Author: Wayne Jennings
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781456586782
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 454
Book Description
This guide to school transformation sends a wake-up call about the out-moded current school system. As educator and advocate during a sixty-year career, Wayne B. Jennings, PhD, writes in this revolutionary new text that our educational system remains stuck in the past. Jennings argues that the system should skip Band-Aid reforms and go for a full reboot! Jennings captures critical aspects of change. In School Transformation, he advances: · understanding the true purpose of education, · realizing we live in a new era, · seeing the fundamental flaws in the system, · bringing schools into the twenty-first century, · preparing students for an unknown future, · examining recent efforts to reform the system, · taking specific steps for transformation, and · considering examples of transformed schools. Jennings' experience as a teacher, principal, school board member, and university facility member energized him to start eight schools during his career. He believes community members, teachers, and students can respond to educational challenges and transform their schools. He describes specific steps and processes to follow and provides examples of transformed schools. He believes that transformed schools will make school an exciting, enriching experience for an entire generation of independent, innovative thinkers.
School Transformation
Author: Wayne Jennings
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781456586782
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 454
Book Description
This guide to school transformation sends a wake-up call about the out-moded current school system. As educator and advocate during a sixty-year career, Wayne B. Jennings, PhD, writes in this revolutionary new text that our educational system remains stuck in the past. Jennings argues that the system should skip Band-Aid reforms and go for a full reboot! Jennings captures critical aspects of change. In School Transformation, he advances: · understanding the true purpose of education, · realizing we live in a new era, · seeing the fundamental flaws in the system, · bringing schools into the twenty-first century, · preparing students for an unknown future, · examining recent efforts to reform the system, · taking specific steps for transformation, and · considering examples of transformed schools. Jennings' experience as a teacher, principal, school board member, and university facility member energized him to start eight schools during his career. He believes community members, teachers, and students can respond to educational challenges and transform their schools. He describes specific steps and processes to follow and provides examples of transformed schools. He believes that transformed schools will make school an exciting, enriching experience for an entire generation of independent, innovative thinkers.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781456586782
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 454
Book Description
This guide to school transformation sends a wake-up call about the out-moded current school system. As educator and advocate during a sixty-year career, Wayne B. Jennings, PhD, writes in this revolutionary new text that our educational system remains stuck in the past. Jennings argues that the system should skip Band-Aid reforms and go for a full reboot! Jennings captures critical aspects of change. In School Transformation, he advances: · understanding the true purpose of education, · realizing we live in a new era, · seeing the fundamental flaws in the system, · bringing schools into the twenty-first century, · preparing students for an unknown future, · examining recent efforts to reform the system, · taking specific steps for transformation, and · considering examples of transformed schools. Jennings' experience as a teacher, principal, school board member, and university facility member energized him to start eight schools during his career. He believes community members, teachers, and students can respond to educational challenges and transform their schools. He describes specific steps and processes to follow and provides examples of transformed schools. He believes that transformed schools will make school an exciting, enriching experience for an entire generation of independent, innovative thinkers.
Transfer, Transitions and Transformations of Learning
Author: H.E. Middleton
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9462094373
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 173
Book Description
This book explores one of the enduring issues in educational research and one of the challenges for formal education. That is, understanding the relationship between learning in one context, setting or time and a subsequent related learning experience or activity. The chapters in the book examine the issue drawing on existing theory as starting points but using each author’s own research to push existing boundaries of what we know in terms of the ideas captured in the title of the book: transfer, transitions and transformations of learning. The chapters explore the issue through a range of approaches and settings including: possibilities for a concept-context approach to transfer, transfer between knowledge domains, transfer as an iterative process between contexts, transfer as boundary crossing between vocations, transfer as integration of theory and practice, transferring standards in assessment, representation in the transition from novice to expert, transformation of self through sustainability education, transforming identities of first year design and technology teachers and the role of implicit knowledge in understanding the relationship between declarative and procedural knowledge in the transition to expertise. This book should be of interest to teachers in schools and the adult education sector, research students, teacher educators, researchers and policy-makers who are involved in learning in, through or with technology.
