http://www.teachthought.com/trends/elearning/15-free-learning-tools-youve-probably-never-heard-of/
Related: eLearning • MOOCs and E-LEARNINGFrom both sides now "I've looked at life from both sides now." —Joni Mitchell, excerpt from the song "Both Sides Now" Most people have not experienced e-learning yet or have done so in one role; I have experienced e-learning over a long time span and from a diversity of roles: student, professor, and program director. The insights from each role allowed me to function more effectively in other roles and have led to a unique perspective on what makes online learning successful. From 1986 to 1993, I directed what was probably the first online master's program offered by a higher education institution. 50 Top Sources Of Free eLearning Courses Whether you are looking for a master’s degree program, computer science classes, a K-12 curriculum, or GED study program, this list gives you a look at 50 websites that promise education for free. From databases that organize over 1,000,000 students throughout 16 universities, to a small library of documents for those interested in history, the opportunities for free online learning continue to expand as the Internet becomes a crucial component in education. 1. UMass Boston Open Courseware The UMass courseware offers a broad range of classes in areas like psychology, biology, early education, political science, history, mathematics, and others. Each department has a separate page listing the classes available.
5 Simple Ways to Increase Your Intelligence Your brain needs exercise just like a muscle. If you use it often and in the right ways, you will become a more skilled thinker and increase your ability to focus. But if you never use your brain, or abuse it with harmful chemicals, your ability to think and learn will deteriorate. Here are 5 simple ways anyone can squeeze a bit more productivity out of the old gray matter. 1. Minimize Television Watching – This is a hard sell.
The 7 Most Powerful Ideas In Learning Available Right Now Tomorrow’s Learning Today: 7 Shifts To Create A Classroom Of The Future by Terry Heick For professional development around this idea or others you read about on TeachThought, contact us. Let’s take a look at the nebulous idea of the “classroom of the future.” This is all subjective, but it’s worth talking about.
46 Tools To Make Infographics In The Classroom Infographics are interesting–a mash of (hopefully) easily-consumed visuals (so, symbols, shapes, and images) and added relevant character-based data (so, numbers, words, and brief sentences). The learning application for them is clear, with many academic standards–including the Common Core standards–requiring teachers to use a variety of media forms, charts, and other data for both information reading as well as general fluency. It’s curious they haven’t really “caught on” in schools considering how well they bridge both the old-form textbook habit of cramming tons of information into a small space, while also neatly overlapping with the dynamic and digital world. So if you want to try to make infographics–or better yet have students make them–where do you start? The 46 tools below, curated by Faisal Khan, are a good place to start.
Case methods for online learning Case analysis is a popular teaching strategy in higher education, particularly in professional degree programs such as business, social work, education, medicine, law, and policy studies. This strategy allows students to apply ideas, theories, and concepts to realistic problem-solving situations. In a virtual classroom, the world is just a click away. Because the online learning environment and the online world of professional life overlap, instructors have new opportunities to engage students. This tutorial will examine how guiding students through the analysis of case studies can enhance online learning. A case study is a well-researched story with characters and drama.
Research Roundup about MOOCs and Online Learning The rising of MOOCs brings the interest of scrutinizing the effectiveness of online learning. Definitely it’s not a new-born baby, even MIT’s OpenCourseWare is more than 10 years old. But the Web2.0 technologies and new concepts have brought something different and evolving. Journalist’s Resource has put together a roundup on those significant research papers in the past : MOOCs and online learning: Research roundup. A 2012 survey indicated that 41% of those studying online were working professionals, while 31% were undergraduates and graduates. 100 Ways to Simplify Your Life (and Make Yourself Happier) I’ve been striving to simplify my life for many years now, and have recently (through my writing) been advising others how to do the same. In the process, I’ve learned that making little changes in our attitudes, habits, and environment can have a big impact. So today, I thought I’d compile a list of 100 ways to simplify your life – from the practical to the philosophical, and everything in between. Of course, not every item on the list will work for every person reading it.
2 Simple Ways To Use QR Codes In Education QR codes are a great and easy way to share digital materials and resources within your classroom. I use it in 2 different ways. 1. 27 Simple Ways To Check For Understanding 27 Simple Ways To Check For Understanding Checking for understanding is the foundation of teaching. Whether you’re using formative assessment for data to personalize learning within a unit, or more summative data to refine a curriculum map, the ability to quickly and easily check for understanding is a critical part of what you do. (Which was the idea behind our post last March, “10 Assessments You Can Perform In 90 Seconds Or Less.”) The following infographic Mia MacMeekin offers up 27 additional ways to check for understanding. Some aren’t necessarily quick–“Test what you learned in a new situation”–but there are a dozen or more other ideas that are worth adding to your teacher toolbox, many of which aren’t content-related, but rather cognitively-related (Locate 3 people who agree with your point of view.)
The Internet and Higher Education - Cutting the distance in distance education: Perspectives on what promotes positive, online learning experiences Volume 15, Issue 2, March 2012, Pages 118–126 Special issue of the American Educational Research Association's online teaching and learning special interest group Edited By Steven Terrell The Best MOOC Platforms of 2017 Introduction College is a huge investment, and it’s only getting more expensive as time goes by – in the last 10 years the cost of attending a public four-year university has increased by 3.5% (beyond the cost of inflation). The amount of student debt is also a rising concern as it recently topped $1.3 trillion.
18 ways to educate yourself every day (because nerds are sexy) “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” In Cisco's Classroom Of The Future, Your Professor Is Just An Illusion There were a few strange things about the event I attended in a classroom at the San Francisco branch of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Instead of students, the room was filled with Cisco executives, professors, and journalists. There were cameras trained on us from all angles. But most noticeably, the man speaking to us in the front of the room wasn’t really there.