Book reviews

Making the transition to e-learning strategies and issues, M.Bullen, D.P. Janes, 2007, Information Science Pub., Hershey, PA,366 pages, ISBN: 1-591-40950-0 (hardcover), US$89.95

1. Introduction

Bullen and Janes (2007) intend their book, Making the Transition toE-Learning: Strategies and E-learning, to be a guide to best practices ine-learning pedagogy, planning, and integration of technology inhigher education. The introduction described the importance ofteaching above technology (a theme carried on throughout the text).The book is divided into chapters with three broad themes:institutional and conceptual issues, learning and teaching issues,and instructional design and technology issues. Compiling thework ofdozens of contributors, the editors successfully gathered manyexcellent case studies and surveys of blended learning from aroundthe world. The authors are academics from Canada, which gives thebook a strong Canadian content.

Bullen and Janes (2007) at the outset tackled the idea of e-learningand determined that the term really described several possibilities in acontinuum. E-learning refers to distance education delivered almostexclusively on the Internet, but the term also means much moreaccording to the authors. E-learning may also be defined aselectronically mediated learning, or as learning facilitated via soft-ware. The multiple definitions of e-learning allow for many differentexamples in the subsequent chapters of the book.

2. Chapter overviews

The chapters in the text were logically divided into three broadthemes to provide coherence to the book and to allow readers to focuson one area of interest quickly. The first theme in the chapterorganizationwas the institutional and conceptual issues involved in e-learning. Contained within this theme were six chapters taken fromdifferent settings addressing various institutional or conceptualissues.

In Chapter I, E-Learning as Nation Building, the conceptual idea ofbuilding broad learning communities through e-learning was exam-ined. These ‘nations’ can be socially diverse sources of community andcohesion. The authors of this chapter, Adria and Campbell, describedthat e-learning extends beyond institutions such as universities tosocial communities. The authors indicated accessibility and reach ofthe movement may promote diversity as participation in e-learningincorporates many groups.

In contrast, the institutional issues of e-learning in a Universitywere explored in Chapter II: Organizational Models for Faculty Support:the Response of Canadian Universities. The author of the chapter,Margaret Haughey, examined faculty support in academic e-learningsettings. The interesting diversity of responses from academicinstitutions were compared and contrasted. These responses includedcentralized and decentralized models, as well as integrated andparallel units to deal with the support need of faculty and their

students. No single approach was given primacy, but all were treatedas appropriate in the right institutional setting based on the cultureand vision of the university involved. The only certainty stated wasthat all academic institutions need to integrate the educationaltechnology into their existing structures.

Like Chapter II, Chapter III, Moving to Blended Delivery in aPolytechnic: Shifting the Mindset of Faculty and Institutions, examinedthe practical–institutional level transition to blended or e-learning.However, unlike Chapter II, this chapter dealt with a case study of anacademic institution implementing educational technology. AuthorOriel Kelly from New Zealand detailed the steps her polytechnictook to introduce blended learning. The primary aid to faculty inthis case was a matrix used to determine the degree of e-learningthat should be implemented in each course. This matrix ensuredconsistency across departments and courses and also providedassurances about the level of technical support the polytechnicwould provide.

Chapter IV nicely followed its predecessor by considering the caseof a Canadian polytechnic institution implementing an e-learningstrategic plan. Tony Bates authored the chapter, Strategic Planning forE-Learning in a Polytechnic, from the perspective of a consultant hiredto facilitate the move to blending learning in an academic setting.According to the author, the mission and values of an institutionshould be considered first, and then an appropriate strategic plan fore-learning can develop. Also important in this chapter was training forfaculty and ongoing measurement of outcomes.

Likewise, Chapter V was a practical case study from a Canadianpolytechnic. Entitled Using E-Learning to Promote Excellence inPolytechnic Education, this chapter focused on faculty involvement inimplementing e-learning as fundamental to the ultimate success ofany transition. The author, Maggie Beers, provided a compelling casefor making faculty participatory in the design of any e-learninginitiative, including defining educational goals in blended learning,making managerial decisions to meet these goals, and selecting thetechnology tools to carry them out.

In contrast to the case studies above that looked at organizational-wide issues, Chapter VI concluded the institutional or conceptualissues section of this book by presenting a study of information andcommunication technology in a departmental nursing program.Chapter VI, Teaching and Learning in a Laptop Nursing Program:Institutional and Pedagogical Issues, written by Ellen Vogel and BillMuirhead, detailed a two year study to determine the needs of facultyregarding a move to blended learning, as well as to generally supportnursing education. Among other things, the findings showed thatfaculty needed formal training and informal just-in-time training tosucceed. Chapter recommendations included developing a strategicplan, modifying classrooms with e-learning in mind, support facultytraining, and evaluating educational effectiveness.

The effect of reading the chapters in the first section on ins-titutional or conceptual issues was to give an excellent understandingof the institutional challenges many academic organizations facewhen transitioning to e-learning. The next shift in the book exploredlearning and teaching issues.

Internet and Higher Education 11 (2008) 217–221

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Internet and Higher Education

In Chapter VII, E-learning in Higher Education: The Need for a NewPedagogy, the need for a fundamental shift in the premises underlyingteaching was explored. Unlike the previous chapters dealing withinstitutional or conceptual issues, this chapter was grounded in theneed for an educational revamping at the teacher level because oftechnology. Instructors need to change their ideas about the purposeof higher education, argued author Dirk Morrison. New constructivistlearning theory was analyzed.

Chapter VIII, New Skills and Ways of Working: Faculty Developmentfor E-Learning, by Gail Wilson continued the theme of Morrison'schapter. Instructors need to develop skills in information andcomputer technologies to alter the outcomes of higher education.The new skills required by faculty were examined.

