Essentials for Blended Learning: A Standards-Based Guide

Essentials for Blended Learning: A Standards-Based Guide provides a practical, streamlined approach for creating effective learning experiences by blending online activities and the best of face-to-face teaching. This guide is: Easy to use: Clear, jargon-free writing; illustrations; and references to online resources help readers understand concepts. Streamlined: A simple but effective design process focuses on creating manageable activities for the right environment. Practical: Real-world examples from different subject areas help teachers understand principles in context. Contemporary: The variety of modern, connected technologies covered in the guide addresses a range of teaching challenges. Forward-Looking: The approach bridges the gap between formal classroom learning and informal lifelong learning. Standards-based: Guidelines and standards are based on current research in the field, relevant learning theories, and practitioner experiences. Effective blended learning requires significant rethinking of teaching practices and a fundamental redesign of course structure. Essentials for Blended Learning: A Standards-Based Guide simplifies these difficult challenges without neglecting important opportunities to transform teaching. This guide is suitable for teachers in any content area. Please visit www.essentialsforblended.com for additional resources. Jared Stein is Director of Knowledge Resources at Instructure. Charles R. Graham is an Associate Professor of Instructional Psychology & Technology at Brigham Young University. He also currently serves as the Associate Dean for the David O. McKay School of Education. " Essentials for Blended Learning is an accessible, practical guide for educators interested in integrating online technology into their courses and programs. The authors successfully promote the idea that quality in instructional design requires thought, deliberation, and firm pedagogical grounding. As education turns more to blended learning, this book provides invaluable insights."—Anthony G. Picciano, Professor and Executive Officer of the PhD Program in Urban Education, City University of New York, Graduate Center "This book far outstrips anything currently on the market in its combination of depth, clarity, and practicality. A refreshingly modern take on the subject, it integrates solid research on blended course design with a concise, step-by-step approach to building blended courses. Novice faculty will appreciate being led gently thro