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 Ratings
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| Reviewed: |
May 14, 2005 by Psychology |
| Overview: |
"Learning and Teaching in Cyberspace" is the online version of a book written by
Greg Kearsley that explores the topic of online learning, specifically
computer-mediated instruction. The book's thirteen chapters address subjects
such as the history, nature, scope, and elements of online learning, as well as
research, policy issues, and future trends. Online teaching and online learning,
as well as the design and development of online courses, are also covered.
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| Learning Goals: |
This book is designed as a resource that provides authoritative information
about the nature of online teaching and learning, its past, its present, and its
future.
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| Target Student Population: |
The target population is undergraduate and graduate college students, teachers,
or anyone interested in the topic of online education. This book seems to be
predominantly aimed toward teachers or teachers-in-training who want information
about online education. The information included in this book is intended for
teachers in K-12, as well as for those in higher education. Anyone who has
little knowledge of, but would like to know more about, online teaching and
learning might benefit from reading this book.
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| Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills: |
Some familiarity with online /distance learning would be helpful.
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| Type of Material: |
The book is comprised of text with numerous links to other sites.
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| Recommended Uses: |
The book is an excellent resource for students, faculty, or educational
administrators who wish to enhance their knowledge of online teaching, learning,
and education.
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| Technical Requirements: |
None.
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| Strengths: |
The book covers the topic of online education very well. The author is
knowledgable and invites the reader at nearly every opportunity to click on a
link for more information about the topic at hand.
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| Concerns: |
For someone who is looking for an in-depth, professional study of online
education, this book would be a disappointment. As with many web pages, a great
many of the links to outside resources on this page are no longer active; an
update of the page would be extremely helpful in improving the quality and
usefulness of the page.
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Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool |
Rating:     |
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| Strengths: |
The book serves as a useful resource for those studying the nature of online
education.
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| Concerns: |
There are more concerns than strengths in using this page as a teaching tool and
learning resource. It would be useful only for a very limited number of
faculty and students--those interested in online education who are beginners in
the area. Additionally, the information that could be gained from the page is
further reduced by the large number of inactive links to outside resources.
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Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty |
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| Strengths: |
The book follows a logical progression from historical background to current
trends, issues, and themes, and finishes with future directions and sources of
further information. Site navigation is as simple as scrolling down and clicking
on links.
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| Concerns: |
The usefulness of this web page would be dramatically increased if the links
were updated so that they all worked. Additionally, I would like to see greater
organization, e.g., having the table of contents on one page with links to
chapters (each on its own set of pages). The page violates several principles
of easy online reading and navigation.
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| Other Issues and Comments: |
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