Preparing Educators for Online Learning

A Careful Look at the Components and How to Assess Their Value

Edited by Stacy Hendricks, Scott Bailey

Publication date:

08 February 2016

Length of book:

194 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781475822502

Designed for administrators and human resources professionals responsible for hiring educators, Preparing Educators for Online Learning offers a compelling look into the world of online educator preparation. As more and more educator preparation programs move part or all of their training online, hiring professionals need insight into the design and characteristics of quality online programs and how those translate into quality prospective employees. Framed by viewpoints and commentary from practicing administrators and HR specialists, as well as online professors and students, Preparing Educators for Online Learning , offers an explication of the components of a quality online program, research related to the effectiveness of online training, assessments for quality candidates, possible hiring guidelines and interview approaches, and commentary on the implications for educators, including higher education institutions and PK-12 schools, both now and going forward.

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Section I: Overview of Online Programs
Chapter 1: Teaching and Learning: How It’s Done
Chapter 2: Perceptions and Concerns Related to Online Learning
Chapter 3: Research Related to Online Courses and Programs
Section II:Quality: What it Looks Like
Chapter 4: The Online Learning Environment: Quality Matters
Chapter 5: Measuring Dispositions in Online Learning
Chapter 6: Critical Role of Field Experiences in an Online Program
Section III: Experiences Regarding Online Programs
Chapter 7: Experiences of an Online Student: To Enroll or Not?
Chapter 8: eProfessor@online.edu
Chapter 9: Online Educator Preparation Programs: Perceptions of the Gatekeepers
Section IV: Relevance
Chapter 10: Policies, Practices, and Financial Implications
Chapter 11: What to Look for When Hiring a Candidate Trained Online
Chapter 12: The Significance of Online Learning to PK-12 Settings
About the Editors
About the Contributors

This text, developed by scholars from Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas, is designed ‘to give practicing administrators, human resource professionals, and teachers and students in university education preparation programs insights into the continuous development of quality online training components.’ Beth Gound describes the positive aspects and concerns of hybrid and online learning environments. Hendricks and Bailey evaluate the perception that online learning comes from diploma mills, fosters low-quality preparation, isolates students, and is unreliable because of cheating. Bailey counters that ‘online learning is equally effective as other instructional methods’ and ‘has gained a solid foothold in the educational system.’ Hendricks and Pauline Sampson suggest that quality online teacher education programs use various online tools and field experiences to maintain personal connections among students and teachers and, M. C. Breen adds, to build interpersonal dispositions, skills, and professionalism. Reflections from a graduate student, an eProfessor, and school administrators on the changing perceptions, challenges, and effectiveness of online learning precede Janet Tareilo’s review of the financial implications of online learning, Hendricks’s advice on hiring candidates trained online, and Tracey Covington Hasbun’s discussion of the growing significance of online learning in K–12 settings. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and practitioners.