Teaching in a Digital Age Third Edition – General

Teachers, instructors and faculty are facing unprecedented change, with often larger classes, more diverse students, demands from government and employers who want more accountability and the development of graduates who are workforce ready, from parents who want more flexibility, and above all, we are all having to cope with ever changing technology. To handle change of this nature, teachers and instructors need a base of theory and knowledge that will provide a solid foundation for their teaching, no matter what changes or pressures they face.
Although the book contains many practical examples, it is more than a cookbook on how to teach. It addresses the following questions:

• is the nature of knowledge changing, and how do different views on the nature of knowledge result in different approaches to teaching?
• how do I balance the demands of my discipline with developing the skills that students will need in a digital age?
• what is the science and research that can best help me in my teaching?
• how do I decide whether my courses should be face-to-face, blended or fully online?
• what teaching methods work best when teaching in a technology-rich environment?
• how do I decide what is best done online and what face-to-face in blended or hybrid courses?
• how do I make choices among all the available media, whether text, audio, video, computer, or social media, in order to benefit my students and my subject?
• how do I maintain high quality in my teaching while managing my workload?

what are the real possibilities for teaching and learning using MOOCs, open educational resources, and open textbooks?
In summary, the book examines the underlying principles that guide effective teaching in an age when everyone, and in particular the students we are teaching, are using technology. A framework and a set of guidelines are suggested for making decisions about your teaching, while understanding that every subject is different, and every teacher and instructor has something unique and special to bring to their teaching.

In the end, though, the book isn’t really about teachers and instructors, although you are the target group. It’s about helping your students to develop the knowledge and skillsthey will need: not so much digital skills, but the thinking and knowledge that will bring them success in a digital age. For that to happen, though, your students need you to be on top of your game. This book is your coach.

Covid-19 had a huge impact on education systems throughout the world. Whole schools systems, universities and colleges suddenly switched from on-campus teaching to emergency remote learning, in less than two weeks in some countries such as Canada and the USA. Before February 2020, in North America online learning constituted about 5-8% of school teaching, and about 10-12% of post-secondary education credit courses. Then in March 2020 everyone was online.

However, most online learning before 2020 was largely asynchronous and primarily text-based, using software known as learning management systems (Canvas, Moodle, D2L, etc.), although web-based video-conferencing was beginning to be increasingly used. This web-based video-conferencing, such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, was seized on by instructors with no previous online experience desperate to get their courses online.