A Teacher's Guide to Online Learning

Book excerpt: Are you a K-12 educator who is teaching students over the internet with no face-to-face interaction? Online learning presents new challenges. Author Lindy Hockenbary does not sugarcoat the fact that online learning is different than face-to-face learning. She tackles the most common questions of new online instructors, including:?How do you engage learners in a virtual environment??How do you develop relationships with students whom you never see in person? ?What does classroom management even look like in an online class??How do you assess students when there is no way to know if they are looking up all the answers??How do you ensure clear communication since you cannot stand over a learner's shoulder and ensure a task is accomplished??How do you communicate with and support the families of online learners??How do you ensure equity when students are never in the same physical space?This book addresses each of these questions head-on by presenting key takeaways to guide online learning design. Lindy brings her experience as a classroom teacher and instructional technologist to create a clear picture of online learning strategies. Other classroom teachers, school leaders, and instructional technologists have contributed to the book to provide a well-rounded perspective on the topic of online learning. This book was designed with K-12 teachers in mind, but the majority of information can be applied to higher education/postsecondary learning environments as well.