Open, distance, and blended learning environments have increased globally in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Stakeholders in the educational sector are facing new challenges on how to take advantage of the knowledge, skills, and experiences gained during the pandemic and, more importantly, how to move forward towards digitally transforming education. Emerging Trends and Historical Perspectives Surrounding Digital Transformation in Education: Achieving Open and Blended Learning Environments identifies cases, best practices, and experiences that highlight digital transformation via online, blended, and open learning environments at all levels and discusses how digital transformation can be achieved. The book also examines the influence of leadership, human resources, knowledge, skills, processes, and technologies in promoting digital transformation. Covering topics such as open learning, digital learning, online teaching, and learner support, this reference work is ideal for teachers, instructional designers, curriculum developers, IT consultants, educational software developers, policymakers, industry professionals, researchers, academicians, practitioners, and students.

All over the world, educational institutions confronted emergency policy changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to this, academic activities were provided mostly by remote teaching and learning solutions. The transition to emergency remote teaching and learning raised some challenges regarding technical, pedagogical, and organizational issues. It is important for higher education institutions to prepare themselves to deal with future emergency scenarios, promoting an in-depth reflection about the future challenges in the post-pandemic era. Developing Curriculum for Emergency Remote Learning Environments supports creating and promoting an education-as-a-business strategy for higher education institutions by sharing possible business models. It provides a collection of different approaches to online education in the perspective of the future of education environments. Covering topics such as distance learning experiences, online practice improvement, and remote testing, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for educators and administrators of higher education, pre-service educators, IT professionals, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

As the educational sphere witnessed an unprecedented shift to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, a pivotal transformation was set in motion. The surge in online enrollment, spanning synchronous, asynchronous, hybrid, and mobile formats, has established the digital domain as a formidable medium of education. However, this transition comes with a responsibility to uphold the principles of equality and accessibility, a responsibility that mirrors the concerns long prevalent in traditional brick-and-mortar classrooms. Designing Equitable and Accessible Online Learning Environments is a pioneering endeavor which delves into the multifaceted dimensions of online education and reveals a crucial revelation that students from disadvantaged backgrounds exhibit a pronounced affinity for online courses. This book magnifies the essence of this observation, venturing beyond the surface to uncover the means to cultivate a genuinely inclusive online pedagogical experience. Meticulously curated, this book amalgamates diverse perspectives from luminaries in the field. The ultimate aspiration is to empower educators, administrators, researchers, and students with a profound understanding of the symbiotic relationship between inclusivity and technology. From theoretical underpinnings to practical strategies, every chapter resonates with the heartbeat of equitable education in the digital age. Embarking on a comprehensive journey, this book is an exploration of design theories that embrace the ethos of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Topics span the spectrum, from deciphering the architecture of accessible digital tools to unraveling the tapestry of culturally responsive teaching in the virtual classroom.

The surge in enrollment for online courses is continually increasing. However, beneath the convenience lies a challenge that demands a resolution. Educators, administrators, and instructional designers must ensure that the human element is not lost in the virtual corridors of learning. Students with diverse backgrounds and learning needs require more than a simple virtual classroom. Research reveals a concerning trend: high attrition rates in online courses, often attributed to a lack of engagement and insufficient human interaction. To reverse this trend, deliberate measures must be taken to humanize the online learning environment. This book provides several solutions, offering an array of tools and strategies to promote engagement and infuse the human touch into online spaces. To confront this multi-layered challenge, it becomes paramount to undertake deliberate measures aimed at humanizing the online learning environment. Humanizing Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education steps forward as a guide, offering an extensive array of tools and strategies meticulously crafted to foster student engagement and infuse the essential human touch into the digital educational landscape.

