Visual Design for Online Learning

Identify the best online program for you Get organized to succeed at learning at a distance Be the best learner you can be Get your best education online Whether you're a college student, adult learner, or professional in continuing education, some—and sometimes all—of your learning will happen in a virtual classroom. This book is your friendly guide to the fast-growing possibilities of this world, from choosing the right course and mastering the software to polishing up your online communication and study skills. Whatever you want from your study experience—school success, professional development, or just pursuing your passion—this is your road map to online educational success! Inside… Find the right course for you Prep successfully for classes Manage time online Apply for study funding Transfer credits Master the software Get the right hardware Develop online etiquette

This is an essential resource for anyone designing or facilitating online learning. It introduces an easy, practical model (R2D2: read, reflect, display, and do) that will show online educators how to deliver content in ways that benefit all types of learners (visual, auditory, observational, and kinesthetic) from a wide variety of backgrounds and skill levels. With a solid theoretical foundation and concrete guidance and examples, this book can be used as a handy reference, a professional guidebook, or a course text. The authors intend for it to help online instructors and instructional designers as well as those contemplating such positions design, develop, and deliver learner-centered online instruction. Empowering Online Learning has 25 unique activities for each phase of the R2D2 model as well as summary tables helping you pick and choose what to use whenever you need it. Each activity lists a description, skills addressed, advice, variations, cost, risk, and time index, and much more. This title is loaded with current information about emerging technologies (e.g., simulations, podcasts, wikis, blogs) and the Web 2.0. With a useful model, more than 100 online activities, the latest information on emerging technologies, hundreds of quickly accessible Web resources, and relevance to all types and ages of learners–Empowering Online Learning is a book whose time has come.

Building Online Learning Communities further explores the development of virtual classroom environments that foster a sense of community and empower students to take charge of their learning to successfully achieve learning outcomes. This is the second edition of the groundbreaking book by Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt and has been completely updated and expanded to include the most current information on effective online course development and delivery. A practical, hands-on guide, this resource is filled with illustrative case studies, vignettes, and examples from a wide variety of successful online courses. The authors offer proven strategies for handling challenges that include: Engaging students in the formation of an online learning community. Establishing a sense of presence online. Maximizing participation. Developing effective courses that include collaboration and reflection. Assessing student performance. Written for faculty in any distance learning environment, this revised edition is based on the authors many years of work in faculty development for online teaching as well as their extensive personal experience as faculty in online distance education. Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt share insights designed to guide readers through the steps of online course design and delivery.

If you need quick, targeted baseline knowledge about using technology for teaching and learning, Making Sense of Online Learning is for you. This practical, no-nonsense primer will help you understand how online learning technologies work and how they fit into your organization. You’ll gain a working knowledge of important topics such as design, infrastructure, and evaluation and the confidence to make informed decisions that will help your learners and organization thrive. Since information about online learning changes at Internet speed, the book is supported with a dedicated Web site (www.learningpeaks.com/msoll/) filled with up-to-the-minute suggestions for tools and resources.

Understand the design factors of campus environmental theory that impact student success and create a campus of consequence Designing for Learning is a comprehensive introduction to campus environmental theory and practice, summarizing the influence of collegiate environments on learning and providing practical strategies for facilitating student success through intentional design. This second edition offers new coverage of universal design, learning communities, multicultural environments, online environments, social networking, and safety, and challenges educators to evaluate the potential for change on their own campuses. You'll learn which factors make a living-learning community effective, and how to implement these factors in the renovation of campus facilities. An updated selection of vignettes, case scenarios, and institutional examples help you apply theory to practice, and end-of-chapter reflection questions allow you to test your understanding and probe deeper into the material and how it applies to your environment. Campus design is no longer just about grassy quads and ivy-covered walls—the past decade has seen a surge in new designs that facilitate learning and nurture student development. This book introduces you to the many design factors that impact student success, and helps you develop a solid strategy for implementing the changes that can make the biggest difference to your campus. Learn how environments shape and influence student behavior Evaluate your campus and consider the potential for change Make your spaces more welcoming, inclusive, and functional Organize the design process from research to policy implementation Colleges and universities are institutions of purpose and place, and the physical design of the facilities must be undertaken with attention to the ways in which the space's dimensions and features impact the behavior and outlook of everyone from students to faculty to staff. Designing for Learning gives you a greater understanding of modern campus design, and the practical application that brings theory to life.

