Online education has created an ever-expanding number of programs. Adult online learners are diverse and have varied talents, challenges, and motivations. They choose online learning for its convenience and accessibility, but the online learning environment can be flat and two-dimensional. Adult online learners can then become disengaged and disconnected—especially if the online learning experience does not support their social-emotional needs. More research on supporting the whole learner in adult online classrooms is required. Motivation and Momentum in Adult Online Education highlights unique and varied approaches to adult learners’ motivation and momentum in online education. It provides examples of strategies, tools, and practices educators and educational institutions use to encourage and support adult learners’ motivation and momentum across a variety of online educational programs. Covering topics such as academic coaching, faculty-student interaction, and student engagement, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for higher education leaders, professors, course instructors, advisors, curriculum developers, instructional designers, lifelong learning application developers, professionals in student support services, librarians, researchers, and academicians.
Concerned with the future of the sociology of education, this work illustrates the conceptual and methodological sophistication, as well as the potential utility of the contemporary work in the field. It conveys a diverse view of the area, and suggests a range of issues for investigation.
This book focuses on electronic learning communities created through the development and use of the Internet for instruction and training. The chapters focus on philosophies, background, reviews, technologies, systems, tools, services, strategies, development, implementation, research, and guidelines for implementers, and each illustrates the chapter theme with a detailed example of best practices.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions worldwide were compelled to embrace online learning, leading to a significant shift in the dynamics of education. As schools, colleges, and universities adapted to virtual learning environments, teachers and learners alike found themselves navigating unfamiliar terrain. Balance and Boundaries in Creating Meaningful Relationships in Online Higher Education explores the art of forging connections in virtual classrooms. This book provides educators with valuable guidance and strategies for cultivating relationships in virtual learning environments. It covers synchronous, asynchronous, and hybrid learning, offering a comprehensive understanding of relationship-building techniques for higher education and beyond. Addressing the unique challenges of online instruction, it empowers faculty members to create classrooms based on trust, connection, and support. With practical ideas and resources, it serves as a critical reference for transitioning to online teaching. Essential for cross-departmental higher education faculty and graduate-level students, it revolutionizes the field by empowering educators to thrive in the evolving landscape of online instruction.
Choosing the right college is a big decision for most people. American Indian and Alaska Natives are no exception, but finding a college that offers a good educational program in their major plus a strong support system for tribal traditions makes that decision even more complex. This volume will help Native people clarify their postsecondary aspirations, improve their college choice, and increase their success in college. After a thorough examination of the issues that should be considered, Pavel and Inglebret present the different types of colleges available, programs and services to meet the special needs of Native students, and financial aid options. By answering many of the basic questions students have about going to college, Pavel and Inglebret help to demystify the process and encourage more Native students to pursue a college education. Special features include: -A list of colleges with Native American studies, and those most friendly to Native Americans' needs -A list of sources for financial aid, with contact information -Interviews with Native American students on all aspects of their college experiences -Suggestions for students on how to balance their new college experiences with their community and heritage
A Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2013While the success of higher education and student affairs is predicated on understanding the students we serve, the reality is, where the Native American population is concerned, that this knowledge is generally lacking. This lack may be attributed to this population’s invisibility within the academy – it is often excluded from institutional data and reporting, and frequently noted as not statistically significant – and its relegation to what is referred to as the “American Indian research asterisk.”The purpose of this book is to move beyond the asterisk in an effort to better understand Native students, challenge the status quo, and provide an informed base for leaders in student and academic affairs, and administrators concerned with the success of students on their campuses.The authors of this book share their understanding of Native epistemologies, culture, and social structures, offering student affairs professionals and institutions a richer array of options, resources, and culturally-relevant and inclusive models to better serve this population. The book begins by providing insights into Native student experiences, presenting the first-year experience from a Native perspective, illustrating the role of a Native living/learning community in student retention, and discussing the importance of incorporating culture into student programming for Native students as well as the role of Native fraternities and sororities.The authors then consider administrative issues, such as the importance of outreach to tribal nations, the role of Tribal Colleges and Universities and opportunities for collaborations, and the development of Native American Student Services Units..The book concludes with recommendations for how institutions can better serve Native students in graduate programs, the role that Indigenous faculty play in student success, and how professional associations can assist student affairs professionals with fulfilling their role of supporting the success of Native American students, staff, and faculty. This book moves beyond the asterisk to provide important insights from Native American higher education leaders and non-Native practitioners who have made Native students a priority in their work.While predominantly addressed to the student affairs profession – providing an understanding of the needs of the Native students it serves, describing the multi-faceted and unique issues, characteristics and experiences of this population, and sharing proven approaches to developing appropriate services – it also covers issues of broader administrative concern, such as collaboration with tribal colleges; as well academic issues, such as graduate and professional education. The book covers new material, as well as expanding on topics previously addressed in the literature, including Native American Greek organizations, incorporating Native culture into student programming, and the role of Native American Special Advisors. The contributors are themselves products of colleges and universities where Native students are too often invisible, and who succeeded despite the odds. Their insights and the examples they provide add richness to this book. It will provide a catalyst for new higher education practices that lead to direct, and increased support for, Native Americans and others who are working to remove the Native American asterisk from research and practice.
