The second volume in a new series from Jossey-Bass, Guides to Online Teaching and Learning, this new compact offering from Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt attempts to fill the "how to" gap in the myriad offerings of online educational resources and does a good job of meeting the challenge in an abbreviated form. Riding the wave of community building in education, this text offers one more reference for those trying to create a more learner-centered online environment, but with a new twist: familiar interactive learning strategies modified for the online environment and focused on building a community of learners. Though written for faculty, this text would be ideal for administrators trying to understand the complex issues involved with online learning.

Conversational yet research-supported, the authors have done a nice job of combining theory with practice. Dividing the volume into two parts " "Collaboration Online" and "Collaborative Activities" " the first establishes the theoretical basis for creating collaborative online environments with guidelines for virtual teams, while the second concentrates on providing examples of activities, many concrete, for use in online courses. Though veteran online instructors might be tempted to skip or skim Part One, there are a number of important ideas that shouldn't be missed, such as "Working with Virtual Teams," where the authors present Duarte and Snyder's (2001) "seven competencies critical for successful leadership of virtual teams" and highlight the important connection between classroom practice and the business environment.

Faculty will welcome one more example to "sell" students on the benefits of teamwork, especially in a virtual environment. Including strategies for increasing "buy-in" from students and tools for assessment, Part One provides faculty with the basis for designing their online courses. In my opinion, the importance of making collaboration the framework for the online course, not merely adding on collaborative activities is a critical concept for faculty to grasp: Without this necessary context in Part One, Part Two would be less effective.

My favorite section, however, is Part Two, "Collaborative Activities," a collection of activities and additional resources (both online and text-based) with guidance for implementing these in online courses. I love it when faculty share ideas, and this section does just that. The authors have modified familiar interactive learning strategies for the online environment, dividing this section into activity categories. Each category has its own "chapter" and includes a brief description of the category and its role in a student-centered course, a practical example or classroom-ready lesson, and assessment tips. Those familiar with McKeachie's Teaching Tips will recognize many of these activities for increasing interactivity now modified for use online. In essence, the authors have presented faculty with some clear-cut examples to use as a template, which can be modified to fit the needs of their own courses. Moreover, veteran online faculty will find some fresh ideas for their courses as well. Among my personal favorites are the sections for "Blogs," "WebQuests," "Fishbowl," "Jigsaw Activities" and "Learning Cycles." I've used Fishbowl and Jigsaw activities in my courses, but I've been hesitant to try these online. After reading this text, I've begun to explore some possibilities for my literature courses. Appropriately, the authors' concluding section, "Final Thoughts on Collaborative Activities," revisits the important connection between the ideas in Part One with the application in Part Two.

Having read all of the authors' previous publications and found them to be invaluable, practical resources for creating student-centered online environments, I found myself setting a rather high bar for this text. Overall, although I thought it did a good job of meeting its purpose, I felt more depth and more resources were needed with some of the Part Two examples. For instance, in the "Role Play" section, more examples might have helped faculty envision activities beyond the essay example. Offering suggestions for creating role plays, some hints about the duration of these activities, and ways of involving students in creating them would also have helped. I expected more depth in the "Additional Resources" as well. Of the countless resources available, including a number of role play resources, the authors include only a few.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, especially for faculty, instructional designers and especially faculty developers. I have begun using the ideas for my own courses and could easily see this text adopted as a part of an online faculty development activity or course centered on exploring the concepts in a hands-on context.