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Customer Reviews (1)

Learned something new
As an advocate for virtual schooling options in Maryland I found this guide inspiring,Authors Kanna and Gillis offer the reader an open-minded perspective on increasing school options available with current technology. This guide presents solid factual information on a relatively unrecognized education option in an easy to read format. Parents who are looking for alternate education forms for their children which optimize individual strengths, weaknesses and interests will be delighted to discover the unleashed potential offered by virtual education. There is no other book on the market that offers such a comprehensive view of virtual schooling.

Amy Sparks
VP Emerging Minds of Maryland



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An Introduction to Distance Education is a comprehensive look at the field today, outlining current theories, practices and goals. The book reviews the influence of past distance education theory and practice, along with current changes. It outlines the practical skills and information that are essential to effective distance education design, delivery and navigation.

This volume brings together seminal contributors who have and who are currently researching and shaping our understanding and practice of distance education. A discussion of past and present practices in higher and distance education leads to an understanding of accessible education and the appropriate use of Web 2.0 technology.

Utilizing a student-guided approach, each chapter offers pedagogical features to engage and support the teaching and learning process, including:

• questions for reflection, review and discussion: students can use these questions as triggers for further thoughts related to the topic. Instructors can use these questions for classroom and online discussion
• key quotations: strategically placed throughout the text, these points act as a springboard for further reflection and classroom discussion
• concept definitions: central concepts discussed in the text are defined or students at the end of each chapter.

A perfect textbook for educational technology Doctorate, Masters and Certificate programs, students will find An Introduction to Distance Education offers a solid foundation from which to explore and develop new approaches to designing and implementing online courses.

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Distance education is defined as institution-based formal education where thelearning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems areused to connect learners, resources, and instructors. This definition is expanded onin the 2009 yearbook of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, which validates thisdefinition of the field. Distance Education: Definition and Glossary of Terms, 3rdEdition is unique in that it packages the terms together under one cover making thisrapidly advancing complex topic easier to comprehend. The book addresses the complexities of terminologyused in the field of distance education. In a time where distance education is becoming widely utilized across theglobe, this at-a-glace approach makes it easier than ever to respond to the growing demand and questions aboutthis subject matter. ... Read more

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Student engagement with digital learning resources and online social networking are strong forces in education today. How can these resources best be utilized by educators and course designers in higher education? This book aims to provide the reader with enough background information to appreciate the value of social networking, especially for distributed education. Through highlighting the most relevant, interesting, and challenging aspects of e-learning the book provides practical advice for using social networking tools in course design. This volume covers the following issues of course design using social networking:

• key issues of social networking as an educational technique
• designing for a distributed environment
• strengths and weaknesses of delivering content in various formats: text, audio and video
• specific media: blogging, wikis, podcasting, webcasting
• constraints on course design
• implementation, evaluation, induction and training

Illustrated by short descriptive case studies, it also highlights contact addresses, websites, and further reading to help readers find resources and enhance their design. This practical guide will help all those involved in the design and delivery of online learning in higher education make the best choices when preparing courses for distributed learning.

Robin Mason is Professor of Educational Technology at the Open University where she is a specialist in the design and practice of online teaching and learning.

Frank Rennie is Professor of Sustainable Rural Development at the UHI Millennium Institute in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

Please visit the authors’ wiki at: www.socialnetworking.wetpaint.com

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This contributed volume reviews the lessons that may be learned from trying to integrate distance learning strategies with face-to-face teaching methods. It contains practical examples from education, commerce and industry. ... Read more

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This book seeks to make a contribution to the discipline of distance education by presenting international perspectives on the state of the field and examining and discussing specific current trends and issues faced by the distance learning community. To this end, 24 authors from five continents have contributed their viewpoints on a wide array of distance education themes, including conceptual perspectives, local case studies, interviews, and "nuts-and-bolts" considerations for the design and implementation of international distance education programs. The result is a wide-ranging text that offers insight into the multi-faceted world of international distance education.

