Product Description
From William Horton — a world renowned expert with more than thirty-five years of hands-on experience creating networked-based educational systems — comes the next-step resource for e-learning training professionals. Like his best-selling book Designing Web-Based Training, this book is a comprehensive resource that provides practical guidance for making the thousand and one decisions needed to design effective e-learning. e-Learning by Design includes a sys… More >>
#1 by V. Hutson on March 20, 2010 - 2:39 pm
I’ve been teaching online for 8 years but I still found plenty of useful information in this book. The guidelines he provides are practical and his writing style is easy to read and understand. My favorite chapters so far are on the different learning activities: Absorb-type, Do-type, and Connect-type. He also provides great material on designing tests, lessons, organization, design, etc.
I’m currently reading a copy I got from the library, but I’m considering purchasing this book because that is how good I feel it is. I’ve looked at lots of books on e-learning and I would have to say this is one of the best I have come across. I definitely recommend it to anyone who is teaching, or plans to teach online!
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by Jose Luis Alatorre Hernan on March 20, 2010 - 4:29 pm
Been involved in a major project with the Secretaría de Educación Pública (Mexican Ministry of Education), and wanting to produce the best e-learning for mexican kids, this book has become the Soul and Guide for the ID team working on it. The chapters about Absorb, Do and Conect type activities are the more marked, noted and used to inspire our work. Test chapter (5) as well as Topics & Lessons chapters (6 & 7) have transform the way we design our learning objects.
Certainly Will and Kit (his wife) have touch our lives through this book. Thank you both for sharing your knowledge and wisdom, we hope to become good pupils.
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by J. Brodnicki on March 20, 2010 - 6:37 pm
Let’s face it, most people hate the idea of e-learning. If you’re interested in creating *effective* e-learning (and most people are not) and don’t know where to start, this is a good place.
The book can be useful both to internal HRD departments and independent trainer/designers. Even if you don’t want to design e-learning, this information can help you sort out credible from mediocre contractors and give you idea of how to work with them better.
First, Horton covers design considerations and decisions you may not think of (even if you’re experienced) and ways to make e-learning come alive.
Early in the book, Horton states that the primary purposes for e-learning are do, act, and decide. Departing information is a secondary cause (and, if you think about it, sort of a waste of time if you want training to have real value and application in the workplace). This is a *great* place to start from if you’re serious about creating real value with your e-learning project.
You can also get a good idea of how to use different programs (Flash, Powerpoint et al) various programs to add both punch and power to your e-learning project.
You can use this book as a guide and starting point to creating good, effective e-learning experiences. This is a major undertaking and, I think, can have real payoffs.
Horton also offers ideas for evaluation.
There is no magic bullet to this and this book doesn’t pretend to offer it.
I would have liked a CD to go with it (a lot of material is available of Horton’s web site).
Rating: 4 / 5
#4 by Breakthru Mentor on March 20, 2010 - 7:50 pm
This is a great book, regardless of whether you are new to e-learning design or been around it for a while. It’s pushed my content creation along in a great direction and I know with certainty that my learners are benefiting greatly. Simple, easy to follow instructions. If you only buy one book for your e-learning library this is it!
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by Tom Worthington on March 20, 2010 - 10:19 pm
“e-Learning by Design” is a very valuable update of William Horton’s “Designing Web Based Training” (2000). It provides more on recent development with standards for web based courseware. It is particularly useful when using a coursware system such as Web CT and Moodle. You need to worry less about the web design of the course as that is largely set by the package.
Rating: 5 / 5