1st Edition
Thrive Online A New Approach to Building Expertise and Confidence as an Online Educator
Research shows that online education, when designed and facilitated well, is as effective as traditional campus-based instruction. Despite the evidence, many faculty perceive online education as inferior to traditional instruction—and are often quite vocal in their skepticism. Simultaneously, however, more and more students are seeking online courses and degree programs.Thrive Online: A New Approach to Building Expertise and Confidence as an Online Educator is an invitation for the rising tide of online educators who are relatively new to teaching online, and also for those more experienced instructors who are increasingly frustrated by the dominant bias against online education.Readers will find:• An approach that empowers online educators to thrive professionally using a set of specific agentic behaviors• Strategies for approaching conversations about online learning in new ways that inform the skeptics and critics• Strategies that celebrate the additional skills and proficiencies developed by successful online educators• Guidance for educators who want to feel natural and fluent in the online learning environment• Guidance for enhancing the user-centered nature of online spaces to create student-centered learning environments• Encouragement for online educators to pursue leadership opportunitiesThe internet is changing how people communicate and learn. Thrive Online: A New Approach to Building Expertise and Confidence as an Online Educator offers guidance, inspiration and strategies required to adapt and lead higher education through this change. This book is for higher education instructors who are seeking community, a sense of belonging, and the professional respect they deserve. Thriving is not a reaction to our environment, but rather a state of being we can create intentionally for ourselves.The time has come to change the conversation about online education. Add your voice – join the community and #ThriveOnline.
Series Foreword—Kathryn E. Linder Foreword—Penny Ralston-Berg Preface Acknowledgments Part One. Changing the Conversation Part Two. Thriving as an Online Educator Part Three. Hitting Your Stride Part Four. Leading the Way References About the Author Index
Biography
Shannon Riggs has worked in a variety of higher education roles since 2001 and currently serves in an executive leadership position in the distance education division of a large, public, R1 land grant university. Riggs is active nationally in the field of online education and is known for her commitment to quality and passion for supporting faculty. Riggs regularly presents at conferences and has written for publication about online course development, faculty development, leadership, and innovation. She is currently serving a three-year elected position for the Quality Matters (QM) Instructional Design Association, a three-year elected position for the QM Academic Advisory Committee, and a three-year elected position on the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET) Steering Committee. Dr. Katie Linder is currently the executive director for program development at Kansas State University Global Campus. Previously, she directed the award-winning Ecampus Research Unit at Oregon State University. Katie is also a Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation. Katie is an avid writer and researcher with a passion for process and peeking behind the scenes at what it takes to be a successful academic. For the past several years, her work has focused on blended course design best practices, institutional supports for accessible online learning, and research literacy for scholarship of teaching and learning practitioners and distance education stakeholders. She speaks on topics related to writing and publication; creativity and productivity; self-promotion and personal branding; and teaching and learning with technology.Her latest works include Going Alt-Ac: A Guide to Alternative Academic Careers (Stylus, 2020; co-authored with Kevin Kelly and Tom Tobin), Managing Your Professional Identity Online: A Guide for Faculty, Staff, and Administrators (Stylus, 2018), High-Impact Practices in Online Educ
"There is truly something for everyone in Thrive Online, inlcuding faculty preparing to teach their first online course, experienced online faculty, busy administrators, and online leaders making policy decisions. Readers are encouraged to deeply interact with the material through timely best practices, practical pointers and actionable checklists, thoughtful reflection questions, and a compelling invitation to connect with others in the #ThriveOnline community."
Tina Parscal, Executive Director of CCCOnline
Colorado Community College System
"I love everything about Thrive Online: the metaphor evoked by the title, the book’s format, and the content! This is a book written for today’s online educator whether one is new/seasoned, instructor/administrator/designer, etc. The prominent share-worthy quotes accompanied by the #ThriveOnline tag is a clear invitation to engage in community via social media with the ideas presented. Perhaps most of all, I love the reminder that 'when designed well,' we can all fully expect to Thrive Online.”
Kelvin Thompson, Executive Director of Center for Distributed Learning
University of Central Florida
"Riggs has written an accessible and practical guide to creating well-designed online learning experiences. She weaves together both instructor and administrator perspectives into a comprehensive work. Both seasoned online instructors and those new to teaching online will find useful strategies to deploy in their online courses and programs."
Julie Uranis, Vice President for Online and Strategic Initiatives
University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA)
"How valuable it is to go 'under the hood' in this deeply thoughtful way – to understand what goes into the making of a well-designed online course and what it takes to be an effective, and thriving, online instructor. Engaging with this book can inform administrators and improve the practice of experienced online educators; new online instructors will find the why-and-how insights to be truly transformational."
Deb Adair, Executive Director
Quality Matters
