The integration of technology in classrooms is rapidly emerging as a way to provide more educational opportunities for students. As virtual learning environments become more popular, evaluating the impact of this technology on student success is vital. Exploring the Effectiveness of Online Education in K-12 Environments combines empirical evidence and best practices in current K-12 distance learning and virtual schools. Emphasizing current research and opportunities, this book is an all-inclusive reference source for administrators, teachers, researchers, teacher educators, and policymakers interested in the development and implementation of blended and electronic learning in primary and secondary education.
"This book combines empirical evidence and best practices in current K-12 distance learning and virtual schools, emphasizing current research and opportunities for administrators, teachers, researchers, teacher educators, and policymakers interested in the development and implementation of blended and electronic learning in primary and secondary education"--
Building Online Learning Communities further explores the development of virtual classroom environments that foster a sense of community and empower students to take charge of their learning to successfully achieve learning outcomes. This is the second edition of the groundbreaking book by Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt and has been completely updated and expanded to include the most current information on effective online course development and delivery. A practical, hands-on guide, this resource is filled with illustrative case studies, vignettes, and examples from a wide variety of successful online courses. The authors offer proven strategies for handling challenges that include: Engaging students in the formation of an online learning community. Establishing a sense of presence online. Maximizing participation. Developing effective courses that include collaboration and reflection. Assessing student performance. Written for faculty in any distance learning environment, this revised edition is based on the authors many years of work in faculty development for online teaching as well as their extensive personal experience as faculty in online distance education. Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt share insights designed to guide readers through the steps of online course design and delivery.
At a time when more and more of what people learn both in formal courses and in everyday life is mediated by technology, Learning Online provides a much-needed guide to different forms and applications of online learning. This book describes how online learning is being used in both K-12 and higher education settings as well as in learning outside of school. Particular online learning technologies, such as MOOCs (massive open online courses), multi-player games, learning analytics, and adaptive online practice environments, are described in terms of design principles, implementation, and contexts of use. Learning Online synthesizes research findings on the effectiveness of different types of online learning, but a major message of the book is that student outcomes arise from the joint influence of implementation, context, and learner characteristics interacting with technology--not from technology alone. The book describes available research about how best to implement different forms of online learning for specific kinds of students, subject areas, and contexts. Building on available evidence regarding practices that make online and blended learning more effective in different contexts, Learning Online draws implications for institutional and state policies that would promote judicious uses of online learning and effective implementation models. This in-depth research work concludes with a call for an online learning implementation research agenda, combining education institutions and research partners in a collaborative effort to generate and share evidence on effective practices.
It has quickly become apparent in the past year that online learning is not only an asset, but it is critical to the continued education of youth during times of crisis. However, districts and schools across the nation are in need of guidance and practical, research-backed approaches to distance and hybrid learning. The current COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated that effective learning in K-12 is possible, but many districts struggled and continue to struggle in achieving that reality. There is also the growing consensus that even if things “return to normal,” distance and blended learning strategies should continue to be employed in many ways across the K-12 environment. Designing Effective Distance and Blended Learning Environments in K-12 provides key insights into the ways that school districts and educators from across the world have effectively designed and implemented distance and blended learning approaches to enable and enhance student learning. The diverse collection of authors from various demographics and roles in school systems will benefit readers across a wide spectrum of school community stakeholders. There will also be an emphasis on how research and theory is put into practice, along with an honest discussion of what strategies and actions were successful as well as those that were less so. This book is essential for professionals and researchers working in the field of K-12 education, particularly superintendents, curriculum developers, professional learning designers, school principals, instructional technology specialists, and teachers, as well as administrators, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the effective practices being used in blended learning approaches.
