Blended & Hybrid Learning

Assessment Strategies for Online Learning Assessment has provided educational institutions with information about student learning outcomes and the quality of education for many decades. But has it informed practice and been fully incorporated into the learning cycle? Conrad and Openo argue that the potential inherent in many of the new learning environments being explored by educators and students has not been fully realized. In this investigation of a variety of assessment methods and learning approaches, the authors aim to discover the tools that engage learners and authentically evaluate education. They insist that moving to new learning environments, specifically those online and at a distance, afford opportunities for educators to adopt only the best practices of traditional face-to-face assessment while exploring evaluation tools made available by a digital learning environment in the hopes of arriving at methods that capture the widest set of learner skills and attributes.

Best Practices in Engaging Online Learners Through Active and Experiential Learning Strategies Best Practices in Engaging Online Learners Through Active and Experiential Learning Strategies, Second Edition, is a practical guide for all instructors, instructional designers, and online learning administrators designing, developing, teaching, and leading online, hybrid and blended learning courses and programs, who seek to provide supportive, engaging, and interactive learner experiences. This book explores the integration of active and experiential learning approaches and activities including simulations, gamification, social media integration, project-based learning, scenario-based learning, virtual tours, and online micro-credentialing as they relate to the development of authentic skill-building, communication, problem-solving, and critical-thinking in learners. New and emerging learning technologies of virtual and augmented reality along with artificial intelligence are included in this updated edition with examples of how instructors can actively use them in online courses to engage learners in experiential experiences. Readers will find guidelines for the development of participatory and peer-learning, competency-based learning, field-based experiences, clinical experiences, and service-learning opportunities in the online classroom. In addition, the authors provide effective learning strategies, discipline-specific examples, templates, and additional resources that align learner engagement with assessment practices and course outcomes.

Connecting in the Online Classroom Building rapport with students can revive the promise of online education, leading to greater success for students, more fulfilling teaching experiences for faculty, and improved enrollment for universities. More students than ever before are taking online classes, yet higher education is facing an online retention crisis; students are failing and dropping out of online classes at dramatically higher rates than face-to-face classes. Grounded in academic research, original surveys, and experimental studies, Connecting in the Online Classroom demonstrates how connecting with students in online classes through even simple rapport-building efforts can significantly improve retention rates and help students succeed. Drawing on more than a dozen years of experience teaching and researching online, Rebecca Glazier provides practical, easy-to-use techniques that online instructors can implement right away to begin building rapport with their students, including * proactively reaching out through personalized check-in emails; * creating opportunities for human connection before courses even begin through a short welcome survey; * communicating faculty investment in students' success by providing individualized and meaningful assignment feedback; * hosting non-content-based discussion threads where students and faculty can get to know one other; and * responding to students' questions with positivity and encouragement (and occasionally also cute animal pictures). She also presents case studies of universities that are already using these strategies, along with specific, data-driven recommendations for administrators, making the book valuable for faculty, instructional designers, support staff, and administrators alike. The science-backed strategies that Glazier provides will enable instructors to connect with their students and help those students thrive. Speaking to the paradox of online learning, the book also explains that, although the great promise of online education is expanded access and greater equity--especially for traditionally underserved and hard-to-reach populations, like lower-income students, working parents, first-generation students, and students of color--the current gap between online and face-to-face retention means universities are falling far short of this promise.

Creating Equity-Based Digital Learning Environments The goal of teaching online is fundamentally the same as teaching face-to-face: facilitating the learning of allstudents to the greatest extent possible. This book differs from other books on online teaching in that, in the process of offering guidance on course design and planning, developing outcomes and appropriate engaging activities, managing the workload and assessment, the authors pay explicit attention throughout to the distinct and diverse needs of students and offer effective strategies to accommodate them in a comprehensive and inclusive way by using the principles of Universal Design for Learning.  By following those principles from the outset when planning a course, all students will benefit, and most particularly those whom the research shows have the greatest achievement gaps when taking online courses -- males, first generation and low income students, those from underrepresented minority groups, the academically underprepared, students with disabilities, and those with limited online access or lacking readiness for online learning.  Beyond good planning and design, Kelly and Zakrajsek offer ideas for creating inclusive course environments and activities, such as using culturally appropriate content and making it accessible in multiple formats. They also share methods to foster faculty-learner interaction and increase personal connections with students, and among students, through group activities or learning communities, which are so critical to motivation and success.  Faculty new to online teaching as well as more experienced readers will find a wealth of practical guidance on developing and honing both fully online and blended courses and, as importantly, a wealth of proven ideas to help the new generation of students with diverse needs to succeed.

