Stacy Hendricks (Ed.D., Texas A&M-Commerce), formerly the Director of Academic Initiatives in Curriculum and Instruction in a public school district, is currently an assistant professor at Stephen F. Austin State University where she teaches in the Principal Preparation Program. Her research interests include educational leadership, principal preparation effectiveness, online learning, and mentoring.Scott Bailey (Ed.D., Stephen F. Austin State University) a former principal, is currently an assistant professor at Stephen F. Austin State University, where he teaches in the Principal Preparation Program and the doctoral program for educational leadership. His research interests include examining the efficacy of online instruction, campus-based school reform efforts, improving the professional development of school personnel, and promoting advocacy for marginalized students.

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroductionSection I: Overview of Online ProgramsChapter 1: Teaching and Learning: How It’s DoneChapter 2: Perceptions and Concerns Related to Online LearningChapter 3: Research Related to Online Courses and ProgramsSection II:Quality: What it Looks LikeChapter 4: The Online Learning Environment: Quality MattersChapter 5: Measuring Dispositions in Online LearningChapter 6: Critical Role of Field Experiences in an Online ProgramSection III: Experiences Regarding Online ProgramsChapter 7: Experiences of an Online Student: To Enroll or Not?Chapter 8: eProfessor@online.eduChapter 9: Online Educator Preparation Programs: Perceptions of the GatekeepersSection IV: RelevanceChapter 10: Policies, Practices, and Financial Implications Chapter 11: What to Look for When Hiring a Candidate Trained OnlineChapter 12: The Significance of Online Learning to PK-12 SettingsAbout the EditorsAbout the Contributors

This text, developed by scholars from Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas, is designed ‘to give practicing administrators, human resource professionals, and teachers and students in university education preparation programs insights into the continuous development of quality online training components.’ Beth Gound describes the positive aspects and concerns of hybrid and online learning environments. Hendricks and Bailey evaluate the perception that online learning comes from diploma mills, fosters low-quality preparation, isolates students, and is unreliable because of cheating. Bailey counters that ‘online learning is equally effective as other instructional methods’ and ‘has gained a solid foothold in the educational system.’ Hendricks and Pauline Sampson suggest that quality online teacher education programs use various online tools and field experiences to maintain personal connections among students and teachers and, M. C. Breen adds, to build interpersonal dispositions, skills, and professionalism. Reflections from a graduate student, an eProfessor, and school administrators on the changing perceptions, challenges, and effectiveness of online learning precede Janet Tareilo’s review of the financial implications of online learning, Hendricks’s advice on hiring candidates trained online, and Tracey Covington Hasbun’s discussion of the growing significance of online learning in K–12 settings. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and practitioners.