The harmonizing influence of ancient Daoist philosophy is of much relevance to the world in which we live today, and this is especially so in the field of global education. Among the growing numbers of contemporary teachers and scholars who nurture Daoist wisdom in their classrooms, this book takes the unique pathway of considering its applications through the contemplative lenses of teacher diaries. Its South African-born author has taught academic English for over three decades in Japan, the Middle East, and the People’s Republic of China. Since early childhood, he has infused his fascination for Daoist wisdom with his enjoyment of writing diaries – and in ways that derive insights into the compassionate, frugal, and humble foundations of Daoist-inspired pedagogies within contemporary classroom environments. This book presents Daoist wisdom in terms of it being the Supreme Ultimate of all ways. It introduces the classical Daoist texts of the Laozi, the Zhuangzi, and the Liezi, and shares a short historical overview of Daoism with its growing global influence. As such, it emphasizes that Daoist-inspired pedagogies encourage a delicate balance between intuitive insights and intellectual analysis – and in ways that are not antagonistic toward each other, but which dance together as one. In this regard, the role of meditation during the undertaking of diaries is specifically highlighted concerning its propensity to bring one into the present moment, pacify racing thoughts, and transcend the ego. It also shows how a meditative state of mind that accompanies the reading, writing, and analysis of the diary entries contributes to deeper self-discernment along with unique intuitive insights related to oneself as a teacher and the classroom environment. In addition, this book describes how the Wordsmith Tools Program and the Book of Changes can be used as additional approaches to analyzing thought patterns within the diary entries – and how these also nurture inward contemplations and the intuitive insights that accompany them. Thereafter, considerations based on the applications of core Daoist principles for classroom pedagogies are filtered through the contemplative lenses of teacher diaries. These principles are the unintentional integrity of de, the complementary duality of yin-yang, the cosmic vitality of qi, the self-so-ness of ziran, the unforceful spontaneity of wuwei, and the unblemished purity of pu. This book illustrates through its diary lenses how these six Daoist principles can be nurtured in ways that contribute to a scholarliness that is grounded in an equal appreciation for the logical applications of intelligence along with the uniqueness of intuitive creativity which cannot be explicitly taught but which spontaneously arises from within the deep reservoirs of intuitive wisdom which exist within the true selves of everyone. In addition, this book shares pearls of Daoist wisdom for teachers from within the poetic chapters of the Laozi, as well as within the amusingly enlightening stories in the Zhuangzi and the Liezi – such that their ancient teachings can be applied to Daoist-inspired pedagogies, and nurtured in ways that unite the joyfulness and scholarly efficacy of both teaching and learning. It is shown how doing so enhances a sense of awe, wonder, openness, and contemplative oneness within the classroom environment - making it a happier, more contented, and more meaningful place for both teachers and students.

Teaching and Learning at a Distance is written for introductory distance education courses for preservice or in-service teachers, and for training programs that discuss teaching distant learners or managing distance education systems. This text provides readers with the basic information needed to be knowledgeable distance educators and leaders of distance education programs. The teacher or trainer who uses this book will be able to design courses, evaluate programs, and identify issues and trends affecting the field. In this text we take the following themes: The first theme is the definition of distance education. Before we started writing the first edition of Teaching and Learning at a Distance we carefully reviewed the literature to determine the definition that would be at the foundation of our writing. This definition is based on the work of Desmond Keegan, but is unique to this book and has been adopted by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology and by the Encyclopedia Britannica. The second theme of the book is the importance of research to the development of effective courses and programs offered at a distance. The best practices presented in Teaching and Learning at a Distance are validated by scientific evidence. Certainly there are “rules of thumb,” but we have always attempted to only include recommendations that can be supported by research. The third theme of Teaching and Learning at a Distance is derived from Richard Clark’s famous quote published in the Review of Educational Research asserting that media are mere vehicles that do not directly influence achievement. Clark’s controversial work is discussed in the book, but is also fundamental to the book’s advocacy for distance education—in other words, we authors do not make the claim that education delivered at a distance is inherently better than other ways people learn. Distance delivered instruction is not a magical approach that makes learners achieve more. Equivalency theory is the fourth theme of the book. Here we present the concept that instruction should be provided to learners that is equivalent rather than identical to what might be delivered in a traditional environment. Equivalency theory helps the instructional designer approach the development of instruction for each learner without attempting to duplicate what happens in a face-to-face classroom. The final theme for Teaching and Learning at a Distance is the idea that the book should be comprehensive—that it should cover as much of the various ways instruction is made available to distant learners as is possible. It can serve as a stand-alone source of information.

