E-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning 4th Edition

I have always felt before that one textbook is pretty much as good as another, except for a few that are particularly bad. This book proved me wrong in the best possible way. This is the first textbook that I have ever recommended to anyone outside of the class.The tone strikes the right balance between conversational and formal. Clark & Mayer manage to sound authoritative without coming across as stuffy and pompous. They use clear language, and support each point without dragging it out. The guidelines they describe are concrete, can be immediately put into practice, and are well supported by experimental evidence. Perhaps this is due to my background in engineering, but I find this to be a nice change from authors who apparently feel that their ability to publish a book or a blog is sufficient for the readers to take their recommendations as gospel. Finally, Clark & Mayer are not shy about pointing out the limitations for each of the principles they describe, including cases where they are not effective or where additional research is required. Most chapters are self-contained, so it is easy to review or reference a concept without digging through the entire text.

I love this book! I consult it when designing web-based training. It’s extremely relevant.

Wow! What an outstanding resource this was! I really wish I had bought it instead of renting so I'd be able to keep it. This edition really challenges what you've always believed "works" in the classroom, and it is all backed up with data from peer-reviewed academic research. Chapters are centered around research-supported educational principles. Limitations of current knowledge, as well as exceptions to each principle are offered. An ESSENTIAL buy for the serious educational practitioner.

Nice meta-overview of meta-analyses, in a broad range of topics. I'm glad that the effect sizes of various studies and meta-analyses aren't glossed over. I also love that there's a handy checklist at the end, and that each chapter takes the time to address potential limitations of the effectiveness of each principle. Lets you easily pick through the stuff that's relevant to the specifics of the platform/medium you're working in.

I like the price but navigating the kindle app is a little challenging for a newcomer to digital media. I still can't figure out how to get the pages to show up when in the book. That is an issue when I need to include a reference to a specific quote.

I bought this book a few years ago when I was new to instructional design, but I was able to apply the information right away to make my software training at work more effective.

This amazing book will help you design your presentations for learning and provide the empirical evidence in an easy to read format to help you inform your decisions on how to present your material for the most effective learning experience. I've read it twice already.

This book more than any other out there in the market today remains the best book to help any organization define its eLearning strategy. It is invaluable no matter what stage of development you're in within the implementation and application if that strategy as well.