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9462094373
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 173
Book Description
This book explores one of the enduring issues in educational research and one of the challenges for formal education. That is, understanding the relationship between learning in one context, setting or time and a subsequent related learning experience or activity. The chapters in the book examine the issue drawing on existing theory as starting points but using each author’s own research to push existing boundaries of what we know in terms of the ideas captured in the title of the book: transfer, transitions and transformations of learning. The chapters explore the issue through a range of approaches and settings including: possibilities for a concept-context approach to transfer, transfer between knowledge domains, transfer as an iterative process between contexts, transfer as boundary crossing between vocations, transfer as integration of theory and practice, transferring standards in assessment, representation in the transition from novice to expert, transformation of self through sustainability education, transforming identities of first year design and technology teachers and the role of implicit knowledge in understanding the relationship between declarative and procedural knowledge in the transition to expertise. This book should be of interest to teachers in schools and the adult education sector, research students, teacher educators, researchers and policy-makers who are involved in learning in, through or with technology.
The Power of Simple
Author: Kyle Wagner
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781532769016
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 160
Book Description
While the world has propelled itself in the 21st Century with new technology, innovation, and ways of doing things, our schools are having a hard time catching up. Schools still shuffle hundreds of students daily to classrooms with inflexible learning spaces, an outdated curriculum, and work disconnected from the real world. What if as an educator you had the power to change that? What if you could transform student learning and still have time to cover your standards? What if someone who has made radical changes in education provided you with five simple strategies that you could implement in your school tomorrow? The power of SIMPLE The power of SIMPLE will inspire you to make those changes by documenting Kyle Wagner's entire journey in creating Futures Academy- a school that changes the way we educate. It is a school that adapts schedules every week depending on the learning experience; has students presenting regularly to experts in the field; and integrates learning around students exploring their passions and creating work of value in the real world. This book will empower you to create your own vision for school and provide simple and practical strategies to make that vision come to life. You will no longer be paralyzed by fear, but empowered by the fact that you can create real change, and it's not that hard.
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781532769016
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 160
Book Description
While the world has propelled itself in the 21st Century with new technology, innovation, and ways of doing things, our schools are having a hard time catching up. Schools still shuffle hundreds of students daily to classrooms with inflexible learning spaces, an outdated curriculum, and work disconnected from the real world. What if as an educator you had the power to change that? What if you could transform student learning and still have time to cover your standards? What if someone who has made radical changes in education provided you with five simple strategies that you could implement in your school tomorrow? The power of SIMPLE The power of SIMPLE will inspire you to make those changes by documenting Kyle Wagner's entire journey in creating Futures Academy- a school that changes the way we educate. It is a school that adapts schedules every week depending on the learning experience; has students presenting regularly to experts in the field; and integrates learning around students exploring their passions and creating work of value in the real world. This book will empower you to create your own vision for school and provide simple and practical strategies to make that vision come to life. You will no longer be paralyzed by fear, but empowered by the fact that you can create real change, and it's not that hard.
Education Transformation
Author: Ron Packard
Publisher: Beyond Words
ISBN: 9781582703855
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Education Transformation, authored by the leading expert in customized online education, Ron Packard, shows why technology is critical to the future of education and the future of our nation’s children. We can no longer afford to lag, the benefits of technology must be harnessed for the benefit of students nationwide and around the globe. It is an imperative. One size does not fit all in education – Education Transformation shows us how technology can be used to accommodate individual’s needs rather than making each student force fit into the traditional classroom model which works for many but not for all. Like so many other modern conveniences, education can benefit from technological advancement, and only technology can provide personalized instruction affordably. Education Transformation has never been needed more than today. It is the future of education and of our nation’s children.
Publisher: Beyond Words
ISBN: 9781582703855
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Education Transformation, authored by the leading expert in customized online education, Ron Packard, shows why technology is critical to the future of education and the future of our nation’s children. We can no longer afford to lag, the benefits of technology must be harnessed for the benefit of students nationwide and around the globe. It is an imperative. One size does not fit all in education – Education Transformation shows us how technology can be used to accommodate individual’s needs rather than making each student force fit into the traditional classroom model which works for many but not for all. Like so many other modern conveniences, education can benefit from technological advancement, and only technology can provide personalized instruction affordably. Education Transformation has never been needed more than today. It is the future of education and of our nation’s children.
