Innovating Pedagogy 2014  This is the third in a series of annual reports on innovations in teaching, learning and assessment. The Innovating Pedagogy reports from Open University(UK) are intended for teachers, policy makers, academics and anyone interested in how education may change over the next ten years. Learning how to become an effective learner Potential impact: medium Timescale: ongoing The... Read More ›

Came across a great group of free white papers today including:How to Select a Learning Management System [LMS]Human Capital Insights: E-LearningNavigating Strategy Execution: The Case for Custom Business SimulationsCheck it out:  http://www.hcmdownloads.com/You can also get a free subscription to Chief Learning Officer magazine (if you qualify).  https://humancapitalmedia.site-ym.com/store/view_product.asp?id=1460706

It’s New Zealand’s last month of spring for 2009.When I started blogging, one of the things I became attuned to was the sheer upside-downness of the rest of the world - compared to where I live, that is.In the first few months, it was customary for me to wait overnight for the wave of blog comments to wash across a new post from countries other than those in the South Pacific, if it happened at all.Most activity I observe on my blog takes place after daylight. Of course, there are always exceptions. There are nocturnal bloggers throughout the world and some who seem to be active 24/7!Unsurprisingly, most people do not consider the time zones across the world when it comes to blogging. Last year I posted a Middle-earth time widget in my side-bar to help with this.The academic yearThere is as much disparity of alignment across the world when considering the education cycle. How many countries can enjoy an academic year that begins in January or early February and finishes in December? How many countries can claim that the (actual) year starts and finishes in summer?The upside-downness prevails when reflecting on the seasons. While Canada was in summer New Zealand was steeped in mid-winter. Now, as Kiwiland warms towards summer, starting officially on 1 December, Britain chills into winter.I receive regular communication from people overseas who are amused and surprised at the seasonal differences - till they think about the global cycles. It’s not something that can be easily summarised in a chart, for the seasons in each country progress and change.video of northern hemisphere seasons (check out amazing videos)November in New Zealand starts me dreaming of summer.The hazy balmy days have come in fast,A garden-loose late-blooming tulip yawns,Limp petals soft from drooping roses cast,And daisies flourish on the feathered lawns;A cicada wakes from the nymphal sleepThen sheds the fragile nut-brown pupal shell,And so begins its steady skyward creepTo chant the long percussive choric spell;The karo's darkened pods crack and exposeThe cloying seed in clusters set to fall,A blackbird swoops down keen to interposeAnd sing his warbling chronicle to all;With these the days I long for have begun,The warm and lazy summer days of sun.related post - > ( 1 )

Innovating Pedagogy 2014  This is the third in a series of annual reports on innovations in teaching, learning and assessment. The Innovating Pedagogy reports from Open University(UK) are intended for teachers, policy makers, academics and anyone interested in how education may change over the next ten years. Giving the learner personalized assessment to support learning Potential impact: medium Timescale: long (4+... Read More ›

Free webinar on the important learning trend, "The Flipped Classroom," on Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 12 (noon) EST. To ensure your space, please follow this link to register: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/405556006. In this 45 minute webinar, you will better understand why educators and Corporate Learning professionals are turning to a new model called the flipped classroom. You will discover what it is and why everyone is talking about it. Questions such as what does a flipped classroom model looks like and how does it differ from the blended learning model are answered. And the basics for designing flipped classrooms will be covered.

SETDA, the principal membership association of U.S. state and territorial educational technology leaders, today announced the launch of The Guide to Implementing Digital Learning (GIDL), a free web-based resource to support school and district leaders as they work to ensure that investments in digital learning spark positive results. "Digital learning is more important today than... Read More ›

My colleagues and I have been writing learner reports this week. We follow convoluted procedures to ensure no parts are missed. The process is to provide effective feedback.I reminded myself of the complexity of it all by sneaking a look at instructions that were circulating the office. The directions were clear, linear and easy to follow.But I had a busy confusion going on in my head as I read them.I was looking at a block of text that filled a page.Balance of objectivesIn the days when printed instruction was it, squeezing as much text and other information as possible onto a page met some objectives. There is merit in only one page of instruction. Selecting a smaller font-size was a trick I’d seen for ‘getting it all onto one page’.But at that time, the Science and Art of developing easy-to-follow learner instruction was well known by experienced educators. They knew that ease-of-reading and learner-interest didn’t necessarily follow when information was packed so tightly into a page that you couldn’t put your finger down on bit of white space.ExtremistsWhite space became a prerequisite for a ‘good looking’ page of instruction. Born out of the look and colour of a blank sheet of plain A4, the ‘white space’ practice was carried, almost to extremes, by some writers and designers who actually shunned text - minimalists who’d trim even a brief, well written instruction.Margins were widened, headers and footers were deepened.Text quantity was limited per page.Tricks and impressionsOne trick often used, when no more text culling could be performed on an important block of text, was to emulate the impression of white space by selecting a very pale font colour.In this way, otherwise unwanted text could be merged into the background. Of course, it defeated the purpose of providing instruction, for it was almost impossible to read.No, I’m not knocking white space. It works well when used properly.It lends itself to good web design and elearning resource design. The look and form of a blog post page can even be improved by applying it.Techniques I’ve found that reduce the busy look of a page of text are:short paragraphs - most readers find spaces between small blocks of text easier on the eyedouble space around blocked text or images - an image can be aesthetically framed by a border of text-free space; the effect is more pleasing and restful on the eyebrief subheadings - these create chunks of text-free space by default.You may have other techniques for improving the look of a page.Why not share some of them here?

The Colleges of Applied Sciences (Oman) are working continuously on steady steps under the supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education in accordance to specific plans based on scientific foundations to assure the true investment of skills and abilities. The colleges … Continue reading →

Doodles are the fun, surprising, and sometimes spontaneous changes that are made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists, pioneers, and scientists. Today (Jan 16), the doodle is a game puts you behind the wheel of a "Zamboni" in honor of Frank Zamboni’s 112th birthday. http://www.wired.com/geekmom/2013/01/google-doodle-zamboni/Want to learn more about Google Doodles? http://www.google.com/doodles/aboutDoodle archive:  http://www.google.com/doodles/finder/2012/All%20doodles

It’s an experience many parents have had: From time to time my kids invite me to play video games with them. We pick a multiplayer game like MarioCart or Halo and they proceed to beat me silly. I keep trying to show moderately credible performance with little success. And I wonder, "How long would I... Read More ›