The Virtual University is a wonderful source of information for individuals or institutions who are considering the prospect of entering the cyber world to offer all or part of their courses. The authors are faculty and staff at De Montfort University in Leicester, England. They are classroom practitioners who employ the variety of techniques and resources discussed in the book.

The book is intended for classroom professors and others engaged in the design and delivery of courses in higher education institutions. An important emphasis of the book is that resource-based courses that rely upon communication through information technology must have a firm foundation in appropriate models of teaching, learning and course development. The theory and knowledge of effective learning and teaching must guide the selection and use of technology for delivering course content. The Internet, the authors argue, has allowed much greater choice in course delivery options and has provided more effective ways in which to deliver some aspects of courses to a broader array of users.

The book is organized into ten chapters. The authors spend time in the early chapters developing terms and concepts that underlie the Internet and resource-based learning. In the middle chapters the focus shifts to course development issues and existing Internet resources and how these can be most effectively used or integrated into the course you wish to deliver. An important aspect of this book is a useful chapter on computer-aided assessment, and another on course management systems. Being able to both assess student learning in non-classroom contexts and to more easily manage the many components of a course that is resource-based are valuable pieces of the decision-making that any faculty member must consider when embarking on the use of these tools to expand or modify their courses.

Finally, the authors address the changes that the Internet and resource-based learning options are having on the classroom and higher education in general. The impact not only resonates in the classroom and the university, but also has global implications for the provision of higher education. The final discussion examines major anticipated developments for the future.

Although I began this book with great skepticism, I found that as I moved through the chapters that I found more and more value in the pages. There are aspects of the book that are quite elementary for many faculty members, especially the early adopters of the Internet and resource-based learning. However, there are still useful additions of theory and sources of information on recently developed applications. The obvious limitation of the information is that so much of what is considered new and cutting edge when the book was published very quickly becomes obsolete. For most faculty members, however, this is not much of an issue because the gradual adoption of the Internet and attendant technologies allows for adaptation and adjustment to new developments. In addition, reality for most higher education institutions is that they lack the resources to be cutting edge in resource-based learning anyway -- lagging somewhat behind the leading edge can be an advantage.

A useful addition to the book is the Web site that links to all of the resources contained or referenced in the book. The site allows users to connect with up-to-date resources to incorporate into their classes that are framed in the concepts of learning and teaching effectiveness.

Finally, the book is easily readable, it allows readers to pick and choose the material that is most useful to their purposes, and it provides a framework for comparing resource-based learning options for adoption depending upon the aims and resources available to the user. Although any book on virtual universities and Internet technology is going to be limited and dated soon enough, this book is a surprisingly useful and valuable addition to this burgeoning literature.

Terrel L. Rhodes
Portland State University