Transformation of the University
Author: Søren S.E. Bengtsen
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000571378
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 186
Book Description
Transformation of the University imagines preferable futures for the university, building hope for the institution’s necessary transformation. It transcends old criticisms and presents fresh ideas on how the institution might be conceived, organised and put into practice while safeguarding that which makes it a university – the pursuit of knowledge. This book is divided into three main parts: Part One – ‘Knowledge’ assumes the role of the university in generating knowledge for the benefit of society; Part Two – ‘Cultural Growth’ expands on how the university might contribute to and benefit from the cultural growth of society, with both explicit and implicit connections to social and epistemic (in)justice; and Part Three – ‘Institutions’ focuses on imaginative processes for enacting the university as an institution that meets the unforeseen future challenges facing societies around the world. With contributions from scholars across the world, Transformation of the University is an essential read for all academics, practitioners, institutional leaders and broad social thinkers who are concerned with the future of the university and its contributions to society.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000571378
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 186
Book Description
Transformation of the University imagines preferable futures for the university, building hope for the institution’s necessary transformation. It transcends old criticisms and presents fresh ideas on how the institution might be conceived, organised and put into practice while safeguarding that which makes it a university – the pursuit of knowledge. This book is divided into three main parts: Part One – ‘Knowledge’ assumes the role of the university in generating knowledge for the benefit of society; Part Two – ‘Cultural Growth’ expands on how the university might contribute to and benefit from the cultural growth of society, with both explicit and implicit connections to social and epistemic (in)justice; and Part Three – ‘Institutions’ focuses on imaginative processes for enacting the university as an institution that meets the unforeseen future challenges facing societies around the world. With contributions from scholars across the world, Transformation of the University is an essential read for all academics, practitioners, institutional leaders and broad social thinkers who are concerned with the future of the university and its contributions to society.
Learning as Transformation
Author: Jack Mezirow
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 424
Book Description
"Provocative and illuminating, this book is a must read for adult educators seeking to understand and facilitate transformational learning. It showcases a stellar group of authors who not only engage each other and the reader in constructive discourse, but who also model the heart of the transformational learning process." --Sharan B. Merriam, Department of Adult Education, University of Georgia This volume continues the landmark work begun by Jack Mezirow over twenty years ago--revealing the impact of transformative learning on the theory and practice of adult education. Top scholars and practitioners review the core principles of transformation theory, analyze the process of transformative learning, describe different types of learning and learners, suggest key conditions for socially responsible learning, explore group and organizational learning, and present revelations from the latest research. They also share real-world examples drawn from their own experiences and assess the evolution of transformative learning in practice and philosophy. Learning as Transformation presents an intimate portrait of a powerful learning concept and invites educators, researchers, and scholars to consider the implications of transformative learning in their own professional work.
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 424
Book Description
"Provocative and illuminating, this book is a must read for adult educators seeking to understand and facilitate transformational learning. It showcases a stellar group of authors who not only engage each other and the reader in constructive discourse, but who also model the heart of the transformational learning process." --Sharan B. Merriam, Department of Adult Education, University of Georgia This volume continues the landmark work begun by Jack Mezirow over twenty years ago--revealing the impact of transformative learning on the theory and practice of adult education. Top scholars and practitioners review the core principles of transformation theory, analyze the process of transformative learning, describe different types of learning and learners, suggest key conditions for socially responsible learning, explore group and organizational learning, and present revelations from the latest research. They also share real-world examples drawn from their own experiences and assess the evolution of transformative learning in practice and philosophy. Learning as Transformation presents an intimate portrait of a powerful learning concept and invites educators, researchers, and scholars to consider the implications of transformative learning in their own professional work.
