The Sage Handbook of Online Higher Education

Safary Wa-Mbaleka is an associate professor at the University of Arizona, Global Campus, USA. He holds a PhD in instructional design for online learning and an EdD in curriculum and instruction. He has worked with online higher education since 2004. His experience with online education includes being a director of online education, director of online instructional design, instructional designer, in addition to designing and teaching online courses for different universities in different countries in the Americas, the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa. He was one of the 3 lead architects of the national standards and guidelines for online education as mandated by Kenya’s Commission for University Education. He is a consultant for MasterCard Foundation e-Learning Africa Initiative. He has authored and co-authored more than 40 scholarly journal articles and more than 20 books and book chapters.Dr. Kelvin Thompson works to make online and blended learning even better a little bit every day. Kelvin writes, speaks, and consults within the US higher education community. During his 24 years at University of Central Florida, he created a number of resources for use by the broader online community (e.g., the Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository; the Faculty Seminars in Online Teaching; and the BlendKit Course). He also co-hosts the popular “TOPcast: The Teaching Online Podcast.” In 2020, Kelvin was selected as a Fellow of the Online Learning Consortium. Currently, Kelvin Thompson serves at the University of Louisville as Vice Provost for Online Strategy and Teaching Innovation.Leni Casimiro, PhD, is an educator, researcher, and administrator, serving currently as the Director of AIIAS Online, the virtual campus of the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS) in the Philippines. Her more than 20 years of experience in the field of online education ranges from serving as instructional designer, faculty and student support coordinator, course developer, and program evaluator to participating, in a wider scale, as leader of online program accreditations, online learning consultant, and training expert in various higher education institutions around the world. She has been a presenter and invited speaker in academic international conferences and has published research papers and book chapters for various refereed journals and books. Dr. Leni is ranked as professor of education, specializing in curriculum and instruction and online learning, and also serves as Associate Dean of the AIIAS Graduate School and Chair of its Education Department.

This book should be on the reading list for all educators who care about providing a quality educational experience for their students. Written by global experts in online learning, it provides a comprehensive foundation to guide leaders, faculty and staff through the various elements that are critical to building effective online programs. It is through resources like this that we are able to provide a path forward to successful learning during normal times and continuity of learning during a crisis or natural disaster.

• Section 1: Fundamentals of Online EducationChapter 1 Introduction to Online Higher Education - Safary Wa-Mbaleka, Kelvin Thompson, & Leni CasimiroChapter 2: Role of Online Learning in Tertiary Education - Christian C. Ekoto Chapter 3: Principles of Blended Learning - Charles R. Graham, Tawnya Means, Karen Arnesen, Jennifer RamseyChapter 4: Critical Perspectives on Open Education and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) - Taskeen Adam Chapter 5: Online Learners’ Needs, Characteristics, and Rights - Darrin Thomas & Robert Osei-Bonsu Chapter 6: Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning - Apostolos KoutropoulosSection 2: Online Education Around the WorldChapter 7: Online Higher Education in the United States of America - Kelvin Thompson & Thomas CavanaghChapter 8: Online Higher Education in Canada - Nicole JohnsonChapter 9: Online Higher Education in Europe - Gianina Estera Petre Chapter 10: Online Higher Education in Asia - Leni Casimiro & Tian BelawatiChapter 11: Online Higher Education Latin America - Liliana Marcela Cuesta Medina Chapter 12: Online Higher Education in Africa - Safary Wa-Mbaleka & Paluku KazimotoChapter 13: Online Higher Education in Australia - Debbie Tsui, Henk Huijser, Nona Press & Pranit AnandChapter 14: Online Higher Education in the Arab Countries of the Middle East - Reynaldo Segumpan, Georges Yahchouchi & Faten El Hage Section 3: Online Instructional DesignChapter 15: Online Learning Theories - Darrin ThomasChapter 16: Online Instructional Design: Theories, Models, and Best Practices - Christian C. Ekoto & Safary Wa-Mbaleka Chapter 17: Needs Analysis for Online Course Design - Lorna Gonzalez, Rachael Jordan, & Kristi Oneil-GonzalezChapter 18: Online Course Syllabus Design - Daniel Ganu & Josephine GanuChapter 19: Designing Instructional Activities and Materials for Online Teaching and Learning - Aiman Khamitova & Anna CohenMiller Chapter 20: Designing Accessible Materials for Online Education - Ismahan Arslan-Ari & Fatih AriChapter 21: Designing Online Assessments - Dirk Ifenthaler & Joana HeilChapter 22: Copyright, Fair Use, and Open Licensing in Online Courses - Thomas J. TobinSection 4: Online Instructional DeliveryChapter 23: Digital Media for Online Education - Chuck Hodges et al.Chapter 24: Preparing and Supporting Online Students - May Lim & Karin Avnit Chapter 25: Effective Online Teaching Strategies - Florence Martin & Ayesha Sadaf Chapter 26: Qualities of an Effective Online Facilitator - Kiruthika Ragupathi, Soo Yuen Jien & Adrian LeeChapter 27: Facilitating Online Discussions - Aimee deNoyelles & Susan WegmannChapter 28: Proctoring Online Tests and Grading Online Assessments - Glenda Marian Crosling, Siti Norbaya Azizan, & Benedict Valentine Arulanandam Chapter 29: Microcredentialing and Other Alternative Online Education Systems - Sherri Braxton Chapter 30: Effective Online Communication - Tanya JoostenPart 5: Instructional Technology for Online EducationChapter 31: Information Technology Considerations for Online Education - Lossan Bonde Chapter 32: Learning Management Systems: Affordances and Constraints - Vusumuzi MaphosaChapter 33: Online Assessment Platforms - Hamish Coates, Liu Liu, & Zhang JuanChapter 34: Information Technology Security in Online Education - Paul Moulema & Ali Erarslan Chapter 35: Social Media in Online Education - Rose Ruto-Korir & Nokuthula Vilakati Chapter 36: Dealing with Accessibility Issues - Genevieve Boucaud Chapter 37: Gamification in Online Education - Glenda Gunter, Robert Kenny, and Paulina BzdunChapter 38: Virtual Reality in Online Higher Education for Learner Engagement, Interaction, and Experiential Learning - Victoria Lynn Lowell & Anthony Chuka IlobinsoSection 6: Online Education Administration and ManagementChapter 39: Leadership in Online Higher Education - Leni Casimiro, Safary Wa-Mbaleka, & Kelvin ThompsonChapter 40: Designing and Accrediting Online Programs - Jude L. Tayaben & Sandeep Lloyd KachchhapChapter 41: Managing and Evaluating Online Programs - Anthony Piña Chapter 42: Planning for Quality Assurance in Online Education - Onesimus Otieno & Shannon RiggsChapter 43: Financial Considerations in Online Higher Education - Seyram Amenyedzi Chapter 44: Online Faculty Professional Development - Karen Ferreira-Meyers Chapter 45: Using Learning Analytics to Support the Learners - Julia Chen & Foung Ken Wai Chapter 46: Student Recruitment, Retention, and Completion Strategies - Lorena Neria de Girarte Chapter 47: Online Library Features and Support Systems - José Luis Girarte & Teofilo Esguerra Chapter 48: Supporting Online Students’ Research - Melinda Bandalaria Chapter 49: Designing and Supporting Online Labs - Hengtao Tang Chapter 50: Past, Present, and Future Perspectives of Online Education - Kelvin Thompson, Leni Casimiro, & Safary Wa-Mbaleka