GARRISON, D. R., & ANDERSON, T. 
(2003). E-Learning in the 21st century: A 

framework for research and practice. 
London: Routledge Falmer (pp. 167). 

In E-Learning in the 21st Century, 
Garrison and Anderson have provided 
an excellent resource covering the 
impact of eLearning on higher education 
and society. Intended for researchers, 
practitioners, and senior administrators 
who may be looking at implementing or 
reviewing eLearning in their institutions, 
this book has a sound research base 
and draws on the rich experience and 
enthusiasm of these two leaders in 
their field. In that respect I would also 
recommend this book as a text for 
graduate students who are working in 
the field of eLearning. 

In their preface, Garrison and Anderson 
warn that eLearning not only provides 
enormous opportunities-it also provides 
correspondingly high risks for higher 
education. Their goal in this book is to 
examine the technological revolution in 
such a way that there is a clear framework 
for understanding the possibilities and 
applications for eLearning. Through their 
extensive research they are able to look 
behind the hype of these revolutionary 
technologies and not only address the 
pedagogical and organisational perspec­
tives, but give practical models and 
exemplars of good practice as well. 

The book is divided into two parts, 
initially looking at the conceptual 
framework around eLearning followed 

Reviews 

by a more practical application of the 
framework with the focus on a wide 
range of learning activities conducted 
through online electronic means. The link 
between eLearning theory and the 
practice is one of the strengths of the 
book that I believe will set it apart 
from other publications in this area of 
distance education. 

The authors' notion of eLearning as 
something driven by the needs of 
teachers and learners rather than the 
technology is most refreshing. This is not 
about solutions looking for problems to 
solve, but an emphasis on developing 
effective online teaching and learning 
cultures of inquiry. The authors are 
unashamedly enthusiastic about online 
learning and this positive energy comes 
through strongly in their writing. 

Garrison and Anderson highlight the 
importance of developing a critical 
community of teachers and learners 
using a constructivist collaborative 
approach. They believe that facilitating, 
constructing, and validating understand­
ing can develop capabilities that will 
lead to further learning. I liked the way 
they explore social presence, cognitive 
presence, and teacher presence with their 
optimistic view that "the role of the 
teacher will change-but for the better" 
(p. 65). This examination of teaching roles 
acknowledges its multifaceted nature and 
the need to be "a subject matter expert, an 
educational designer, a social facilitator, 
and a teacher" and how "the liberating 
frame of e-learning significantly alters 

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50 



how these responsibilities are fulfilled" 
(p. 65). This book does not disappoint 
the reader who is keen to know more 
and gives clear, authoritative information 
about what we will all need to be 
aware of as eLearning administrators, 
researchers, and practitioners. 

I found this book provides particularly 
useful insights into assessment and 
evaluation, with chapter nine offering a 
good general overview of the topic. 
Many people question how assessment 
for traditional learning is different to 
eLearning and this is an aspect that could 
well have been explored a little further. 
If there is in fact little or no difference, 
then maybe this needs to be made 
clearer, but the suggestion is that 
eLearning offers enhanced opportunities. 
The authors do highlight different modes 
of assessment provided by the online 
environment and this provides some 
models of good practice that teachers will 
find most useful. 

In the area of assessment and evaluation, 
one important issue that Garrison and 
Anderson raise is the reliability and 
validity of the content analysis of online 
discussion. While a lot is written in the 
eLearning literature about the importance 
of assessment to encourage discussion 
participation, how this assessment takes 
place and the methods used for analysis 
are open to question. The methodological 
issues associated with the content 
analysis of online group discussion 
transcripts are explored in Appendix B, 
a paper written with Liam Rourke 
and Walter Archer. This paper examined 
nineteen different computer-mediated 
communication content studies and 
raised issues that clearly need to be 
addressed as part of the online assess­
ment of class discussion participation. 

If you are looking for a book that will 
give you a good theoretical justification 
for the development and teaching of · 
online courses, then this book would be 
an excellent starter. It will show that 
eLearning is not just another learning 
technology; it has the potential to enable 
those working in higher education to 
transform their teaching and learning. 

This is a book that should find wide 
acceptance from educators who are 
trying to meet the challenges of eLearning 
in their institutions. 

Nola Campbell 
University of Waikato 

Hamilton, New Zealand 

MOORE, M. G., & ANDERSON, W. G. 
(2003). Handbook of distance education. 
Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum 
Associates (pp. xxiii, 872). 