Leadership Mindsets
Author: Linda Kaser
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134022581
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 183
Book Description
The evidence is clear - school leaders make a difference to the learning of the pupils they serve. And yet, not all leaders have the same degree of impact. What are the factors that make the difference to student learning? Why are some leaders able to raise student achievement in schools in the most challenging circumstances whilst other leaders struggle to simply maintain the status quo? Drawing from international case study research over many years, from the experience of hundreds of school leaders serving widely diverse communities, Judy Halbert and Linda Kaser argue that there are six distinct mindsets that characterize the way successful, learning-oriented leaders operate and make sense of their professional world. These leaders are: motivated by intense moral purpose knowledgeable about current models of learning consistently inquiry-oriented able to build trusting relationships evidence-informed able to move to wise action. This book outlines an alternative way of thinking about school leadership. It examines research evidence that leaders will find most useful and suggests how they might use this evidence to maximise their learning and the learning of their students. Leadership Mindsets has been written specifically for aspiring to newly-appointed school leaders who are determined and motivated to create quality and equality for learners in the schools they serve, through networks of inquiry, learning and support.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134022581
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 183
Book Description
The evidence is clear - school leaders make a difference to the learning of the pupils they serve. And yet, not all leaders have the same degree of impact. What are the factors that make the difference to student learning? Why are some leaders able to raise student achievement in schools in the most challenging circumstances whilst other leaders struggle to simply maintain the status quo? Drawing from international case study research over many years, from the experience of hundreds of school leaders serving widely diverse communities, Judy Halbert and Linda Kaser argue that there are six distinct mindsets that characterize the way successful, learning-oriented leaders operate and make sense of their professional world. These leaders are: motivated by intense moral purpose knowledgeable about current models of learning consistently inquiry-oriented able to build trusting relationships evidence-informed able to move to wise action. This book outlines an alternative way of thinking about school leadership. It examines research evidence that leaders will find most useful and suggests how they might use this evidence to maximise their learning and the learning of their students. Leadership Mindsets has been written specifically for aspiring to newly-appointed school leaders who are determined and motivated to create quality and equality for learners in the schools they serve, through networks of inquiry, learning and support.
Evocative Coaching
Author: Bob Tschannen-Moran
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470630922
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 457
Book Description
There?s a lot of conversation about how to make schools better. Unfortunately, the nature of those conversations often makes things worse. Evocative Coaching: Transforming Schools One Conversation at a Time maps out a way to change that. By taking a teacher-centered, no-fault, strengths-based approach to performance improvement, the Evocative Coaching model generates the motivation and movement that enables teachers and schools to achieve desired outcomes and enhance quality of life. Viewed as a dynamic dance, the model is choreographed in four steps ? Story, Empathy, Inquiry, Design ? which are each laid out in its own chapter with powerful illustrative materials and end-of-chapter discussion questions to prompt further reflection. Bringing together the best research and wisdom in educational leadership and professional coaching, authors Bob and Megan Tschannen-Moran have developed a simple yet profound way of facilitating new conversations in schools through Story Listening, Expressing Empathy, Appreciative Inquiry, and Design Thinking. It?s an iterative process that moves beyond old ways of thinking, doing, and being. It?s an inspirational process that reinvigorates the passion for making schools better, one conversation at a time. This happens when coaches: give teachers our full, undivided attention; accept and meet teachers where they are right now, without making them wrong; ask and trust teachers to take charge of their own learning and growth; make sure teachers are talking more than we are; enable teachers to appreciate the positive value of their own experiences; harness the strengths teachers have to meet challenges and overcome obstacles; reframe difficulties and challenges as opportunities to learn and grow; invite teachers to discover possibilities and find answers for themselves; dialogue with teachers regarding their higher purpose for teaching; uncover teachers? natural impulse to engage with