USDLA | Publications

In the last 3 years, we have witnessed the collapse of dot.com companies and have come to understand that the notion of electronic communities can be best realized from within a particular application environment in which “community members” share common values, objectives, and goals. For an unforgettable learning experience, instructors and students learning at a distance must function together as a community. They must all have a shared set of learning objectives, and they must actively participate in the instruction. Of course, for effective communication, all must share a common vocabulary, and the catalyst among them all is electronic computing. Without any argument, the theme of this book, driven by distance education (DE), distance learning (DL), or e-learning, has to be electronic learning communities. In fact , Dr. John G. Flores, Executive Director of USDLA, states, "Just as Distance Learning is available anywhere, anytime, anyplace so too should printed "Just in time" distance learning research be available for distance learning students, practitioners and researchers. This book contains up to date best practices and issues reflecting the state of the distance learning industry."

Today we think about electronic learning communities as Internet- or Web-enabled or Web-supplemented instruction in which there is some degree of ongoing involvement and participation between and among an instructor and students. Through a great deal of trial and error, and through many phases of instructional technology development, this concept of the electronic learning community has evolved over the last several decades.

The steady growth of electronic learning communities has been and continues to be remarkable. The research firm Eduventures, Inc., in a report from Syllabus online news (http://www.syllabus.com/news.asp, 2002), released a study on distance learning showing that the market for fully online degree programs is growing at an annual rate of 40%. In 2001-2002, more than 350,000 students were enrolled in fully online degree-granting programs, generating $1.75 billion in tuition.

According to Dr. Denzil Edge, one of the associate editors of Electronic Learning Communities: Issues and Practices, “In today’s society, electronic learning communities are more important than ever before. Consider the plight of thousands of students in China who are being forced to stay home due to the SARS epidemic. Harriett-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, has stepped in to provide high-quality online instruction to more than 30,000 students in their homes while the SARS epidemic is being fought by medical teams. Although many schools in China are vacant, the students are continuing to attend school via the Internet. Distance learning provides flexibility in accessing quality instruction during times of major upheavals due to natural or man-made disasters.”

USDLA first conceived of this book at a meeting of the Publications Committee of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) in Washington, DC, in 1999. We recognized that because methodologies and circumstances related to computer-based learning at a distance were changing so quickly, there was a real need by practitioners and academics for a reference/text that focused on best practices in this field. At that time, the economy was in overdrive, and industry and universities were excited about anything that was Internet-related, one of those things being electronic communities.

This book has 14 chapters. Each is a single repository of expertise and guidance for researchers and practitioners. Alternatively, the 14 chapters lend themselves to a semester-long graduate course focusing on instructional technology issues and practices. The chapters contain timeless information and, singly or in groups, represent the most compelling topics in this field, topics essential for researchers, practitioners (instructors and administrators), or graduate students facing the challenges of working with electronic learning communities.

Preface: Electronic Learning Communities: Issues and Practices Sorel Reisman
1.	Interactive online Education Experiences: E-volution of Graded Projects James Benjamin
2.	Hybrid Courses as Learning Communities Penelope Walters Swenson and Mark Evans
3.	Building Electronic Communities for Distance Learners: Beyond the Course Level David Brigham
4.	Faculty-Librarian Collaboration in Online Course Development Sharon M. Edge
5.	A Different Practice: Spanning the Digital Divide Through Distance Learning Lisa Holstrom and John G. Bryan
6.	Preparing Faculty Members to Teach in the E-learning Environment Barbara Fennema
7.	Grow Your Own Course Management the Way You Want It Matthew E. Mooney
8.	Strategies for Teaching Thinking and Promoting Intellectual Development in Online Classes William Peirce
9.	Online Learning as An Improvement? The Case of Economic Principles Chiara Gratton-Lavoie and Denise Stanley
10.	Developing an Effective Online Orientation Course to Prepare Students for Success in a Web-Based Learning Environment Maggie McVay Lynch
11.	Course Management as a Pedagogical Imperative Xiaoxing Han, Sally Dresdow, Robert Gail, and Don Plunkett
12.	Exclusion in International Online Learning Communities S. Mavor and B. Trayner
13.	Your, Theirs, Mine: Just Who Owns Those Distance Courses? John G. Bryan
14.	Writing Winning Distance Education Teaching and Learning Grants Catherine S. Bolek and Ronald G. Forsythe

	List Price	USDLA Members

Paperback	$39.95	$33.95
Hard Cover	$73.25	$64.25

Shipping and Handling - $7.50 for the first book on U.S. orders; $9.00 for International
($2.50 per additional book)
All orders must be prepaid and sent to USDLA in U.S. funds only.

Click here to Purchase this Book Online

Download Order Form and either mail it to USDLA, 8 Winter Street, Suite 508, Boston, Massachussetts 02108 or fax it to 617.399.1771.

For assistance, please call USDLA at 800.275.5162 or email info@usdla.org.