Whether you’re new to teaching and learning online, studying online – or have been teaching online for some time, the recently released e-book titled
A Distance Education Reader: Insights for Teachers and Students by Brent Muirhead will be a useful read.

The book is 137 pages in length, and divided into 3 parts:

(1) Literature and Research
(2) Training Faculty for the Online Environment
(3) Advice for online students.

In Literature and Research the author covers a wide range of the theoretical and practical issues associated with online education, including writing for online, ethical issues and the role of the teacher. Particular reference is made to Gilly Salmon’s e-tivities to illustrate the importance of interaction in the online environment.

The section on Training Faculty for the Online Environment provides a lot of useful information for online teachers, inlcuding chapters on how to promote creativity, interaction and critical thinking online – as well as a very useful chapter on training new online teachers.

The final section provides Advice for online students, and is aimed particularly at students undertaking tertiary level study. It includes practical advice on how to complete a lit. review, undertake research and produce academic presentations.