Free is good--Web 2 good!

Jane Hart is a Social Media and Learning advisor. She has a long track record of helping business and education understand how new technologies can be used for learning as well as to improve job and business performance and implement them successfully in their organizations.

She conducts yearly surveys for the past several years asking learning professionals what tools they use. From this, she has compiled her list of the "Top 25" free tools that we all should become more familiar. Check out these 25 Free Tools selected for educator knowledge and use.

A neomillennial learning approach: Helping non-traditional learners studying at a distance

This paper reports on research investigating the perceptions of first year distance education students studying a foundation communications course using a multimodal learning environment. It demonstrates higher levels of engagement are possible when a neomillennial learning approach is adopted for designing course materials catering to a diverse student body, whilst maintaining a balanced environment for more traditional learners.

Defrosting the Digital Library: Bibliographic Tools for the Next Generation Web

Compelling and thought provoking data presented in this article illustrates the current process of using digital libraries with a typical workflow, and highlight problems with managing data and metadata using URIs. They then examined a range of new applications such as Zotero, Mendeley, Mekentosj Papers, MyNCBI, CiteULike, Connotea, and HubMed that exploit the Web to make these digital libraries more personal, sociable, integrated, and accessible places with conclusions in how these applications may begin to help achieve a digital defrost, and discuss some issues that will help or hinder in terms of making libraries on the Web warmer places in the future, becoming resources that are considerably more useful to both humans and machines.

E-Learning Needs Assessment Whitepaper

There are four basic objectives for conducting an e-learning needs assessment:
• Isolate specific business challenges, problems and opportunities for which e-learning is a potential solution.
• Identify risks associated with pursuing and not pursuing e-learning.
• Determine risk management strategies that can be implemented.

This vendor whitepaper considers possible e-learning configurations that represent potential solutions.

This needs assessment is centered on the various business issues that you will identify in question #1, and effectively flush out the remaining questions. It should assist your focus to e-learning initiatives on core business needs, develop a strong business case, and assist you in creating a requirements document (examples) that will aid in vendor evaluation and selection process.

Going Virtual! Unique Needs and Challenges of K-12 Online Teachers

This professional publication offers an insight to the unique needs and challenges K-12 online teachers face in the virtual world.

Beyond the Theoretical Impasse: Extending the applications of Transactional Distance Theory

Education is everybody’s business – the individual, the organisation, and the nation state.

Quality assurance, following the instructional design ADDIE model process, is at the heart of distance education policy development and becomes crucial in contributing towards making distance provision globally competitive, portable across borders, and finally in protecting consumers of education.

The premise of this article is that the Transactional Distance Theory (TDT) should be accepted as a global theory for the further development of distance education.

This Sunday, 26th October, have Coffe with Gavin Dudeney in Second Life

This is just a quick announcement about a free event in Second Life for 'EDUCATORS' on Sunday 26th October at GMT = 18.00 (GMT is 7 hours ahead of Second Life time, so that's 11.00 to 12.00 PDT) world.

You can watch the show and/or join in the discussion. Just go to Edunation III and click the sign-up terminals or email Gavin at dudeney@theconsultants-e.com.

This event is free, but limited to only 100 places.

As an educator in learning, this is a great opportunity to discover and learn Second Life.

It will be an informal event while providing plenty of opportunity to ask questions and find out more about the work of one of the main innovators of ELT and "teacher training" in Second Life. You'll also be able to find out a bit more about some of the free educational tools Gavin has been developing for use in Second Life for your classroom.

If you don't have a Second Life avatar but would like to know how to set one up, download instructions from here. Setting up a Second Life Avatar

Knowledge Mapping

Authors Fisher, Wandersee and Wideman offer an insightful study on variations of knowledge mapping (relating to learning) titled; "Enhancing cognitive skills for meaningful understanding of domain specific knowledge."

IEEE Learning Technology Studies

IEEE publishes several learning studies in 2007 relating to eLearning and multimedia applications in the educational environment.

An Interactive Course on Instructional Methods for Future Faculty

This paper discusses how and why training graduate students for future careers as instructors of undergraduate level courses is an important and often neglected aspect of graduate school.

The New Literacies: Research on Reading Instruction with the Internet and Other Digital Technologies

This paper explores the nature of new literacies that build upon traditional reading and writing experiences and explains why these new literacies are central to our children's future. It suggests we must begin to include the literacies associated with the Internet in a broader definition of what it means to become literate.

