The pandemic forced divisions to develop new approaches to educating students. Division officials had to consider the needs of their students and their resources at home, as well as the capacity of their workforce and existing infrastructure to provide instruction outside of the school building. We collected and coded over a thousand documents…

There is a plethora of established theories about online pedagogy. This white paper provides insights into the findings of a research study conducted in January 2016 that focused on the types of training, if any, online instructors have received that pertains to teaching in the online environment. The study was conducted by a team of researchers…

This article uses a self-study research methodology to explore teaching an online course for mathematics specialists. The course included weekly videoconferencing sessions and focused on supporting their development as mathematics coaches working with K-8 teachers to enhance mathematics teaching and learning. The central question for the…

On April 8, 2016 when the class was discussing "digital literacy," a shocking news story from London AP intrigued us. The news was about a brief text message delivered by Ahmed, a refugee Afghan boy of 6-year old. His text message flashed on the cellphone of Liz Clegg, a volunteer at a migrant camp in France. Clegg and other volunteers…

With scant research on the efficacy of social-networking tools such as Twitter, and few clear insights into the best (and worst) uses for them, there is little agreement among researchers and educators about how or whether Twitter-like technologies could or should be used in schools. This article discusses how teachers can use this popular…

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed legislation this month promoting the growth of virtual schools. The new law requires the state to develop policies for approving and monitoring a wide array of private and nonprofit online education providers. The legislative action in Virginia is the most recent major policy move by a state to expand the…

This paper examines the Regent University Library's effort to reach online students by incorporating online library workshops using the Live Classroom software from Horizon Wimba. The paper explains the need for synchronous online library instruction which arose from the university's changing clientele and curriculum. It also analyzes participant…