Supporting Online Instructors: Two Volumes for Introductory Astronomy

As part of the AAS-IOP Astronomy ebook collection, Education Volumes 1 and 2 are written for introductory college instructors to support their teaching practice. Volume 1, published in 2019, provides evidence-based strategies for teaching Astro 101 courses including resources and readily available online resources: simulations, online research-based projects, citizen science projects, and World Wide Telescope. Volume 2, available at this meeting, specifically focuses on teaching online and includes information about the demographics of online learners, online course design, integrating new and social media into online learning experiences, adaptive online learning systems, Massive Open Online Classes (MOOCs), the use of Virtual Worlds and Virtual Reality to teach Astronomy, and online resources available to support instruction. The second volume, specifically addressing online instruction, is particularly relevant as instructors have had to switch their classes from in-person instruction to virtual learning environments.