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This special report features a series of columns by Dr. Lawrence C. Ragan, Director of Instructional Design and Development for Penn State's World Campus, and will help you establish online instructor best practices and performance expectations. The following snippets are just a taste of the insider's advice found in the full report: Principles of Effective Online Teaching: #1 Show Up and Teach - The necessity of this statement is borne of the misimpression that the online class "teaches itself." Since most of the course is already authored and designed for online delivery, instructors may believe they simply need to serve as the proverbial "guide on the side" as the students navigate the learning system. Not true! Principles of Effective Online Teaching: #2 Practice Proactive Course Management Strategies - The online instructor can help create a successful learning experience by practicing proactive course management strategies such as monitoring assignment submissions, and communicating and reminding students of missed and/or upcoming deadlines. Principles of Effective Online Teaching: #3 Establish Patterns of Course Activities - Although the online classroom environment provides tremendous flexibility of time and place of study, establishing and communicating a course pace and pattern of work can aid both instructor and student, and alleviate confusion around how the course operates. Principles of Effective Online Teaching: #4 Plan for the Unplanned - For those small or not-so-small occasions when "life happens," having a strategy for informing students of these changes can go a long way to maintaining course continuity. Principles of Effective Online Teaching: #5 Response Requested and Expected - Timely instructor feedback is essential for the online learner to manage their learning experience. Instructors are expected to respond to student inquiries within one business day.

"The Practical Ed Tech Handbook isn't just a list of my favorite resources. I've included ideas for using these resources and in many cases I've included links to video tutorials about my favorite resources. In The Practical Ed Tech Handbook you will find resources arranged in seven categories; communication with students & parents, web search strategies, digital citizenship, video creation, audio production, backchannels & informal assessment, and digital portfolios."

As schools get ready to deploy iPads this year, each one is scrambling to figure out how to develop an efficient and effective system that works. With no standardized system or uniform roadmap to follow, at the moment, it's up to individual schools to reach out through their networks to find information about best practices and smooth, streamlined service.

27 Apps that have changed my Teaching and Learning Practice - Updated - @RachelJones via @joevans http://t.co/DH5iztcaGc

27 Apps that have changed my Teaching and Learning Practice - Updated - @RachelJones via @joevans http://t.co/DH5iztcaGc

RT @tonnet: Examples of Practice: iPads in the Primary Classroom http://t.co/nDr5Dd5F

Education leaders are re-examining acceptable use policies in light of the increasing use of highly mobile information technologies. While acceptable use policies were developed to manage and control behaviour, a digital citizenship policy takes a more comprehensive approach by recognizing the important role of education in preparing digital citizens. The  intent of this guide is not to ascribe policy, but rather to offer guidance to leaders as they strive to better meet student and organizational needs. The guide provides an overview of digital citizenship policies and practices. It draws from research and the practical experience of Alberta schools. 

About this MoodleMeet  The focus of this moodlemeet is investigating what current research offers teachers and others to develop effective online courses. Among the topics we will discuss are: defining what quality comprises in (K12) online learning what are students' expectations of online learning what can teachers do to with moodle tools to promote quality in their virtual classrooms The discussions are aimed primarily at course developer/teachers; however, there are a number of practices that DL administrators ought to be doing to support their teachers and promote instructional leadership.

could be a good, free Android app for students learning English, Spanish, or French to use for independent practice. The feedback feature will help students recognize errors in their pronunciations and correct them before moving on to more difficult words and phrases.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are online learning events that can take place synchronously and asynchronously for months. Participants assemble to hear, see, and participate in backchannel communication during live lectures. They read the same texts at the same time, according to a calendar. Learning takes place through self-organized networks of participants, and is almost completely decentralized: individuals and groups create blogs or wikis around their own interpretations of the texts and lectures, and comment on each other's work; each individual and group publicises their RSS feed, which are automatically aggregated by a special (freely available) tool, gRSShopper. Every day, an email goes out to all participants, aggregating activity streams from all the blogs and wikis that engage that week's material. MOOCs are a practical application of a learning theory known as "connectivism" that situates learning in the networks of connections made between individuals and between texts.

"Graphite is a free platform from Common Sense Education that saves you time by making it easy to discover the best apps, games, and websites for your classroom. With thousands of reviews of tools such as Edmodo, Kahoot, ClassDojo, and LightSail, our community of educators take the guesswork out of finding innovative ways to transform your teaching practice. Graphite is changing the way educators discover the best edtech tools by providing reviews written by teachers like you and experts in the field. On Graphite, you can learn best practices for teaching and connecting with our growing community of educators. Enjoy and expand your love of teaching with Graphite."

"Special education addresses the individual differences and requirements of students with special educational needs. As a teacher or trainer, working with students with special educational needs requires specific skills and strategies to create and deliver effective programs of work for them. This free online education course serves as an introduction to the field of special education. The course begins by outlining core elements of special education, including the change in educational legalisation in recent years with particular emphasis on legislation in America. The responsibilities of teachers and trainers are also detailed, along with the individual educational plan (IEP). The course describes the most frequent disabilities encountered in the mainstream classroom: learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), intellectual disabilities, behavioural disorders, and physical disabilities and sensory impairments. The course provides key information about each of these disabilities and describes practical strategies on how to assist and teach students with these disabilities. This free online education course will be of great interest to professionals in the education sector who would like a greater knowledge and understanding of working with students with special educational needs, and to all students who are interested in special education."

For teachers and trainers to fulfil their instructional role most effectively, their teaching methods must be grounded in educational learning theory. Understanding the learning process is a key element of educational learning theory and provides a framework for teachers and trainers to plan, create and deliver effective lessons, and assess each student's learning. In this free online education course, you will be introduced to the learning process. The course begins by differentiating between teaching and learning, and by describing teachers' and trainers' perspectives on learning. The course provides details about two major learning theories: behaviourism and constructivism. Within the section on Behaviourism, operant conditioning and its implications for teaching are examined in detail. The section on Constructivism compares and contrasts two subtypes of constructivism: psychological constructivism and social constructivism. Finally, the implications of constructivism for teaching are discussed using two practical strategies. This free online education course will be of great interest to professionals in the education sector who would like a greater knowledge and understanding of the learning process that will enhance their teaching and training, and to all students who are interested in the process of how we learn. Introduction to the Learning Process for Teachers and Trainers is originally from and published by Global Text Project and has a duration of 2-3 Hours for the average learner.

Mastering the art of presentation is not easy. True. Good presenters are natural presenters. Not true. This guide to mastering the art of presentation proves this point. Everyone can present with flair, style and success. Everyone can be effective. This book reveals the fundamentals of good presenting practice. Highlighting the major guidelines followed by successful presenters it offers ideas that you can follow to make your presentations more masterful.

As a 21st century teacher, have you ever took the time to ponder on the skills you need to work on to improve your teaching ? what about technology, is it included in those skills ? Posing such questions and trying to find answers to them is one major component of a successful teaching experience. It is a healthy process indicative of a sound professional growth and the more we ask questions the better our teaching practice becomes.

"This ADL Mobile Learning Handbook is compilation of mobile learning resources. This is a living document and will be regularly updated. This Handbook is separated into the following sections: Basics - What mobile learning (or mLearning) means, its capabilities and use opportunities, potential benefits and common concerns. Planning - List of choices to consider for appropriate use of mobile devices in learning, including questions to assist in planning. Examples - Examples of mobile learning projects and initiatives of interest. Best Practices - Tips and advice for designers and developers. Design & Development - Design considerations and development options. Resources - Recommended links for additional information on mobile learning. Glossary definitions."