RESOURCES

IDEAL Distance Education and Blended Learning Handbook

The Revised 8th Edition of the IDEAL Distance Education and Blended Learning Handbook addresses both administrative and instructional issues that are at the core of successful blended and distance education. It is informed by current research and policy guidelines and observations of effective practice documented by IDEAL Consortium members, past and present, and affiliated state leaders. This edition builds on lessons learned from innovations developed in response to COVID-19 school closures, adds information about hyflex course creation and implementation, and includes insights about attending to equity in distance education programming.
By Jen Vanek, Destiny Simpson, Jamie Harris, & Jeff Goumas,  Published by World Education, 2022.

Contents include:

Recruitment: Identifying and Recruiting Students

  • Decide who, where, and how to find learners for your distance or blended learning program

Assessing Readiness: Determining What Supports Students Need to Succeed in Distance and Blended Learning

  • Understand the level and types of support that each learner needs

Orientation: Setting Up Learners for Success

  • Design an orientation that provides students with the necessary information and skills for a successful learning experience and a plan for reaching goals

Instruction: Getting Started

  • Learn about characteristics of involved instruction and how they are represented in different distance education models (e.g., supported distance and blended learning), the teacher role, and how to provide motivating and supportive feedback on students’ work
  • Consider how to develop teacher-created curricula and make use of Open Educational Resources (OER)
  • Deepen understanding of how to make best use of proprietary online curricula

Assessment: Student Participation and Progress

  • Build awareness of the different purposes assessment serves
  • Explore multiple ways to gauge learner progress, including information needed to include distance learners in the National Reporting System (NRS)

Administrative Issues: Getting Started with Distance Education

  • Learn how distance education is linked to WIOA guidelines and prioritized adult education initiatives
  • Examine issues faced by administrators in implementing and sustaining distance education programs as part of their agency’s educational offerings
  • Better understand how to monitor data and distance education program performance