colleagues and students; assist teachers to draw up a personal blueprint for professional mastery; support teachers in brainstorming and trying new ways of doing things; maintain an upbeat, energetic, and positive attitude at all times; collaborate with teachers to design and conduct appropriate learning experiments; enable teachers to build supportive environments and teams; use humor to lighten the load; and inspire and challenge teachers to go beyond what they would do alone. Each chapter provides a research-based theory to support the strategies presented, and includes specific suggestions and anecdotes. The Evocative Coaching model makes coaching enjoyable by getting people to focus on what they do best, and it invites larger, more integral conversations so that people talk about their work in the context of other things they care about. Resting on strong, evidence-based practices, the Evocative Coaching model offers educators the help they need to meet the challenges of increased accountability and expectations. This model can also be used effectively by coaches and leaders in other organizational contexts. Table of Contents: Chapter 1: What Is Evocative Coaching? Chapter 2: Coaching Presence Loop I: The No-Fault Turn Chapter 3: Story Listening Chapter 4: Expressing Empathy Loop II: The Strengths-Building Turn Chapter 5: Appreciative Inquiry Chapter 6: Design Thinking Chapter 7: Aligning Environments Chapter 8: Coaching Conversations Chapter 9: The Reflective Coach To learn more about Evocative Coaching and to sign up for the Evocative Coach Training Program, visit www.SchoolTransformation.com.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470630922
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 457
Book Description
There?s a lot of conversation about how to make schools better. Unfortunately, the nature of those conversations often makes things worse. Evocative Coaching: Transforming Schools One Conversation at a Time maps out a way to change that. By taking a teacher-centered, no-fault, strengths-based approach to performance improvement, the Evocative Coaching model generates the motivation and movement that enables teachers and schools to achieve desired outcomes and enhance quality of life. Viewed as a dynamic dance, the model is choreographed in four steps ? Story, Empathy, Inquiry, Design ? which are each laid out in its own chapter with powerful illustrative materials and end-of-chapter discussion questions to prompt further reflection. Bringing together the best research and wisdom in educational leadership and professional coaching, authors Bob and Megan Tschannen-Moran have developed a simple yet profound way of facilitating new conversations in schools through Story Listening, Expressing Empathy, Appreciative Inquiry, and Design Thinking. It?s an iterative process that moves beyond old ways of thinking, doing, and being. It?s an inspirational process that reinvigorates the passion for making schools better, one conversation at a time. This happens when coaches: give teachers our full, undivided attention; accept and meet teachers where they are right now, without making them wrong; ask and trust teachers to take charge of their own learning and growth; make sure teachers are talking more than we are; enable teachers to appreciate the positive value of their own experiences; harness the strengths teachers have to meet challenges and overcome obstacles; reframe difficulties and challenges as opportunities to learn and grow; invite teachers to discover possibilities and find answers for themselves; dialogue with teachers regarding their higher purpose for teaching; uncover teachers? natural impulse to engage with colleagues and students; assist teachers to draw up a personal blueprint for professional mastery; support teachers in brainstorming and trying new ways of doing things; maintain an upbeat, energetic, and positive attitude at all times; collaborate with teachers to design and conduct appropriate learning experiments; enable teachers to build supportive environments and teams; use humor to lighten the load; and inspire and challenge teachers to go beyond what they would do alone. Each chapter provides a research-based theory to support the strategies presented, and includes specific suggestions and anecdotes. The Evocative Coaching model makes coaching enjoyable by getting people to focus on what they do best, and it invites larger, more integral conversations so that people talk about their work in the context of other things they care about. Resting on strong, evidence-based practices, the Evocative Coaching model offers educators the help they need to meet the challenges of increased accountability and expectations. This model can also be used effectively by coaches and leaders in other organizational contexts. Table of Contents: Chapter 1: What Is Evocative Coaching? Chapter 2: Coaching Presence Loop I: The No-Fault Turn Chapter 3: Story Listening Chapter 4: Expressing Empathy Loop II: The Strengths-Building Turn Chapter 5: Appreciative Inquiry Chapter 6: Design Thinking Chapter 7: Aligning Environments Chapter 8: Coaching Conversations Chapter 9: The Reflective Coach To learn more about Evocative Coaching and to sign up for the Evocative Coach Training Program, visit www.SchoolTransformation.com.