This book has been sitting on my desk for 
a few weeks while I have been finding 
the time to write this review. During that 
time I have found myself dipping into it 
as a particular issue arose or when I have 
had to prepare a report for a meeting. 
So my initial thoughts are that it is 
useful to have a copy within easy reach. 
It is not a book that you will lose easily 
on your desk, as it is weighty (containing 
872 pages divided into 7 parts with a 
total of 55 chapters) and in its dark grey 
cover with gold text it looks like an 
authoritative reference. I was more in 
danger of losing it to other people as they 
came into the office, took an interest, 
flicked through its pages, and wanted to 
borrow it. 

The seven parts, which cover just about 
the whole range of issues in distance 

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51 



education, are: historical and conceptual 
foundations; learning and learners; 
design and instruction; policies, 
administration, and management; differ­
ent audiences in distance education; the 
economics of distance education; 
international perspectives. The number of 
chapters varies in each part, with most 
having eight or nine but part six 
(economics) having only three. 

Each author was asked to consider three 
common questions: (1) What is the 
current state of your special research area 
in contemporary distance education in 
America?; (2) What knowledge about this 
is based on empirical research evidence?; 
(3) What further research is needed in 
light of the changes that are occurring? 

Part one takes us through a series of 
contributions that cover the history, 
theory, and philosophy of distance 
education. (Contributors: Farhad Saba; 
Von Pittman; Charles Feasley; Ellen 
Bunker; Don Hanna; Borje Holmberg; 
Otto Peters; Randy Garrison, Terry 
Anderson, Walter Archer; Terry 
Anderson.) 

Part two focuses on learning and 
learners and includes nine contributions 
with significant parts of them dealing 
with support for learners by institutions 
and instructors. (Contributors: Chere 
Gibson; Randy Garrison; Daniel Granger, 
Maureen Bowman; Robert Curry, 
Donald Winiecki; Kayleigh Carabajal, 
Deborah LaPoints, Charlotte Gunawar­
dena; Connie Dillon, Barbara Green; 
Michael Hannafin, Janette Hill, Kevin 
Oliver, Evan Glazer, Priya Sharma; 
Cheris Kramarae.) 

Part three, which is the one I mostly 
referred to, is on design and instruction. 
More than half of the chapters deal 
primarily with web-based or online 
instruction. (Contributors: Rick Shearer; 
Diane Davis; Alan Chute; Robert Wisher, 
Christine Curnow; Curt Bonk, Vanessa 
Dennen; Som Naidu; Richard Hall, Steve 
Watkins, Vicky Eller; Susan McKnight; 
Morris Sammons.) 

Part four covers some important issues 
for both individuals and institutions, 
such as quality assurance, intellectual 
property, leadership, evaluation, global­
ization, equity, and access. (Contributors: 
Lucille Pacey, Erin Keough; Michael 
Simonson, Tamara Bauck; Amy Kirle 
Lezberg; Annette Sherry; Peter Dirr; 
Tomas Lipinski; Ryan Watkins, Roger 
Kaufman; Michael Beaudoin; Andrew 
W oudstra, Marco Adria; Linda Wolcott; 
Melody Thompson, Modupe Irele.) 

The chapters in part five examine 
the role of distance education for 
diverse organisations in widely disparate 
corporations (the armed forces, 
community colleges, and high schools). 
(Contributors: Diana Oblinger, Sean 
Rush; Zane Berge; Kathy Perdue; Philip 
Westfall; Steven Jones, Larry Blevins, 
Wanda Mally, James Munroe; Michael 
Freeman; Christine Dalziel; Tom Clark.) 

Part six is a short section that deals 
with the cost-effectiveness of different 
modes of distance education. It is kept 
as a separate part as it one of those 
perennial questions often ignored by 
practitioners. (Contributors: Greville 
Rumble; Insung Jung; Alistair Inglis.) 

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52 



Part seven includes discussion on the 
effect of issues such as culture and 
globalisation, and how institutiohs such 
as UNESCO and the World Bank are 
contributing to teaching and learning 
around the world. (Contributors: Robin 
Mason; Charlotte Gunawardena, Penne 
Wilson, Ana Nolla; Terry Evans, Daryl 
Nation; Jan Visser; John Daniel, Wayne 
Mackintosh; Michael Foley.) 

