Book Review
“Engaging the Online Learner:  Activities and Resources for Creative Instruction” by Rita-Marie Conrad and J. Ana Donaldson. 
Review by Barbara Millis, Director of the TEAM Center, University of Texas at San Antonio

Online teaching is becoming a reality for everyone from technology lovers to technology Luddites.  After a shaky overview, Conrad and Donaldson provide a rich variety of practical examples for online activities. 

Part One ostensibly lays the groundwork for online teaching and learning, but the pedagogical background is misguided.  A diagram on p. 6, for example, suggests that constructivist principles plus problem-based learning equal an engaged learning environment.  The definition of problem-based learning is extremely “fuzzy,” and later the authors declare, “Engaged learning is a collaborative learning process . . .”(p. 8) with no attempt to define collaborative learning, either.  The authors’ phases of engagement for online learning -- where the learners go through four phases (newcomer, cooperator, collaborator and initiator/partner) and are matched by four instructor roles (social negotiator, structural engineer, facilitator, and community member/challenger) -- do not seem to be based on any hard research or practical evidence. 

Much of the foundational information is superficial at best.  The authors give only passing examples of topics such as activity rubrics, team assessments, and reflective self-assessments.  Software such as ForumManager is casually mentioned as a way to measure “the depth of thought expressed through online communication” (p. 34) with no further discussion or references. 

Part Two, focused on “Activities to Engage Online Learners,” provides numerous examples that are laid out with a consistent format:  Task, Objective, Author (including email address), Method, Instructions, and Activity Notes.  The examples, which try to reflect the four phases listed in Part One, are roughly organized under the following headings:  Learning to Use Online Tools, Online Icebreakers, Peer Partnerships and Team Activities, Reflective Activities, Authentic Activities, Games and Simulations, and Learner-led Activities.  Most chapters begin with checklists for effective activities of the type described and the list of activities with notations for Asynchronous and Synchronous. 

I am not a fan of ‘empty-icebreakers’ without discipline-related content, so I found that chapter fairly superficial with cute titles such as “Lost in Space,” “Room with a View,” and “Name that Movie.”  Similarly, some of the team-building activities were devoid of content.  Later activities were more substantive.  I liked “IRAs (Insights, Resource Sharing and Applications)”, p. 80; “Pyramid,” structured interviews of practicing professionals (p. 91); and “Virtual Field Trips” (p. 104). 

The key reason to buy this book would be the examples themselves.  Several of them provide creative activities that might stimulate online teachers to avoid the trap of simply dumping content into an online course format. 

Title:  Engaging the Online Learner:  Activities and Resources for Creative Instruction
Authors:  Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A.
Price:  $27.00 (paperback)
Publisher:  Jossey-Bass
Year:  2004
Pages:  144
ISBN:  0-7879-6667-3