Book Review
“The Virtual Student:  A Profile and Guide to Working with Online Learners” by Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt
Review by Gail A. Ryder, Siena Heights University

From a detailed profile of the online learner to a complete “Resources” section aimed at both faculty and students, Palloff and Pratt have gathered the most practical research on teaching online in their book, The Virtual Student.  Their philosophy embraces what they call “heutagogy” or self-directed learning—a lens that some educators more wedded to direct teaching may not readily accept.  Still, their advice is broad enough that it seems to transcend both disciplinary considerations and educational philosophies.  Their listing of learner-focused techniques would apply to almost any course.

The authors’ profile of the successful virtual student is concrete and specific, but more importantly, they challenge many of the assumptions made about the reality of the online environment.  Some students and educators have assumed that online courses are easier, less rigorous and not as challenging as their face-to-face counterparts. Palloff and Pratt’s successful virtual learner is actually committing more time to the online experience and demonstrates a great deal of self-discipline, motivation and a willingness to collaborate with others.  Critical thinking and reflection are also key cognitive skills in the virtual classroom and the asynchronous nature of the course discussions, journals and threaded postings may actually encourage more depth than can be achieved in a face-to-face discussion. 

Creating a successful virtual classroom involves building and nurturing the learning community, but it also requires designing a series of meaningful and measurable learning experiences. This is no different than a face-to-face classroom.  However, Palloff and Pratt have a useful section on learning styles that provides a basic guide for matching learning styles with types of online learning activities.  Especially valuable is their chapter entitled, “Gender, Culture, Lifestyle and Geography,” and although all these issues can have a significant impact, both positive and negative, on any classroom, the virtual one certainly invites more diversity than ever before. This is exciting and challenging.

Because of its clear organization and the direct experience of its authors, both the novice and the tested online instructor will find Palloff and Pratt’s The Virtual Student a very worthwhile resource.