Essentials for Blended Learning Essentials for Blended Learning provides a practical, streamlined approach for creating effective learning experiences by blending online activities and the best of face-to-face teaching. Effective blended learning requires rethinking of teaching practices and a redesign of course structure. Suitable for instructors in any content area, this book simplifies these difficult challenges without neglecting important opportunities to transform teaching. The revised second edition is more streamlined and easier to user, and includes more real-world examples of blended teaching and learning, the latest technologies, and additional research-based learning activities.

The Facilitator's Guide to Immersive, Blended, and Hybrid Learning In The Facilitator's Guide to Immersive, Blended, and Hybrid Learning, veteran virtual trainer and learning tech maven Cindy Huggett examines the role of a facilitator in immersive, blended, and hybrid learning environments and offers cutting-edge insights and practical advice on how facilitators can make programs effective and engaging in any scenario. She introduces the new learning experience facilitator role and the skills needed to be successful in today's modern learning environments. While the shift from traditional classrooms to immersive learning experiences (including immersive, blended, virtual, and hybrid) has exploded in recent years, the supporting technologies and techniques have been evolving over time and now include augmented, mixed, and virtual realities. In fact, immersive, blended, and hybrid learning have become the new reality of training. Cindy walks you through how to facilitate in each of these modalities, covering everything from technology needs to suggested modifications of activities. Throughout, she includes real-life examples of immersive, blended, augmented, virtual, and hybrid learning in action. And she asks the vital question: Is facilitation necessary in immersive learning experiences? The answer is yes, but to be successful, facilitators need to update their skills on an ongoing basis. Prepare yourself with the skills and knowledge to navigate the new world of learning and to make your facilitation shine.

Games Science in Hybrid Learning Spaces Game Science in Hybrid Learning Spacesexplores the potential, implications, and impact of game-based approaches and interventions in response to the blurring of boundaries between digital and physical as well as formal and informal learning spaces and contexts. The book delves into the concept, opportunities, and challenges of hybrid learning, which aims to reduce the barriers of time and physical space in teaching and learning practices, fostering seamless, sustained, and measurable learning experience and outcomes beyond the barriers of formal education and physical learning contexts. Based on original research, Game Science in Hybrid Learning Spacesestablishes trans-disciplinary and holistic considerations for further conceptual and empirical investigation into this topic, with the dual goals of a better understanding of the role of game-based approaches in a blended environment and of the possible structural and cultural transformation of formal education and lifelong learning. This book is an essential guide for researchers, designers, teachers, learners and practitioners who want to better understand the relationship between games and learning that merges digital and physical experiences and blends formal and informal instructions.

Go Online! Reconfiguring Writing Courses for the New, Virtual World COVID-19's impacts revealed that teaching writing online was no longer merely an issue of convenience or economic necessity--it was critical to public health and equity concerns as well. Now higher education faces one of its greatest historical challenges, expanding online offerings to fully engage and support students around the world. Gathering together educators who teach writing at college and graduate levels using creative hybrid, blended, and online/remote/virtual modes, this book should be required reading for all teachers and administrators. The volume features those new to online teaching alongside experienced online writing teachers. Referencing the latest research in online teaching and writing, contributors share stories of crucial successes as well as unforeseen difficulties. Essays address compelling concerns such as engaging diversity and cultural inclusivity, social justice, as well as global learning in online writing courses; radically reshaping graduate seminars for online delivery; flipping classrooms to promote more successful writing instruction; fostering greater community within online writing classrooms; examining the problems and possibilities of Learning Management Systems for teaching writing; sustaining remote writing-centered archival research; avoiding Zoom fatigue in writing classes by using design thinking; utilizing expressive arts in online writing classes; mentoring doctoral students online; constructing meaningful approaches to online peer writing feedback; as well as making access and inclusivity central to online writing course design.

