When the tech bubble burst many businesses lost faith in electronic gizmos. Waking up from a long technology binge, businesses have since been trying to recover from the corporate drunkenness of the late 90s, where soaring stock values generated what Alan Greenspan called "irrational exuberance." Educators, however, listened to the tech bubble pop and heard Veuve Clicquot being poured.

Technology sells academe. Distance learning programs increase enrollment while minimizing costs; computer labs, web sites, and digital resources market the academy, making it practical, hip, savvy. With mysterious language and all-powerful machines, the gurus appear, attracting zealots who venerate technology like middle class Americans worship SUVs. While academics know dramatic hyperbole when we hear it, especially image-obsessed marketing rhetoric, we still worry. Will we become obsolete? Is it over for us?

Bates and Poole, technology facilitators at the University of British Columbia, understand the religious fervor that makes us anxious, defensive, and skeptical. With a genuine respect for academic communities, the learning process, and academic freedom, they follow a sound educational philosophy and weigh learners' needs with the specific demands disciplines impose, seeing "technology as a tool, a means to an end, not an end to itself."

Straightforward and refreshingly free of jargon, the book is a thoughtful examination of the philosophical dimensions, pedagogical issues, and practical demands of teaching with technology. By showing us how to select and use technology, guiding us through technology-based course design, and outlining the skills we will need, the authors allay fears and provide realistic models. While the book could benefit any teacher, it is particularly well suited to administrators, department heads, team leaders, and technology facilitators. Those needing religious inspiration should look elsewhere for fulfillment. Thankfully, Bates and Poole do not offer pithy solutions, nor do they enumerate technology's salvific qualities. Instead, they challenge us to take risks, accept change and acknowledge that technology "increases access and flexibility for both learners and teachers."

If you want to use technology and refuse to sacrifice the quality of the learning experience, Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education will help you set attainable goals and save you valuable time. The book will also assure you that you are not the only one struggling with the challenges technology has suffered upon us. As Bates and Poole point out, technology does not save us time nor make our jobs easier. We're overwhelmed with having to reorganize our work, find new ways to communicate, and rethink how we assess learning. Rather than accepting techne as a gift from the gods, Bates and Poole weigh its strengths and weaknesses in light of what we do and why we do it. Grounded in learning theory and backed with substantive research, their practical approach acknowledges the difficulties we face and encourages us to find solutions. They affirm our mission, recognize our dedication, understand the many tasks we already juggle, and value our most precious commodity: time. But most importantly, they know what it is like to adapt under pressure and to cope with technological change.

Blake G. Hobby
UNC Asheville