This volume presents models, methods, and strategies that facilitate and promote learning within online environments.Arguing that success in online environments is dependent on the role of autonomy in order to create sustained and enduring learners, the introductory chapter presents current research and identifies ways through which autonomous learning is established within the learning environment. Contributors demonstrate how quality online programs are made up of a «blend» of technology, pedogogy, organization, strategy, and vision; explore the concept of online social presence as a significant factor in improving instructional effectiveness and contributing to a feeling of community among learners; and offer strategies for instructors facing the new challenges and opportunities of the online educational experience. Two chapters examine master's level online programming by exploring a model through which the design template for one such program was built and presenting the actual experiences students who completed master's degrees online. Editor Steven R. Aragon joins his colleagues to make the case that instructional designers need ways to support quality teaching and learning within online environments that take into account the variability in student learning styles, provide external motivation for the isolated students, and build community, collaboration, and communications among learners. Finally, contributors from the field analyze the impact that online technology is having on training and development initiatives of business and industry and demonstrate how current trends have cultivated an environment open to online learning. This is the 100th issue of the Jossey Bass series New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education.

Written by acclaimed school reform advocate Phillip C. Schlechty, Leading for Learning offers educators the framework, tools, and processes they need to transform their schools from bureaucracies into dynamic learning organizations. Schlechty explains how to move beyond some of the deeply ingrained and negative conceptions of schooling that guide so much of their practice. He shows educators how they can take advantage of new learning technologies by increasing their organization's capacity to support continuous innovation. «Clearly not for the fainthearted, Schlechty's engrossing appraisal of American education calls for a bold, truly fundamental transformation of how we run our public schools. Some books are thought-provoking; this one is action-provoking.» —W. James Popham, professor emeritus, UCLA «Dr. Schlechty has once again written an insightful book that educational leaders can use as a road map in transforming our schools into learning organizations designed to serve twenty-first century students.» —Dr. Randy Bridges, superintendent, Alamance-Burlington School System, NC «Because education is ultimately a community responsibility, Schlechty's proposal to shift school systems from bureaucracies to learning organizations can open doors to citizens who are frustrated by the bureaucracy in their efforts to reclaim their role in education. This book is as much for them as it is for professional educators.» —David Mathews, president, Kettering Foundation «Anyone in a school leadership position—from the board room to the classroom—should read this engaging and thought-provoking book. It's a must?-read for all immersed in or contemplating the transformation of public education.» – Claudia Mansfield Sutton, chief communications and marketing officer, American Association of School Administrators

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 on-line 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.

Take a deep dive into deep learning Deep learning provides the means for discerning patterns in the data that drive online business and social media outlets. Deep Learning for Dummies gives you the information you need to take the mystery out of the topic—and all of the underlying technologies associated with it. In no time, you’ll make sense of those increasingly confusing algorithms, and find a simple and safe environment to experiment with deep learning. The book develops a sense of precisely what deep learning can do at a high level and then provides examples of the major deep learning application types. Includes sample code Provides real-world examples within the approachable text Offers hands-on activities to make learning easier Shows you how to use Deep Learning more effectively with the right tools This book is perfect for those who want to better understand the basis of the underlying technologies that we use each and every day.

How to implement a best-in-class visual marketing plan It's no secret that visual content online really draws in viewers. People love Pinterest, Facebook, and the like for visual sharing and engaging. Smart marketers know their companies need to tap into this, but where and how to start? Visual Social Marketing For Dummies offers a clear roadmap for creating effective, well-defined visual social marketing strategies as part of your overall marketing and social media plans. From defining goals to developing highly visual content across a range of social media platforms, this book is the perfect step-by-step guide to get you there. The book explores Pinterest, Instagram, Vine, Tumblr, YouTube, SlideShare, and Twitter, among many topics and resources, and includes useful examples from leading brands and companies across a variety of industries. Helps you set goals that align with your budget and resources and then lay out a visual social marketing plan Covers image-based platforms, such as Pinterest, Instagram, and Vine, as well as social media platforms including Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, Twitter, and SlideShare Explores visual tools, including infographics, presentations, and video Explains how to track and measure the effectiveness of your visual marketing efforts Make your brand stand out from the crowd with the information, tips, techniques, and examples you'll find in Visual Social Marketing For Dummies.