Sunday, May 15, 2011

Neurons-How they work-Human Brain

"A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions."
- Anonymous

If you want to see and hear about how the human nervous system works, and how the connections happen inside the human brain please watch the following video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjxJabpjDGo&feature=related

Evaluating and Identifying Online Resources

Welcome to my blog. This week I am Evaluating and Identifying three online resource related to the brain and learning, information processing theory, and problem-solving methods during the learning process. I found an interesting video posted above and at the end of my blog under videos about the brain and learning. Since I am a learner that needs to hear and see at the same time I hope they will help you too.
The next page that explains "the twelve principles for brain-based learning," followed by "the information processing approach to cognition."


"The Talking Page Literacy Organization"
I consider this information very important for instructors/teachers and instructional designers in order to learn about how the brain-based learner slows down under some conditions, learns via experiences, has a unique brain, has various types of memory, and learns better when the subject is incorporated in previous experiences. The next principles explain why it is important to have good teachers, sleep well, provide good stimulation, the use of patterns, social experiences, etc. in order to prepare learning environments that provide opportunities to all type of learners.


The Twelve Principles for Brain-Based Learning
Sonoma County Department of Education


http://www.talkingpage.org/artic011.html#PR01

The Information Processing Approach to Cognition
There you will find information about the levels of processing, parallel distributed processing, and connectionistic. You will also find information about how to use the information processing approach in the classroom.

http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cogsys/infoproc.html

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Upside Learning

30 Top Online Resources For Instructional Designers to Keep Up With

This blog offers a list of the top 30 blogs and websites that Instructional Designers would be interested in. Some of them focus exclusively on how to create better learning experiences. Others offer tips and tricks on how to improve efficiencies or manage clients better. And some explain technological aspects that Instructional Designers should be aware of.
One of the blogs is about informal software, it explains how this industry develops products that facilitate the interaction with computers, mobile phones, scanners, and remote databases.

I also found the PsyBlog by Jeremy Dean, that is helpful to understanding the mind. The post that got my attention was the one about the unusual thinking styles increase creativity. This provides psychological research that reveals how rational versus intuitive thinking can inspire new ideas. According to this blog incentives can work only if the goal is creativity and not for completing the task.

Another post that was of my interest is "the ten commandments of elearning." One commandment mentions that Pedagogy first, technology second. In other words technology can't replace learning, only augment and support it. Another commandment is use small and smaller learning units. Using this way you are allowing flexibility to create adapted learning ways.
http://www.upsidelearning.com/blog/index.php/2010/05/20/30-top-online-resources-for-instructional-designers-to-keep-up/

Designing Better Libraries

Designing Better Libraries

Designing  Better Libraries, is a blog that explains the experiences of users with libraries, and what qualities are necessary to have good experiences. The blog offers articles that help us learn about considerations as instructional designers. The article about Want Magazine helped me learn  how designers think and what can drive my creativity. I also found a journal related to design innovation, but the best information was regarding about "good experiences are the best defense against badvocacy. The author of this  blog explained how the person who has a bad experience in the library can be an advocate or badvocate of the services according to the experience he/she had.

I found the creativity and innovation link very helpful to find posts about ways to capture our good ideas and how to get others to approve them. Other categories that this blog offer are events, professional development, research studies and service design among others.

Instructional Design Sites & Organizations Instructional Design Central


Instructional Design Sites & Organizations Instructional Design Central, is a blog that provides resources and community services to instructional design professionals, educators and students. This blog also provides links to ID jobs, ID degrees, ID conferences, ID sites, and ID forums.

What I like about this blog is that it not only provides you with resources and community services, but you can also observe the history and timeline of instructional design. I was surprised knowing that the foundation of instructional design was placed in World War II. The United States of America required that its soldiers were trained in large numbers. You will also find how the theories of Behaviorism and Operant Conditioning from Skinner fit in this field.

This blog can provide information about instructional design models and theories as well. I didn't know that models help us to visualize the problem and break it down into a convenient group.  Exploring this blog I learned about the ADDIE model, and found that its insignias for Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation.  The other theory that got my attention is Bloom's Learning Taxonomy, he identified six levels within the cognitive domain from knowledge at the lowest level to evaluation at the highest level.

I found very helpful  the instructional design sites and organizations that this blog provided as well. Two of the sites that got my special attention were the American Society for Training and Development. ASTD provides special resources such as magazines, newsletters, job posting services, etc. ASTD also provides the learning and performance community with multiple state division organizations throughout the United States of America who provide the local instructional design community.