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Customer Reviews (1)

Interesting collection
Admittedly not entirely the resource I was searching for but the tome provided some interesting examples of distance learning programs from around the world.Book was well referenced.I was going to offer only 3 stars but felt generous because a few of the authors' contributions were quite good.The writing styles were so very diverse that it required added care when interpreting context. I also noted some obvious editorial errors and, felt that, in general, the editor did not place the book in sensible order or encourage some confluence in writing styles.This reader would have liked to see more information on the results of some of these programs. ... Read more

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From experienced distance educators comes this comprehensive collection of strategies for teaching effectively online. Beginning with pre-instruction preparation and progressing through actual online teaching, "147 Practical Tips for Teaching Online Groups" will help you feel more comfortable and competent heading into an online course, whether you're a new instructor or an experienced professor.The authors dispel popular myths in online education and anticipate the potential problems you might face teaching in the online medium. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Judging a book by its cover
First, let me say that the material in this book is valid and helpful.That said, this seems to be a collection of suggestions that any teacher would hear from a mentor-teacher or should have heard in the most basic education class.A few of the "tips for teaching online groups": 5) Understand your audience, 23) Be prepared and flexible, 30) Expect learners to be ready to learn, 80) Develop assignments.Don't misunderstand; these are certainly practical tips, but my expectations for a book targeted toward teachers facilitating online classes were not met.

Part of my own mistake was buying this book based on the cover and not doing a little bit of research first.Copyrighted in 2000, this book was already eight years old by the time I got it.Some of the philosophical, big-picture ideas are helpful (share your work, promote critical thinking, and use case studies), but not what I was hoping for in a book targeted to as specific of an audience as this one is.

Not enough tips
I was hoping to start teaching online groups and needed some practical tips to get me started. I estimated that I would need 183 practical tips before I could start. I knew 22 good tips already - 4 of those appeared in here so it was effectively 143 tips + 22 tips leaving me at 165 tips - 18 short of my target! If they write a book called '161 Practical Tips for Teaching Online Groups: Essentials of Web-Based Education' (with none I know already) then we might be talking. Verdict: short of the mark.

Good resource
This little book does exactly what the title says.The authors give tips -- some common and some not so common - to help teachers involved in online learning.It is a great little reference.

Not exactly what I had expected....
If you are looking for specific distance education methodologies and techniques you might want to look elsewhere, but if all you are looking for are general distance education concepts put into a book- then this is for you. I thought that the tips were similar to something you might get in a "Thought of the Day" email, some interesting concepts with very little substance.

The book does have some very good ideas and the structure of the book allows you to quickly browse through the tips if you are looking for new ideas or affirmation of something that you are currently doing. The 4 chapters present the tips in a logical framework of ideas to help you find something, even if you're not quite sure what it is you are looking for:
Chapter 1. Before You Begin
Chapter 2. Myths and Constraints of Online Teaching and Learning
Chapter 3. Organizing the Online Course
Chapter 4. Beginning Instruction in the Online Course: Implementing the Course Design

The fact that they don't go into specific technologies very much also facilitates the tips being useful across a wider variety of technologies.

I would recommend this book for someone new to the field of distance education looking to get a handle on general concepts, but for anyone who has been around the block this book is only going to tell you what you already know.

Waiting for no. 148
"In an interactive online course, some content and methods work better than others." (p.32) Yes, I know this. That's why I bought this book. Do I have to wait for the sequel to actually find out *which* content and methods work better than others? ... Read more

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Teaching Goes High-Tech

Online education is experiencing a huge growth spurt. The number of students taking online classes increased 24 percent in the past year-and this growth is only expected to continue. Don't let this lucrative opportunity pass you by. Take your teaching global by offering courses online.

Learn everything you need to know to set up a successful online education business:

• Find financing, write a business plan, choose a business structure and learn other business basics
• Develop exciting courses in the four most popular areas-IT, health care, education and business-as well as niche markets
• Promote your business and attract students through online newsletters, search engine optimization and other innovative techniques
• Design a user-friendly website and provide high-quality tech support
• Train instructors in this new education medium, or teach courses yourself
• And more!