Results Using Animated Speaking Characters (Avatars) from Testing.

Engaging Site Visitors, in an early 2005 report, displays test results using Animated Speaking Characters (Avatars)conducted by Web Marketing Today, March 9, 2005. While this data is somewhat outdated, it does show an early response to the use of animated characters that can be applied to eLearning courseware today.

Virtual Babyz: Believable Agents with Narrative Intelligence

This paper, by Andrew Stern, describes the interactive narrative experiences in Babyz, an interactive entertainment product for the PC currently in development at PF Magic / Mindscape in San Francisco. As you may conclude from reading this paper, when implementing Babyz it was found to expedient borrowing techniques from many different disciplines, including artificial intelligence, artificial life, videogames, improvisational acting, and traditional cartoon animation.

Technical Classes: A Different Breed of Learning

This study describes the findings of a case study at Farmingdale State College in New York that compared online technical and non-technical classes. Interviews were held and one of the important findings of the study was that there was a major difference between online technical and non-technical classes. Technical courses in any discipline were seen as different. These findings can be used to develop best practices for technical instructors in virtual and traditional classrooms.

eLearning XHTML editor (eXe) project

The eLearning XHTML editor (eXe) project is developing a web-based authoring environment designed to assist teachers and academics in the design, development and publishing of web-based learning and teaching materials without the need to become proficient in HTML, XML or complicated web-publishing applications. It is an open source software project funded by the Tertiary Education Commission of New Zealand and will be freely available for anyone to use.

Young People and Social Networking Services

This project is designed to investigate how social networking services can and are being used to support personalised formal and informal learning by young people in schools and colleges.

Zotero: the best open-source app you’ve never heard of?

Zotero [zoh-TAIR-oh] is a free, easy-to-use Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, and cite your research sources. It lives right where you do your work — in the web browser itself. Check it out!

Translating Constructivism into Instructional Design: Potential and Limitations

Instructional designers are expected to be familiar with the epistemological underpinnings of several theories and their consequences on the process of instruction. Constructivism is the dominant theory of the last decade and supports construction of knowledge by the individual. This paper discusses the basic principles underlying constructivism, particularly active, collaborative and authentic learning.

The Benefits of Interactive Online Characters

They are out there and are pricey, but according to Stanford University, their research about interactive characters suggests substantial opportunities for them to enhance online experiences. Automated characters take advantage of social responses that are natural reactions to interactive media. They can be perceived as realistic and well- liked social partners in conversations that simulate real-world interactions. Read more on this study, click on this Title....

Multi-User Virtual Environments for Education and Training?

This is a Critical Review of Second Life by Zane L. Berge. Certainly there is a good deal of potential for education and training to occur in multiuser virtual environments (MUVEs), if designed properly, especially when the goals involve role playing, simulation, and peer interaction, but...read on...

Envisioning the Educational Possibilities of User-Created Virtual Worlds

Authors David M. Antonacci and Nellie Modaress present resources in a study that applies educational games and simulations that can engage students in higher-level cognitive thinking, such as interpreting, analyzing, discovering, evaluating, acting, and problem solving. Recent technical advances in multiplayer, usercreated virtual worlds have significantly expanded the capabilities of user interaction and development within these simulated worlds.

Games that Teach Using PowerPoint

The Parade of Games web site was created to provide educators and trainers with easy-to- assemble educational games in a technology- enhanced environment to support key learning points. The site demonstrates the creative use of popular game shows and other familiar games to reinforce learning.

Educators and trainers can select and download those PowerPoint games that support your learning objectives and are compatible with the technology capabilities of your learning environment.

Tags or Tag Clouds

Tags or Tag Clouds are synonymous with Web 2.0 technologies. They are labels on a page that people use to make it easier to find blog posts, photos and videos that are related. The links below provide several examples, in addition, info on this newest term for the web.

A tag cloud with terms related to Web 2.0
wikipedia
Technorati
del.icio.us
flickr

Multimodal Learning Through Media: What the Research Says

The conclusion of this paper seems to be that multimodal learning is superior, especially for the advance learner. Read more to form your opinion.

Conversations Across Academic Cultures

In the data gathered in this study denoting there is little evidence that institutions in either country explored have progressed past the second of the three stages of quality evolution. The strongest emergent theme in the assessment of quality initiatives reflects the clash between a collegial and managerial culture, consistent with the literature.

