I’m running a little low on both time and cognitive capacity this week, so I am defaulting to pointing to other places for information and insights. Having given a plug to the ASAE e-learning conference in my last posting, I thought it might be appropriate to post here the resources that I have also posted in the online platform environment for the ASAE conference.
This is just an effort to provide a quick listing of a few sites that I think will provide high value to the ASAE audience, at least as far as I understand it. It is, of course, not intended to be comprehensive, though if you feel like I have not put something on this short list that association e-learning professionals absolutely must know about, by all means submit a comment to let me know. Here are the listings exactly as I put them into the ASAE site except that I have, where appropriate, also referenced other postings in the Mission to Learn blog.:
[1] e-Learning Guru Book Summaries: Brief summaries in PDF form of books from some of the best-known thought leaders in the e-learning field. Other parts of the e-Learning Guru site also offer a wealth of resources.
Actually, one aside that is not included in the ASAE site—see Stephen Downes’ brief commentary on this list for added color.
[2] eLearning Guild eBooks: A collection of free ebooks on e-learning topics ranging from strategy development, to tips for instructional delivery, to LMS and LCMS selection. The eLearning Guild site, in general, is a great resource.
[3] Jane’s E-learning Pick of the Day: If you are into “tools” and can handle the risk of being completely overwhelmed, Jane Hart’s site is the place to go. She presents a continual stream of new e-learning gadgets and gizmos and is also responsible for Top 100 Tools for Learning collection that can also be accessed through this site.
[4] Learning Theory on the Learning Wiki: Elliot Masie (who is also presenting at the ASAE conference) is offering a series of short videos on various learning theories on his Learning Wiki site. These are presented by Stanton Wortham, Judy & Howard Berkowitz Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Along these lines, I also recommend George Siemens [5] “Situating Connectivism” presentation. Siemens (whose elearnspace blog is also listed here) covers major learning theories as a run-up to his own theory of connectivism. (See also Connectivism Considered.)
[6] Rapid E-learning Blog and Book: A relatively new but valuable blog offering ongoing tips for creating e-learning content quickly. On the blog site it is also possible to download the free eBook The Insiders Guide to Becoming a Rapid E-learning Pro. This site is sponsored by a vendor (Articulate Global), but the information is very valuable and does not apply only to Articulate products. (See also Rapid E-learning, Blogs, LMSes, and more)
[7] Stephen’s Web: Stephen Downes is one of the leading thinkers in learning and technology today and his Web site serves as the nexus for the writings, presentations, and various other forms of media through which he expresses his ideas. Here you can sign up for his OLDaily to be sent to your inbox (under News) and also view his latest presentation on E-learning 2.0.
Have fun taking a look at any of these you have not visited before.
JTC