E-Learning Tools and Technologies: A Consumer's Guide for Trainers, Teachers, Educators, and Instructional Designers [Anglais] [Broché]

However, I have two significant quibbles with this book.

First, it begins with chapter after chapter on all the individual tools you might possibly use and concludes with the process for deciding what you need. To me that is akin to starting off a book written to help someone decide what type of home they want, with chapters on all the different types of roofs or windows there are, rather than first walking readers through such important questions as: how big is your family? and do you intend to entertain?, which instantly narrow your best options. Reading this book, I found myself quickly bogged down in deep detail on tools I learned I might not even need.

Secondly, many of the e-learning tool categories overlap in functionality, and some tools do it all. If this book had provided specific reviews of the best tools out there and how their features co-mingle, it would have been a big help. Instead, he neutrally lists scores of products in several of the categories discussed.

I did come away from this book with a solid understanding of the tool categories. Unfortunately, I am still pretty befuddled as to how to wade through all the complexities of those tool categories and how they relate to my objectives to decide which tools to buy.

The book is divided into the following categories:

Hardware and networks
Tools for accessing e-learning
Tools for offering e-learning
Tools for creating e-learning content
Picking tools and technologies
Evolution, trends, and big ideas

For each tool type, the book addresses the following:

What is the tool?
How does it work?
What else can the tool do?
What are the differences between tools?
How to choose the correct tool
The capabilities to look for

The book is clear and understandable, and helps you comprehend what these tools are, why you might want them, and how to evaluate them. The conceptual information is well presented and informative.

If you've ever found yourself confused about available e-learning technologies, or wondered if you need a particular technology or not, this is the book for you. It not only tells you what the tools do, it puts the technology in perspective for e-learning. William and Katherine Horton have distilled their years of experience into this 592-page book to help you make the right decisions and avoid the pitfalls. Highly recommended.

My favorite part is the Bill, Kit and Curmudgeon cartoons. They really proivde different perspectives about various issues. These are common views in real life and how they are expressed and addressed give this book an edge no other book on this topic has.

All this in addition to Bill and Kit's easily readable writing style and depth of knowledge. You can't lose when you buy this book. It's worth every penny and a lot more.