INTRODUCTION
GETTING THE MOST FROM THIS RESOURCE
Purpose
The training field is undergoing an evolution from a craft based on fads and folk wisdom to a profession that integrates evidence and learning psychology into the design and development of its products. Part of the training revolution has been driven by the use of digital technology to manage and deliver learning solutions. This book provides you with evidence-based guidelines for both self-study (asynchronous) and virtual classroom (synchronous) forms of e-learning. Here you will read the guidelines, the evidence, the psychological theory, as well as review examples to shape your decisions about the design, development, and evaluation of e-learning for workforce learning.
Audience
If you are a designer, developer, evaluator, or consumer of e-learning, this book is for you. You can use the guidelines in this book to ensure that your courseware meets human psychological learning requirements and reflects the most recent research on e-learning methods. Although most of our examples focus on workforce learning, we believe instructional professionals in the educational and academic domains can equally benefit from our guidelines.
Package Components
For this fourth edition, we have updated the instructor guide that includes resources that can be adapted to various courses that focus on design and development of multimedia learning. To access the instructor guide, use the following link: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1119158664.html.
Our guidelines checklist found in Chapter 18 is also posted on the Wiley website and can be accessed the same URL.
Table 1.1 summarizes the content of the book’s chapters. In this fourth edition, two new chapters have been added. Chapter 11 describes recent evidence related to engagement in e-learning. Chapter 17 draws on Richard Mayer’s recent book, Computer Games for Learning, and summarizes research about serious games. We have updated research in all chapters and have been able to derive new guidelines based on the accumulation and analysis of many new experiments on the main principles of the book.
Table 1.1. A Preview of Chapters
| Chapter | Topics |
| 1. e-Learning: Promise and Pitfalls | Our definition of e-learning Research on e-learning effectiveness Potential promise and pitfalls in e-learning Three architectures for e-learning design |
| 2. How Do People Learn from e-Courses? | An overview of human learning processes and how instructional methods can support or disrupt them An Introduction to three forms of cognitive load |
| 3. Evidence-Based Practice | Our definition of evidence-based practice Three approaches to research on instructional effectiveness How to interpret research statistics A description of boundary conditions in experimental comparisons |
| 4. Applying the Multimedia Principle: Use Words and Graphics Rather Than Words Alone | Evidence on learning improvement in e-lessons that include visuals Psychological benefits of visuals Types of visuals that best promote learning Who benefits most from visuals? When to use static illustrations or animations |
| 5. Applying the Contiguity Principle: Align Words to Corresponding Graphics | Evidence for placing on-screen text near the graphics they describe Evidence for sequencing of text or audio in conjunction with visuals The psychological basis for the contiguity principle Situations that most benefit from applying the contiguity principle. |
| 6. Applying the Modality Principle: Present Words as Speech Rather Than On-Screen Text | Evidence for presenting words that describe graphics in audio rather than in text When the modality principle does and does not apply Effective and ineffective applications of the modality principle as well as the psychological basis for the modality principle |
| 7. Applying the Redundancy Principle: Explain Visuals with Words in Audio OR Text But Not Both | Evidence for use of audio to explain graphics rather than audio and redundant text that repeats the audio Situations when adding on-screen text to narration is a good idea |
| 8. Applying the Coherence Principle: Adding Extra Material Can Hurt Learning | Evidence for omitting extraneous words, distracting graphics and stories, as well as sounds and background music Psychological basis for the coherence principle How to add interest to e-learning without violating coherence |
| 9. Applying the Personalization and Embodiment Principles: Use Conversational Style, Polite Wording, Human Voice, and Virtual Coaches | Evidence for using conversational style, voice quality, and polite speech to improve learning Evidence for best use of computer agents to present instructional support Evidence for how to maximize learning benefits from computer agents |
| 10. Applying the Segmenting and Pretraining Principles: Managing Complexity by Breaking a Lesson into Parts | Evidence for breaking a continuous lesson into bite-size segments and allowing learners to access each segment at their own rate Evidence for sequencing key concepts in a lesson prior to the main procedure or process of that lesson |
| 11. Engagement in e-Learning | Our definition of engagement A distinction between psychological and behavioral engagement A summary of evidence-based methods that promote generative mental load |
| 12. Leveraging Examples in e-Learning | What are worked examples? Evidence for the benefits of worked examples Principles to optimize learning from worked examples |
| 13. Does Practice Make Perfect? | Our definition of practice in e-learning Evidence for the benefits of practice Principles to optimize learning from practice exercises |
| 14. Learning Together Virtually | Our definition of collaborative learning Situations under which collaborative learning is most effective A structured collaboration process shown to optimize learning outcomes |
| 15. Who’s in Control? Guidelines for e-Learning Navigation | The distinction between learner and program control Do learners make good instructional decisions? Guidelines and evidence for implementation of learner control |
| 16. e-Learning to Build Thinking Skills | Can thinking skills be trained? Our definition of thinking skills Guidelines for design of e-learning to promote thinking skills |
| 17. Learning with Computer Games | Are games relevant to workforce learning? Which features improve a game’s effectiveness? Does game playing improve cognitive skills? Are games more effective than traditional instructional approaches? |
| 18. Applying the Guidelines | A checklist and summary of all the guidelines in the book A summary of the effect sizes for the major book guidelines Three short discussions of how the guidelines apply to e-learning samples |
Glossary
The glossary provides definitions of the technical terms used throughout the book.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
- What Is e-Learning?
- Is e-Learning Better?
- The Promises of e-Learning
- Promise 1: Customized Training
- Promise 2: Engagement in Learning
- Promise 3: Multimedia
- Promise 4: Acceleration of Expertise Through Scenarios
- Promise 5: Learning Through Digital Games
- The Pitfalls of e-Learning
- Pitfall 1: Too Much of a Good Thing
- Pitfall 2: Not Enough of a Good Thing
- Pitfall 3: Losing Sight of the Goal
- Pitfall 4: Discovery Learning
- Inform and Perform e-Learning Goals
- Near Versus Far Transfer Perform Goals
- e-Learning Architectures
- Interactivity in the Architectures
- What Is Effective e-Courseware?
- Training Goals
- Learner Differences
- Context
- Learning in e-Learning