Adjunct Faculty in Online Higher Education: Best Practices for Teaching Adult Learners is an essential handbook that delves into the pivotal role of adjunct faculty instructors in the booming realm of online higher education, with a specific focus on adult learners. As the demand for online education continues to soar, administrators, program directors, and adjunct faculty instructors alike are presented with unique challenges and opportunities. This comprehensive guidebook provides a wealth of knowledge and best practices for adjunct faculty instructors seeking to excel in online teaching roles. With a keen understanding of the competitive nature of the field, this book equips instructors with valuable insights that will set them apart in the ever-expanding landscape of higher education. University administrators and program directors will also find immense value in the book's content, which explores strategies for providing professional development to adjunct faculty and designing effective evaluations to support continuous improvement. Recognizing the paramount importance of the student experience, the book emphasizes the crucial role played by adjunct faculty in representing their respective institutions. Covering a wide range of topics, from the historical context of adult learners to the challenges associated with being an adjunct instructor, this handbook serves as a comprehensive guide for both aspiring and experienced adjunct faculty members. It offers practical advice on curriculum design, personnel development, and evaluation methods, empowering administrators and directors alike to make informed decisions in hiring and supporting adjunct faculty instructors.

There have been seismic shifts recently occurring in the realm of education. There is an important transition from a focus on "qualification" to "competence" in the world of work, and the need to equip educators with the skills and methodologies required to meet these changing demands has never been greater. The role of a teacher can no longer be a static practitioner, but rather a dynamic decision-maker, ready to shape developing minds. Fostering Pedagogical Innovation Through Effective Instructional Design is an expansive research book that delves deep into the intricate art of teaching, emphasizing that pedagogy is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. This scholarly work asserts that effective teaching is rooted in understanding context and a relentless commitment to refining one's instructional practices. The book introduces an array of critical parameters that educators must consider, including content selection, learner needs, and the ever-evolving realm of information and communication technologies. It navigates the reader through the intricacies of andragogy, the theoretical foundations of didactics, and innovative pedagogical approaches, offering a comprehensive toolkit for educators striving to optimize their craft.

This book chronicles a 10-year introduction of blended learning into the delivery at a leading technological university, with a longstanding tradition of technology-enabled teaching and learning, and state-of-the-art infrastructure. Hence, both teachers and students were familiar with the idea of online courses. Despite this, the longitudinal experiment did not proceed as expected. Though few technical problems, it required behavioural changes from teachers and learners, thus unearthing a host of socio-technical issues, challenges, and conundrums. With the undercurrent of design ideals such as “tech for good”, any industrial sector must examine whether digital platforms are credible substitutes or at best complementary. In this era of Industry 4.0, higher education, like any other industry, should not be about the creative destruction of what we value in universities, but their digital transformation. The book concludes with an agenda for large, repeatable Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) to validate digital platforms that could fulfil the aspirations of the key stakeholder groups – students, faculty, and regulators as well as delving into the role of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as surrogates for “fees-free” higher education and whether the design of such a HiEd 4.0 platform is even a credible proposition. Specifically, the book examines the data-driven evidence within a design-based research methodology to present outcomes of two alternative instructional designs evaluated – traditional lecturing and blended learning. Based on the research findings and statistical analysis, it concludes that the inexorable shift to online delivery of education must be guided by informed educational management and innovation.

Blended Learning: Research Perspectives, Volume 3 offers new insights into the state of blended learning, an instructional modality that combines face-to-face and digitally mediated experiences. Education has recently seen remarkable advances in instructional technologies such as adaptive and personalized instruction, virtual learning environments, gaming, analytics, and big data software. This book examines how these and other evolving tools are fueling advances in our schools, colleges, and universities. Original scholarship from education's top thinkers will prepare researchers and learning designers to tackle major issues relating to learning effectiveness, diversity, economies of scale, and beyond.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Blended Learning, ICBL 2020, held in Bangkok, in August 2020. The 33 papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 70 submissions. The conference theme of ICBL 2020 is Blended Learning : Education in a Smart Learning Environment. The papers are organized in topical sections named: Blended Learning, Hybrid Learning, Online Learning, Enriched and Smart Learning, Learning Management System and Content and Instructional Design.

This comprehensive resource highlights the most recent practices and trends in blended learning from a global perspective and provides targeted information for specific blended learning situations. You'll find examples of learning options that combine face-to-face instruction with online learning in the workplace, more formal academic settings, and the military. Across these environments, the book focuses on real-world practices and includes contributors from a broad range of fields including trainers, consultants, professors, university presidents, distance-learning center directors, learning strategists and evangelists, general managers of learning, CEOs, chancellors, deans, and directors of global talent and organizational development. This diversity and breadth will help you understand the wide range of possibilities available when designing blended learning environments. Order your copy today!