Week 3: Found on the Web

In doing research for assignments over the course of the semester, I have come across a ton of websites and articles that I was not able to use for the particular assignment, but nonetheless found interesting. As a result, my bookmarks list has grown considerably.

I'd like to share a few of these resources here.

The 10 commandments of e-learning - This is a blog post by Cathy Ellis that has a really good list of "commandments" for e-learning. While many of the resources I have come across seemed too scientific, her post contains information that is more "real world" and applicable.

Free and Open Source Movements - Part 1 and Open Source Content in Education - Part 2 - Part 1 of this two article series covers the history of the Open Source revolution. Part 2 focuses on the philosophy and history of Open Source and its use in Education. Quite an interesting read!

Games / Simulations / "Immersive Learning Simulations" - This is a blog post by Jenna Sweeney, the president of CramerSweeney instructional design. I particularly liked the end of the post where she points out:

When we think of games, we think of fun: Games = Fun
When we think of learning, we think of work: Learning = Work

Games show us this is wrong. In a word, games allow us to “fool” learners into learning. Under the right conditions, learning is biologically motivating and pleasurable for humans, and games can trigger deep learning.

The Learning Circuits Blog - "The Big Question" - Learning Circuits is an ASTD publication. In their blog, they feature a question of the month on topics for learning professionals. They have some interesting posts and responses to these questions.