As teaching through technology keeps on developing, it is a reality that online teaching and learning is still an unexplored environment for some educators. Consequently, Routledge (n.d.) compiles a six-chapter book from experts’ works in the field in order to present The Theory and Practice of Online Teaching and Learning: A Guide for Academic Professionals. The six chapters give tips and advice for online teaching and it is available free online. The purpose of this book critique is to express evaluative comments and critiquing the title in question.
As regards the first chapter, Ko and Rossen (2010) thoroughly compare the foundations of face-to-face and online learning. In addition, the authors present theoretical and practical information and address the audience with strong arguments, for instance, when they express it is the teachers’ responsibility to bear in mind the different roles and benefits of teaching online when devising their own course. However, some pieces of information are omitted, for example, the authors only mention that there are some reliable training programs offered to the public without stating them. Consequently, the authors would have written a better piece if they had provided examples of reliable training programs.
In the second chapter, Vai and Sosulki (2011) evaluate online course design by examining and comparing synchronous, asynchronous, on-site, and blended learning. The authors include the advantages and disadvantages of asynchronous teaching and learning and the main aspects to succeed in this context. For example, how time is structured online is one of the authors’ main concerns. All in all, it is a comprehensive guideline both for digitally experienced and non-experienced teachers. Although there is not a drawback related to the content, as far as gender roles are concerned, it would have been important for the writers of the guide to use the gender-neutral pronoun they when referring to teachers instead of she and her.
The third chapter introduces the term of e-tivities (Salmon, 2012). The importance of e-tivities is explored, as well as, what e-tivities are, their value and purposes, their recipients, and which aspects people need to take into account in order to design e-tivities. In fact, this detailed presentation and explanation of different aspects that characterize e-tivities can be seen as a positive aspect. Even though the author presents a variety of students’ and teachers’ experiences concerning e-tivities, the chapter does not provide activities that can be adapted to a wide array of different situations as is stated in the introduction of the guidebook (Routledge, n.d). As a result, the author could have strengthened this chapter if she had included samples of e-tivities.
The fourth excerpt presents four categories for learning online: context, design, implementation, and outcome (Means et. al., 2014). As regards the context, they provide examples easy to understand “whether the online learning application is intended for higher education, K-12 (primary/secondary) education, military or job training, or self-initiated learning” (Means et al., 2014, p. 42). Nevertheless, for other categories, the authors do not provide models to help the readers get an idea. The implementation category introduces the term “MOOC” (Means et al., 2014, p. 44). The authors should have clarified that MOOC means Massive Open Online Course in this chapter and these courses are mainly used by universities.
In chapter five, Littlejohn and Pegler (2013) analyze the use of open resources in education, how they represent an opportunity to create, share, manipulate and reuse materials in any context. They introduce different contexts where open resources are advantageous such as in Health and Science. Furthermore, Facebook and Twitter are mentioned as examples of exchanging information. Although these tools are easy to access, the authors should have considered warning the audience about not taking all the information available as reliable.
In the last chapter, Laurillard (2021) considers that teaching is not only an art but also a design science such as architecture as its main goal is to “make the world a better place” (Laurillard, 2012, p.57). She states that education has included technology tools that were not intended to have educational uses. In fact, most inventions come from business. The author makes a strong call to action for educators to start having a more active role in the design of teaching technologies. However, the author should have included clear examples of how this could be achieved or how this has already been achieved by teachers.
To conclude, this compilation presents clear, easy-to-follow, and well-organized information on online instruction and practical tips to novice online educators. Although each excerpt stands on its own in each chapter, there may be some missing pieces of information that might be found in the complete titles that each chapter presents. Therefore, it could be considered that there is a hidden intention to advertise these books published by the same publishing house. All in all, this Routledge publication could become valuable material for those educators making their first steps into online teaching.
References
Ko, S., & Rossen, S. (2010). Teaching Online: The Basics. In Routledge Taylor & Francis Group (Ed.), The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: A guide for academic professionals (pp.7 - 15). Routledge.
Laurillard, D. (2012). Teaching as a Design Science. In Routledge Taylor & Francis Group (Ed.), The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: A guide for academic professionals (pp.56 - 60). Routledge.
Littlejohn, A., & Pegler, C. (Eds.). (2014). Reusing Open Resources for Learning. In Routledge Taylor & Francis Group (Ed.), The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: A guide for academic professionals (pp. 46 - 55). Routledge.
Means, B., Bakia, M., & Murphy, R. (2014). The Varied Terrain of Online Learning. In Routledge Taylor & Francis Group (Ed.), The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: A guide for academic professionals (pp. 39 - 45). Routledge.
Routledge Taylor & Francis Group (n.d.). The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: A guide for academic professionals. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. https://campus.caece.edu.ar/pluginfile.php?file=%2F415422%2Fmod_resource%2Fcontent%2F9%2FTheory_and_Practice_of_Online_FB_final.pdf
Salmon, G. (2012). E-tivities for Active Online Learning. In Routledge Taylor & Francis Group (Ed.), The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: A guide for academic professionals (pp.28 -38). Routledge.
Vai, M., & Sosulski, K. (2015). Essentials of Online Course Design: A Standards-Based Guide. In Routledge Taylor & Francis Group (Ed.), The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: A guide for academic professionals (pp.16 - 27). Routledge.
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