This chapter discusses common tools and resources for building a hybrid course in a higher education setting and provides recommendations for best practices in Learning Management Systems and Open Educational Resources.

Team-based learning (TBL) has been shown to improve student learning in a variety of settings. In a majority of cases, TBL has been implemented in face-to-face formats and occasionally in blended learning formats, which are partially online partially and face-to-face in a classroom. The Sloan Consortium surveys report a steady increase in the…

Live television is the fastest-growing distance learning delivery mode. Instructors must understand how distance learning differs from both the traditional classroom and commercial television, how the basic technology operates, the role played by the teacher in delivering instruction, how to design courses according to system capabilities, and how…

In distance education, interactivity refers to mutual influence of objects and actions, particularly with reference to the relationship of learner, instructor, content, and technology. Instructors should build interactivity into distance learning to increase participation, develop communication, receive feedback, enhance elaboration and retention,…

Design of student-centered instruction for telecourses must take into consideration the variables that contribute to meaningful and motivated student learning: clarity; connections; teacher immediacy behaviors; and active learning. Unlike much conventional instruction, telecourse teaching isn an intensive and demanding team process requiring…

Review of recent research on effective teaching examines six areas of higher education teaching: (1) teaching dimensions and behaviors; (2) teaching considerations (including instructional design, methods, and teaching styles); (3) teaching and motivation; (4) teaching and teacher assessment and evaluation; (5) teaching technologies; and (6)…

Argues that college teachers need special skills and sensitivities to be competent at distance education, including: skills in course planning/organization, verbal/nonverbal presentation skills, collaborative skills, questioning strategies, subject matter expertise, skill at involving students and coordinating field site activities, understanding…

The basis for development of most instructional technology applications has been the process of systematic instructional design. However, the traditional model of systematic instructional design may not be appropriate for new technological tools. New options, including online instruction, suggest that the focus should now be on helping learners…

Electronic media provide new opportunities for engaging college students in and out of the classroom. Electronic mail, teleconferencing, and Internet resources can increase instructor availability and extend class discussion. Issues to consider in planning for their use include achievement of course objectives, level of computer sophistication,…