The Hybrid Teacher A practical, educational technology resource for educators teaching remotely or in the classroom. The most effective hybrid teachers are those that have a vast knowledge of instructional strategies, technologies, tools, and resources, and can masterfully build meaningful relationships with students in-person and through a screen. The Hybrid Teacher: Using Technology to Teach In-Person and Online will teach educators to leverage the technology they have access to both in their traditional brick-and-mortar classrooms and in remote learning environments, including established online and hybrid schools; emergency response models for pandemics, natural disasters; rural education; and connecting with students who can't make it to school. Many of us had to adapt to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, but we still need resources for optimizing our instruction and becoming the best teachers we can be. This book is a practical guide for teachers who want to prepare for current and future remote instruction or leverage the best practices of remote instruction and EdTech tools to bring back to their brick-and-mortar classrooms. Inside, you'll learn about the impact of social and economic differences on classroom technology, and you'll find strategies and advice for maximizing success in each situation. Learn how best to leverage technology in traditional brick-and-mortar and remote classrooms, with case studies of the hybrid school model. Gain tips and techniques to ensure that your teachers, students, and parents have the skills to succeed with technology. Discover strategies for setting norms and expectations and transitioning between online and traditional learning. Put into place proven methods for accountability and assessment of classroom successes. Gain resources to the most effective educational technologies available today in multiple subject areas including English language arts, science, math, social studies, visual arts, dance, drama, music, and general education. View sample lesson plans for how to implement tools into your classroom, build culture and community, and adapt for different learners. Given the current push to remote teaching during the pandemic and the uncertainty over what the return to school and the traditional brick-and-mortar classroom will look like, The Hybrid Teacher will be an invaluable resource on the shelves of teachers and administrators alike.

Learner Support in Online Learning Environments We are at a crucial time for the production and dissemination of knowledge - one in which the scientific community is questioning the nature of the digital humanities. Within this context, Learner Support in Online Learning Environments proposes, by taking into consideration the notion of assistance in a learning context, an original method of positioning digital resources for teachers, students and researchers in the humanities and social sciences. Questioning existing theoretical frameworks and prototypes, learner support in digital environments is presented as both a process and a result integrating a variety of resources. Some of these resources already exist, some may be adapted from existing objects and still others have yet to be imagined. The end goal is to facilitate both independent and group-based learning activities.

Learning to Collaborate, Collaborating to Learn Students who know how to collaborate successfully in the classroom will be better prepared for professional success in a world where we are expected to work well with others. Students learn collaboratively, and acquire the skills needed to organize and complete collaborative work, when they participate in thoughtfully-designed learning activities. Learning to Collaborate, Collaborating to Learnuses the author's Taxonomy of Online Collaboration to illustrate levels of progressively more complex and integrated collaborative activities. - Part I introduces the Taxonomy of Online Collaboration and offers theoretical and research foundations. - Part II focuses on ways to use Taxonomy of Online Collaboration, including, clarifying roles and developing trust, communicating effectively, organizing project tasks and systems. - Part III offers ways to design collaborative learning activities, assignments or projects, and ways to fairly assess participants' performance. Learning to Collaborate, Collaborating to Learnis a professional guide intended for faculty, curriculum planners, or instructional designers who want to design, teach, facilitate, and assess collaborative learning. The book covers the use of information and communication technology tools by collaborative partners who may or may not be co-located. As such, the book will be appropriate for all-online, blended learning, or conventional classrooms that infuse technology with "flipped" instructional techniques.

Online Learning for Dummies Get great grades from a distance New to online academia and need someone to show you around? You're in the right place--and you're not alone! As more of everything goes online--fueled by tech trends as well as unexpected events like the COVID-19 crisis--it's no surprise that many of us are getting our educations there, too. Online Learning For Dummies is here to welcome you to the gigantic (and gigantically exciting!) virtual campus, and help you get settled in by providing an overview of the endless opportunities offered by distance learning, as well as offering practical advice to make sure you have the right equipment, mindset, and study techniques for success. In a step-by-step style, this friendly guide takes you from the process of determining what sort of online program is right for you, through applying and enrolling, to building the skills you'll need to succeed. You'll learn how to navigate the common features of the online learning classroom, explore the digital etiquette that will help you get the most out of your instructors and fellow students, and discover how to effectively and professionally present your work. You'll also find out how to develop good online study habits to help you avoid distraction, and how to set aside undisturbed time in between juggling the demands of work, family, and social life. Evaluate the latest courses and opportunities Make sure you have the correct hardware and software Develop your online study skills via best practices Avoid digital fatigue Regardless of age or experience, we can all do with a few pointers on how to get more from the vast array of educational opportunities offered online. This book has them all: Get reading, get online, and get the most from that education you've been dreaming about.