Real-life stories from successful entrepreneurs show you exactly what you need to do to set up and run a profitable business. Now's the perfect time to get started with an online education business-and with this book, you're well on your way to success. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Can't Write
The first redundant paragraph demonstrated this person can't write. I read to page 3 and it was filled with the same information. I have never sent a book back to any dealer.I was shocked at the poor writing. This needed to be heavily edited then it may have been a good book. I was getting this book for myself and my friend ... we are both online teachers. I sent both back.

A wonderful book for infopreneurs who want to sell distance learning programs.

I loved this book. I really liked it a lot! I'm in the process of putting together a virtual business that will provide a distance learning program, some publications, and a coaching service. Having this book to read was wonderful because it discusses the ins and outs of putting together an online education business, which is what distance learning programs are.

There are a number of books available today regarding infopreneurship and being an infopreneur. Creating articles, booklets, books, and reducing them to PDF files is the simplest way to be an infopreneur. But putting together teaching programs and providing the PDF files coupled with back and forth interaction through email and/or telephone is a bit more involved. It's still infopreneurship, but it is also distance learning or an online education business. This book explains what online education is about. And it gives you lots of resources and things to think about if you decide to take the plunge and start your own online education business. It has 14 chapters and two lists of resources in its appendix:

1. Learning for a Better Life
2. Entering the Online Learning Market
3. Start-up strategies
4. Online education goes to school
5. Tuning up knowledge workers
6. Lifelong online learning
7. Course planning and offerings
8. Solid foundations for virtual firms
9. Putting your money down
10. Content and delivery
11. It's all about the software
12. Finding the financing
13. Spreading the word
14. Failure and success
A1. Online education resources
A2. Glossary

I was disappointed with Chapter 8 that discussed Choice of Entity (COE) issues and Business Plans. The COE material was VERY poor, and even wrong at times. LLCs don't dissolve just because an owner dies. The author simply did not know what he was talking about. Consider getting a copy of "Structuring Your Business" (ISBN: 1593371772) to get good information about COE. I've posted a book review for that book on Amazon, too. I think there should have been a full chapter devoted to business plans in this book. But there wasn't. Consider getting a copy of "Business Models Made Easy" (ISBN: 1599180413). I've posted a book review for that book on Amazon, too.

If you are wanting to build and run an online education business like me, then definitely get a copy of "Four Steps to Building a Profitable Coaching Practice" (ISBN: 0595296602). I've posted a book review for that book on Amazon, too. Three other books I highly recommend you read to supplement Mr. Mintzer's book are: "Mastering Online Marketing" (ISBN: 1599181517), "Web Business Success" (ISBN: 0974924504), and "The Web Savvy Writer" (ISBN: 0977830403). This last book is not currently being sold on Amazon. Google "websavvywriter" to find the author's site and you can buy it from her directly.

What I liked the most about this book was the number and quality of URLs provided of real life distance learning Web sites. They can be found in the body of the book and in the appendix (A1). The Glossary was a disappointment. Also, I found the expenses listed in starting and running an online education business to be high. In fact, very high! If you do the research necessary to write a sound 25-35 page business plan, then you will realize how off the mark the expenses listed in this book really are. It is possible to start such a business for next to nothing except for your time in creating your business plan and your product(s). 5 stars!

Poorly written
It appears that the publishers took chapters from other books and simply built this book. There is very little content devoted to the business of online education. Much of what the book spoke of was about naming, forming, funding and promoting any online business. This book was poorly researched. ... Read more

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This important new resource shows how a strong sense of online presence contributes to greater student satisfaction and retention. The authors explore the psychological and social aspects of online presence from both the instructor and student perspective and provide an instructional design framework for developing effective online learning.

Based on solid research and extensive experience, the book is filled with suggested methods, illustrative case scenarios, and effective activities for creating, maintaining, and evaluating presence throughout an online course.

