A Great Way to Get Ahead in Life

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.
Rating: 5 / 5

First, let me say that the material in this book is valid and helpful. That said, this seems to be a collection of suggestions that any teacher would hear from a mentor-teacher or should have heard in the most basic education class. A few of the “tips for teaching online groups”: 5) Understand your audience, 23) Be prepared and flexible, 30) Expect learners to be ready to learn, 80) Develop assignments. Don’t misunderstand; these are certainly practical tips, but my expectations for a book targeted toward teachers facilitating online classes were not met.

Part of my own mistake was buying this book based on the cover and not doing a little bit of research first. Copyrighted in 2000, this book was already eight years old by the time I got it. Some of the philosophical, big-picture ideas are helpful (share your work, promote critical thinking, and use case studies), but not what I was hoping for in a book targeted to as specific of an audience as this one is.
Rating: 2 / 5

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.
Rating: 5 / 5