Each year, we provide you with a list of recent teaching & learning related books that CITL staff have read over the year and would recommend to others for summer reading. This summer I’d like to change it up a bit. Online instruction has become a timely concern for faculty & students. While you did not have much time to prepare transitioning your courses from on-campus to remote for the spring semester, hopefully you have more time to plan proactively for online courses in summer and potentially fall. The following list are some of our favorite online and blended focused books.
The Online Teaching Survival Guide – Boettcher & Conrad (2016)
Boettcher & Conrad present a comprehensive and user friendly guide for anyone teaching online. Organized into three parts, the book covers core principles of learning and teaching online, specific tips and strategies to teach effectively in this space, and a section on reflection and planning to increase your skill as an online instructor. In addition to these division, part 2 on specific tips is divided into 4 categories of course chronology; beginning, early middle, late middle, and end. Personally, I find the chapter on discussion boards particularly helpful.
Flipped Learning: A Guide for Higher Education Faculty – Talbert (2017)
Talbert’s seven-step process for “flipping” a classroom not only provides a simple breakdown for transitioning F2F content to an online format, but also addresses the biggest concerns and questions that arise with when teaching in a partial or fully online environments. This research-based approach to organizing and implementing content provides guidance in making the most of an online space through considering a range of topics including cognitive load, multimedia learning, and self-regulated learning.
Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes – Darby (2019)
Inspired by James Lang’s (2016) Small Teaching, Flower Darby provides readers with small, strategic changes that can make a large impact on student learning in the online space. Readers will learn about applying the backward design process to online courses, how to build community within the course, and strategies for motivating students in this space.
Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology– Miller (2016)
In this book, Miller applies findings from cognitive science to the choice of educational technologies to create an effective teaching environment aligning tools with how the mind learns. Miller believes technology can provide an advantage over a traditional face to face class by amplifying evidence based techniques such as retrieval practice, interleaving of concepts, presentation of content via multiple modalities, and more.
High Impact Practices in Online Education: Research and Best Practices – Linder & Hayes (2018)
While this book appeals to a targeted audience who utilize High Impact Practices (HIPs) such as service learning, intensive writing assignments, or undergraduate research, it provides utility to transitioning these traditionally face-to-face strategies to an online space. This edited text provides an overview introduction and conclusion as well as a chapter devoted to each of the 10 HIPs.
The Blended Course Design Workbook: A Practical Guide – Linder (2017)
This text is a true workbook designed to guide readers through designing a blended course from start to finish. Whether you have a new prep or are transitioning a face-to-face course to an online format, this workbook is your friend; particularly in this time of unknown modality for fall. Linder begins by providing definitions of course modality based on the percentage of content delivered online; blended 30-79% and online 80% or more.
We are pleased to offer two formal ways to engage with these texts as a community this summer. Each opportunity is open to all faculty and AIs of Indiana University, but registration is limited.
If you are interested in working through The Blended Course Design Workbook with CITL experts as well as a cohort of peers, we will be running a virtual learning community May 18 – August 15. Synchronous meetings will be held via Zoom every other week. If you are interested and can commit to attending all meetings and work in between, please fill out the brief application form, no later than Thursday, May 14, 2020.
The IU SoTL program within CITL is sponsoring a more traditional faculty reading group experience around The Online Teaching Survival Guide. Faculty will receive a physical copy of the book. Meetings will be held virtually via Zoom from 10:30-11:30am on Thursdays. Meeting dates include: June 4, July 9, & August 6, 2020. If you are interested in joining the book group and can commit to attending all three of these meetings, please fill out the brief application form no later than Friday, May 15, 2020.
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