Book Review: E-Learning by Design

For my birthday this year I received an online bookstore gift card from my sister, which I used to buy a title to augment my knowledge of instructional design. I was just finishing my certificate in ID at Western Illinois University and was looking for something that covered more practical techniques in e-learning than the more theory-based books that I had read in school.

I had been aware of William Horton since the late ’90s when I purchased his book “Writing Online Documentation” while flirting with the idea of getting into technical writing. (At the time I was working in journalism, and technical writing was hot and appeared to be more lucrative.) Though at the time I opted to go into library science instead, I had observed that over the past decade computer-based training had grown and appeared to displace technical writing to an extent, with many technical writers moving into that emerging field. So on a whim I looked to see if Mr. Horton had done the same, and sure enough, the technical writing guru had since moved into writing books on e-learning.

In fact, he had just published a 2012 edition of his book, E-Learning by Design, first published in 2006. So I ordered it and still had to fork over some of my own money after redeeming the gift card since this relatively specialized small-press book has a cover price of $65. At least its 640 pages give it a little more bang for the buck.

The book did not disappoint, as it’s loaded with practical e-learning activities and strategies. The first chapter even provides an easy-to-follow crash course in the instructional design process, and another focuses on assessment for e-learning. Essentially, the author says that all e-learning activities can be classified as “Absorb,” “Do,” or “Connect” activities, and spends three chapters overviewing each of them with examples. The remaining chapters deal with specific types of activities in these larger classifications, such as games and simulations, social learning and mobile-learning.

In the games and simulations chapter, Horton covers a variety of examples of this type of Do learning activity , such as quiz shows, branching, task simulations, role-playing games and micro worlds. In the social learning chapter, the author discusses where and when to use social learning, the social capabilities of software (such as the need to discuss asynchronously and collaboratively create documents), using proven social activities such as brainstorming and group-critiques and promoting team learning.

The mobile learning chapter discusses topics such as enabling virtual attendance, teaching “outdoor” subjects and making social learning mobile. Among other topics, it also deals with adapting existing learning for mobile learners, using the capabilities of the device, and visual design issues such as designing for easy reading and following established user-interface guidelines.

Lastly, Horton discusses designing for the virtual classroom, covering topics such as online meetings, Webinars, and course design.

This book was exactly what I was looking for in that it was clear and practical without being oversimplified; and the 2012 copyright date assures me that the activities are the latest and greatest. The book is also lavishly illustrated with screen shots of real world e-learning products, making it even more useful and easy-to-understand.

And perhaps what makes the book most valuable is its overriding premise that the success of any of these strategies relies on sound instructional design. Essentially, I agreed with e-learning strategist Marc Rosenberg’s observation in his plug for the book, which he writes “brings together the latest strategies for learning without losing its critical premise–technology enables e-learning, but great design makes it work.”