Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
 a useful guide for distance learning February 9, 2006
Robin G. Sowton (Plano, TX)
35 out of 35 found this review helpful
This book is ideal for the professor or instructor who is providing instruction through distance learning. For online instruction to be successful, students cannot just sit and absorb content passively. The online professor/instructor must encourage an engaged learning environment, which is described by the authors as an environment based on constructivist principles and problems-based learning.
One early challenge is to get the students to feel comfortable participating in discussions. The students' level of engagement can be measured partly by looking at the frequency and the quality of the students' interactions. Another challenge is to get students to feel comfortable with the online tools. The book provides at least a dozen 'ice breaker' activities to help students feel confident with discussions and tools. It also recommends that nongraded assignments be used during this initial orientation period.
Different categories of activities are described, including team and peer, reflective, authentic, and learner-led activities. Over a dozen examples of activities are provided for each category. (The authors define reflective activities as those that require the student to share a synthesis of the learning experience and they define authentic activities as those which stimulate an actual situation.) The section on learner-led activities explains how to help learners become successful in preparing and delivering instructional activities, especially with the tasks of defining objectives, defining the type of activity, and planning. Games and simulations are also addressed (but briefly).
Overall, it's a useful book for getting started when you suddenly find yourself having to teach a distance learning course. My only gripe is that I would've liked to have seen a larger section on assessments.
Wonderful guide :) August 15, 2005
Maritza Gudiño (Valencia, Edo Carabobo Venezuela)
26 out of 28 found this review helpful
This book is appropriate to me. I am relatively new to the online learning enviroment and at last I found individual and collaborative activities focused on constructivism and problem-base learning. This activities are a wonderful guide to move learners gradually from traditional rol until they become more self directed. Many books on the topic of online instruction offer innovation and they only present lecture-based approach.
Engaging Online Teachers as Well November 1, 2007
Anne Gleason (Middlebury, VT)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
As an online learner and instructor, I found this book informative, and, yes, ENGAGING. I am planning on using the insights and examples in a new project I've been given-- securing the services of teachers that have experience with strictly the conventional classroom models to instruct online. I'm hopeful that resources like this can de-mystify the distance learning models, and eventually help disseminate knowledge widely throughout my mostly-rural state.
A must read for every online tutor November 11, 2006
Sergio Uribe (Vina del Mar, Chile)
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book is what I have been looking for: short, concise and full of practical examples of activities.
 Worth the read July 10, 2006
William D. Stites
10 out of 14 found this review helpful
I found the book to be a good read and had a lot of interesting things to say and good examples of activities for online participants.
The book focuses solely on the online learner, which is good, but if you teach students in a classroom setting and are looking to extend their learning online in the evenings and between classes you need to 'read between the lines' to pull out the pieces that you need (which are many and included in this book).
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
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