Evaluating and Identifying Online Resources

This week we will discuss the brain and its correlation with learning, and the information process learning theory. 

ASTD

The American Society for Training and Development has an excellent publication of the sophistication of the brain and how it helps us to learn. Activate engagement is a concept that was emphasized in the article. It explains how our neural connections are fundamental for learning to take place in the brain.  We must stimulate our brain to consciously retain the information.


Learning and The Brain

I chose to review this site because it is a collection of research provided by educators, researchers, psychologist, and etc. It is an organization that provides extensive research and seminars about the brain and its association with learning. They explore learning and the brain regarding its implications to education. This is a fascinating concept for me because they all work simultaneously together. This type of research can lead to developments that will help school systems and teachers prepare curriculum to enhance education.


References:
http://www.astd.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-Archive/2013/04/Inside-the-Learning-Brain

http://www.learningandthebrain.com/

The Doorway to Professional Learning Communities

Overview

We learning something new each and every day even though we may not know it.  As I have learned numerous times in the past, training is an evolving field. I have recently been introduced to the concept of instructional design. When I interned as a training associate for a consulting firm during my undergraduate career, I was introduced to the training arena. Of course, I have participated in numerous training activities throughout my lifetime.

I have reviewed several blog sites pertaining to training, instructional design, and technology. Every trainer or designer have their own opinion about how learning takes place and how training should be delivered. The first site that I decided to review discusses training games and the tools used to bring the games to life. 

Blog Reviews

Training Games
http://trainlikeachampion.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/survey-says-creating-training-games-like-family-feud-with-powerpoint/

• The blog is titled Train Like A Champion. The blog post from May 08, 2013 describes how the instructional designer used Microsoft Power Point to create an interactive family feud game. The overall objective of the post was accomplished; however, it could have been more engaging. There could have been additional references to other interactive games that can be created by power point. A description of how this type of game can enhance a training program would have also been useful as well. 

Internet Time
http://www.internettime.com/blog/archives/001083.html

• " Design is not merely an indicator of esthetic taste, but a social phenomenon that both mirrors and shapes how we think." This is the first sentence of the blog post titled I am a designer. The post references how we think about design and list the principles of design.  Overall, I was not pleased with the post and did not feel it provided any merit to training or instructional design. 

Infed.org
http://infed.org/mobi/learning-theory-models-product-and-process/

• This blog explores education, learning, and the community. It describes learning as an insatiable curiosity that drives absorption. There was also mention of different types of learning such as incidental and unconscious learning.  The overall concept that I retained from this blog that is relevant to the material in this course thus far is Learning as a process- ideas of how and why change occurs. This is an excellent blog post to explore aspects of learning, training, and instructional design. It also provides some valuable resources and references.