Accessible Elements: Teaching Science Online and at a Distance

Accessible Elements:
Teaching Science Online and at a Distance



Accessible Elements
edited by Dietmar Kennepohl and Lawton Shaw

January 2010
Paperback
9781897425473 (SC)



Accessible Elements informs science educators about current practices in online and distance education: distance-delivered methods for laboratory coursework, the requisite administrative and institutional aspects of online and distance teaching, and the relevant educational theory.

Delivery of university-level courses through online and distance education is a method of providing equal access to students seeking post-secondary education. Distance delivery offers practical alternatives to traditional on-campus education for students limited by barriers such as classroom scheduling, physical location, finances, or job and family commitments. The growing recognition and acceptance of distance education, coupled with the rapidly increasing demand for accessibility and flexible delivery of courses, has made distance education a viable and popular option for many people to meet their science educational goals.

About the Editors

Dietmar Kennepohl, FCIC, is Associate Vice President Academic and Professor of Chemistry at Athabasca University.

Lawton Shaw is Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Athabasca University.

Advanced Praise

“Kennepohl and Shaw are to be congratulated on bringing together accounts of new approaches to how we teach science at a distance. The possibilities that ICT provide have revolutionised the field, and this volume brings us up to date with what can be done.”

Alan Tait
Professor of Distance Education and Development,
and Pro Vice Chancellor (Curriculum and Awards), The Open University, UK
President, European Distance and E-Learning Network (EDEN)



“Accessible Elements is excellent reading for those serious about science education. The authors share perspectives on the challenges of educating at a distance for all the sciences, including the often neglected Earth Sciences.”

Godfrey Nowlan
Geological Survey of Canada
President, Canadian Geoscience Education Network



“From the work and experience of many people across the globe, Accessible Elements has built a remarkably coherent guidebook to distance education in the computer age. It is both eminently practical and visionary.”

Roald Hoffmann
Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, educator, and writer

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