I have listed the contributors here as 
Moore assures us, in the preface, that 
they are all authorities on their subjects. 
On this basis I would have liked to 
have seen a short biography of each 
contributor, as there is an assumption that 
everybody in distance education will 
know who they are. However, in the 
overview Moore does give us some 
insight into the background of a number 
of the authors, as he has "worked to a 
greater or lesser extent with every one of 
them" (p. xi). 

Despite the title it is really a handbook 
of American distance education, even 
though there are some non-US 
contributors. As Moore states in the 
overview, this book grew out of 
suggestions to bring his earlier book, 
Contemporary Issues in American Distance 
Education, up-to-date. 

On scanning through the titles of the 
chapters, it is quickly seen that many 
deal with eLearning and the use of the 
web. As expected there are a number of 
chapters that consider the uses of 
technology which is timely considering 
the high profile of this area. 

There is something for everyone in 
education, including those outside of 

distance education who are currently 
looking at distance educators to see how 
they manage the issues that they ·are 
facing by going online. 

To quote Moore: 

If the present volume serves 
to temper some of the more 
impetuous enthusiasm and 
replace it with well-grounded 
understanding of the costs 
involved and of the need for 
substantial investment, training, 
reorganizing of administrations, 
monitoring and evaluation of 
learning, and support of 
learners-of the need, that is to 
say, for careful and long-term 
planning and development of 
new and different delivery 
systems-the authors jointly will 
have made an extremely valuable 
contribution. (p. x.,'<iii) 

These are definitely aims that we all 
should be working toward, and this 
text will certainly help to guide us on 
the way. 

Moore makes much of the use of the 
book as a "source of enlightenment" 
(p. xi) for students, researchers, 
practitioners, and policymakers, so 
expect to see it cited many times in 
forthcoming articles. Also, it recently 
received the Charles E. Wedemeyer 
Award of the (United States) University 
Continuing Education Association for 
the outstanding book of 2003. 

Trevor Billany 
Massey University 

Palmerston North, New Zealand 

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53 



REEVES, T., & HEDBERG, J. (2003). 
Interactive learning systems evaluation. 
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: 
Educational Technology Publications 
(pp. 297). 

The authors are passionate about the 
evaluation of interactive learning 
systems, believing they are an essential 
component of quality of learning 
systems. They have written this book in 
the hope that it will raise awareness and 
ensure effective evaluation procedures 
are undertaken. It is aimed at "project 
managers, instructional designers, and 
implementers of interactive learning 
systems" (p. 3) to help with decision­
making, the most important criteria in 
evaluation. I believe they have achieved 
their goal. 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS 

Professors Thomas Reeves and John 
Hedberg are experts in the field of 
multimedia and education, with diverse 
academic experience and publications. 
What makes this book especially useful is 
that the authors conducted a number of 
evaluations for clients while writing it 
and used drafts as readings for their 
graduate students. I was one of those 
students. I found the information very 
useful while studying evaluation with 
Hedberg, and have since found it 
extremely useful for educating staff at my 
institution about evaluation techniques. 
Hence both practical experience and 
feedback from clients and students have 
shaped the book. The book is an easy­
to-read mix of theoretical information on 
evaluation, linked to practical examples 
and solutions for effective evaluation. 
Each chapter has objectives listed at the 
start to alert the reader to what they can 
expect to gain from reading its contents. 

OVERALL BOOK ORGANIZATION 

To begin with the reader is introduced 
to a website that accompanies the 
book, where very useful templates of 
evaluation plans, sampling instruments, 
questio:rlnaires, checklists, sample eval­
uation reports, and much more can be 
found: http:/ /it.coe.uga.edu/ �treeves/ 
ilse.html. 

It is evident that the authors want to 
share their knowledge and spread the 
word about evaluation, and they 
provide the tools to encourage and help 
others do it well. This is more than just 
a book; it is also a how-to manual, 
but a very professionally written and 
theoretical manual that is well researched, 
and aligned with both historical and 
current practices in multimedia-based 
learning (i.e., including CD-ROM and 
web-based delivery). 

