Apr 23, 2007

Free report 'e-learning 101' by Brandon Hall

Brandon Hall research gives away this free 57 page introduction e-book to e-learning, e-learning tools and technologies. (Click on the picture to download.)

Fields such as e-learning tend to confuse people with the technical details, the for-insiders-only language and vast list of acronyms. This report will bring everyone up to a basic level of understanding and make sure everyone can talk intelligently about e-learning.

It talks about the history of the profession and technology, the/a definition of e-learning, instructional design, development roles, evaluation and authoring tools. It comes complete with illustrations, references to actual products or vendors, a much needed glossary for beginners and FAQ.

For experienced learning professionals this guide will bring few or no new information, but it is nice to have it all available in one easy guide. For newcomers to the field this guide will quickly get you up to speed.

One short paragraph I like very much is the one on pro/cons of e-learning. It summarizes it nicely.

There are advantages and disadvantages associated with e-learning. Advantages include cost, geographical reach, use of multimedia, availability, portability, consistency, learner control, up-to-date content, no duplication, and shorter learning time. Disadvantages include a lower level of interactivity, initial development time and cost, technological limitations (bandwidth, access), developer limitations, learner motivation, learning styles, and preferences.

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