Our goal with this book, Research on Enhancing the Interactivity of Online Learning, is to present a juried, scholarly, and accessible review of research, theory, and/or policy on specific issues of interactive online learning for K-16 educators, administrators, and students of online learning. Online learning has become the norm rather than the exception for many of today’s students. Instructors are more willing to explore online learning options, students are enrolling in record numbers and colleges, as well as many K-12 institutions, are offering more online courses. As educators, we have more tools than ever to ensure online course success, but just as with a traditional class, we must continue to place emphasis on good pedagogy. To achieve good pedagogy, online teaching takes additional time and a restructuring of course content by the instructor. Student issues include coping strategies, ease of navigation, skills required to complete the course, availability of online resources, feedback from the instructor, and collaborative, interactive learning opportunities. Principles of interactive online learning are new to many, and this book provides a forum for interactive online learning research while also including ideas that enhance both the practical and theoretical aspects of interactive online learning. The editors have included chapters that can further knowledge and understanding of emerging trends and foster debate regarding issues that surround interactive online learning.
Make sure your students get the most from their online learning experiences Even though nearly every K-12 public school in the United States has broadband Internet access, the Web’s vast potential as a teaching and learning tool has still not been realized. Web-based learning opportunities have been expensive, slow to develop, and time-consuming to implement, despite pressure on schools to adopt technology solutions that will cure their educational ills. Web-Based Learning in K-12 Classrooms: Opportunities and Challenges chronicles the up and downs of online learning and offers unique insights into its future, providing a comprehensive, curriculum-wide treatment of K-12 content areas (reading, science, mathematics, social studies), special education, counseling, virtual schools, exemplary schools, implementation issues, and educational Web sites. The Internet represents a powerful, complex set of technologies that offers your students access to unlimited knowledge—but that access doesn’t replace the human interactions found in classrooms. Placing a student in front of a computer monitor is a supplement to classroom learning, not a substitute for it. Academics and education professionals address questions surrounding the key issues involved in successfully incorporating the wide range of Web-based learning opportunities (formal courses, demonstrations, simulations, collaborations, searches) into the classroom, including technology, content, and implementation. Web-Based Learning in K-12 Classrooms examines: inquiry-based learning online interaction displaying student work online Internet accessibility for students with disabilities initiating school counselors into e-learning technologies the role of government in virtual schools Web-based schools in California, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Texas a 13-category classification system for online educational resources the ATLAS model for program implementation evaluations of more than 1,000 pieces of online information (articles, research, reports, news, and statistics) and 900 Web applications (tutorials, drills, games, and tests) with evaluation criteria Web-Based Learning in K-12 Classrooms is a vital resource for educators interested in online learning applications across the K-12 curriculum.
Although a relatively small number of K-12 students are currently enrolled in online classes, the dramatic growth in online enrollments in recent years suggests that online education will play a significant role in the future landscape of public education. While our understanding of online teaching and learning continues to grow, relatively little is known about the experiences of teachers as they engage in online teaching. In particular, very little is known about the concerns of teachers as they navigate their teaching roles and responsibilities in an online teaching environment. Using an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach, this qualitative study explored the concerns of seven online K-12 teachers through video interviews and bi-monthly journal entries. The findings in this study resulted in six themes with associated sub-themes. These themes suggest that online teachers are highly concerned about themselves, their roles, and their students, along with concerns found at the intersections of these areas. Additionally, this study reveals that the political, educational, and organizational contexts surrounding these online learning environments significantly influence the development and degree of teachers’ concerns. The implications of this research encourages greater dialogue between teachers and online educational leaders to better understand teacher concerns and mitigate the negative impact of these concerns on online teachers.
The integration of information and communication technologies in education is unavoidable, as an increasing percentage of educators embrace modern technology, others are faced with the decision to reevaluate their own pedagogical practices or become obsolete. To meet the needs of students, one must first define what stipulates a successful K-12 student, the best practices of online classrooms, the warning signs for low-performing students, and how to engage web-based students. Optimizing K-12 Education through Online and Blended Learning addresses the models, support, cases, and delivery of K-12 online education. Seeking to further the conversation about the most effective ways to integrate ICT into the classroom, this publication presents theoretical frameworks to support educators and administrators. This book is an essential collection of research for teachers, administrators, students of education, IT professionals, developers, and policy makers.
