"Making Sense of Online Learning" meets those requirements. The Shank and Sitze book and companion website are perfect "just-in-time" resources for anyone involved in online learning. Whatever your level of experience and expertise with online learning, I am sure you will find lots of useful and insightful information in the book and the website. While I have designed, developed, and taught various online courses, I still found the book and the website valuable. I know it will help me, my clients, and my students. Thanks, Patti and Amy!
Jackie Dobrovolny, Ph.D.Instructional technology consultant & IT faculty at University of Colorado at Denver.
Both veterans and novices alike may now know a great deal about some things and very little about others. We need resources that can help us fill the gaps in our understanding and enable us to speak intelligently to our clients, colleagues, and employers. We also need simplified ways of explaining these topics to our audiences.
Patti and Amy have provided just such a resource. By peeling away the jargon and complexity in an even-handed and measured way, they have clarified many mind-numbing subjects. Along the way, they have taken care to point out universal considerations, such as the importance of designing for usability and building training around real-world challenges. They have also provided excellent checklists to use when considering the acquisition of expensive technologies, such as learning management and content management systems. These tools alone can help organizations avoid costly and frustrating blunders.
Patti and Amy have successfully blended sensible guidance; classic learning theories; online learning terms, definitions, and applications; and many excellent resources into a "must read" book and companion Web site. Readers will hardly realize the plane has left the ground by the time they touch down gently but firmly at the end of a smooth and delightful journey.