The International Handbook of Virtual Learning Environments was developed to explore Virtual Learning Environments (VLE’s), and their relationships with digital, in real life and virtual worlds. The book is divided into four sections: Foundations of Virtual Learning Environments; Schooling, Professional Learning and Knowledge Management; Out-of-School Learning Environments; and Challenges for Virtual Learning Environments. The coverage ranges across a broad spectrum of philosophical perspectives, historical, sociological, political and educational analyses, case studies from practical and research settings, as well as several provocative "classics" originally published in other settings.
Although institutions of higher education have recognized the need for preparing their graduates for a digitalized, global workplace, these efforts have been sporadic, individualized, and varied from discipline to discipline. Nevertheless, over the past 10 years, trends such as “double classrooms,” “inverted classrooms,” and “collaborative online international learning” (COIL) have gained traction at universities across the globe. With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, efforts to engage students in the use of digital tools and virtual collaborative teamwork increased tenfold. Creative and innovative virtual learning environments (VLEs) have emerged, and instructors have used them to connect with their students much more frequently. The holistic nature of virtual learning, its impact on employability, and the development of global citizenry have become prime areas of research amongst the digital education landscape. Now more than ever, it is essential to look at virtual learning environments and how they can be used to prepare students and employees for the opportunities and challenges of a global, digital workplace. Developments in Virtual Learning Environments and the Global Workplace provides readers with a rationale and tool kit for facilitating virtual learning in a wide variety of contexts in response to the opportunities and challenges presented by the digital global workplace. This book covers virtual learning practices, the value of virtual learning for professionals and employers, and the best practices in online learning in different settings. Additionally, the chapters dive into the future perspectives and trends within virtual learning environments and the creation/evaluation of virtual learning strategies. These insights range from diverse countries, education levels, industry sectors, and academic disciplines, making this book a comprehensive research tool. This book will greatly benefit e-learning and instructional designers, university senior managers, university staff responsible for mobility and exchange, researchers, professionals responsible for organizational development and further education, human resource directors, global company executives, managers, practitioners, stakeholders, academicians, and students looking for information on how virtual learning environments are preparing students for the global workplace.
"In a world where where online and offline overlap and coincide, this book presents how digital intelligence is a key competence for the future of education and looks at how AI and other digital tools are improving the world of education"--
To meet the dynamic academic demands of twenty-first century digital learners, many institutions of higher learning are offering more online classes than ever before that are accessible to both traditional and non-traditional learners. As such, a growing demand for online courses implies that participating institutions provide faculty with appropriate professional development programs to ensure the design and delivery of quality online courses. The Handbook of Research on Virtual Training and Mentoring of Online Instructors is a critical scholarly resource that highlights the issues, challenges, and online engagement experiences to enhance effective teaching and learning in this learning environment. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as media literacy, professional development, and virtual learning environments, this book is geared towards educational administrators, educators, and instructional designers interested in quality online instruction.
"This international and interdisciplinary book presents research from a wide range of disciplines (business, communication, education, governance, law, marketing, microbiology, mining, music, nursing, pharmacy, philosophy, psychology and sociology) utilizing varied technologies to achieve high quality, practical and successful communication"--Provided by publisher.
The International Handbook of Virtual Learning Environments was developed to explore Virtual Learning Environments (VLE’s), and their relationships with digital, in real life and virtual worlds. The book is divided into four sections: Foundations of Virtual Learning Environments; Schooling, Professional Learning and Knowledge Management; Out-of-School Learning Environments; and Challenges for Virtual Learning Environments. The coverage ranges across a broad spectrum of philosophical perspectives, historical, sociological, political and educational analyses, case studies from practical and research settings, as well as several provocative "classics" originally published in other settings.
