Saturday, January 14, 2012

RESOURCES TO ENHANCE OUR LEARNING

Following our lesson this week on learning theories and understanding how the brain processes information, I have found two resources which contain support and additional details on topics we examined.  The first is a site called Learning-Theories.com  ( http://www.learning-theories.com/) .  This site contains Theories and Models of Learning for Educational Research and Practices.  It is easy to read and its content is well organized.  The site lists the different theories associated with Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism and other theories we did not yet explore.  I recommend this site as an enhancement to all the information we have learned this week. 

During the week, we also had several discussions on learners with learning disabilities.  As we try to understand how the brain processes information, it is important to understand some of the most common learning disabilities.  The second site I found is an excellent resource to understand, in simple terms, common learning disabilities such as ADD, ADHD and Dyslexia.   The site does a great job at defining them and discussing their symptoms.  This site even contains resources and tool kits which may be used to help those affected to overcome the condition.  The history of the site is compelling, as it was founded by two professionals of the field whose daughter committed suicide.  Through this website, they intend to help resolve emotional and lifestyle changes by offering articles containing useful information, hope and self-help choices.  The link for the website is:    http://www.helpguide.org/mental/learning_disabilities.htm

I hope fellow students and other interested readers get an opportunity to visit these two sites as they are really great resources to enhance our learning.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Blogs I Like

You would think that someone who worked for twenty two years in a major technology company would stay up to date on technology and social media. Well, think again. I don't even have a Facebook account. None the less, I recognize it is a necessary skill to have and a major component in the role of Instructional Designer.  This assignment seems to provide an excellent place to get started. I have done research on a large number of blogging sites related to instructional design and found the following three sites the most interesting and engaging:

 Let's Save the World from Boring E-Learning - Cathy Moore - http://blog.cathy-moore.com/ -

I like this site, as it is informative, easy to read and navigate. Kathy Moore is an international thought leader.  According to a survey conducted by Bob Little Press and Public Relations http://www.trainingpressreleases.com/learning-companies/bob-little-press-and-pr she obtained third place among the world’s most influential bloggers.  Her list of clients includes Microsoft, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, US Treasury, Merck and others. The site discusses relevant topics in the field of instructional design such as: Activity Design, Needs Analysis, and Performance Support among other.  

The Rapid E-Learning Blog - Tom Kuhlman - http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/

Tom is a learning and technologies professional with over fifteen years experience in the training industry.   He currently runs a user community for Articulate.  He wants to build a passionate user community of rapid e-learning developers.  Rapid development is what this site is about.  It offers learning tips and tricks on the best way to produce effective e-learning.  The resources section is extremely valuable and I find the shared information very easy to follow and understand.  This is a blog that I will definitely follow.   

Training and Performance Improvement in the Real World.   Dashe & Thomson’s Social Learning Blog - http://www.dashe.com/blog/

Dashe and Thompson is a firm which specializes in providing training to enable large scale business changes.  I chose this site, as I was impressed with their innovative views on effective training.  An entry that caught my attention was one where they talk about moving away from the traditional model of the student sitting in class and then going home to practice.  They propose the student views a video of the lecture and practices at work the following day with the instructor who will be able to explain and clarify issues the student may be having.  They also go into a discussion about social learning and informal learning.  I like this site, as it brings a sense of reality and new perspective on training from a company that actually exists to do corporate training.