How to Design Self-Directed and Distance Learning ... (ISBN 0070271003)

Look Elsewhere, and Save Your Money:
Here is the entire book, quickly summed up: * Fill in these many, many "worksheet pages" * Work with experienced persons to get experience * Fill out some more checklist worksheets * Thanks for your money PLEASE do yourself a favor, and get a WBT book in which the author acutally is a Subject Matter Expert, and not someone out to take your money and provide obvious advice.

Should be Titled "Evaluating the need for Training":
This 300+ page book could easily have been 150 pages. Furthermore, he spends entirely too much time in the evaluation process. If you're looking to jump into web-based training design, this book's not for you. Too much preliminary analysis chocked full of theory from basic educational classes. The first 200 pages are a repeat of what I learned in educational classes for a degree in training and technological education. If you're a beginner, then this book could give you an overview of the complete thought process of deciding whether or not you need training. In fact, he almost tries to talk you out of training, but instead to try other alternatives first. If you've already made your mind up and need an expert book on the subject, this book is NOT for you. He readily admits that he has never done WBT!?! Designed more for academia and as a student workbook. I was looking more for a book that would detail the pro's and con's of WBT and distance learning from an expert doing it. It isn't until page 252 of 350+ that he begins talking about WBT (never mind he hasn't done it). He then spends less than 50 pages on it. Disregard all of the Web-based hype that you read on the back cover and in the book synthesis from the publisher.

Useful as a supplemental workbook, but not on its' own:
This book may be useful as a workbook for those who need to thoroughly outline a project they're doing(if they already know something about Web-Based Training). Better yet, teachers of WBT/CBT or Instructional Design might use it as a workbook for student projects. It is not, however, a good place to learn about WBT--not on its' own. A more comprehensive primary text is a necessity.

A Big Disappointment:
Too fluffy - Not enough meaningful conten

Less useful than most books on this subject:
This book is a disappointment. The actual content is slim. The book has lots of white space, lots of self tests for readers, lots of blank charts for the reader to fill in as he or she plans a course, lots of bulleted "to do" lists. But it provides virtually no supporting information for any of its points or suggestions and offers no sense that Dl is actually a pretty complicated subject. In addition, it offers no references, bibliographical material, or any other support for the readers' continued learning.