Product Description

"For those who think online learning can't be truly interactive, Patti Shank and her colleagues clearly demonstrate--in hundreds of examples--that it can. The real lesson in The Online Learning Idea Book is that technology doesn't build interactive learning; creative thinking and good, solid instructional design does. Using even a smidgen of the great ideas in this book will increase the learning effectiveness of any online program." --Marc J. Rosenberg, consultant, and author of Beyond E-Learning

"Patti Shank has collected great ideas about online learning and teaching from all over the globe. If you are an online instructor or instructional designer looking for new ways to involve and engage your learners, you'll be inspired by this book!"--Terry Morris, associate professor, William Rainey Harper Colleges

Filled with techniques, tools, tips, examples, resources, and dozens of "great ideas, this invaluable resource helps people who are looking to build online instructional materials -- or improve existing materials -- discover and implement what the best and brightest in industry and education are doing to make online learning more engaging and compelling. Increase your know-how in the following areas:

• Look and Feel: how to increase ease-of-use
• Graphics and Multimedia: how to make instructional graphics engaging and compelling
• Activities: how to make instruction itself engaging and compelling
• Tools: how to use a variety of online tools
• Instructional Design: how to design better and faster.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #99302 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 380 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780787981686
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"This book offers more than 95 ideas for designing and delivering online instruction as a creative spark for distance learning." (Journal of Continuing Higher Education, Fall 2007)

Review
"For those who think online learning can't be truly interactive, Patti Shank and her colleagues clearly demonstrate—in hundreds of examples—that it can be. The real lesson in The Online Learning Idea Book is that technology doesn't build interactive learning; creative thinking and good, solid instructional design does. Using even a smidgen of the great ideas in this book will increase the learning effectiveness of any online program."
—Marc J. Rosenberg, consultant, and author of Beyond E-Learning

"Harness these ideas and multiply your expertise! There's nothing like tried-and-true activities to help increase the value of your online content. This book is a veritable smorgasbord of creative and engaging ideas!"
—Cynthia S. Wehmer, CPT, IT training manager, Coors Brewing Company

"E-learning is a rapidly changing field with new best practices being discovered every day. The Online Learning Idea Book is a fantastic resource for designers, developers, and training professionals to find innovative ideas and proven approaches that make e-learning effective."
—Josh Bersin, CEO, Bersin & Associates

"This book manages to be concrete, yet theory based; innovative, yet practical; and—miraculously for the training-book genre—light on its feet."
—Bill Ellet, editor, Training Media Review

"Looking for practical, insightful, tried-and-tested ideas that you can quickly apply in your online learning programs? Get The Online Learning Idea Book now. I'm sure you'll find an idea you can apply in your very next project (I did), and the book will pay for itself!"
—Harvey Singh, founder and CEO, Instancy, Inc.

"McKeachie’s Teaching Tips, now in its 12th edition, has been distributed for years to new faculty members in higher education. As more instructors go online, I predict that instructional support personnel will also provide them with the latest edition of Shank’s The Online Learning Idea Book."
—Thomas C. Reeves, professor, department of educational psychology and instructional technology, College of Education, The University of Georgia

"Patti Shank has collected great ideas about online learning and teaching from all over the globe. If you are an online instructor or instructional designer looking for new ways to involve and engage your learners, you’ll be inspired by this book!"
—Terry Morris, associate professor, William Rainey Harper Colleges

From the Back Cover
Praise for The Online Learning Idea Book

"For those who think online learning can't be truly interactive, Patti Shank and her colleagues clearly demonstrate—in hundreds of examples—that it can be. The real lesson in The Online Learning Idea Book is that technology doesn't build interactive learning; creative thinking and good, solid instructional design does. Using even a smidgen of the great ideas in this book will increase the learning effectiveness of any online program."
—Marc J. Rosenberg, consultant, and author of Beyond E-Learning

"Harness these ideas and multiply your expertise! There's nothing like tried-and-true activities to help increase the value of your online content. This book is a veritable smorgasbord of creative and engaging ideas!"
—Cynthia S. Wehmer, CPT, IT training manager, Coors Brewing Company

