What blend would you like? (Review).

* Blending E-learning: The Power Is in the Mix by Karen Mantyla, print, 2001, 162pp., American Society for Training and Development (800-628-2783, www.astd.org), $40.95 (members, $34.95).

Editor's note: Training Media Review has a business relationship with ASTD.

Blending E-learning: The Power Is in the Mix by Karen Mantyla addresses the critical relationship among e-learning, other modes and methods of instruction, and the overall goal of improved learning.

The topic is timely. Early on, the e-learning conversation bogged down around an unproductive issue: How much classroom training will e-learning replace and how quickly? The question had very little to do with training and learning and very much to do with money. Vendors and analysts drove the discussion because they had something to sell: product or services and stock, respectively.

Then customers started complaining about real-world problems with the technologies, sector stocks tanked, the economy sank, vendors began to fold or be bought, and venture capital investors grew very nervous. In part because of these grim circumstances, the larger conversation about e-learning has gradually returned to its only reliable basis: learning.

Blending E-learning has three sections:

*An overview of e-learning and background on what "blended" means

*Case studies of blended approaches

*A series of five chapters on how to plan, develop, and evaluate a blended e-learning program

The case studies provide the most tangible learning in the book. The best are IBM'S "Basic Blue for Managers, "Intel, and Ernst & Young-Intellinex.

The studies were written by insiders or by outsiders well disposed to the organizations. I would have learned more if the studies described pitfalls, obstacles, and unforeseen problems. I would also have benefited from an objective gloss on each of the case studies that drew some conclusions about the blended approach. Anyone with e-learning experience will probably not find much of great interest in the opening section. The chapters tend to be chopped into many small pieces, causing coherence problems. I ran across some statements that gave me pause such as: "Because you usually have total control in the on-site classroom environment, you can usually predict how things will move along."

I don't know about you, but I have never had total control in a classroom. And, as Herb Kelleher, CEO of Southwest Airlines once said about total control, I don't want it!

The third section has useful step-by-step guidance for planning, developing, and assessing results of blended e-learning. However, the guidance assumes the use of e-learning in the blend. Shouldn't that be a part of the process: to determine whether e-learning should be used in a particular situation? Chapters on the pros and cons of various learning technologies and selecting technologies are more academic taxonomies than field protocols that yield recommended solutions.

Recommendation

The strengths and weaknesses of this book reflect the state of the continuing conversation about e-learning. Certain issues, concerns, and answers are coming into focus, while many others remain murky. You can learn from this book, particularly the second and third sections, but you will need to pick and choose.

Blending E-learning product rating


Holds reader interest  **
Instructional value    ** 1/2
Self-study value       **
Value of content       **
Value for the money    **
Overall rating         **
Outstanding    ****
Very good      *** 1/2
Good           ***
Above average  ** 1/2
Average        **
Below Average  * 1/2
Poor           *

NA Not applicable

NR Not rated (usually not enough information)

Bill Ellet ([e-mail]) is editor of Training Media Review.