7 Things You Should Know About Lulu

Lulu is a web-based self-publishing service, providing online access to the tools an individual needs to design, publish, and print original material, including books, brochures, reports, calendars, and posters. Faculty can use the service to publish more timely textbooks and other material for courses, and by having access to the tools of production, students can see and understand the processes involved.

Rethinking Teaching for the Knowledge Society

Author Diana Laurillard's study addresses how universities have been aware of the pressures to expand access to higher education, yet the knowledge society requires more graduates fueled by the expanding higher education sector. In turn, it is generating more knowledge industries, producing additional, competitive pressures for traditional institutions of higher education. Knowledge industries are creating the means by which individuals can acquire the immediate skills and knowledge those industries need. As a result, many individuals are questioning the true benefit of a university education, given it's cost.

Hidden Costs of Graphical User Interfaces: Failure

An interesting study on graphical interfaces allowing users to issue commands using pull-down menus, icon tool bars, and keyboard shortcuts. While menus and icon tool bars are easier to lean, the study shows keyboard shortcuts are more efficient , although the transition to learning shortcuts are not readily adopted.

Designing, implementing, and evaluating an online portfolio

The purpose of this study is to discuss the development, implementation, and evaluation of a portfolio requirement for the Master’s Program in Educational Leadership through the University of Cincinnati offered entirely online. Portfolio development, implementation, and evaluation using the e-Portfolio tool in the Content System of the Blackboard Academic Suite will be discussed.

Wikis for online collaboration in the instructional design process

Wikis are used in small groups to create, revise, and edit instructional design materials. Advantages to the learners and the instructor include the ability to see what each member of the group has contributed, the addition of more channels of communication, and more reliable version control of design documents. This study describes a process for using wikis to collaborate online.

An interactive course on instructional methods for future faculty

Opportunities for graduate students to develop teaching skills are important but rare. This study describes an online/distance graduate course on instructional pedagogies.

A Learning Style Survey for College

Are your students or yourself the educator having trouble learning new information in a college class? You may want to learn more about unique learning styles. Learning styles are ways we prefer to learn. It doesn't have anything to do with intelligent or what skills you have learned. It has to do with how your brain works most efficiently to learning new information.

There is no "right" approach to learning. The important thing is to be aware of the nature of your own learning style. If we are aware of how our brain best learns, we will have a better chance of studying in a way that will pay off. Take this survey to identify your particular style.

The Web Changes Everything...

“The Web changes everything.” Training included. Yet most instructional designers earned their credentials long before the advent of blogs, RSS, podcasts, microcontent, wikis, Google, and mash-ups.

What Web competencies should generalist instructional designers have under their belts? Dave Lee and Jay Cross have been noodling on this. Here is their working assumption:

What are yours?

Criteria for Evaluating Online Courses

The criteria presented in this fun guide are based on the national and international experiences of staff in the Instructional Media and Design department at Grant MacEwan College. Although they were developed to assist educators in evaluating the effectiveness of online courses, they may also be used as guidelines for course developers.

Ed-Cast Design & Functionality Scoring Rubric

Many educators appear to be reluctant in creating Podcasts, or are readily jumping on the Podcast bandwagon without measuring effectiveness for students. Online Educators and Instructional Designer looking to "effectively" integrate Podcasts in their distance ed curriculum can turn to an assessment tool designed by the University of San Francisco for effectively creating podcasts titled Ed-Cast Design & Functionality Scoring Rubric. This valuable discovery was shared thanks to a class mate, Mawrin Britto.

An Explorative Study about Second Life, the Virtual World

If users accept Virtual Worlds as a new way and channel to communicate, collaborate, and cooperation, and if institutions arrive to provide value to users, Virtual Worlds might become the next generation platform for Internet users. The Virtual University of Edinburgh (VUE) group is a virtual educational and research institute bringing together all those interested in the use of
virtual worlds for teaching, research and outreach related to the University of Edinburgh.

However, in order to become mainstream, Virtual Worlds like Second Life have many challenges to overcome and where user acceptance is probably the most important one. In an Explorative Study about Second Life, this report assesses the user acceptance of Virtual Worlds, specifically Second Life. By means of a survey with almost 250 respondents this report provides first empirical results of the user acceptance of Second Life.