This book first presents the evolution of education, from traditional face-to-face to the current remote and online education and its various iterations. The author shares experiences and insights on the most effective teaching techniques in both environments, some recent approaches, and highlights where there is need for continued improvement. Educators are provided with practical suggestions and examples to aid them in the design, promotion, and teaching of online courses worldwide. Topics include applying student and colleague feedback to improve teaching skills in an online setting; benefits of teaching, learning, and working in an online environment; and contrasts between synchronous and asynchronous modes of online instruction, among others. The ultimate goal is to promote accessible and equitable online education for all, regardless of the pandemics or political unrest. The reader is invited on a hands-on journey to discover the potential of the online educational experience, with thought-provoking questions to encourage reflection and growth along the way.
Michael A Radin earned his PhD at the University of Rhode Island in 2001 and is currently an associate professor of mathematics at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Michael is also an international scholar at Riga Technical University Department of Engineering Economics and Management, at Yuriy Bugay International & Scientific Technical University in Kiev, Ukraine and at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. Michael taught the SAT, GRE & GMAT preparatory courses and a variety of undergraduate and graduate level courses and conducted research projects with undergraduate and graduate students. Michael also has intensive international pedagogical experiences. Exploration of Michael's international frontiers commenced with his first sabbatical at the Aegean University in Greece during the spring 2009 semester. Michael designed and taught a graduate level course on Difference Equations. During his spring 2016 sabbatical Michael designed and taught courses and seminars such as Discrete Mathematics, Difference Equations with Applications in Robotics and Introduction to Photography at the University of Latvia, Riga Technical University, Transportation & Sakaru Institute and at the University of Liepaja in Latvia. Michael also designed and conducted a seminar on "Developing International Research Coalitions" at Riga Technical University Doctoral School and designed and conducted a "Risk Management Seminar" at Riga Technical University Department of Engineering Economics and Management. Michael gained valuable experiences teaching online courses at RIT such as freshman calculus courses, discrete mathematics courses, complex variables, and graph theory. While teaching online courses, Michael developed new teaching tactics such as posting course notes and videos prior to lectures, posting recorded lectures, prompt and guided graded feedback and offering extensions on homework assignments and multiple re–submissions of homework assignments. These methods confirmed to work very successfully for him and his students, kept the students stimulated and engaged and improved their course performance. Recently, Michael designed and taught his new online course on "Introduction to Business Start–Ups" at the Yuriy Bugay International & Scientific Technical University in Kiev, Ukraine. Michael's aim is to make mathematics, online, international and interdisciplinary education accessible to everyone and inspire students to learn. Michael enjoys traveling and spending time abroad, getting acquainted with new cultures and academic systems, participating in local and regional conferences, and designing and teaching new seminars and courses. Michael is especially interested in developing new pedagogical innovations and practices domestically and internationally and comparing the similarities and differences among them. During his spare time Michael spends time outdoors and is an avid landscape photographer. In addition, Michael is an active poet and has several published poems about nature in the LeMot Juste. Furthermore, Michael published an article on "Re–Photographing the Baltic Sea Scenery in Liepaja: Why photograph the same scenery multiple times" in the Journal of Humanities and Arts 2018. Spending time outdoors and active landscape photography widens Michael's horizons about nature's patterns and cadences.
