Mind Map- Connectivism.

Online Journals- learning and Problem Solving Methods

A online journal is a electronic journal where someone can post scholarly journals or articles, and intellectual magazines that can be viewed by others through a site. I found two  great articles that provide insight on how the brain functions and retains information. It also talks about different problem solving techniques that can help learners to be more productive.

The first article talks about the learning process that children go through. This online journal is very interesting because, it provides insight to the mind and how think and process information. The article goes into detail on how we register information The article states that there are three different memory areas in the brain  which are called sensory register, working memory , long-term memory. All three of the process work in different times. It also takes about how the environment can affect how someone can learn. The environment influences perception and perception of one's surroundings is essential for survival, the human species has undoubtedly evolved some biologically built in perceptual mechanism (McDevitt and Ormrod, 2004). This article is very informative and insightful to how the brain operates when it comes to how the brain process and retains information. It also goes into detail the major influences that our environment plays in our thinking. It shapes who we are and how we react to certain things in our lives.  
http://voices.yahoo.com/the-information-processing-theory-its-effect-on-633559.html

The Pedagogy In Action- The SERC portals for Educator- which a online journal. It provides different learning techniques for teachers to help there students have better problem solving tools. The technique generates metacognition awareness of ones own learning process. It causes the students to not think of just getting the correct answer but the steps they use in order to find the answer. It also helps students to identify missteps in students thinking and provides feedback for students and instructors. This journal is very interesting because it gives insight to new a innovative ways that teachers are doing to help students think more critically. It also helps teachers and students process information in a different. I feel this journal is very helpful in showing me other ways to help foster new learning techniques for students especially in the instructional design technology field.

http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/dps/index.html

McDevitt, T., & Ormrod, J. (2004). Child Development: Educating and Working with Children and Adolescents (2nd ed.). : Prentice Hall

  









    

The Doorway to Professional Learning Communities

   

A blog is a personal website or web page  on which an individual records opinions, links to other sites. I will be providing a critique to professional blog sites and professional newsletter. I will be sharing my thoughts and views about each of the blog sites and newsletter. I hoped that information that I provide will be helpful and insightful to learners, business and instructional design users.

            The first blog site that I will be critiquing is by Cathy Moore- Save the world from Boring Training. The site provides ideas for business to develop an action- packed learning material for working adults. The blog site is very active in keeping updated current events that are happening in instructional design technology. The articles are dealing with learning styles, learning activities that make learning fun and training ideas that provide challengers to learners through decision- making scenarios and letting them learn through experience. The blog site creator Cathy Moore also provides workshops that help business in the US ans around the world with a e-learning blue print for instructional designers. To create an action packed training: a) use visual approach to instructional design makes collaboration easy. b) Replace dry information with challenging activities and scenarios. c) Show how your project creates real-world change. d) Choose media types that research shows work best. e) Get the best results from any e-learning tool, including rapid tools. The entire blog site was very informative in that it provideds a lot of great learning tools that business and online learners can utilized. The workshops are something that I will be taking advantage of in the future so that I learn new training tools. This is a blog site that I will be visiting on a regular basis because, it has great information that will help me in this course but also in my future career.

 http://blog.cathy-moore.com/

The second blog is called IDDblog. The blog is a service that is provided by the faculty of instructional technology services at DePaul University. The sites primary goal is to provide information on enhancing instruction through the use of technology. In my findings of this site is that it is supposed to provide information to enhance instruction through technology but the blog site does not provide any learning tools to help enhance instruction. The site does not provide any new innovative technology services that will help learners develop better techniques and skills either for online learning or a busines. The blog site allows the instructors from DePaul University to upload articles for students to provide them an instructor perspective for students and other instructional design learners. The online access the blog provides is great to the university of DePaul students where they can have interaction with the instructors. The site does not provide current technology tools such twitter, Facebook or an active newsfeed where you can see daily current events that are happening in instructional design. The site is very simple and plan and not very active. As I continue to learn and grow in the field of instructional design technology this site is does not provide the functionality or insight that will help grow into begin a better designer.

http://www.iddblog.org/

The last is an instructional design central which a professional site. The site is very inactive where they have up to date articles that offer students, researchers, and working professional with instructional design and e-learning related resource and information. The site provides many resources for instructional design such as models and methods, programs and degrees, conference, and e-learning tools. The site also is also current in the technology though Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn where people can post comments and apply for jobs through the professional site. I feel that this site was very informative and provide a lot of information that I will use. A site that I will often use because; it provides so much information that anyone would could gain a perspective of begin an instructional design.       

  http://www.instructionaldesigncentral.com/htm/IDC_instructionaldesignsites.htm