Digital and social technologies are changing the education field. Interactive whiteboards and blackboards, e-books, and computer-mediated communication are accelerating the processes of the evolving classroom. These technologies continue to support problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration skills among students. Transforming K-12 Classrooms with Digital Technology brings together research and practices regarding digital and social technology integration in the K-12 classroom. By sharing practical and conceptual aspects of using digital and social technologies as tools for transforming K-12 learning environments, this reference source is essential for teachers, support staff, school and district administrators, college students, and researchers working teaching and learning in the digital era.

People currently live in a digital age in which technology is now a ubiquitous part of society. It has become imperative to develop and maintain a comprehensive understanding of emerging innovations and technologies. Information and Technology Literacy: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is an authoritative reference source for the latest scholarly research on techniques, trends, and opportunities within the areas of digital literacy. Highlighting a wide range of topics and concepts such as social media, professional development, and educational applications, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for academics, technology developers, researchers, students, practitioners, and professionals interested in the importance of understanding technological innovations.

In this timely and thoughtful book, Andrew Zucker argues that technology can and will play a central role in efforts to achieve crucial education goals, and that it will be an essential component of further improvement and transformation of schools. The book is marked not only by Zucker's cutting-edge sophistication about digital technologies, but also by his longstanding engagement with and commitment to K-12 education. It is destined to be recognized as the crucial volume on digital technology and education, and it will be essential reading for school leaders and teachers, policymakers, and those members of the general public--among them parents and engaged citizens--for whom the fate of education is a vital concern.

"This book brings together research and practices regarding digital and social technology integration in the K-12 classroom, sharing practical and conceptual aspects of using digital and social technologies as tools for transforming K-12 learning environments"--

This book provides an excellent analysis of whether and how digital technologies can transform teaching and learning in classroom settings. The authors collectively provide a multi-dimensional perspective on how and under what conditions technology can be productively employed by teachers to more effectively meet the challenges presented by a rapidly evolving world.

Exemplars of integrating digital technology into classrooms, schools, and districts in Silicon Valley -- The classroom -- The school -- The district -- Putting "best cases" into the context of past and present school reforms -- Have exemplars made a difference in teaching practice? -- Have teachers changed their classroom practice? -- Change and stability in classrooms, schools, and districts

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically transformed the classroom by keeping students and teachers apart for the sake of safety. As schools emptied, remote learning rapidly expanded through online services and video chatrooms. Unfortunately, this disrupted many students and teachers who were not accustomed to remote classrooms. This challenge has forced K-12 teachers to think differently about teaching. Unexpectedly and with little time to prepare, they have been confronted with redesigning their curriculum and instruction from face-to-face to online virtual classrooms to protect students from the COVID-19 virus while ensuring that these new online initiatives remain sustainable and useful in the post-pandemic world. As teachers learn to take advantage of the affordances and strengths of the multiple technologies available for virtual classroom instruction, their instruction both in online and face-to-face will impact what and how students learn in the 21st century. The Handbook of Research on Transforming Teachers’ Online Pedagogical Reasoning for Engaging K-12 Students in Virtual Learning examines the best practices and pedagogical reasoning for designing online strategies that work for K-12 virtual learning. The initial section provides foundational pedagogical ideas for constructing engaging virtual learning environments that leverage the unique strengths and opportunities while avoiding the weaknesses and threats of the online world. The following chapters present instructional strategies for multiple grade levels and content areas: best practices that work, clearly describing why they work, and the teachers’ pedagogical reasoning that supports online implementations. The chapters provide ways to think about teaching in virtual environments that can be used to guide instructional strategy choices and recognizes the fundamental differences between face-to-face and virtual environments as an essential design component. Covering such topics as K-12 classrooms, pedagogical reasoning, and virtual learning, this text is perfect for professors, teachers, students, educational designers and developers, instructional technology faculty, distance learning faculty, and researchers interested in the subject.