Street Data
Author: Shane Safir
Publisher: Corwin
ISBN: 1071812661
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Book Description
Radically reimagine our ways of being, learning, and doing Education can be transformed if we eradicate our fixation on big data like standardized test scores as the supreme measure of equity and learning. Instead of the focus being on "fixing" and "filling" academic gaps, we must envision and rebuild the system from the student up—with classrooms, schools and systems built around students’ brilliance, cultural wealth, and intellectual potential. Street data reminds us that what is measurable is not the same as what is valuable and that data can be humanizing, liberatory and healing. By breaking down street data fundamentals: what it is, how to gather it, and how it can complement other forms of data to guide a school or district’s equity journey, Safir and Dugan offer an actionable framework for school transformation. Written for educators and policymakers, this book · Offers fresh ideas and innovative tools to apply immediately · Provides an asset-based model to help educators look for what’s right in our students and communities instead of seeking what’s wrong · Explores a different application of data, from its capacity to help us diagnose root causes of inequity, to its potential to transform learning, and its power to reshape adult culture Now is the time to take an antiracist stance, interrogate our assumptions about knowledge, measurement, and what really matters when it comes to educating young people.
Publisher: Corwin
ISBN: 1071812661
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Book Description
Radically reimagine our ways of being, learning, and doing Education can be transformed if we eradicate our fixation on big data like standardized test scores as the supreme measure of equity and learning. Instead of the focus being on "fixing" and "filling" academic gaps, we must envision and rebuild the system from the student up—with classrooms, schools and systems built around students’ brilliance, cultural wealth, and intellectual potential. Street data reminds us that what is measurable is not the same as what is valuable and that data can be humanizing, liberatory and healing. By breaking down street data fundamentals: what it is, how to gather it, and how it can complement other forms of data to guide a school or district’s equity journey, Safir and Dugan offer an actionable framework for school transformation. Written for educators and policymakers, this book · Offers fresh ideas and innovative tools to apply immediately · Provides an asset-based model to help educators look for what’s right in our students and communities instead of seeking what’s wrong · Explores a different application of data, from its capacity to help us diagnose root causes of inequity, to its potential to transform learning, and its power to reshape adult culture Now is the time to take an antiracist stance, interrogate our assumptions about knowledge, measurement, and what really matters when it comes to educating young people.
The Transformation of Social Work Education through Virtual Learning
Author: R. Paul Maiden
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1527539814
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 330
Book Description
Over the past few years, numerous highly ranked, Tier 1 universities across the United States have embraced the development of advanced online degrees, a niche of secondary education long held by a small group of private, for-profit universities. Rapid advances in online learning technology, increasingly sophisticated, and easy to use ‘learning management systems’ and ‘anytime, anywhere access’ has dramatically increase the demand of individuals, mostly full time employed, working professionals. This volume addresses the dramatic changes that are occurring in social work pedagogy as more schools develop online programs. The University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak Peck School of Social Work launched their ‘Virtual Academic Center’ with a cohort of 80 online students. The program has now reached a ‘steady state’ of 2,200 ‘virtual’ students now representing two thirds of their MSW student population. Additionally, the school launched a doctorate of social work degree with a focus on leading and managing innovation, leading public discourse and management of large complex systems. This book essentially tells the ‘USC story’ with the challenges faced in embracing this new technology, teaching social work courses in an online environment, as well as pedagogical enhancements made by faculty in converting traditional campus based courses to the virtual environment.
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1527539814
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 330
Book Description
Over the past few years, numerous highly ranked, Tier 1 universities across the United States have embraced the development of advanced online degrees, a niche of secondary education long held by a small group of private, for-profit universities. Rapid advances in online learning technology, increasingly sophisticated, and easy to use ‘learning management systems’ and ‘anytime, anywhere access’ has dramatically increase the demand of individuals, mostly full time employed, working professionals. This volume addresses the dramatic changes that are occurring in social work pedagogy as more schools develop online programs. The University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak Peck School of Social Work launched their ‘Virtual Academic Center’ with a cohort of 80 online students. The program has now reached a ‘steady state’ of 2,200 ‘virtual’ students now representing two thirds of their MSW student population. Additionally, the school launched a doctorate of social work degree with a focus on leading and managing innovation, leading public discourse and management of large complex systems. This book essentially tells the ‘USC story’ with the challenges faced in embracing this new technology, teaching social work courses in an online environment, as well as pedagogical enhancements made by faculty in converting traditional campus based courses to the virtual environment.