147 Practical Tips for Teaching Online Groups: Essentials of Web-Based Education

This little book does exactly what the title says. The authors give tips -- some common and some not so common - to help teachers involved in online learning. It is a great little reference.

In 147 Practical Tips For Teaching Online Groups: Essentials of Web-Based Education, Donald E. Hanna, Michelle Glowacki-Dudka, and Simone Conceicao-Runlee effectively collaborate to create a practical and succinct compendium of "tips, tricks and techniques" for successfully conducting a workshop, seminar or classroom symposium over the Internet. Each technique is succinctly presented and will increase effectiveness for both the teacher and the group discussion participants. 147 Practical Tips For Teaching Online Groups is essential and invaluable reading for anyone charged with the responsibility for using the Internet as a means of instructional contact whether in academia, a corporate in-service, non-profit organizational seminar, or educating an Internet newsgroup or listserv in some particular subject, issue or topic.

As an experienced learner and instructor in online education, I found this book to be a nice, quick read that provides some very practical tips and suggstions in teaching online. What I really liked about it was its simplicity-finally, a book that reads like a book and not like an academic journal article. ( I like academic journal articles, but when I read them all day, this is a nice change of pace.)Not meant to be a comprehensive resource nor the final solution to online teaching problems, these tips generate intrigue and interest-enough to encourage you to explore additonal resources.A great road map for beginners and for seasoned veterans in online education.

147 Practical Tips for Teaching Online Groups delivers what the title implies and much, much more. Over the last three years I have traveled to scores of universities across the United States and talked to chancellors, presidents, provosts, deans, and faculty about technology in education. Online education is on everyone's mind. Most faculty members are very un-nerved and yet intrigued by the idea of exploring this new mode of publishing and. So many faculty I have visited with from all academic fields are holding back, unsure of where to step into this seeming ocean of unknown waters. 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Online is the PERFECT book to start faculty off on this new adventure. If I were a dean wondering how to start a discussion with faculty about exploring online education, I would purchase everyone a copy.This book provides a practical road map, warns of the potholes to avoid, asks readers to think about important questions they will face along the way, and illuminates the myths about teaching online. It is written in a gentle yet affirming tone that lets the reader evaluate from her/his own experience, how he/she might jump into this new medium of information and discourse. Professors will make the decision to adopt new ways of teaching and learning when they hear about it from another professor, from a colleague who has been there before and can show them some of the journey they will encounter. This book takes nothing for granted about what an instructor may or may not know about effective teaching. It gives a reasonable and detailed series of guideposts that even the best instructors can appreciate in planning their own first adventure into online education.I recommend this book even for experienced distance educators as I learned a great deal from it myself. I wish I could have had this book when I jumped into distance education 13 years ago.

As the Bard said, "ripeness is all." If you are ready for a 65-page checklist about online teaching, and if you are hungry for a succinct set of reminders in four chapters with two short appendices of helpful websites-- here it is. You can read this in a couple of hours, as I did, and get a satisfying overview. I'm going back to it for the occasional reality check, like chatting to an experienced and non-threatening colleague, when I need a few calming words. The extended essay 147 Tips will be for some people, such as myself, a reassurance that the "black hole" of Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) will not devour me totally. The four things I liked best about this slim volume are (1) an emphasis on knowing yourself and your philosophy of teaching, (2) itemisation of most common myths and constraints of online instruction, (3) lots of practical reminders (don't expect revolutionary or stunning) about content and assessment, and finally (4) a sense of "go ahead, you can do it" attitude. The three authors first share their medieval self-profiles (I'm not joking!), so that you can see they are real people trying their best to figure out how to be responsible pioneers. No big words. But if you are not "ripe" for this kind of "guide on the side" type of humane encouragement, I expect you'll be frustrated. This extended outline of 147 "tips"-- a bit of a misnomer-- is for people who want a point-form set of reminders. It is a sequential shoppling list of topics. It leaves one with a sense of modest suggestions offered by caring educators.