| The Reviews |
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| Education |
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"Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights , Art. 26, Sec. 2
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Textbook: "Common Wisdom: Peer Production of Educational Materials" (2005)
Author: Yochai Benkler
Textbook URL: http://www.lulu.com/content/162436
Reviewer: Barbara Mauter - Adjunct Instructor , University College / University of Toledo
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 *Average of all chapters. Maximum rating is 5.0 |
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Reviewer's Comments |
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I recommend this book for all community college levels. It can be adapted for any major as a supplementary text or a reference book. The reading level is appropriate for college level students. I found this textbook to be interesting and informative. An updated section on newer web information could be included since information on the WWW has increased since this text was published. |
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 *Average of all chapters. Maximum rating is 5.0. |
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Reviewer's Comments |
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I recommend this book for students and teachers studying online education. It would work well as a primary textbook since it is comprehensive, covering online theory to practice. The modular chapters also make it quite adaptable as a supplementary textbook or to use a few chapters to augment learning. It includes helpful chapter abstracts at the beginning of the book. Chapters start with "Learning Outcomes," and many have specially formatted "tips," glossaries, resources (usually with live links), and references. Chapters flow nicely; yet can be used well individually. |
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 *Average of all chapters. Maximum rating is 5.0. |
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Reviewer's Comments |
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Educational Psychology is a very practical, down-to-earth textbook and I highly recommend it for courses for first year community college students, and elementary and high school teachers. The book is has down-to-earth explanations and examples from everyday situations that a teacher is likely to face. It reads very easily, and is well paced. At the same time, the authors use updated references and sources, and their examples resonate with current issues in US education. The language is clear and friendly, and the authors have included examples that expand one’s understanding of key concepts in each chapter. |
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Textbook: "Extending and Developing Your Thinking Skills"
Author: Openlearn
Textbook URL: http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=1644
Reviewer: Barbara Mauter, Instructor. University College / University of Toledo
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 *Average of all chapters. Maximum rating is 5.0. |
| Reviewer's Comments |
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I feel this text would work well as either a primary text or a supplemental text. It is very useful for self-improvement of thinking skills. The text is written and directed at students wishing to further develop and expand their thinking skills. The design makes it well suited for self-paced instruction. It has excellent further links to foster discussion idea and adds additional information for students. The text has an excellent method of presenting Bloom's Taxonomy in an easy to understand way. |
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Textbook: "Facilitating Online: A Course Leader’s Guide"
Author(s): Tony Carr, Shaheeda Jaffer and Jeanne Smuts
Textbook URL: http://www.cet.uct.ac.za/files/file/Facilitating_online.pdf
Reviewer(s): Sheri Kendall-duPont, Academic Advisor & Retention Specialist - Online Instructor, Oregon State Universtiy, Colorado Tech University and American Public University
Review Date: January, 2012
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Reviewer's Comments
This guide is recommended for second year community college students with a basic understanding of learning theory and facilitation techniques. It is appropriate for any major that includes learning theory and/or facilitation. This guide is designed to provide novice online facilitators with the skills they need to efficiently and effectively facilitate an online classroom. The focus is not on the technical skills needed for any specific platform (the examples are based on a Sakai classroom). The content is designed in a manner that is relevant to an academic or corporate setting. This guide is a must read for individuals that need to master the art of facilitating an online course.
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 *Average of all chapters. Maximum rating is 5.0. |
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Reviewer's Comments |
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I recommend this textbook as a supplementary textbook for intermediate students. It has excellent self-guided questions to assist an individual in enhancing their study and learning techniques. It focuses on higher level skills development complementary to other learning. The first chapter sets the background for the individual to begin their own study program designed by themselves. It requires a commitment of time and work by the student to complete the exercises on their own. The individual is encouraged to reflect on their study techniques and how they lean and how they can improve or develop themselves in this area |
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 *Average of all chapters. Maximum rating is 5.0. |
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I recommend this book as a reference or as a supplementary textbook, though it is actually a report and not a textbook. It could be good for any college or trade school students, as well as for educators who want to learn about "web 2.0" and its educational applications and implications. It is very easy to use and readable. It is clear, has a detailed table of contents, and has very helpful lists of resources. |
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Reviewer's Comments |
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I recommend this textbook for all community college majors. It sets the background of why's and how's of problem solving, and it's organized and informative step by step approach to building a portfolio yields a useful showcase of skills learned. I recommend inclusion of more samples and examples. |
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 *Average of all chapters. Maximum rating is 5.0. |
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Reviewer's Comments |
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I highly recommend this textbook for graduate and doctoral level courses. This reading might be a challenge for an undergraduate class. This book is truly an educator’s textbook, carefully crafted to include all the major educational theory, methodology, delivery, and assessment considerations for online learning. The greatness of this book is placing online learning firmly into the field of education. This begins with the very thorough review of educational theory. This book is not “light” reading, but an absorbing textbook giving online learning its place in the entire field of education. |
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 *Average of all chapters. Maximum rating is 5.0. |
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Reviewer's Comments |
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I highly recommend this textbook to anyone interested in education in general and distance learning in particular. This is a great addition to the body of knowledge on the theory and practice of online learning. Terry Anderson and his contributors are to be commended for their continuing effort to make online learning better and to allow the rest of us to benefit from their work. In addition to the practices of teaching and learning, there are chapters that address administration and student support services - areas that are critical to student success that are beyond the authority of the instructional staff. It would also be a good text for a graduate course in Online Education. |
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 *Average of all chapters. Maximum rating is 5.0. |
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Reviewer's Comments |
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I highly recommend this valuable textbook for learning how to develop courses for Open and/or Distance learning. The textbook has easy to read layouts and excellent use of tables and graphics. Traditionally accepted educational theory, methodology, and assessment tools provide the foundation for ODL (open and distance learning). This book was based on a workshop for educators; and the last module is a very thorough and in-depth presentation of creating and facilitating workshops, perhaps within classes, as well as “stand alone” face-to-face workshops |
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