Faculty Online Instruction Resources: Home

Developments in computer technologies and telecommunications make e-learning a natural evolution and extension of traditional lecture driven style learning. E-learning technologies can extend course content with multimedia systems, active learning opportunities and instructional technology to facilitate education in all areas of study to a broad range of learners. E-learning allows for the creation of learning communities that overcome the constraints of time, distance, and boundaries. This book covers a wide range of interesting e-learning topics. The first four chapters cover the background, evolution, new technologies, and the 2nd generation of e-learning in the 21st century. Chapters 5 and 6 cover the advancement in e-learning tools.

Social technologies are reshaping and reframing the practice of teaching and learning in higher education. This volume critically examines new research on how wikis, blogs, and Webquests are being used in higher education to increase learner engagement in an epoch of increasing globalization and diversity.

Redesigning Courses for Online Delivery takes a unique approach to course redesign. Both scholarly and practical, the considerations and methods will assist readers in the development of high quality online experiences. It moves beyond the technology, driving course development to best fit the content, the learners, and the instructor. Its power is in the decision-focused approach.

How to apply digital writing skills effectively in the classroom, from the prestigious National Writing Project As many teachers know, students may be adept at text messaging and communicating online but do not know how to craft a basic essay. In the classroom, students are increasingly required to create web-based or multi-media productions that also include writing. Since writing in and for the online realm often defies standard writing conventions, this book defines digital writing and examines how best to integrate new technologies into writing instruction. Shows how to integrate new technologies into classroom lessons Addresses the proliferation of writing in the digital age Offers a guide for improving students′ online writing skills The book is an important manual for understanding this new frontier of writing for teachers, school leaders, university faculty, and teacher educators.

How can faculty create a strong e presence for their online classes? This volume highlights the need for creating a presence in the online environment. The authors explore the emotional, psychological, and social aspects from both the instructor and student perspective. It provides an instructional design framework and shows how a strong presence contributes to effective teaching and learning. Filled with illustrative examples and based on research and experience, the book contains methods, case scenarios, and activities for creating, maintaining, and evaluating presence throughout the cycle of an online course.

This series helps higher education professionals improve the practice of online teaching and learning by providing concise, practical resources focused on particular areas or issues they might confront in this new learning environment. This revision includes updated activities and resources for instructors teaching online. Based on changes in technology and best practices learned from the field the revision provides new information for even seasoned online instructors.

The Excellent Online Instructor is a guide for new and seasoned faculty who teach online, those responsible for training and developing online instructors, and administrators who must evaluate online faculty performance. This comprehensive resource describes the qualities of and explains how one can become an excellent online instructor. Written by Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt-noted experts in online instruction-the book. Includes models based in adult learning principles and best practices. Offers guidelines to test instructors' readiness to teach online. Contains ideas for overcoming faculty resistance. Reveals how to develop an effective mentoring program. Shows how to establish a long-term faculty development effort. "This book examines best practices for effective online teaching and instructor engagement and provides a concise plan for faculty development and effective training methods.

The new field of learning design has the potential to revolutionize not only technology in education, but the whole field of teaching and learning through the application of design thinking to education. Learning Design looks inside the "black box" of pedagogy to understand what teachers and learners do together, and how the best teaching ideas can be shared on a global scale. Learning design supports all pedagogical approaches, content areas, and fields of education. The book opens with a new synthesis of the field of learning design and its place in educational theory and practice, and goes on to explore the implications of learning design for many areas of education--both practical and theoretical--in a series of chapters by Larnaca Declaration authors and other international experts.

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.

As educational institutions rapidly expand into online and hybrid formats, designing with accessibility in mind becomes essential. This book helps online teachers, instructional designers, and content developers avoid inadvertently creating barriers for students with disabilities and comply with government-mandated ADA standards. Grounded in the theories of learner-centered teaching and successful course design, the book explains how to design course content and delivery to be both attractive and accessible to all students, creating better conditions for student learning, success, and satisfaction, and better preparing students to compete in the competitive workplace.

A large number of institutions are now providing online programs, requiring instructors to change the way they think about teaching and master a distinct set of workload management skills. The first book to discuss workload management for online instructors, Managing Online Instructor Workload offers practical strategies, advice, and examples for how to prioritize, balance, and manage an online teaching workload. Based on surveys and interviews, the timely and comprehensive insight in this book is essential for online instructors, instructional designers, faculty developers and others involved in online learning.

