Emerging Trends & Technologies in the Virtual K-12 Classroom

Welcome to Emerging Trends and Technologies in K-12! This course will help you evaluate and implement technology in the most useful way within your virtual classroom setting. We will discuss the possibilities and challenges of using technology in fully online environments, although many of the ideas can be applied to blended and traditional environments as well. This course is focused on emerging trends and technologies, specifically for K-12 instructors. Most of the content will be aimed at high school-aged students in the U.S., or ages 13-18 in other countries. Due to the nature of some of the internet-based technologies, young students are required to be 13 or older to participate. That said, many of the examples we discuss can apply to younger ages. This course is focused on virtual education. In other words, blended or fully online teaching and learning experiences. Nevertheless, you can apply the concepts to a traditional class, adult education, and higher education. Lastly, please note that many of the examples will be U.S. based. Upon completing this course, you will be able to: • Define educational technology's role in supporting the virtual environment. • Identify and evaluate existing and emerging technologies for virtual course instruction or curriculum development. • Use collaborative learning tools to design and assess learning activities. • Use game-based strategies to deepen student engagement in virtual courses. • Research, evaluate, and employ open content in virtual education. • Debate the role of MOOCs in virtual K-12 education.