybercultures in themselves are complex conglomerationsof ideas, philosophies, concepts, and theories, some of which are fiercely contradictory. As aconstruct, "cyberculture" is a result of sustained attempts by diverse groups of people to make sense ofmultifarious activities, linguistic codes, and practices in complicated and ever-changing settings. It is animpossibly convoluted field. Any valid understanding of cyberculture can only be gained from livingwithin it, and as Bell suggests, it is "made up of people, machines and stories in everyday life." Althoughthis book contains a mix of perspectives, as the chapters progress, readers should detect some commonthreads. Technology-mediated activities are featured throughout, each evoking its particular culturalnuances and, as Derrick de Kerckhove (1997) has eloquently argued, technology acts as the skin of culture.All the authors are passionate about their subjects, every one engages critically with his or her topics, andeach is fully committed to the belief that e-learning is a vitally important component in the future of education.All of the authors believe that digital learning environments will contribute massively to the success of the information society we now inhabit.Each is intent on exploration of the touchstone of "any time, any place" learning where temporal and spatial contexts cease to become barriers to learning, and where the boundaries are blurring between the formal and informal.This book is divided into four sections. In Part I, which has been titled "Digital Subcultures," we begin an exploration of "culture" and attempt tolocate the learner within a number of digital subcultures that have arisen around new and emerging technologies such as mobile and handheld devices, collaborative online spaces, and podcasting. The chapters in this section represent attempts by the authors to demonstrate that there are many subdivisionspresent on the Web, and that online learners cannot and should not be represented as one vast amorphous mass of "Internet" users.

Distance Education has become a major topic of interest in the field of educational communications and technology. In response to this interest, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) published the first edition of Distance Education: Definition and Glossary of Terms in 2002. The second edition of this monograph was begun in 2005. While the definition of distance education was changed only slightly, the glossary of terms was updated significantly under the supervision of Joann Flick and members of AECT's Division of Distance Learning. The definition of distance education and much of the supporting narrative offered in this edition of Distance Education: Definition and Glossary of Terms is based on Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education, 3rd. edition (2006). This information is used with permission.

Distance education is defined as institution-based formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources, and instructors. This definition is expanded on in the 2009 yearbook of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, which validates this definition of the field. ""Distance Education: Definition and Glossary of Terms, 3rd Edition"" is unique in that it packages the terms together under one cover making this rapidly advancing complex topic easier to comprehend. The book addresses the complexities of terminology used in the field of distance education. In a time where distance education is becoming widely utilized across the globe, this at-a-glace approach makes it easier than ever to respond to the growing demand and questions about this subject matter.

A volume in Perspectives in Instructional Technology and Distance Education Series Editors: Charles Schlosser and Michael Simonson Nova Southeastern University The Perfect Online Course: Best Practices for Designing and Teaching was edited under the assumption that a perfect online course can be delivered following different instructional methods and models for design and for instruction, and by implementing different teaching or instructional strategies. Such methods, models, and strategies are framed within quality educational guidelines and must be aimed towards attaining the online course's learning goals. The book seeks to make a contribution to the existing body of literature related to best practices and guidelines for designing and teaching distance courses, specifically online education. The process of selecting works suitable for this compilation included an extensive review of the journals Quarterly Review of Distance Education and Distance Learning. The book begins by covering literature related to general approaches and guidelines, continues with proposed methods and models for designing and instruction, and ends with instructional strategies to achieve engagement through interaction. The book is divided into four independent, yet interrelated, parts and a concluding section: Part I: Introduction; Part II: Best Guidelines and Standards; Part III: Best Instructional Methods and Models; Part IV: Best Engagement Strategies; and the concluding section, And Finally..., with words from Simonson who delineates the structure of a perfect online course.

A volume in Perspectives in Instructional Technology and Distance Education Series Editors: Charles Schlosser and Michael Simonson Nova Southeastern University As the title indicates, this book highlights the shifting and emergent features that represent life online, specifically in and around the territory of e-learning. Cybercultures in themselves are complex conglomerations of ideas, philosophies, concepts, and theories, some of which are fiercely contradictory. As a construct, ""cyberculture"" is a result of sustained attempts by diverse groups of people to make sense of multifarious activities, linguistic codes, and practices in complicated and ever-changing settings. It is an impossibly convoluted field. Any valid understanding of cyberculture can only be gained from living within it, and as Bell suggests, it is ""made up of people, machines and stories in everyday life."" Although this book contains a mix of perspectives, as the chapters progress, readers should detect some common threads. Technology-mediated activities are featured throughout, each evoking its particular cultural nuances and, as Derrick de Kerckhove (1997) has eloquently argued, technology acts as the skin of culture. All the authors are passionate about their subjects, every one engages critically with his or her topics, and each is fully committed to the belief that e-learning is a vitally important component in the future of education. All of the authors believe that digital learning environments will contribute massively to the success of the information society we now inhabit. Each is intent on exploration of the touchstone of ""any time, any place"" learning where temporal and spatial contexts cease to become barriers to learning, and where the boundaries are blurring between the formal and informal. This book is divided into four sections. In Part I, which has been titled ""Digital Subcultures,"" we begin an exploration of ""culture"" and attempt to locate the learner within a number of digital subcultures that have arisen around new and emerging technologies such as mobile and handheld devices, collaborative online spaces, and podcasting. The chapters in this section represent attempts by the authors to demonstrate that there are many subdivisions present on the Web, and that online learners cannot and should not be represented as one vast amorphous mass of ""Internet"" users.

Distance Education has become a major topic of interest in the field of educational communications and technology. In response to this interest, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) published the first edition of Distance Education: Definition and Glossary of Terms in 2002. The second edition of this monograph was begun in 2005. While the definition of distance education was changed only slightly, the glossary of terms was updated significantly under the supervision of Joann Flick and members of AECT's Division of Distance Learning. The definition of distance education and much of the supporting narrative offered in this edition of Distance Education: Definition and Glossary of Terms is based on Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education, 3rd. edition (2006). This information is used with permission.