Resources

A volume in Perspectives in Instructional Technology and Distance Education Series Editors: Charles Schlosser and Michael Simonson Nova Southeastern University As the title indicates, this book highlights the shifting and emergent features that represent life online, specifically in and around the territory of e-learning. Cybercultures in themselves are complex conglomerations of ideas, philosophies, concepts, and theories, some of which are fiercely contradictory. As a construct, cyberculture is a result of sustained attempts by diverse groups of people to make sense of multifarious activities, linguistic codes, and practices in complicated and ever-changing settings. It is an impossibly convoluted field. Any valid understanding of cyberculture can only be gained from living within it, and as Bell suggests, it is made up of people, machines and stories in everyday life. Although this book contains a mix of perspectives, as the chapters progress, readers should detect some common threads. Technology-mediated activities are featured throughout, each evoking its particular cultural nuances and, as Derrick de Kerckhove (1997) has eloquently argued, technology acts as the skin of culture. All the authors are passionate about their subjects, every one engages critically with his or her topics, and each is fully committed to the belief that e-learning is a vitally important component in the future of education. All of the authors believe that digital learning environments will contribute massively to the success of the information society we now inhabit. Each is intent on exploration of the touchstone of any time, any place learning where temporal and spatial contextscease to become barriers to learning, and where the boundaries are blurring between the formal and informal. This book is divided into four sections. In Part I, which has been titled Digital Subcultures, we begin an exploration of culture and attempt to locate the learner within a number of digital subcultures that have arisen around new and emerging technologies such as mobile and handheld devices, collaborative online spaces, and podcasting. The chapters in this section represent attempts by the authors to demonstrate that there are many subdivisions present on the Web, and that online learners cannot and should not be represented as one vast amorphous mass of Internet users. (From the Publisher)

Historical-critical approaches to Scripture rule out some readings and commend others, but they rarely offer much help to either theological reflection or the preaching of the Word. They do not point the church forward in the life of discipleship. These commentaries have learned from tradition, but they are most importantly commentaries for today. The authors share the conviction that their work will be more contemporary, more faithful, and more radical, to the extent that it is more biblical, honestly wrestling with the texts of the Scriptures. (From the Publisher)

With each new era, educators must examine the cultural and technological changes that define the times in order to reflect or incorporate them into teaching practice. As a result of that examination, teachers find ways to use the best, ignore the worst, and strive to create a meaningful and dynamic learning environment. The Dynamic Classroom: Engaging Students in Higher Education submits that there is no single method for the current era or any other era, and accordingly approaches this crucial question from multiple angles in a collection of fourteen best-practices papers. These papers address student engagement thoughtfully and practically, offering in-depth insight into solutions for each pivotal issue. This book includes sections on how to: Prepare the ground for engaging students Engage students in a variety of settings Engage students with new technologies Assess students engagement  The Dynamic Classroom provides detailed examinations of a range of engagement strategies— from asking the right questions to using the Inquiry Circle to using new technologies. Selecting from these strategies streamlines the process for educators and offers the teacher some contemporary and exciting ways to inspire and engage students. (From the Publisher)

Look around at today’s youth and you can see how technology has changed their lives. They lie on their beds and study while listening to mp3 players, texting and chatting online with friends, and reading and posting Facebook messages. How does the new, charged-up, multitasking generation respond to traditional textbooks and lectures? Are we effectively reaching today’s technologically advanced youth? Rewired is the first book to help educators and parents teach to this new generation’s radically different learning styles and needs. This book will also help parents learn what to expect from their “techie” children concerning school, homework, and even socialization. In short, it is a book that exposes the impact of generational differences on learning while providing strategies for engaging students at school and at home. (From the Publisher)

Featuring essays by an international array of literature scholars, this volume examines the challenges and opportunities of teaching literature at Open and Virtual Universities in a wide range of national, cultural and linguistic contexts. It 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 contributors’ long educational and administrative involvement with open and distance learning (ODL) 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. It offers techniques enabling scholars in more traditional academic settings to make literature courses more effective and stimulating by using tools developed for distance learning. (From the Publisher)

School has the potential to be a major source of personal and academic fulfillment. However, the reality is that fear and failure pervade many students' academic lives. Rather than respond to these fears in constructive and courageous ways, many students engage in self-defeating, avoidant and helpless behaviours. This book examines the counterproductive strategies students use in schools today, and suggests successful practices educators can adopt to eliminate fear and failure in the classroom and help students respond to their problematic behaviours in more positive and productive ways. Through building student success, educators build classroom success. (From the Publisher)

This comprehensive review of classic and recent research in the area addresses issues from diverse theoretical and philosophical perspectives including educationist, feminist, humanistic, psychological, sociological, anthropological, and more. Each section includes quantitative and qualitative research, a separate introductory essay, research reports, literature reviews, theoretical essays, and practitioner-oriented articles. (From the Publisher)

What are the characteristics of a great teacher? What qualities of mind and spirit are necessary to help others acquire the knowledge through which they can understand and live a good life? In this book, James Banner and Harold Cannon draw on many years of experience to set forth the intellectual, moral, and emotional capacities that they believe the best teachers must possess. Their book is an inspiring guide to current and future schoolteachers and to college and university professors - indeed to everyone who teaches anything to anyone else. Arguing that teaching is an art, Banner and Cannon help teachers understand its components. They analyze the specific qualities of successful teachers and the ways in which these qualities promote learning and understanding. Throughout, they illustrate their discussion with sharply etched portraits of fictional teachers who exemplify - or fail to exemplify - a particular quality. Neither a how-to book nor a consideration of the philosophy, methods, or activities of teaching, this book, more precisely, assesses what it takes to teach. It encourages teachers to consider how they might strengthen their own level of professional performance. (From the Publisher)

The infusion of games, simulations, and virtual worlds into online learning can be a transforming experience for both the instructor and the student. This practical guide, written by education game expert Clark Aldrich, shows faculty members and instructional designers how to identify opportunities for building games, simulations, and virtual environments into the curriculum; how to successfully incorporate these interactive environments to enhance student learning; and how to measure the learning outcomes. It also discusses how to build institutional support for using and financing more complex simulations. The book includes frameworks, tips, case studies and other real examples, and resources.

Essential for all teachers looking to develop their understanding and skillful use of a range of teaching modes and strategies to promote successful learning. (From the Publisher)