This important volume features contributions by top virtual school practitioners and experts in the field who talk about what virtual schools can do to plan for success. If you are interested in the details of launching virtual learning options for your school, district, region, or state, you likely have more questions than answers. Where do I begin? What kind of personnel will I need? What providers and resources are available to me? How do I hire and train teachers? What are the costs involved? This authoritative volume will answer these questions and many more. Providing an overview of virtual schooling and e-learning, along with detailed case studies and issues chapters, this essential volume provides practical guidance and a brief plan for success roadmap for local schools interested in starting a virtual learning program.
This authoritative volume is the first to provide a thorough, detailed account of the virtual high school. Based on a 5-year study conducted by experienced researchers at SRI International, it provides crucial information to assist educators and policymakers in creating, adapting, and learning how to effectively use these new online schools. This book answers such questions as: What is the difference between an online and face-to-face classroom? What is it like to take, or to teach a course online? Are online courses effective? What are the problems with its use?
"This book offers professional teacher educators a rare opportunity to harvest the thinking of pioneering colleagues spanning dozens of universities, and to benefit from the creativity, scholarship, hard work, and reflection that led them to the models they describe"--Provided by publisher.
Virtual schools are a result of widespread changes in knowledge about learning, in available technology and in society. Virtual schooling is growing in popularity and will continue to attract students because of the benefits it offers over traditional schooling. Stakeholders in virtual schools need information to guide their decisions. For the foreseeable future, virtual schools will continue to meet diverse student needs, and to evolve in response to further change. Development and Management of Virtual Schools: Issues and Trends brings together knowledge of virtual schools as a reference for scholars and other groups involved in virtual schools. The chapters review best practice from concept and development, through implementation and evaluation.
As technology continues to shift the educational landscape, most K-12 teachers' instructional strategies remain mostly unchanged. Discover how to enhance student learning in online and blended classrooms. This user-friendly resource offers direct guidance on the steps K-12 educators must take to facilitate online learning and maximize student growth using readily available digital tools. Each chapter includes suggestions, tips, and examples tied to pedagogical practices associated with learning online, so you can confidently and fully engage in the best practices with your students. Benefits Use technology tools like online classroom platforms and apps to foster digitally enhanced learning. Understand the benefits of learning online and its advantages over traditional real-world classrooms. Learn how to effectively facilitate digital learning experiences and organize the online learning space in a way that encourages comfort, motivation, and engagement. Study the challenges and opportunities teaching online offers. Gain strategies and examples to help initiate and sustain digital learning while engaging students. Contents Chapter 1: Understanding the Modality and the Moment Chapter 2: Planning Curriculum, Assessment, and Preinstruction Chapter 3: Preparing the Learning Experience Chapter 4: Initiating the Learning Experience Chapter 5: Maintaining the Momentum in the Learning Experience Chapter 6: Teaching Thoughtful Online Collaboration Chapter 7: Managing and Overcoming Toxic Conversations Chapter 8: Concluding the Learning Experience Concluding Thoughts
This two-volume encyclopedia presents over 200 entries that highlight the ways in which educational and communication practices shape our uses of technology. From the hand-cranked mimeograph to digital video, educators have touted each technological advance as the key to improving education. Yet often our students seem no better educated today than they were in the days of ink wells and feather pens. How can we use technology to achieve real gains in student performance? In this new encyclopedia, the only book on educational technology designed for the nonexpert, scholars in the field describe, in jargon-free terms, how educational practices have shaped our uses of technology—and vice versa. They discuss the traditions that are the core knowledge base of the field along with the theoretical, commercial, and social perspectives. In a variety of educational contexts—kindergarten through postsecondary education, corporate and industrial training, and distance education—they evaluate the latest technologies and products. Most importantly, they provide clear insights into educational technologies both as delivery systems (two-way microwave video, for example) and as content design strategies (like web-based instruction).
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.
Lessons from the Virtual Classroom, Second Edition The second edition of the classic resource Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom offers a comprehensive reference for faculty to hone their skills in becoming more effective online instructors. Thoroughly revised and updated to reflect recent changes and challenges that face online teachers, Lessons from the Virtual Classroom is filled with illustrative examples from actual online courses as well as helpful insights from teachers and students. This essential guide offers targeted suggestions for dealing with such critical issues as evaluating effective courseware, working with online classroom dynamics, addressing the needs of the online student, making the transition to online teaching, and promoting the development of the learning community. Praise for Lessons from the Virtual Classroom, Second Edition "Palloff and Pratt demonstrate their exceptional practical experience and insight into the online classroom. This is an invaluable resource for those tasked with creating an online course." — D. Randy Garrison, professor, University of Calgary, and author, Blended Learning in Higher Education: Framework, Principles, and Guidelines "Faculty will deeply appreciate and make use of the many explicit examples of how to design, prepare, and teach both blended and fully online courses." — Judith V. Boettcher, faculty coach and author, The Online Teaching Survival Guide: Simple and Practical Pedagogical Tips "Lessons from the Virtual Classroom is filled with insightful caveats and recommendations, pointed examples to enhance your practice, succinct summaries of the research, and engaging visual overviews. Each page brings the reader a renewed sense of confidence to teach online as well as personal joy that there is finally a resource to find the answers one is seeking." — Curtis J. Bonk, professor of education, Indiana University-Bloomington, and author, Empowering Online Learning: 100+ Activities for Reading, Reflecting, Displaying, and Doing
