Over the 15 years since the first edition of this book, various forms of digital learning have grown from 10% to about 40% of training delivery media. The emergence of virtual classrooms and evolution of asynchronous formats on multiple digital platforms make the research on what works to promote learning more important than before. In this Fourth Edition, you can review guidelines, checklists, and examples that guide your major e-learning design and development decisions. Whether you are reviewing off-the-shelf courseware or creating your own lessons, this book will address fundamental issues such as:

• What kinds of graphics help learning and what kinds of graphics hurt learning
• Which audiences most benefit from graphics
• When and how to best use animations
• Situations in which it is best to use audio to describe graphics
• Situations in which it is best to use text to describe graphics
• How to place text on the screen to maximize learning
• How to avoid mental overload caused by inappropriate use of graphics, text, and audio
• The benefits of personalizing lessons through informal language and on-screen avatars
• Ways to increase social presence in virtual and asynchronous learning events
• How to maximize learning benefits of examples and demonstrations
• The best forms of engagement for learning
• Practice activities and placement that optimize learning
• The types of feedback that promote learning from practice
• When and how to use online collaboration to optimize learning
• Techniques to use in e-learning to build thinking skills
• The benefits of scenario-based e-learning
• The effects of video games on cognitive skills
• Instructional methods proven to improve learning from games

If you are an e-learning instructor, you will find online resources that you can adapt to your own academic schedule and student population. These include an updated syllabus, case studies, and test questions. Each chapter in this new edition includes reflection questions you can use to help students apply chapter guidelines to their own environments.