10 Free Resources for Learning and Technology Professionals

There are many free resources online designed to help learning and technology practitioners design curriculum, plan lessons, advance their career, and engage students in the learning experience. This article by Karen Schweitzer offers a list of 10 free resources to explore:

TED – This non-profit organization is dedicated to “Ideas Worth Spreading.” Each year, TED hosts an annual conference that is attended by many of the world’s leading academics, learning technologists, and business leaders. TED’s blog and video podcasts are great for learning and technology professionals who want to stay-up-to date on tech news and innovations.

Tech & Learning – Tech & Learning is aimed as the K-12 educational community. It also provides a wide range of resources for practitioners who support learning and performance in the corporate or professional world too. Resources include blogs, tech forums, webinars, hot topics, articles, and tips.

Enterprise 2.0 Blog – The Enterprise 2.0 Blog is an Enterprise 2.0 Conference affiliate. The blogs offer a wide range of news and information about social learning and technologies in various environments.

Jane’s E-Learning Pick of the Day – Jane Hart is a social media and learning consultant. She posts new eLearning items of interest on her blog every day. She also offers a social media in learning blog and a directory of eLearning resources.

eLearningPost – This eLearning blog explores news and stories from around the web that are related to corporate learning and instructional design. The blog also frequently links to articles on knowledge management and learning communities.

The Bamboo Project – The Bamboo Project is a useful blog from education consultant Michele Martin. The blog seeks to educate individuals and learning professionals about lifelong learning and career development systems. Some of the things Michele likes to write about include learning, training, knowledge sharing, and professional development.

Dice – Dice is a good place for learning and technology professionals to search for jobs online. The site also offers career news and a forum to ask questions, chat, and network with other education and technology professionals.

Employment Engagement Network – This social network is dedicated to employee engagement. The network has more than 1,400 members and provides a place to chat, blog, and network online. The Employee Engagement Network also offers many free resources, including e-books and slide shows.

Blended Learning in the Workplace – This free, eight-page report provides a detailed survey of blended learning trends in U.S. workplaces. More than 118 corporate training and e-learning practitioners were surveyed for the report.

TeachAde – TeachAde is a social networking site for educators. The site is an excellent place to find additional resources and network with other teachers and education professionals.

This is a guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes for OnlineCollege.org, an online college resource. You’ll find her previous guest post, Twenty Professional Development Resources for Teachers, an informative and helpful read.  

Photo Credits: Per Ola Wiberg and Karen Schweitzer

Stick Man: A Winter Holiday Book Review

Stick Man, a new release by Scholastic, is out this season for holiday enjoyment. Created by Julie Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, this seasonal rhyming tale tells the story of a stick man who is taken accidentally from his family tree by a well meaning pooch. One mishap after another takes him farther away from home. On his final stop, he ends up in a woodpile by a fireplace. It looks like the end until instead of another Stick Man, he hears a stuck man (Santa) who needs his help getting out of the chimney. From there, all ends well.

Clever rhyming sequences using word families and repetitive language make Stick Man well suited for primary classrooms.

Truce: A Book Review

Jim Murphy and Scholastic have teamed up to provide an engaging historical Christmas narrative for intermediate level readers. Teachers of nine-twelve year olds looking to incorporate a real life holiday story with their studies of World War I may want to take a look. Read on.

 Synopsis:

 In Truce, Newbery honor author Jim Murphy tells the true tale of the 1914 Christmas miracle that occurred when troops on both sides openly defied their commanding officers and had a spontaneous holiday celebration with each other.

 Illustration Commentary:

Illustrated with archival images, the publisher has taken the extra step to incorporate sepia tones. In my opinion this helps liven up the photos, as books illustrated with archival photos (and there was really no way out of it in this case) can come across as a bit drab if only black and white image are used.

 A Prophetic Quote:

 I found the most profound portion of the book to be at the very beginning with the following quote spoken by Winston Churchill to his wife Clementine, nearly a month to the day prior to the spontaneous Christmas truce. “What would happen, I wonder, if the armies suddenly and simultaneously went on strike and said some other method must be found of settling the dispute?”

Classroom Recommendations:

Truce is quite suitable for older classrooms who might already be studying that particular time in history. This would be a way to work in the holiday while staying on track curriculum wise. Includes a detailed timeline resource in the back of the book and references to other books, movies and web sites to build the theme.

Scheduled for release in October 2009. Truce is currently available on Amazon.Com.

 Photo Credit: Scholastic.Com