The Online Teaching Survival Guide offers faculty a wide array of theory-based techniques designed for online teaching and technology-enhanced courses. Written by two pioneers in distance education, this guidebook presents practical instructional strategies spread out over a four-phase timeline that covers the lifespan of a course. The book includes information on a range of topics such as course management, social presence, community building, and assessment. Based on traditional pedagogical theory, The Online Teaching Survival Guide integrates the latest research in cognitive processing and learning outcomes. Faculty with little knowledge of educational theory and those well versed in pedagogy will find this resource essential for developing their online teaching skills. Praise for The Online Teaching Survival Guide "At a time when resources for training faculty to teach online are scarce, Judith Boettcher and Rita-Marie Conrad have presented a must-read for all instructors new to online teaching. By tying best practices to the natural rhythms of a course as it unfolds, instructors will know what to do when and what to expect. The book is a life raft in what can be perceived as turbulent and uncharted waters." -Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt, program directors and faculty, Teaching in the Virtual Classroom Program, Fielding Graduate University "Developed from years of experience supporting online faculty, Judith Boettcher and Rita-Marie Conrad's book provides practical tips and checklists that should especially help those new to online teaching hit the ground running." -Karen Swan, Stukel Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership, University of Illinois Springfield "This book blends a fine synthesis of research findings with plenty of practical advice. This book should be especially valuable for faculty teaching their first or second course online. But any instructor, no matter how experienced, is likely to find valuable insights and techniques." -Stephen C. Ehrmann, director, Flashlight Program for the Study and Improvement of Educational Uses of Technology; vice president, The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Group

Employ cognitive theory in the classroom every day. Research into how we learn has opened the door for utilizing cognitive theory to facilitate better student learning. But that's easier said than done. Many books about cognitive theory introduce radical but impractical theories, failing to make the connection to the classroom. In Small Teaching, James Lang presents a strategy for improving student learning with a series of modest but powerful changes that make a big difference, many of which can be put into practice in a single class period. These strategies are designed to bridge the chasm between primary research and the classroom environment in a way that can be implemented by any faculty in any discipline, and even integrated into pre-existing teaching techniques. Learn, for example: How does one become good at retrieving knowledge from memory? How does making predictions now help us learn in the future? How do instructors instill fixed or growth mindsets in their students? Each chapter introduces a basic concept in cognitive theory, explains when and how it should be employed, and provides firm examples of how the intervention has been or could be used in a variety of disciplines. Small teaching techniques include brief classroom or online learning activities, one-time interventions, and small modifications in course design or communication with students.

Teaching Lab Science Courses Online is a practical resource for educators developing and teaching fully online lab science courses. First, it provides guidance for using learning management systems and other web 2.0 technologies such as video presentations, discussion boards, Google apps, Skype, video/web conferencing, and social media networking. Moreover, it offers advice for giving students the hands-on "wet laboratory" experience they need to learn science effectively, including the implications of implementing various lab experiences such as computer simulations, kitchen labs, and commercially assembled at-home lab kits. Finally, the book reveals how to get administrative and faculty buy-in for teaching science online and shows how to negotiate internal politics and assess the budget implications of online science instruction.

Instructors are pressured to integrate technology into their traditional or online instruction. This book offers a hands-on resource that shows how to integrate technology into lessons and offers information about common technologies, categorizing by groups, and explains the purposes they serve pedagogically as well as how they can be most effectively used in online or face-to-face classrooms. In addition to examples, each chapter will feature a decision making matrix to help instructors decide on whether or not a tool is really needed based on curriculum objectives or a specific organizational or curricular problem. 

Provides strategies for addressing the challenges and pitfalls faced when planning, designing and implementing learning and educational technology projects.

Finally, the first research-based book of sound strategies and best practices to help instructors motivate students to complete their online courses. Although studies support the effectiveness of learning online, students often fail to complete online courses. Some studies have found that as many as 50-70% drop out of their online courses or programs. Retention is not only a growing expectation and imperative, but it is also an opportunity for faculty members to take the lead in innovating, researching, and implementing new strategies while demonstrating their effectiveness.

The critical success of online instructors is their ability to engage students in the learning process. With this expertise, the online experience is extremely effective. The goal of this book is to help faculty understand the processes of teaching online and learning to be student-centered, which are the first steps toward becoming a successful online instructor. Specific topics include: an introduction to online instruction, putting it together with an overview of basic ideas, understanding course delivery including synchronous, asynchronous and hybrid instruction, integrating online and finding yourself through technology, creating participation and social presence, developing collaborative learning and the key to online success, tips for preparation and starting the course, instructor communication, developing critical thinking, and understanding the online instructor workload. An online instructor is required to read everything, respond individually to students such as using an introductory discussion board, respond to groups of two or three that have posted information, and respond to the whole class if there are points that students should know. There are many approaches instructors must use during the online teaching experience, such as being open to differences, staying organized, practicing discipline, distinguishing between work and personal life, and being flexible. Teaching online can be time-consuming, but will be more efficient with the use of the workload strategies and the hands-on approach the authors have provided.