With limited empirical research available on online teaching across cultures especially with Native and Hispanic American students, this book will present the findings of a two-year, Spencer-funded study in creating an inclusive (i.e., multicultural and intergenerational) instructional design model for online learning. The book is expected to provide the readers a field guide of teaching approach (comprising pedagogical, technical, relational and other suggestions for teaching) for inclusive e-learning, with a foundation in the research on how students from different cultures and generation groups learn online. This two-year, multi-course-site study, as a first effort to examine online college teaching and learning effective across culture and age, contributed a list of important findings on the following questions: • To what extent are online learning and interaction experiences and performances consistent across varied ethnic/cultural, and age groups and in what ways do they vary? • What online instructional contexts do students and faculty, especially non-traditional and minority students, identify as supporting learning and student success? • What are the relationships between online instructional contexts, online learning performance, and learning success of students with diverse ethnicity/culture and age background? By consolidating the findings for the aforementioned research questions, the researchers of this study have developed a data-driven online instructional design model that can work as a field guide on cross-cultural and intergenerational teaching and learning for online education practitioners.
Online and Distance Social Work Education: Current Practice and Future Trends provides a comprehensive presentation on the evolution, current status and future direction of distance learning and online education in the social work profession. Documenting the current state-of-the-art, this book demonstrates the power of distance learning and online technology and addresses future trends in web-based social work education. Written by widely recognized experts, the chapters represent an authoritative statement of the present state-of-the-art in the application of technology to contemporary social work education. The insights of these experts will be of great interest to students and faculty in the 798 accredited social work programs in the United States. They are creating a revolution in the profession which will forever change the nature of education for professional practice. Authored by widely recognized educators on the cutting edge of technological innovation, this text will be relevant to social work students and educators in baccalaureate, masters and doctoral programs in the USA and internationally. The chapters in this book were originally published in the Journal of Teaching in Social Work.
This book provides instructors with a holistic way of thinking about learners, learning, and online course design. The distinctive strategies derived from an integrated framework for designing the online learning experience help create an experience that is more personalized, engaging, and meaningful for online learners.The focus of this book is on the learners and the design of their online learning experiences. The authors refer to learning design instead of instructional design – which focuses on instruction and places the instructor at the center stage of the process. Therefore, the focus is on approaching a learner’s online course experience as a journey consisting of a combination of learning interactions with content, instructor, and other learners. In most online courses, instructors and learners are separated in time and space and depend on technology to facilitate interactions that often lack a strong personal dimension. As online learning continues to proliferate and mature, the emphasis on simply making content available to students online is no longer acceptable. Creating online courses now requires a new way of thinking that incorporates new design ideas and approaches from a variety of fields; it also requires a new set of learning design skills for instructors and course designers.Organized into eight chapters, this volume focuses on enhancing online learning experiences for each of the major aspects of an online course, providing evidence-based principles and strategies to promote learner engagement and deep learning. The concluding chapter provides an example illustrating a real-world application of the principles and strategies covered in the book, using Design Thinking to create learning experiences.This book provides strategies for approaching the learning experience from an integrative perspective for both experienced online instructors and those new to online course design. These strategies are based on evidence-based learning design principles and encourage the reader to adopt an empathic mindset focused on the experience of the learner.
In American Indian Studies, Native PhD graduates share their personal stories about their educational experiences and how doctoral education has shaped their identities, lives, relationships, and careers. This collection of personal narratives from Native graduates of the University of Arizona’s American Indian Studies (AIS) doctoral program, the first such program of its kind, gifts stories of endurance and resiliency, hardship and struggle, and accomplishment and success. It provides insight into the diverse and dynamic experiences of Native graduate students. The narratives address family and kinship, mentorship, and service and giving back. Essayists share the benefits of having an AIS program at a mainstream academic institution—not just for the students enrolled but also for their communities. This book offers Native students aspiring to a PhD a realistic picture of what it takes. While each student has their own path to walk, these stories provide the gift of encouragement and serve to empower Native students to reach their educational goals, whether it be in an AIS program or other fields of study.
