Highlighted are the pedagogical, organizational, cultural, social, and economic factors that influence the adoption and integration of emerging technologies in distance education. Advice is offered on how educators can launch effective and engaging distance education initiatives, in response to technological advancements, changing mindsets, and economic and organizational pressures.

Educational systems worldwide are facing an enormous shift as a result of sociocultural, political, economic, and technological changes. The technologies and practices that have developed over the last decade have been heralded as opportunities to transform both online and traditional education systems. While proponents of these new ideas often postulate that they have the potential to address the educational problems facing both students and institutions and that they could provide an opportunity to rethink the ways that education is organized and enacted, there is little evidence of emerging technologies and practices in use in online education. Because researchers and practitioners interested in these possibilities often reside in various disciplines and academic departments the sharing and dissemination of their work across often rigid boundaries is a formidable task. Contributors to Emergence and Innovation in Digital Learning include individuals who are shaping the future of online learning with their innovative applications and investigations on the impact of issues such as openness, analytics, MOOCs, and social media. Building on work first published in Emerging Technologies in Distance Education, the contributors to this collection harness the dispersed knowledge in online education to provide a one-stop locale for work on emergent approaches in the field. Their conclusions will influence the adoption and success of these approaches to education and will enable researchers and practitioners to conceptualize, critique, and enhance their understanding of the foundations and applications of new technologies.

"This book reviews distance learning programs and software systems, outlining computational methods, algorithms, implemented prototype systems, and applications of open and distance learning"--Provided by publisher.

As social media and Web 2.0 technologies continue to transform the learning trends and preferences of students, educators need to understand the applicability of these new tools in all types of learning environments. Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies will provide both new and experienced online, hybrid, and face-to-face instructors with: practical examples of how low-cost and free technologies can be used to support student learning best practices for integrating web-based tools into a course management system and managing student privacy in a Web 2.0 environment "Showcase" spotlights woven throughout the book, providing examples of how the tools described in the book are already being used effectively in educational settings an easy-to-reference format, organized with visual icons used to delineate each tool's visual, video, voice, and mobile features ideas for integrating mobile learning into your students' learning experiences. This practical, easy-to-use guide will serve the needs of educators seeking to refresh or transform their instruction. Readers will be rewarded with an ample yet manageable collection of proven emerging technologies that can be leveraged for generating content, enhancing communications with and between students, and cultivating participatory, student-centered learning activities.

Online Distance Education: Towards a Research Agenda offers a systematic overview of the major issues, trends, and areas of priority in online distance education research. In each chapter, an international expert or team of experts provides an overview of one timely issue in online distance education, summarizing major research on the topic, discussing theoretical insights that guide the research, posing questions and directions for future research, and discussing the implications for distance education practice as a whole. Intended as a primary reference and guide for distance educators, researchers, and policymakers, Online Distance Education addresses aspects of distance education practice that have often been marginalized, including issues of cost and economics, concerns surrounding social justice, cultural bias, the need for faculty professional development, and the management and growth of learner communities. At once soundly empirical and thoughtfully reflective, yet also forward-looking and open to new approaches to online and distance teaching, this text is a solid resource for researchers in a rapidly expanding discipline.

This update to the award-winning first edition analyzes the pros and cons of different media and focuses on general guidelines and basic principles, making the ideas in this guide transferable to future technologies.

Award-winning in its first edition, this book is an essential guide to the use of technology in flexible and distance learning, weighing up the pros and cons of different media. Fully updated, this second edition: examines criteria and guidelines for the design and delivery of effective teaching, using modern learning technologies focuses on the use of the Internet for distance and flexible education considers the design and use of emerging technologies such as web-based video-conferencing and speech recognition places emphasis on organisational and management issues and how these influence the effective use of technology gives attention to the integration of online teaching with campus-based face-to-face teaching. With a focus on basic principles and general guidelines this guidance applies to existing and emerging technologies. It is essential reading not just for those specialising in flexible and distance learning and distance education, but anyone concerned with the integration of technology with teaching.