Curt Bonk just forwarded me this list from Epic Group plc, the UK's leading eLearning company:

Top 10 US e-learning gurus

1. Roger Schank
2. Jay Cross
3. Mark Prensky
4. John Seely-Brown
5. Michael Allen
6. Clark Alrdridge
7. Elliott Masie
8. Brandon Hall
9. Marc Rosenberg
10. Curtis Bonk

"These are the people I’ve enjoyed listening to at conferences. Note that I haven’t put Masie or Brandon Hall at the top, as they’re not, in my opinion, really original thinkers, but synthesisers (in itself a useful role)."

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While I am fixated on that first list, others are quite thought-provoking, too:

Top 10 Benefits of e-learning

1. Cost savings
2. Anytime
3. Anywhere
4. Scalable
5. Tracks users
6. Self-paced
7. Participative
8. Consistency
9. Multimedia delivery
10. Self-assessment

Top 10 Cost savings in e-learning

1. Trainer accommodation
2. Trainer travel
3. Trainer subsistence
4. Learner accommodation
5. Learner travel & subsistence
6. Classrooms
7. Equipment
8. Off-the-job time
9. Print costs
10. All of the above repeat costs

Top 10 Interesting Laws for e-learning

1. Sarnoff’s Law
2. Metcalfe’s Law
3. Reed’s Law
4. Moore’s Law
5. Gilder’s Law
6. Pareto’s Law
7. Zipf’s Law
8. Law of diminishing returns
9. Law of increasing returns
10. Murphy’s Law

Top 10 Accessibility design rules for e-learning

1. Images: Use alt text to describe all static elements, such as graphics, icons, graphic text.
2. Multimedia: Provide captioning and transcripts of audio, and descriptions of video.
3. Hypertext links: Use text that makes sense out of context. For example, avoid ‘click here’.
4. Page organisation: Use headings, lists, and consistent structure. Use CSS for layout and style.
5. Graphs & charts: Summarise or use the longdesc attribute.
6. Frames: Use the noframes element and meaningful titles.
7. Tables: Make line-by-line reading sensible – summarise.
8. Questions: Avoid ‘difficult’ screen types, such as drag and drop.
9. Punctuation: Meet requirements of screen readers, e.g. full stops at the end of all bullet points.
10. Keyboard: Ensure clickable elements can be controlled via keyboard, e.g. Tab cycles and Enter.

Top 10 Design errors in e-learning

1. Overlong compulsory linear sequences of anything
2. Over-compulsory routing of learner
3. Overlong text
4. Text placed on busy or patterned background
5. Graphics that look clickable, but are not
6. Unnecessary animation
7. Multiple choice questions with obviously stupid options
8. Multiple choice questions with same the words at start of all options (words should be in question)
9. Icons evenly spaced (should be clustered)
10. Stupid audio effects or music on in background

Top 10 Groups to convince in e-learning

1. Senior management
2. Middle management and sponsors
3. IT management
4. HR management
5. Internal trainers
6. External trainers
7. Learners
8. Union
9. Suppliers
10. Existing and other e-learning groups

Top 10 Problems in implementation of e-learning

1. Bandwidth
2. Cultural resistance
3. Lack of interaction
4. Lack of engaging content
5. Integration
6. Measuring ROI
7. Firewalls
8. No standards
9. Browser problems
10. Accessibility

Top 10 Books on E-learning

1. The ASTD e-Learning Handbook, Allison Rossett
2. e-Learning and the Science of Instruction, Clark & Mayer
3. Michael Allen's Guide to E-Learning, Michael Allen
4. Designing Web-Based Training, William Horton
5. The Media Equation, Nass & Reeves
6. ASTD series in online learning
7. E-Learning, Marc Rosenberg
8. Implementing e-learning, Cross & Dublin
9. Web-Based Training, Margaret Driscoll
10. ASTD series in online learning

Epic Group shows more evidence of critical thinking than any other vendor I can think of.

Check their free white papers and book reports.