Peer Review

How to Become an eLearning Professional

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Reviewed:: Mar 10, 2015 by Faculty Development

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This is a free ebook that shares the perspectives of multiple authors on different areas of elearning. It provides tips and tricks on how to master different areas of elearning. The stories and advice shared in the text come from professionals who have developed areas of practice and share the ideas designed to make the tasks easier and most of all successful for those who are intent on becoming elearning professionals.
Type of Material:: The resource is a reference material that is designed to give professionals in the field advice from those in the field who wish to share their experience with others
Recommended Uses:: The resource is a reference designed to give professionals in the field advice expert advise and coping strategies. The free ebook "...contains hot eLearning tips, secret concepts, specific steps and insider information that will help users to become a top-notch eLearning professional."
Technical Requirements:: none
Identify Major Learning Goals:: Career advice for eLearning professionals
Target Student Population:: The text is designed for practitioners and would be practitioners in the field of elearning. It is a very practical guide that presents ideas clearly and gives several tips for managing tasks in the discipline. It can be used by both novice and experienced practitioners and might be a good resource for educators who are leading faculty development in their institutions.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: The user should have basic computer skills and some knowledge of web 2.0 but no specific skill set is needed for navigation and manipulation of the resource. Resources are intended for currently practicing eLearning professionals.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: The resource presents accurate concepts which are written in clear, easy to read language. The ebook does not follow a curricular scope and sequence but the concepts presented in the stories outline concepts that are significant for the field of e-learning. The page setup is clean with no distracting clicks and bells on the page. The pop out content page (with hyperlinks) as well as the navigation buttons at the bottom of the page makes navigation easy. There are many high-quality recommendations from the various authors, and not much overlap of specific tips and advice. It is extremely helpful to hear what other successful eLearners are doing and what has helped them advance their careers.
Concerns:: The stories, while referencing different areas of elearning technology and management does not highlight any references or supporting resources in the field that might be useful to novice practitioners. The 'chapters' are short and come at the reader rapid-fire; it reads more like a series of letters than a book.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: Overall the goals of the resource are clearly articulated. The content level and language is appropriate for higher education professionals. Author contact is provided through each author's institutional connections and also in social media; Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook where author accounts are available.There are so many contributors offering good ideas and advice it would be difficult to not be inspired or find something new and helpful in this resource.
Concerns:: While the resource goals are articulated, because there is no real link between the stories, it would be difficult to determine how the goals may be readily achieved. The different stories can be used as just-in-time resources for users who may not go through the entire resource at any one time. The entire resource is in the read/write mode and outside of the hyperlinks, there is no scope for the learning style preference of other users. The resource claims to be an eBook but does not appear to have any means to download it as a standalone eBook; it is only accessible through the presented web interface, so it is more of a web site than an eBook. It is possible they offer it in a downloadable format elsewhere, but it is not indicated anywhere on this site.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: The information is readily available and is presented clearly in a read write format. The language used is appropriate for the intended audience and the information is well laid out. Information within each entry is logical and clear. Reading this eBook via the web site is extremely easy. There is a table of contents included, and means to share via social networks.
Concerns:: Because of the nature of the resource (personal narratives) there is no real sequence to the ebook generally as the authors present their stories related to their area of expertise. Each story is well organized, however, and so this makes it easy to navigate and use.

Other Issues and Comments:: Although there is good advice in the resource, it probably is only a one-time read. As a reference to return to, unless you are mentoring or giving career advice to a colleague, there is not much direct content to return to the resource time and time again. Otherwise, it offers excellent advice to eLearning professionals, and is worth noting how many of the recommendations presented therein are already part of one's practice.
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