"The authors have taken the mystery out of the critical concept of presence by providing the theory that supports its importance and simple techniques to make it happen. Instructors who read this book will be able to develop effective online learning communities and achieve desired learning outcomes."
—Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt, program directors and faculty, Teaching in the Virtual Classroom Program, Fielding Graduate University

"Lehman and Conceição blend hands-on experience, research, and a collection of practical tips to provide every online instructor with strategies for 'being there.' If you want to bring the real you into your online classes and take your online teaching to the next level, this is the book to read."
—Chip Donohue, director of distance learning, Erikson Institute

"This book provides a practical and interactive model to help readers reflect on why and how they can guide online and blended learning activities, characterized by a personal 'sense of presence.'"
—Alan B. Knox, professor, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison ... Read more

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This is the first scholarly examination of distance and online learning in national, cultural and linguistic contexts. This fascinating volume examines the challenges and potentials of teaching literature at Open and Virtual Universities in a wide range of national, cultural and linguistic contexts. Featuring essays by an international array of literature scholars, the book presents cutting-edge explorations of seminal issues, including literature pedagogy and curriculum building, canon and theory debates, the uses of hypertext and other digital tools for literary instruction, the writing and evaluation of educational material and the teaching of digital literature. These issues are addressed from various critical and theoretical viewpoints, which reflect the authors' long educational and administrative involvement with Distance Learning in a rich diversity of cultural and academic frameworks.As the first scholarly attempt to bring together questions of literature pedagogy and issues in open and distance, online and blended learning, this book is an essential resource for literature instructors and administrators in ODL, e-learning and b-learning programs, as well as for scholars in more traditional academic settings, who can make literature courses more effective and stimulating by using techniques and tools developed for distance learning. ... Read more

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A volume in Perspectives in Instructional Technology and Distance EducationSeries Editors: Charles Schlosser and Michael SimonsonNova Southeastern UniversityThe Perfect Online Course: Best Practices for Designing and Teaching was edited under the assumptionthat a perfect online course can be delivered following different instructional methods and models fordesign and for instruction, and by implementing different teaching or instructional strategies. Suchmethods, models, and strategies are framed within quality educational guidelines and must be aimedtowards attaining the online course's learning goals.The book seeks to make a contribution to the existing body of literature related to best practices andguidelines for designing and teaching distance courses, specifically online education. The process ofselecting works suitable for this compilation included an extensive review of the journals QuarterlyReview of Distance Education and Distance Learning. The book begins by covering literature related togeneral approaches and guidelines, continues with proposed methods and models for designing andinstruction, and ends with instructional strategies to achieve engagement through interaction. The book is divided into four independent, yetinterrelated, parts and a concluding section: Part I: Introduction; Part II: Best Guidelines and Standards; Part III: Best Instructional Methods andModels; Part IV: Best Engagement Strategies; and the concluding section, And Finally..., with words from Simonson who delineates the structure of aperfect online course. ... Read more

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The purpose of this book is to document sample lessons based on our What Works in Distance Learning:Guidelines (O'Neil, 2005). The intent is to provide an instantiation of our various distance learning guidelines.An overarching goal of our research was to create a robust and clear set of design guidelines and example lessonsto support the next generation of distance learning systems.Each lesson in this book constitutes a case (Mayer, 2005) or partially worked example (Kalyuga, Chandler,Touvinen, & Sweller, 2001). A case is a description of a realistic problem scenario that is relevant to a particularprofession or field of study (e.g., a case may be a distance learning lesson showing various instructors tryingto design a lesson on a particular topic). A common topic could be, for example, how car brakes work, asurgery procedure, or electronics troubleshooting procedures (Mayer, 2003, 2005). In this book, the case formatwas useful for the guidelines developed for multimedia strategies, instructional strategies, and assessmentstrategies. A different format was used for the learning strategies, self-regulation strategies, and managementstrategies guidelines.The basic methodology in developing the guidelines for distance learning consisted of a research synthesis,conducted by experts, using analytical methods, on what is known about what works in distance learning.Research in the literature was reviewed for design flaws, and only studies with robust designs were included. Also, we included only those entries forwhich research evidence and expert opinion were stable and consistent. Furthermore, we decided that this information would be provided to researchers,instructors, program managers, and instructional or assessment designers in a "What Works" format, that is, What Works in Distance Learning. Weadopted many of the conventions of What Works: Research About Teaching and Learning (U.S. Department of Education, 1986, 1987). Our goal fornon-researchers was to translate the research findings into clear and comprehensible statements that we think can help users to guide their practice. Forboth researchers and non-researchers, the references cited for each finding provide an avenue to seek additional information. The guidelines are documentedin O'Neil (2005). ... Read more