"E-learning is a rapidly changing field with new best practices being discovered every day. The Online Learning Idea Book is a fantastic resource for designers, developers, and training professionals to find innovative ideas and proven approaches that make e-learning effective."
—Josh Bersin, CEO, Bersin & Associates

"This book manages to be concrete, yet theory based; innovative, yet practical; and—miraculously for the training-book genre—light on its feet."
—Bill Ellet, editor, Training Media Review

"Looking for practical, insightful, tried-and-tested ideas that you can quickly apply in your online learning programs? Get The Online Learning Idea Book now. I'm sure you'll find an idea you can apply in your very next project (I did), and the book will pay for itself!"
—Harvey Singh, founder and CEO, Instancy, Inc.

Customer Reviews

An Interesting Survey
This book takes an interesting approach to online learning. Rather than an author expounding on some specific learning methodology that's guaranteed to revolutionize your system and your learners, Patti Shank collects ideas from practitioners in the field including her own experiences. Most of the contributors provided more than one idea to the text, but there are still at least 30 different viewpoints represented. And, the contributors seem to come from a wide spectrum of (mostly U.S.) educators in both corporate training and higher education.

The book contains almost 100 ideas broken into 10 broad categories related to online learning. Sections like: Ideas for Making Collaboration Work, Ideas for Supporting Learners and Learning, Ideas for Synchronous Activities, etc. Each idea is presented succinctly in 1-4 pages outline style. And, each is detailed by what the idea is, why you would want to use it, how you might use it and who to contact for more information (if needed). Most ideas contain at least one screen shot showing the idea "in action".

As a software developer, I have spent the last 15 years on the "other side" of online learning: designing, building and operationally supporting a number of Learning Management Systems. So many of these ideas presented here were quite familiar to me. The rest ran the gamut from insightful to kind of campy. However, the format made for a fast and easy read. Well worth the time spent.

The book is probably best suited for educators and instructional designers looking to find ways to spruce up their offerings or increase the effectiveness of their material. All of the ideas are aimed at increasing the interactivity of online learning.

For someone interested in online learning and looking to see what kinds of tools and techniques are out there, this book is a great survey of current practice.

A treasure trove of interactive ideas
Patti Shank has collected a treasure trove of interactive ideas for all types of online learning -- synchronous, asynchronous, instructor-led, and self-directed. Even experienced designers and developers are sure to find new and creative ideas for improving online programs. In fact, I came up with innovative ideas for my classroom training (particularly in the synchronous training chapter.) All you need is a little imagination to use these ideas to solve a wide range of learning challenges. When the examples are not proprietary, Patti provides links so you can see the ideas in action. For example, the book references two low-cost software programs to help assess learning (e.g., Hot Potatoes and Quiz Game Master.) A companion CD in the next edition of this book would be a great asset for helping visualize some of the ideas presented.

I suggest The Online Learning Idea Book be a part of your "toolkit" for designing any type of online learning program. You can also feel confident that the Patti's collection of ideas are based on solid performance improvement theory and will make a true impact on your learners.

New ideas and a good refresher
What I like best about this book is that it covers a wide range of topics. When you're working in e-learning you have a different focus depending on what project you're doing at the moment and sometimes you need a refresher on topics. A refresher can be a chapter, an article, or just an idea that triggers your memory. For example, myself I upload to an LMS, but I don't manage an LMS. The articles that went over LMS ideas were a good refresher for me.
When a book claims to have 95 proven ways to enhance technology based and blended learning you realize some of those I ideas may be fillers. I would have said that was not the case up to the beginning of the final chapter. The final chapter "Ideas for Creative Media" I could not help but think this was thrown in. This is a hot area in the online learning world, the way people learn is changing dramatically, and I guess I will have to wait for book 2.
That said, it is a good book, a nice read, I read it completely and highlighted it and it will sit on my office self for future reference.

Keith Johnson
Online Learning Specialist/Flash Designer
Seattle, WA