Book excerpt: Given the rapid growth of computer-mediated communication, there is an ever-broadening range of social interactions. With conversation as the bedrock on which social interactions are built, there is growing recognition of the important role conversation has in instruction, particularly in the design and development of technologically advanced educational environments. The Handbook of Conversation Design for Instructional Applications presents key perspectives on the evolving area of conversation design, bringing together a multidisciplinary body of work focused on the study of conversation and conversation design practices to inform instructional applications. Offering multimodal instructional designers and developers authoritative content on the cutting-edge issues and challenges in conversation design, this book is a must-have for reference library collections worldwide.