There is a mix of theoretical and 
practical information, beginning with a 
definition of interactive learning systems, 
paradigms and models of inquiry, 
functions of evaluation and planning, 
and managing the evaluation process. 
The reader is then taken carefully 
and in great detail through the 
different types/functions of evaluation: 
review, needs assessment formative, 
effectiveness, impact, and maintenance 
evaluation. Evaluation reporting and 
how to enhance evaluation through 
research complete the twelve chapters. 
The detail is always just right and 
always applied to real-life examples. 
For example, in chapter four, all stages 
of the actual evaluation plan used 
by Reeves and Hedberg for the 
evaluation they conducted on the Science 
of Amazon Exploration interactive CD­
ROM are presented, and there are very 

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54 



realistic solutions for managing an 
evaluation project. 

The main theme throughout the book 
is that evaluation must drive decisions. 
The second theme is that the ultimate aim 
of using effective evaluation techniques is 
to produce interactive learning systems, 
albeit CD-ROM or web-based, which 
provide educationally sound learning 
experiences for the intended audience. 
The message is that a professionally 
produced innovation is more likely to be 
marketable than a shoddy composition 
that has not been adequately tested and 
altered accordingly. 

CHAPTER BY CHAPTER 

Much of chapter one is devoted to 
interactive learning, and models of 
interactive learning are examined. The 
models of Taylor and Papert, proponents 
of computers as "tutor, tool, tutee" (p. 6), 
are discussed, and mention is made 
of the move toward communication­
mediated interaction as more effective 
learning tools. Schank and Cleary's five 
teaching architectures for interactive 
learning systems are critiqued in some 
detail and aligned to case examples of 
best practise multimedia, and mention is 
also made of other worthy examples 
(Jasper Woodbury and StageStruck). There 
is mention of learning theories and their 
relationship to interactive learning, and 
some detail about delivery methods 
used for interactive learning systems. All 
this sets the scene for best practice 
and what needs to be examined 
through evaluation. 

Chapter two is devoted to inquiry 
paradigms and evaluation models, and 
the writing is refreshingly frank about 
the authors' preference of the "Eclectic­
Mixed Methods-Pragmatic Paradigm" 

and their belief that several models of 
evaluation need to be used to obtain an 
effective evaluation. By the time readers 
have perused chapters three through five, 
they are well prepared to decide on the 
type of evaluation to be undertaken, have 
clear definitions of the six functions with 
hypothetical examples, and are equipped 
with a clear plan on how to go about it. 

Throughout the book, the authors 
use tables and diagrams to illustrate 
concepts, models, sample questions, 
procedures, and steps in a process. This 
makes it easy to read and to flick back 
to for reference. I particularly like the 
way the hypothetical evaluation plan in 
chapter four is "chunked" in well-defined 
boxes of information. Chapters five 
through ten are each devoted to one 
type of evaluation function (review, 
needs assessment, formative, effective­
ness, impact, and maintenance) and 
provide readers with practical ways to 
conduct each type, the reasons for it, 
questions to be asked, theories, 
sample tools and practical examples. For 
example, in the chapter on effectiveness 
evaluation, readers are introduced 
to implementation logs as a basis for 
interpreting system outcomes being 
measured. Additionally, the chapter 
provides very useful information about 
the design and pedagogy associated with 
effective learning systems. 

Penultimately, in chapter eleven, readers 
find out how their evaluation findings 
can be presented in an evaluation report. 
The requirements for each section of the 
report are described and supported with 
examples. We are given samples of 
decisions and the questions that need 
to be asked to make them, e.g., the 
decision, "What learning styles should 
be accommodated by the web-based 

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55 



training (WBT) system?" is accompanied 
by questions such as, "What are the 
individual characteristics of the target 
audience?" and "What learning styles can 
be accommodated by the design of 
WBT?" (p. 251). 

Finally, chapter twelve takes us on a 
journey looking at evaluation and 
research in educational technology, with 
recommendations for development 
research to be carried out rather than 
the basic and applied research which has 
dominated the field so far. It is not clear 
how development research differs 
from action research or if it does differ 
at all but has been renamed, and that 
would be the only criticism I have of 
the book 

CONCLUSION 

I would highly recommend this book's 
use as a course text as well as a guide on 
how to conduct evaluations. It removes 
all excuses and provides the means for 
action regarding the evaluation of 
interactive learning systems. Throughout, 
the authors are generous with their 
knowledge, and provide practical and 
user-friendly solutions and templates to 
get readers started on using effective 
evaluation techniques. This is a 
remarkable and very useful text and 
stands out on its own in the sea of how-to 
eLearning texts that are swamping the 
market. Make a wise decision, read it! 

Bronwyn Hegarty 
Otago Polytechnic 

Dunedin, New Zealand 

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