Online learning has been touted as one way of reducing the cost of higher education while simultaneously addressing the increasing demand for educational opportunity and providing access to hitherto “left out” populations. Many universities are defying tradition by offering completely online degrees for global participants. As such, research is needed to improve the design of online and virtual learning environments to ensure that they are inclusive and culturally adaptive for the global education marketplace. The Handbook of Research on Cross-Cultural Online Learning in Higher Education shares paradigms, perspectives, insights, challenges, and best practices for the instructional design and delivery of cross-cultural adult web-based learning experiences and examines adult learner characteristics and competencies critical for the design of these applications. The content within this publication covers trending topics including virtual learning, culturally adaptive environments, and online education and is intended for instructional designers, faculty, administrators, students, and researchers.
The COVID-19 pandemic drastically transformed the classroom by keeping students and teachers apart for the sake of safety. As schools emptied, remote learning rapidly expanded through online services and video chatrooms. Unfortunately, this disrupted many students and teachers who were not accustomed to remote classrooms. This challenge has forced K-12 teachers to think differently about teaching. Unexpectedly and with little time to prepare, they have been confronted with redesigning their curriculum and instruction from face-to-face to online virtual classrooms to protect students from the COVID-19 virus while ensuring that these new online initiatives remain sustainable and useful in the post-pandemic world. As teachers learn to take advantage of the affordances and strengths of the multiple technologies available for virtual classroom instruction, their instruction both in online and face-to-face will impact what and how students learn in the 21st century. The Handbook of Research on Transforming Teachers’ Online Pedagogical Reasoning for Engaging K-12 Students in Virtual Learning examines the best practices and pedagogical reasoning for designing online strategies that work for K-12 virtual learning. The initial section provides foundational pedagogical ideas for constructing engaging virtual learning environments that leverage the unique strengths and opportunities while avoiding the weaknesses and threats of the online world. The following chapters present instructional strategies for multiple grade levels and content areas: best practices that work, clearly describing why they work, and the teachers’ pedagogical reasoning that supports online implementations. The chapters provide ways to think about teaching in virtual environments that can be used to guide instructional strategy choices and recognizes the fundamental differences between face-to-face and virtual environments as an essential design component. Covering such topics as K-12 classrooms, pedagogical reasoning, and virtual learning, this text is perfect for professors, teachers, students, educational designers and developers, instructional technology faculty, distance learning faculty, and researchers interested in the subject.
Online instruction is rapidly expanding the way administrators and educators think about and plan instruction. In addition, due to a pandemic, online instructional practices and learning in a virtual environment are being implemented with very little training or support. Educators are learning new tools and strategies at a quick pace, and often on their own, even through resistance. It is important to explore lessons learned through the pandemic but also of importance is sharing the virtual classroom options and instruction that align to best practices when transitioning to online instruction. Sharing these will allow educators to understand and learn that virtual instruction can benefit all, even when not used out of need, and can enhance face-to-face courses in many ways. The Handbook of Research on Lessons Learned From Transitioning to Virtual Classrooms During a Pandemic is a critical reference that presents lessons instructors have learned throughout the COVID-19 pandemic including what programs and tools were found to be the most impactful and useful and how to effectively embed virtual teaching into face-to-face teaching. With difficult choices to be made and implemented, this topic and collection of writings demonstrates the learning curve in a state of survival and also lessons and resources learned that will be useful when moving back to face-to-face instruction as a tool to continue to use. Highlighted topics include the frustrations faced during the transition, lessons learned from a variety of viewpoints, resources found and used to support instruction, online learner perspectives and thoughts, online course content, and best practices in transitioning to online instruction. This book is ideal for teachers, principals, school leaders, instructional designers, curriculum developers, higher education professors, pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, practitioners, researchers, and anyone interested in developing more effective virtual and in-classroom teaching methods.
This Handbook, with contributions from leading experts in the field, provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art account of virtual environments (VE). It serves as an invaluable source of reference for practitioners, researchers, and students in this rapidly evolving discipline. It also provides practitioners with a reference source to guide