Moreover, Chapter IX followed in the theme of faculty transforma-tion in a case study. The chapter, Using E-Learning to Transform LargeClass Teaching, was authored by Cathy Gunn and Mindy Harper. Withlarger class sizes in major universities, e-learning provides a way toeconomically instruct all students, the chapter posited. The experi-ences of the case study were detailed including implications for thelearning culture of the institution.

Chapter X, the Continuing Struggle for Community and Content inBlended Technology Course in Higher Education, was also a case study. Inthis chapter (the half way point of the book) Richard A. Schweir andMary E. Dykes described their three year effort in graduate onlineeducation to implement synchronous and asynchronous computermediated learning. Experiences with online community building andsocial presence were examined. Interestingly, face to face commu-nications in physical class meetings were deemed as very important torelated online sense of community.

Martha A. Gabriel wrote in Chapter XI about the role of instructorsin online learning. The chapter, Toward Effective Instruction in E-Learning Environments, took the view that individual ideas aboutinstruction are incorporated into online education. A model forthinking about e-learning was proposed: reflect, apply, choose, andreview. This model advocated each instructor adapt in their own wayaccording to values and experiences.

In contrast to the relatively optimistic previous chapter, thesubsequent Chapter XII focused on the hard work of faculty onlineinstruction. The Plain Hard Work of Teaching Online: Strategies forInstructors was an enlightening description of the labor of teachingonline. There are no shortcuts to online teaching, author DianneConrad asserted. Instructional responsibilities in the chapter includedpedagogy, social and technology concerns. As the chapter explained,all three add up to hard work for online instructors.

In contrast to the previous two chapters, Chapter XIII looked at peer-to-peer interaction in asynchronous online learning environments.Entitled Empowering Learners to Interact Effectively in AsynchronousDiscussion Activities, the chapter written by Helen Wozniak discussedthe importance of empowering online learners though effectiveorientation activities. Orientation activities included providing exam-ples of effective postings to new e-students, encouraging onlinesocialization, and supporting online contributions through “starter andwrapper”moderation or “weaving and summarizing” by the instructor.This was connected to improved learning outcomes for online learners.

Chapter XIV, A Framework for Choosing Communication Activities inE-Learning, linked the level of structure in online discussion to theamount of desired dialogue in the class. The author, Tannis Morgan,showed how the level of autonomy to give students is one of the mostimportant considerations when transitioning to e-learning.

Continuing in the text, Chapter XV introduced concept of ProblemBase Learning to online courses. This approach, author Richard F.Kenny argued, prompts students to collaborate online and exploreconcepts more effectively. The chapter was entitled: Using Problem-Based Learning in Online Course: A New Hope? Effective use ofexamples from educational settings showed how this learning theorycan apply to online courses.

The third and final section changed gears somewhat for the text.Section III, Instructional Design and Technology Issues, includedessays on the technology of making the transition to e-learning.

Chapter XVI, Fast Prototyping as a Communication Catalyst for E-Learning, was a case study from Switzerland by author Luca Botturiet al. The Swiss Virtual Campus implemented concepts frominstructional design and development processes to the academictransition to e-learning. Specifically, the fast-prototyping is modelused quite often in human-computer interaction and was discussedbecause it focuses on facts and results not theory in instructionaldevelopment, and thus lends itself to rapid implementation.

In Chapter XVII, Educational Design Issues as a Key Issue for QualityImprovement, author Albert Sangra et al. explored quality issues in e-instructional design. A successful transition from traditional to onlinelearning should follow a planning strategy to ensure quality.

Chapter XVIII focused on a software application called gStudy.Entitled Cognitive Tools for Self-Regulated E-Learning, by Tracey L.Leacock and John C. Nesbit, this chapter was a case study of the use ofgStudy in a transition to undergraduate level e-learning. The resultsreported were high levels of student satisfaction with the multimediaand content management features of the software.

Similarly, Chapter XIX examined two specific tools for e-learning:Elluminate Live and iVisit. Written by Elizabeth Murphy, AdoptingTools for Online Synchronous Communication: Issues & Strategies, waswritten to consider advantages and disadvantages of these technol-ogies for e-learning. Advantages such as immediacy and conveniencewere contrasted to disadvantages like demands on instructors andtiming issues in synchronous environments.

Finally, the last chapter analyzed a more familiar technology, Power-Point, for the application of slideware in e-learning. Chapter XX, Know-ledge is PowerPoint: Slideware in E-Learning, by Adnan Qayyum and BradEastman, discussed the common mistakes associated with this applica-tion and strategies for integrating slideware into e-learning effectively.

3. Concluding remarks

The text successfully explored themany demands andpossibilities ofthe transition to e-learning in higher education. The mix of case studieswith learning theory articles provided broad themes through the firsttwo parts of the text on institutional and pedagogical issues. The thirdpart on technology read very differently as the authors exploredtechnology issues in the transition to higher education. The book waswell suited for instructional designers, educators and others involvedin the transition to e-learning in higher education settings.

Robert HudsonUniversity Shepard Broad Law Center - Law Library,

Technology Center 3305 College Avenue Fort Lauderdale, United StatesHead of Public Services Nova Southeastern University Shepard

Broad Law Center - Law Library; Technology Center 3305College Avenue Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314-7721.Tel.: +1 954 262 6223; fax: +1 954 262 3839.

E-mail addresses: robehuds@nova.edu, hudsonr@nsu.law.nova.edu.

doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2008.08.003

E. McKay (Ed.). (2007), Enhancing learning through humancomputer interaction, Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference,290 pages, ISBN-10: 1599043289 (hardcover), US$165.00

1. Introduction

In Enhancing learning through human computer interaction, ElspethMcKay presents a comprehensive review of literature illustrating e-

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