In 2021, the United States Census Bureau reported that in 2020, during the rise of the global health pandemic COVID-19, homeschooling among Black families increased five-fold. However, Black families had begun choosing to homeschool even before COVID-19 led to school closures and disrupted traditional school spaces. Homeschooling Black Children in the US: Theory, Practice and Popular Culture offers an insightful look at the growing practice of homeschooling by Black families through this timely collection of articles by education practitioners, researchers, homeschooling parents and homeschooled children. Homeschooling Black Children in the US: Theory, Practice and Popular Culture honestly presents how systemic racism and other factors influence the decision of Black families to homeschool. In addition, the book chapters illustrate in different ways how self-determination manifests within the homeschooling practice. Researchers Khadijah Ali-Coleman and Cheryl Fields-Smith have edited a compilation of work that explores the varied experiences of parents homeschooling Black children before, during and after COVID-19. From veteran homeschooling parents sharing their practice to researchers reporting their data collected pre-COVID, this anthology of work presents an overview that gives substantive insight into what the practice of homeschooling looks like for many Black families in the United States.

This book integrates research, action research, best practice and case studies detailing how some educators have embraced the opportunities afforded by mobile learning. In particular, it brings together a range of scenarios, solutions and discussions relating to mobile learning in development and other resource challenged contexts. The book will appeal to elected public/government representatives, public service agencies, community groups, regional development bodies, researchers, educational technologists and others interested in mobile learning. Students on senior undergraduate or postgraduate courses in educational technology, education, development studies, information technology, information systems, business, health, and social work will find this book useful in their studies related to the application of mobiles in learning and development.

The field of educational technology is one that requires a high level of problem solving critical thinking, and interpersonal skills to solve problems that are often complex and multi-dimensional. Analyzing cases provides an opportunity to explore professional issues through an environment that allows action researchers, practitioners and students to analyze and reflect on relevant theories and techniques to understand a real problem, ponder solutions and consequences, and develop responses. Hence, this book seeks to provide relevant authentic and realistic cases for such exploration. This book is guided by the premise that the cases presented will serve as a platform for researchers, practitioners and students to share experiences and best practices in both developing and developed contexts, in an endeavor to bridge the knowledge divide. Throughout the book, various challenges are addressed and educational technology tools and strategies are subsequently employed in an effort to minimize the issues. Notwithstanding, the book also highlights successes and accomplishments in areas and contexts in which educational technology is being harnessed, including reaching more learners, providing more affordable options, and building capacity. Because of the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary nature of the field and the cases, this book is useful not only in educational technology, but also in other fields. A “Facilitator Guide” is provided for each chapter for educators with their learners.

Digital literacy practices have often been celebrated as means of transcending the constraints of the physical world through the production of new social spaces. At the same time, literacy researchers and educators are coming to understand all the ways that place matters. This volume, with contributors from across the globe, considers how space/place, identities, and the role of digital literacies create opportunities for individuals and communities to negotiate living, being, and learning together with and through digital media. The chapters in this volume consider how social, cultural, historical, and political literacies are brought to bear on a range of places that traverse the urban, rural, and suburban/exurban, with emphasis placed on the ways digital technology is used to create identities and do work within social, digital, and material worlds. This includes agentive work in digital literacies from a variety of identities or subjectivities that disrupt metronormativity, urban centrism (and other -isms) on the way to more authentic engagement with their communities and others. Featuring instances of research and practice across intersections of differences (including, but not limited to race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, and language) and places, the contributions in this volume demonstrate the ways that digital literacies hold educative potential.

In On Their Own Terms, Benjamin A. Elman offers a much-needed synthesis of early Chinese science during the Jesuit period (1600-1800) and the modern sciences as they evolved in China under Protestant influence (1840s-1900). By 1600 Europe was ahead of Asia in producing basic machines, such as clocks, levers, and pulleys, that would be necessary for the mechanization of agriculture and industry. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Elman shows, Europeans still sought from the Chinese their secrets of producing silk, fine textiles, and porcelain, as well as large-scale tea cultivation. Chinese literati borrowed in turn new algebraic notations of Hindu-Arabic origin, Tychonic cosmology, Euclidian geometry, and various computational advances. Since the middle of the nineteenth century, imperial reformers, early Republicans, Guomindang party cadres, and Chinese Communists have all prioritized science and technology. In this book, Elman gives a nuanced account of the ways in which native Chinese science evolved over four centuries, under the influence of both Jesuit and Protestant missionaries. In the end, he argues, the Chinese produced modern science on their own terms.