The Online Teaching Survival Guide: Simple and Practical Pedagogical Tips A timely update to the best-selling, practical, and comprehensive guide to online teaching. The Online Teaching Survival Guide provides a robust overview of theory-based techniques for teaching online or technology-enhanced courses. It's a practical resource for educators learning to navigate the online teaching sector. It presents a framework of simple, research-grounded instructional strategies that work for any online or blended course. This new edition is enhanced with hints on integrating problem-solving strategies, assessment strategies, student independence, collaboration, synchronous strategies, & and building metacognitive skills. This book also reviews the latest research in cognitive processing and related learning outcomes. New and experienced online teachers alike will appreciate this book's exploration of essential technologies, course management techniques, social presence, community building, discussion and questioning techniques, assessment, debriefing, and more. With more and more classes being offered online, this book provides a valuable resource for taking your course to the next level. Understand the technology used in online teaching and discover how you can make the most of advanced features in the tech you use. Learn specialized pedagogical tips and practices that will make the shift to online teaching smoother for you and your students. Examine new research on cognition and learning, and see how you can apply these research findings your day-to-day; Adopt a clear framework of instructional strategies that will work in any online or blended setting; Learn how to make the most of your synchronous online class meetings; using flipped model techniques; integrated with asynchronous conversation; Recently, schools across the globe have experienced a shift to online courses and teaching. The theories and techniques of synchronous virtual online teaching are vastly different from traditional educational pedagogy. You can overcome the learning curve with this theory-based, hands-on guide.

The Perfect Blend: A Practical Guide to Designing Student-Centered Learning Experiences Learn how to redesign lessons with technology to individualize and personalize instruction, transforming what learning looks like for your students. Many blended learning initiatives start from the top down and are designed for specific populations or make drastic changes to a school’s learning structure. But any K-12 classroom teacher can find ways to leverage blended learning, regardless of the constructs of their learning environment. All they need is a willingness to rethink their role — moving from content deliverer to architect of learning. In The Perfect Blend, you’ll learn how to create a “homemade recipe” for effective blended learning for your students. Rather than focusing on finding and implementing a specific established model, author Michele Eaton shows teachers how to embrace the flexibility of blended learning to take an active role as a designer of learning and, in the process, help students become advocates for their education. This book provides an accessible resource for teachers beginning to use technology, as well as master blended teachers who are looking for new ideas or strategies. Includes templates and planning tools that can be used as is or modified to fit the needs of your students. Focuses on understanding and reflecting on your role as a designer of learning experiences, and creating and using digital content in the classroom. You’ll gain practical skills, strategies and lesson ideas for various types of blended learning thanks to examples from real classrooms and educators. Along the way, you’ll discover how to build on the skills you already have to support blended learning. Audience: K-12 teachers and instructional coaches.

Studious Drift: Movements and Protocols for a Postdigital Education What kind of university is possible when digital tools are not taken for granted, but hacked for a more experimental future? The global pandemic has underscored contemporary reliance on digital environments. This is particularly true among schools and universities, which, in response, shifted much of their instruction online. Because the rise of e-learning logics, ed-tech industries, and enterprise learning-management systems all threaten to further commodify and instrumentalize higher education, these technologies and platforms have to be creatively and critically struggled over.  Studious Drift intervenes in this struggle by reviving the relationship between studying and the generative space of the studio in service of advancing educational experimentation for a world where digital tools have become a permanent part of education. Drawing on Alfred Jarry's pataphysics, the "science of imaginary solutions," this book reveals how the studio is a space-time machine capable of traveling beyond the limits of conventional online learning to redefine education as interdisciplinary, experimental, public study. 

