Web-Based Instruction [Paperback]

Badrul Huda Khan (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Khan has almost 100 authors discussing many aspects of web-based instruction, such as learning environments, design problems, and delivery mechanisms. Filled with case studies, this volume will prove invaluable to any patron or librarian putting together a program of large-scale web-based training. But this very academic work is not for the novice.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 463 pages
• Publisher: Educational Technology Pubns; 2nd edition edition (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877782970
• ISBN-13: 978-0877782971
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,083,423 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As far as I'm concerned this is the seminal text in WBI., February 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Web-Based Instruction (Paperback)

My doctoral research has been on WBI, and I have written a book on the topic designed for orienting new students to this environment. I have read over 50 texts in the field and find this one to be the most comprehensive and up-to-date book for faculty and graduate students. The contributors are well-known researchers and cover topics that are frequently overlooked in other texts.

This text is not for those who are just beginning to think about WBI and are looking for basic information on how to get started. This text is for the individual or institution who has begun formulating a plan and needs in-depth articles on how to provide WBI that is effective, provides a rich learning environment, and can be assessed at a programmatic level.

Every graduate students in instructional technology and distance education should have this as their "bible" for laying the foundation of everything else to come.

I don't know Badrul Khan, but I heartily applaud this effort. This should be at the top of everyone's list as a buy.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for educators and administrators!, October 19, 1999

By 

Steve Hackbarth ([e-mail]) (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Web-Based Instruction (Paperback)

Badrul Khan claims in the Preface to his Web-Based Instruction to have "put together this comprehensive book . . . by incorporating works of talented individuals with unique backgrounds from around the globe." His stated purpose is to "provide readers with information related to design, development, delivery, management, and evaluation aspects of WBI."

Professor Khan fully succeeded in his ambitious mission and overachieved his understated purpose. His fine book represents some of the best thinking of some of the leading figures in the field of computer-based learning and telecommunications, now engaged in advancing the foundations and practice of WBI.

Among the authors, including myself, are notables representing institutions in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Australia, The Netherlands, Italy, and Germany, and scholars/practitioners from other parts of the world, Khan himself from Bangladesh. It should come as no surprise that the insights presented reflect both richness and diversity.

As may be expected with an edited work, there is repetition, especially pertaining to history of the Web and its distinctive features. And there surely are differences of opinion. But the reader easily can skim over the former, and must view the later as an accurate reflection of differences in perspectives and experiences, not to be edited out of existence.

Exceptionally nice features are the numerous graphics, exhaustive references, authors' email and home page addresses, a smartly organized 19 page subject index, and an 8 page index of authors cited. Consistency of typeface, headings, organization is maintained across chapters and the binding is solid.

The 59 chapters vary a great deal in depth, length, and content. Some are laudatory of the Web and some more cautious. There is plenty here for the instructional developer, the teacher, the trainer, and the futurist. Read, for example, A. J. Romiszowski's speculations on "the real meaning and importance of networks." Lorraine Sherry and Brent Wilson likewise engage the reader in analysis of critical issues, and, like Romiszowski, ground their visions for WBI in sound pedagogy. This makes Professor Khan's book ideal for graduate level courses across the campus, not just within schools of education, and essential reading for college faculty and administrators who very much need to take leadership roles in the evolution of Web-based instruction.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars as a whole, not worth reading, August 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Web-Based Instruction (Paperback)

The book is mainly concerned with educational theory. It is not a good choice for a reader interested in practical aspects of online teaching. Since each chapter is written by a different author, their quality varies. From reading 35 of the 52 chapters, selected at random, I found only 9 chapters useful or interesting: Ch. 7, 9, 11, 12, 19, 21, 22, 26, 40. Most of the remaining chapters are, in my opinion, without substance.