This book is to explores a variety of facets of online learning environments to understand how learning occurs and succeeds in digital contexts and what teaching strategies and technologies are most suited to this format. Business, health, government and education are some of the core sectors of society which have been experiencing deep transformations due to a generalized digitalization. While these changes are not novel, the swift progress of technology and the rising complexity of digital environments place a focus on the need for further research and novel strategies. In the context of education, the promise of increased flexibility and broader access to educational resources is impelling much of higher education’s course offerings to online environments. The 21st century learner requires an education that can be pursued anytime and anywhere and that is more aligned with the demands of a digital society. Online education not only assists students to success-fully integrate a workforce that is increasingly digital, but it helps them to become more comfortable with the use of technology in general and, hence, more prepared to be prolific digital citizens. The variety of settings portrayed in this volume attest to the unlimited opportunities afforded by online learning and serve as valuable evidence of its benefit for students’ educational experience. Moreover, these research efforts assist a more comprehensive reflection about the delivery of higher education in the context of online settings.

Exploring how digital resources are being used to engage students in learning and improve educational quality, Digital Agency in Higher Education promotes an awareness of relations and interplay between humans and digital artifacts. Examining the impacts in higher education through experience-based knowledge and a conceptual framework, this book: • provides a detailed analysis of how transformative agency can be identified, enacted, and cultivated, • offers up-to-date cases and a future-orientated perspective on technology and knowledge work, • addresses fundamental assumptions about how teacher education has needed to and needs to continue to develop, • explores issues of epistemology and ethics when facing increasingly ‘intelligent' technologies, and • argues for transformative agency to place a firm focus on human interests. Essential reading for teachers in higher education and educational researchers with an interest in how technologies impact learning and teaching, Digital Agency in Higher Education uses cutting-edge research to bridge the gap between theoretical perspectives and practices.

Faculty development is currently practiced in a variety of approaches by individuals, committees, and centers of excellence. More research is needed to draw better benefit from these approaches in the impending digital world by taking advantage of digitally enabled teaching and learning. The Handbook of Research on Faculty Development for Digital Teaching and Learning offers holistic and multidisciplinary approaches to enhancing faculty effectiveness in teaching, boosting motivation, extending knowledge, expanding teaching behaviors, and disseminating skills in digital higher education settings. Featuring a broad range of topics such as faculty learning communities (FLCs), virtual learning environments, and professional development, this book is ideal for educators, educational technologists, curriculum developers, higher education staff, school administrators, principals, academicians, practitioners, and graduate students.

Pedagogies of Digital Learning in Higher Education explores topical issues in education and pedagogy related to the learning process in a technology and media-enriched environment. With a range of international contributions, it opens discussions on the development of the educational science sector and strategies for smart pedagogy to promote a synergy between technology and pedagogy to support students in the learning process. This book analyzes the knowledge-building dimension; the potential of technological solutions to provide feedback. It provides practical offerings that will be of use to those whose interests are related to the collection of research results, digital referencing, the use of online learning tools, or the use of virtual reality solutions in historical constructions. In addition, ideas to promote creativity and the use of digital technology in music education, biology, career education, and social work education have also been developed. This book will be of great interest to academics, researchers, and post-graduate students in the fields of higher education, vocational education, and digital learning

Education has gone through numerous radical changes as the digital era has transformed the way we as humans communicate, inform ourselves, purchase goods, and perform other mundane chores at home and at work. New and emerging pedagogies have enabled rapid advancements, perhaps too rapidly. It’s a challenge for instructors and researchers alike to remain up to date with educational developments and unlock the full potential that technology could have on this significant profession. The Handbook of Research on Digital Learning is an essential reference source that explores the different challenges and opportunities that the new and transformative pedagogies have enabled. The challenges will be portrayed through a number of case studies where learners have struggled, managed, and adapted digital technologies in their effort to progress educational goals. Opportunities are revealed and displayed in the form of new methodologies, institutions scenarios, and ongoing research that seeks to optimize the use of such a medium to assist the digital learner in the future of networked education. Featuring research on topics such as mobile learning, self-directed learning, and cultural considerations, this book is ideally designed for teachers, principals, higher education faculty, deans, curriculum developers, instructional designers, educational software developers, IT specialists, students, researchers, and academicians.

This timely volume documents the immediate, global impacts of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) on teaching and learning in higher education. Focusing on student and faculty experiences of online and distance education, the text provides reflections on novel initiatives, unexpected challenges, and lessons learned. Responding to the urgent need to better understand online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, this book investigates how the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) impacted students, faculty, and staff experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown. Chapters initially look at the challenges faced by universities and educators in their attempts to overcome the practical difficulties involved in developing effective online programming and pedagogy. The text then builds on these insights to highlight student experiences and consider issues of social connection and inequality. Finally, the volume looks forward to asking what lessons COVID-19 can offer for the future development of online and distance learning in higher education. This engaging volume will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in online teaching and eLearning, curriculum design, and more, specifically those involved with the digitalization of higher education. The text will also support further discussion and reflection around pedagogical transformation, international teaching and learning, and educational policy more broadly.

The ongoing digitalization of social environments and personal lifeworlds has made it crucial to pinpoint the possibilities of digital teaching and learning also in the context of English language education. This book offers university students, trainee teachers, in-service teachers and teacher educators an in-depth exploration of the intricate relationship between English language education and digital teaching and learning. Located at the intersection of research, theory and teaching practice, it thoroughly legitimizes the use of digital media in English language education and provides concrete scenarios for their competence-oriented and task-based classroom use.