EDUC 6115 Week 2: Save Your Work!

This past week I have found myself completely lost in an assignment to find and blog about two online resources that cover at least one of the following topics:

• The brain and learning

• Information processing theory

• Problem-solving methods during the learning process

I say that I am lost, however overwhelmed may be the better term to use. There is a plethora of information out there in cyberspace, and I am afraid that my grasp on the subject matter is less than satisfactory. Keeping in mind that it is only the second week of class, I promise to not give up on my learning ability just yet.

The first little gem that I found about the brain and learning was an article written by Marilee Sprenger (n.d.) about “Brain-Friendly Teaching” located on the Education World website at http://www.educationworld.com. I found this article very valuable for me personally, because it provides easy to understand steps for teachers to use with students that need to “move new information from sensory to long-term memory” (Sprenger, n.d.).

The second online resource that I chose to cite for this assignment was the Information Processing Theory article written by The Gale Group located on the Education.com website at http://www.education.com (McCrudden and Schraw, n.d.). I found this article to be valuable, because it read like an outline of important key terms and illustrations that should be highlighted in a textbook. This was extremely helpful to me as it gave me an additional way to process all of the new subject matter that I was introduced to this week in our class text and other online resources.

After surviving a devastating computer crash where my almost completed blog post was lost, I beg of you to look back on what you just read and have pity on my stress-ridden last minute attempt to recapture all of the wonderful thoughts that disappeared due to a spiteful computer that is certainly out to destroy me. Beware of evil word processor freezes!

Resources:

McCrudden, M. and Schraw, G. (n.d.). Information Processing Theory. Retrieved from the Internet on January 20, 2013 from the site: http://www.education.com/reference/article/information-processing-theory/

Sprenger, M. (n.d.). Brain-Friendly Teaching: From Sensory to Long-Term Memory. Retrieved from the Internet on January 20, 2013 from the site: http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev156b.shtml

EDUC 6115 Week 1: Blog Assignment

After spending several days just trying to make sure that I understood everything about creating and maintaining a blog for my class, I finally managed to locate a few blogs and resource sites that cater towards providing information about the field of Instructional Design. I certainly enjoyed the hours I spent Googling blogs, so let me share what I found with you below:

1. The Rapid E-Learning Blog by Tom Kuhlmann has many great resources for designing courses, building E-Learning scenarios, managing projects, and Instructional Design. My favorite post from this blog is called What We Can Learn About Instructional Design from Post-it Notes, because it points out that learners filter out information that is not deemed critical. It reminded me of all the times that I have endured very long training sessions at work only to find out that one of my colleagues could have taught me the same information in a few minutes. If you would like to see this blog, which is also linked to an E-Learning community called the “Articulate Network,” you can visit it at the following link:

http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/instructional-design/

2. The Instructional Design & Development Blog from the Faculty Instructional Technology Services department at DePaul University. Currently, thirteen different contributors post information about using technology to improve instruction. I like this blog because it is a great resource for anyone that is interested in enhancing his or her skills as a facilitator. Also, there is a great option to view archived posts by category that I found very helpful. You can visit this blog with the following link:

http://www.iddblog.org/

3. Cathy Moore’s Let’s save the world from boring elearning! blog is another great one that I have bookmarked. A majority of the site concentrates on the action mapping approach to instructional design that Moore covers in her online workshops and certificate program. However, there is an article by Ms. Moore titled How to become an instructional designer that I will probably read more than once. You can find this article listed in the resources menu of Cathy Moore’s blog at the following link:

http://blog.cathy-moore.com/

New, New, New...

It's a New Year.
I bought a new car. 
I have a new work schedule.
I joined a new gym, but I have to get rid of an old case of bronchitis before going. 
I'm trying to have a new attitude... this isn't going as well as I had hoped.
Finally... I am starting a new class. Therefore, I have created this new blog!