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.

Provides an overview of effective online teaching and learning practices.

This book is to explores a variety of facets of online learning environments to understand how learning occurs and succeeds in digital contexts and what teaching strategies and technologies are most suited to this format. Business, health, government and education are some of the core sectors of society which have been experiencing deep transformations due to a generalized digitalization. While these changes are not novel, the swift progress of technology and the rising complexity of digital environments place a focus on the need for further research and novel strategies. In the context of education, the promise of increased flexibility and broader access to educational resources is impelling much of higher education’s course offerings to online environments. The 21st century learner requires an education that can be pursued anytime and anywhere and that is more aligned with the demands of a digital society. Online education not only assists students to success-fully integrate a workforce that is increasingly digital, but it helps them to become more comfortable with the use of technology in general and, hence, more prepared to be prolific digital citizens. The variety of settings portrayed in this volume attest to the unlimited opportunities afforded by online learning and serve as valuable evidence of its benefit for students’ educational experience. Moreover, these research efforts assist a more comprehensive reflection about the delivery of higher education in the context of online settings.

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.

A cutting edge collection of 59 essays solicited from Web-based instructors offering a variety of perspectives, notions, and experiences in the practice of virtual teaching. The compendium introduces the evolution and status of distance learning, critical issues in Web-based learning environments such as the similarities and differences between Web-based and traditional classrooms, specific discussions on designing learning activities and electronic textbooks, an evaluation of delivery systems for instruction, and case studies of Web-based courses from kindergarten and beyond to the instruction of literature, astronomy, and foreign languages. Includes illustrations. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

While online learning has become pervasive in many fields in higher education, it has been adopted somewhat slower in teacher education. In addition, more research is needed to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of online education in teacher preparation. Teacher Education Programs and Online Learning Tools: Innovations in Teacher Preparation presents information about current online practices and research in teacher education programs, and explores the opportunities, methods, and issues surrounding technologically innovative opportunities in teacher preparation. It presents empirical evidence of teacher candidate learning and assessment in the context of various online aspects of teacher licensure.

The affective realm is a critical, but often forgotten, aspect of schooling. The development of character and the formation of appropriate learning environments rely to a large extent on understanding the affective nature of students. Even when the focus is on cognitive achievement, affect has a role to play. Teachers frequently mention a lack of motivation as a primary reason for students not achieving as well as they should or as well as their teachers would like. Despite the importance of affect, educators rarely make an effort to systematically collect and use information about students' affective characteristics to better understand students and to substantially improve the quality of education they receive. This book's purpose is to provide educators with the knowledge and skills they need to design and select instruments that can be used to gather information about students' affective characteristics. Once valid and reliable information has been gathered, it can be used to aid in understanding and to improve educational quality. The second edition features: * an updated list of affective characteristics (i.e., attitudes, values, interests, self-esteem, self-efficacy, locus of control) * a dual emphasis on selecting and designing affective assessment instruments * an emphasis on multi-scale instruments (i.e., a single instrument with multiple affective scales) * the use of a single small data set to illustrate and foster understanding of key concepts and procedures * a dual emphasis on data about individual students and groups of students * a dual focus on the instrumental value of affective data and the inherent value of affective data (i.e., affect is valuable in and of itself)

"The Handbook of Research on K-12 Online and Blended Learning is an edited collection of chapters that sets out to present the current state of research in K-12 online and blended learning. The beginning chapters lay the groundwork of the historical, international, and political landscape as well as present the scope of research methodologies used. Subsequent sections share a synthesis of theoretical and empirical work describing where we have been, what we currently know, and where we hope to go with research in the areas of learning and learners, content domains, teaching, the role of the other, and technological innovations."--Book home page.

"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"--