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This work provides a guide for policy-makers, education and training planners, senior education administrators, and teachers and trainers regarding the selection and use of modern technologies for open and flexible learning. It provides a practical decision-making framework, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each technology, and offering a comprehensive comparative cost analysis for each. The book ends with a vision of technology-based open learning for the 21st century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A collection of Knowledge and Experience like no other
Bates' comprehensive review is very unique.Anyone interested in a theory for how to select media and technology, including the costs of technology use will surely want to visit this book.Data in the book are becoming outdated (base studies are from th 80's in many cases), but the approachmodeled in nonetheless invaluable. ... Read more

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This textbook fulfills a primary need for a sophisticated, integrated yet practical resource for professionals involved in distance education. It is both theoretically grounded yet broadly appealing and accessible - an excellent example of how 'one-size' can fit both the professor and the practitioner. ... Read more

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Around the globe, career education and guidance is being presented as the answer to social exclusion, ensuring economic competitiveness and prosperity. The profile of career education and guidance has never been higher. Yet, current policy discussions have centred on individuals' development of 'self managed' careers within a global labour market, placing employability skills above all concerns. This book goes beyond the rhetoric of the 'self managed' career and 'employability skills' by exploring career education and guidance from critical and radical standpoints. The contributors question the economic underpinning that has driven social agendas, arguing that career education and guidance needs to place greater emphasis on developing socially just practices. The views expressed help to open up the debate around the impact of globalisation as consideration is given to the ways in which career professionals might actively enable, empower and promote the democratic engagement of all in the shaping of their worlds. The contributors consider the issues within a range of contexts including 'race', gender, disability and social class."Critical Reflections on Career Education and Guidance" is essential reading for students, academics, practitioners and researchers who wish to achieve a greater understanding of the contexts involved. ... Read more

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Towards a Philosophy of Education is Charlotte Mason's final book in her Homeschooling Series, written after years of seeing her approach in action. This volume gives the best overview of her philosophy, and includes the final version of her 20 Principles. This book is particularly directed to parents of older children, about ages 12 and up, but is a valuable overview for parents of younger children as well. Part I develops and discusses her 20 principles; Part II discusses the practical application of her theories. Charlotte Mason was a late nineteenth-century British educator whose ideas were far ahead of her time. She believed that children are born persons worthy of respect, rather than blank slates, and that it was better to feed their growing minds with living literature and vital ideas and knowledge, rather than dry facts and knowledge filtered and pre-digested by the teacher. Her method of education, still used by some private schools and many homeschooling families, is gentle and flexible, especially with younger children, and includes first-hand exposure to great and noble ideas through books in each school subject, conveying wonder and arousing curiosity, and through reflection upon great art, music, and poetry; nature observation as the primary means of early science teaching; use of manipulatives and real-life application to understand mathematical concepts and learning to reason, rather than rote memorization and working endless sums; and an emphasis on character and on cultivating and maintaining good personal habits. Schooling is teacher-directed, not child-led, but school time should be short enough to allow students free time to play and to pursue their own worthy interests such as handicrafts. Traditional Charlotte Mason schooling is firmly based on Christianity, although the method is also used successfully by secular families and families of other religions. ... Read more

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Distance Learning Technology, Current Instruction, and the Future of Education: Applications of Today, Practices of Tomorrow provides present and prospective directions of online education from various research fields, reporting on discussions from students, faculty members, researchers, and practitioners. This innovative publication contains significant and unique research findings influencing future developments in technology-enhanced education and industry. ... Read more