AU Press is thrilled to be celebrating Open Access Week once again this year. We have a few things in store for you, but to get the ball rolling, we’re sharing five books with the most downloads over the past twelve months.
The Theory and Practice of Online Learning edited by Terry Anderson is an award-winning guide to the complexities of online and distance education. Contributors cover the advantages and challenges of different course delivery methods, the uses of media and technology, quality control, student support, and more. It is an essential resource for instructors in online and distance learning environments. Published in 2008, this book has stood the test of time and continues to be a valuable resource even as technologies change and improve over the years.
Sociocultural Systems: Principals of Structure and Change by Frank Elwell “provides a stimulating introduction to, and challenging overview of, macrosociology, that can be read with equal benefit by everyone from freshmen in Sociology 101 to graduate students in advanced theory courses,” writes Gerhard Lenski, author of Power of Privilege. This book is foundational to a MOOC of the same name and you can take the course for free through Blackboard.
Open Data Structures: An Introduction by Pat Morin covers the implementation and analysis of data structures for sequences (lists), queues, priority queues, unordered dictionaries, ordered dictionaries, and graphs. This book carefully balances classical topics and state-of-the art structures to serve the needs of all undergraduate students or self-directed learners.
Teaching in Blended Learning Environments: Creating and Sustaining Communities of Inquiry by Norman Vaughan, Martha Cleveland-Innes, and Randy Garrison focuses on teaching practices related to the design, facilitation, direction, and assessment of blended learning experiences. Blended learning environments are on the rise in higher education and this book provides a valuable set of tools for harnessing the opportunities for teaching and learning available through technology.
Assessment Strategies for Online Learning: Engagement and Authenticity by Dianne Conrad and Jason Openo is an indispensable introduction to new forms of assessment that engage and authentically evaluate learning. The authors argue that online and distance learning environments afford educators new opportunities to embrace only the most effective face-to-face assessment methods and to realize the potential of engaged learning in the digital age.
