Hi Thomas, This is a challenge that faces all of instructors. As far as I know there are no magic solutions but by using common sense and developing activities that have students draw from the textbook in order to complete the skills portion of the course. I put my students into groups assign them a project/case study and then they go to work. I tell them where the information they need is located in their texts. They then use the text as a reference guide and information source for the hands on. This really helps them to see the value of both the formal material and the application connection. Gary