This book addresses contemporary contexts of flexible learning and its practices, and looks at the directions in which education and training providers may be required to go, in order to implement flexible learning.

"This book provides a collection of successful designs, defined as communicative relation-building solutions, for individuals and collectives of interlocutors. It includes a longitudinal perspective of past mistakes, current trends and future opportunities, and is a must-have for beginners in the field as well as qualified professionals exploring the full potential of human interactions"--Provided by publisher.

Flexibility has become a watchword in modern education, but its implementation is by no means a straightforward matter. Flexible and Distance Learning in Higher Education sheds light on the often taken-for-granted assumptions that inform daily practice and examines the institutional dynamics that help and hinder efforts toward flexibility. Contributors to the volume were asked to reflect critically on a series of questions, including: - What precisely is flexible learning? - Who or what is driving the flexibility agenda, and for whose benefit? And who or what is resisting it? - What challenges must be overcome in order to achieve flexibility, and what are some of the compromises it can entail? International in scope, with authors from North America, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, and Japan, Flexible and Distance Learning in Higher Education offers a wealth of theoretical insights and practical experience that will be invaluable to anyone seeking to extend the reach of higher education.

This book covers a broad range of innovations in education, such as flipped classrooms, the educational use of social media, mobile learning, educational resources and massive open online courses, as well as theoretical discussions and practical applications in the use of augmented reality and educational technology to improve student engagement and pave the way for students’ future studies and careers. The case studies and practical applications presented here illustrate the effectiveness of new modes of education in which the latest technologies and innovations are widely used in the global context. Accordingly, the book can help develop readers’ awareness of the potential these innovations hold, thus expanding their expertise and stimulating critical thinking as to how new technologies have made learning and teaching easier in various educational settings.

This book is a contribution to a growing body of e-learning applications in archaeology and archaeological heritage. Its main aim is to discuss various facets of the Leonardo da Vinci project 'E-learning as a tool of knowledge transfer in the field of protection and management of archaeological heritage, ' completed in the years 2007-2009 by six European partners in the context of other undertakings in distance learning solutions in archaeology over the last few years. The project's explicit objective was to exchange the best practices and innovative solutions in the field of the archaeological heritage of northern Europe. In particular, its major purpose was to design, develop, test, assess and implement web based training solutions in developing and upgrading vocational skills in this sector by preparing and conducting a multimedia e-learning course composed of fifteen interrelated modules. Furthermore, the project developed and implemented new methodology including the transfer of knowledge from the conventional to the e-learning format and the elaborated training methodology. The book is composed of an introduction and eleven chapters. Seven of them refer directly to various facets of the project such as its design, methodology, implementation, and evaluation. The remaining four contributions discuss current initiatives in implementing different distance and e-learning solutions in archaeology. The introductory chapter written by Mark Pluciennik debates extensively the benefits and failures of distance learning and e-learning as well as pressures for convergence between them as well as between e-learning and traditional learning. For the author e-learning is a complement mode of content delivery, which in places proves to be the most efficient one. However, it is clear that not all learning can be done through digital presentation, video or the manipulation of processed data. This is especially so in the discipline such as archaeology where one has to learn a range of practical and embodied skills. If we choose to implement e-learning solutions, however, it is necessary to provide a serious structural, resource and staff support being a prerequisite for supplying and maintaining high-quality and up-to-date education. The following seven papers cover various aspect of the project itself. They discuss the training content as well as methodology of the course production and training. In particular, they refer to the models and methods of distance training and their applicability for the sector of archaeological heritage and tools used in the distance learning process, use of multimedia, learning management systems supporting conducting distance learning, in particular the LMS/LCMS system's functionality as well as details of the course's preparation and implementation and the training process. An important part of the book is aimed at evaluating the course content and training process. It is based upon careful and systematic questionnaires that were collected among trainees in all participating countries after the completion of the course. This section contains also personal accounts of both trainers and trainees. The last two papers present two ongoing e-learning programme in archaeology implemented. These comprise project Arkeonet conducted by the Aranzadi Science Society (Spain) and a Leonardo da Vinci project Archaeology and Construction Engineering Skills (ACES).

Closely linked to the concepts of growth and globalisation is the increasing recognition being given to the importance of the workplace as a site of learning. The value of the book rests in the fact that this framework does not have its foundations in just one academic discipline, but rather provides a range of perspectives drawn from psychology, social psychology, sociology and critical theory. The purpose is to move away from a unidimensional understanding of workplaces and workplace learning to provide a different standpoint from which to better appreciate the diversity and complexity of learning in the workplace. This significant book is divided into four inter-related sections, with each section contributing to the evidence-base referred to earlier by offering informed considerations of the following questions: What kinds of contextual issues impact on workplace learning, and what are the implications of these for improving workplace learning? What kinds of knowledge are required for contemporary work, and what implications are derived from these for improving workplace learning? What models and case studies exist that reflect practices for improving workplace learning?; and, What consideration of directions for future action to improve workplace learning can be made?

Current debates about boys and schooling in many Western nations are increasingly characterised by a sense of crisis as government reports, academic research and the day to day experiences of teachers combine to indicate that: * boys are consistently underperforming in literacy * boys are continuing to opt out of English and humanities * boys represent the majority of behaviour problems and counselling referrals * boys receive a disproportionate amount of special education support This book responds to the complexity of the current debates associated with boys, gender reform, literacy and schooling by offering a clear map of the current context, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the various competing solutions put forward, and outlining a range of practical classroom interventions designed for dealing with the boys/literacy crisis. The authors consider the ways in which particular views of masculinity, gender reform, literacy, technology and popular culture can either open up or close down new conceptualisations of what it means to be a boy and what it means to be literate.

Poems, stories and visual pieces that reflect on what it means to live in a smaller community.