The Blended Workbook Successfully implement a blended learning program with this step-by-step guide! The Blended Workbook: Learning to Design the Schools of Our Future is the practical companion to Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools. Through real-world implementation exercises it will help you get the most out of the text. From understanding the basics of blended learning to fine-tuning your current program, this workbook gives you hands-on practice that will expand your knowledge base and help you develop a plan for your own classroom or school to create a student-centered education design that personalizes for all students. Key points drawn from over 50 case studies illustrate what works, what doesn't, and how to build a successful blended-learning program. This workbook's organizational structure allows you to jump in at any point to access field-tested exercises that will deepen your understanding of the design process. Blended learning is inspiring K-12 educators with an improved student experience that includes the best of face-to-face and online learning formats to personalize learning and deepen engagement. This workbook provides hands-on training exercises that help you design and implement an effective program with practical guidance from the experts. You will: Examine case studies that illustrate blended learning; Solidify your understanding of effective blended-learning design; Complete illustrative exercises to further your implementation expertise; Evaluate the many paths blended learning can take, and implement what works best for your students. Blended learning is a proven, highly rewarding learning strategy. However, the success of your program relies on proper design and implementation. As a companion to Blended this hands-on workbook helps you reap the benefits and strengthen your expertise.

Hybrid Learning : The Perils and Promise of Blending Online and Face-to-Face Instruction in Higher Education A call for the extension of hybrid learning urges that it become not just a quick fix or a boon for the bottom line, but an educational mode that reenvisions quality teaching and learning for the 21st century. Hybrid Learning: The Perils and Promise of Blending Online and Face-to-Face Instruction in Higher Education is an in-depth exploration of a new learning mode that could radically change higher education, incorporating emerging trends in technology and multimedia use-including online gaming, social networking, and other Web 2.0 applications-to create engaging and dynamic learning environments. Laying out fundamental challenges facing higher education today, this book shows how hybrid instruction can be designed and implemented to deliver excellent educational value in flexible modes and at moderate costs well-suited to the circumstances of many students and institutions. The book lays out the characteristic profiles of students who are most likely to benefit from and perform well in a hybrid learning environment, as well as the features and practices of hybrid courses most likely to produce positive learning outcomes. It also specifies the obligations of faculty in designing and delivering best-practice hybrid courses and the support and policy obligations of institutions. Challenging prima-facie assumptions about hybrid learning, the author promotes it as nothing less than an opportunity to re-envision education for the 21st century.

Interaction Online This book is for teachers interested in incorporating interaction online into their teaching. Interaction Online is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to incorporate an aspect of online interaction in their language teaching. It is relevant for use with online, blended or face-to-face courses and appropriate for a wide range of teachers and learning contexts. This handbook contains over 75 tried and tested activities, the majority of which can be carried out either synchronously or asynchronously. Activities are purposeful and foster interaction between and among learners and instructors, rather than between learner and machine, and make use of generic tools and applications, such as discussion forums, instant message services and Facebook.

Practical Applications and Experiences in K-20 Blended Learning Environments Learning environments continue to change considerably and is no longer confined to the face-to-face classroom setting. As learning options have evolved, educators must adopt a variety of pedagogical strategies and innovative technologies to enable learning. Practical Applications and Experiences in K-20 Blended Learning Environments compiles pedagogical strategies and technologies and their outcomes that have been successfully applied in blended instruction. Highlighting best practices as elementary, secondary, and tertiary educational levels, this book is a vital tool for educators who teach or plan to teach in blended learning environments and for researchers interested in the area of blended education knowledge.

A Student's Guide to Online Learning: Find Success in Digital Study "Online learning skills differ from those needed for face-to-face learning. A Student's Guide to Online Learning teaches you how to develop those skills through a range of advice, examples and practical exercises whether you are undertaking distance, wholly online or blended learning. Many students experience difficulties when dealing with the differences between learning in the traditional and digital environments. A key component of the successful completion of any online or blended course is confidence and enjoyment, this book enables you to have both. This book covers all you need to know for your online course, including: How to develop an academic online persona, How to communicate in synchronous and asynchronous situations including tutorials and forums, Tips on confidently networking behind the computer screen, Advice on qualifications, career paths and employability skills. Written by experienced academics who act as mentors throughout, A Student's Guide to Online Learning is an accessibly written, comprehensive, one-stop guide for students at all levels who are learning online in any capacity.