Internet and Education

Getting the Most from Online Learning is a must-have resource that helps people become better e-learners by showing them how to prepare for, participate in, and apply e-learning in all its variations. Written by the leaders in e-learning, this book is filled with practical ideas, suggestions, and information about a wide variety of topics including how to: Participate effectively in online learning experiences Contribute to and learn from discussion groups and chat rooms Handle e-learning peer evaluations Participate in online group projects In addition, the expert authors share their personal e-learning experiences and show how they have mastered the discipline of e-learning for themselves.'Brilliant! Getting the Most from Online Learning offers a unique and comprehensive opportunity to examine e-learning from the users' perspective-proving equally valuable to anyone contemplating either the use or creation of e-learning.'-Charlie Gardner, director, e-Learning Center, Home Depot'This book is a driver's manual for e-learners! Whether you're just learning to negotiate the sharp curves of the e-learning experience or an accomplished e-traveler, this book gives you tips to stay on course throughout your e-learning journey!'-Theresa Tommey, vice president and learning manager, Learning Strategy Group, Wachovia Corporation'Worried about adapting to the still new world of electronic learning? This smart book enables you to understand the new technologies, such as chat rooms and discussion boards, and become a spirited self-directed learner capable and ready to leverage online technologies comfortably.'-Jim (Mo) Moshinskie, accenture professor of Human Performance, Baylor University'Practical advice and tips for e-learners in gaining the most from the e-learning experience.'-Christine Trogdon, Wachovia Learning Strategy Design Group

Educators cannot ignore the net or its implications for their course or institution, but where to begin? Good Web-based education is complex, and does not occur in a vacuum. The educational, administrative and organizational aspects all need to be understood - in addition to a sound understanding and vision of the requirements of online technologies.Simple, straightforward and direct, this book will guide readers through each of these issues. This is not a book for those fixated by technology. Instead, it will show any educator, teacher, or indeed trainer, how to understand and develop effective online courses. It avoids reducing the issues of good Web-based education to a simplistic cook book approach: this is not possible for anything other than the most basic material. Rather, it clearly and authoritatively develops an understanding of the basic principles, and essential components of good online education.

Watch IT is an examination of several critical issues in the potential of new information technology (IT) for education. The authors take a close look at the positive and negative consequences of new technologies in the classroom.

The ABCs of e-Learning is your hands-on guide for finding the right e-learning path for you and your organization. Written by Brooke Broadbent-an international expert in the field of e-learning-the book is created to be an easy-to-use and flexible tool. The ABCs of e-Learning offers the background information needed to solve a wide variety of e-learning problems. It compares the four basic types of e-learning: leader-led, self-paced, performance support tools, and informal learning. It also includes answers to common problems and will get you started on your road to e-learning. The ABCs of e-Learning contains An introduction to e-learning concepts and terms with an overview of the risks and rewards. A summary of the design, delivery, and evaluation challenges you are likely to face. A guide for putting e-learning principles and practices into your organization. The book's planning and implementation frameworks and step-by-step procedures can be easily adapted to meet your expectations and the needs of your organization no matter what its mission or size. And the book's myriad tools, checklists, practical tips, and exercises are designed to help you develop the best approach for your individual situation.

Action research has become a valued research and educational development technique -an innovative approach through which a group of participants engage in self-reflection to improve practice. Developing Innovation in Online Learning introduces action research as a method of developing e-learning modules and courses. The book covers both the theory and practice of applying action research principles to develop online learning. The material is grounded in the experiences of practitioners and features practical advice, case studies, models for implementation, a design framework and e-tutoring strategies. The four 'building blocks' of e-learning covered are: * The organisational context * The pedagogic model * The educational setting * The evaluation process This book will be an essential resource for education managers, course developers, and educational researchers.

"Practical, detailed advice about how to incorporate the Internet into instruction and why these new tools require new frames and supports for practice. High school educators will be especially interested to read how Internet projects can engage and empower high school students in new ways." -Milbrey W. McLaughlin, David Jacks Professor of Education and Public Policy, Stanford University "A superb book.... Required reading for those who seek to understand the social and organizational forces that shape different patterns of Internet use. This is the best book I know of to help teachers and schools make their hopes about learning from (and with) the Internet into reality." -David C. Berliner, Regents' Professor of Education, Arizona State University "Schofield and Davidson's pioneering study of how the local cultures of schooling shape the ways that teachers and students actually use Internet services in practice should be read by any educator who wants to realistically understand the opportunities and limitations of Internet use in North American schools." -Rob Kling, editor, The Information Society, the journal of the Center for Social Informatics "The best study of computers in schools I've read.... I finished the book with a much better sense of why the Internet offers such promise-and such threat-to education as our children, parents, teachers, and technical specialists experience it today." -Sara Kiesler, professor, Human-Computer Interaction, Carnegie Mellon University "Makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the potential and challenges associated with integrating technologies into schools...illustrates the many ways in which effective technology use is both facilitated and hindered by the cultural practices of schooling. This book is of great service to anyone wrestling with how to make technologies work as effective teaching and learning tools in schools." -Margaret Honey, vice president and director, Education Development Center, Center for Children and Technology

By joining bodies of research in media theory, cultural studies, and critical pedagogy, Developing Media Literacy in Cyberspace offers a vision of learning that values social empowerment over technical skills. An inquiry into the existence and range of models equipped to cultivate critical teaching and learning in the Internet-supported classroom, this new study argues that media literacy offers the best long-term training for today's youth to become experienced practitioners of 21st-century technology. Author Julie Frechette helps educators develop and provide concrete learning strategies that enable students to judge the validity and worth of what they see on the Internet as they strive to become critically autonomous in a technology-laden world.

With Internet access for every school now a reality, teachers are beginning to explore the use of the Internet in the education of children with special needs. This book describes its benefits for children across the spectrum of special educational needs, from those with physical disabilities or sensory impairment to those with learning or social difficulties. With contributions from leading practitioners in the field, this book addresses the huge range of possibilities the Internet and associated technology offer for these pupils. Combining current theory and debate with practical guidance and inspiring case studies, this book considers: *how the Internet can be used to gather and publish information *how to communicate effectively through technology *policy and management issues for schools *the continuing challenges for access and inclusion This book will be of interest to all teachers involved in special education needs, in both mainstream and special schools.