I turned my Tic-Tac-Toe game into a customizable template - and you can grab it right here! Read more...

Filed under: e-learning, Gaming, Research Tagged: CALL, EFL, ESL, gaming, MMORGs

Dweck (2009) identified students’ beliefs about learning as their mindsets. Those who underestimate their ability to learn may have a fixed mindset, while those who believe that they can learn by establishing attainable goals and applying effort to learn have a growth mindset. Students with a growth mindset want to know the right answer. They want to be corrected; […]

The following suggestions are recommended in meeting the Americans with Disability Act. "No otherwise qualified individual with a disability …shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance… (Section 504, […]

Filed under: e-learning, ePortfolio, Research, Teaching Tips, Uncategorized Tagged: assessment, community of inquiry, online teaching, rubric, social media, teacher training, technology

What you can expect from your Instructor: I will reply to your posts within 24-48 hours except during holidays. I will provide clear and concise instructions and exercises for you to follow. I will monitor discussions to clarify students’ postings, highlight good or interesting comments and ideas, and provide insight. I will provide the necessary […]

One of my friends journeyed across the Atlantic for a new job where he’ll need to learn a new language.  As a farewell gift, I thought it would be a good idea to share some of my practical experience in successfully learning two foreign languages while working abroad.  In the past, my masters in teaching English […]

Neuroscience has the potential to prove and disprove existing educational learning theories, as well as identify learning disabilities. It will eventually lead to new discoveries and clearer explanations about the internal processes of the brain/mind. Hopefully, this information will make its way into educational textbooks and school curriculum. It already has determined many specific functions […]

Game based learning, where has all the fun gone? I’m deep into research now, trying to see where the learning industry is at with game based learning in general and gamification specifically. I wrote about it previously here - when I was still not convinced that we have an industry have got it right.  So I was pleasantly surprised when Peter Carlin, one of our co-founders, met a local company here in Northern Ireland - Dashboard Simulations, who specialise in game based learning solutions for business skills. Why was I surprised? Well you might want to take a look at Dashboard Simulations website for yourself, but it looks like these folks are on the right track.  Their approach is business simulation with a good few gaming elements thrown in - co-operation, competition, collaboration etc.  Ken Thompson, the company founder is a prolific writer and blogger and has lots of great resources on the website. Try out game based learning What I liked about Ken’s approach to game based learning was the wider thought given to teamwork and co-operation. He has written a couple of books on high performing teams, which clearly helps with the design of good business simulations. I also liked that the game based simulations are generally run over a defined period of time - for example one or two days. That makes it a different type of game based learning experience compared with most eLearning solutions. And - many gamification or game based learning solutions I have come across lately focus on individuals beating their high scores or beating their colleagues. If you think about it though, the skills of co-operation and teamwork are probably more useful to encourage in the workplace. Ken writes a great blog talking about this very thing - you can read more here. So go on, have a look. There’s a cool sample game to try out here. See if you can run your own business!     The post Game based learning appeared first on Logicearth Learning Services: eLearning and IT training Ireland.

In my last post, I noted my thoughts about the current state of Learning & Development post financial crisis. In summary, L&D has to change, has to add value to the business, contribute towards employee engagement and has to modernise workplace learning. Looking ahead at the possible steps one should take from a starting position can be daunting. Implementing change when directed can be somewhat stressful but when that change is coming from you, the challenge is slightly different as you are in a role of ‘learning’ leadership. I feel that L&D needs its own business plan that includes elements of self PR and marketing. The plan should consider the key themes mentioned above, BUT, lets not let the plan get in the way of some practical steps. Taking an agile approach and some trial and error is appropriate to get a feel for what is possible and acceptable within your organisation. Here are a few suggestions: 1. Be proactive: as just one example, invite yourself or turn up to the next departmental sales meeting, have an opinion and if you can see an opportunity for L&D adding value to the business then say so (even if this is a few days later upon reflection). 2. Challenge: next time the business comes to you for a costly training intervention, ask questions; what is the need?, what are the learning outcomes?, what behaviours will we be changing?, how will we know we are successful? When constructing your solution, propose something different to the norm, something they will not be expecting e.g. a series of short instructional videos hosted on the intranet instead of classroom training. 3. Engagement: your LMS, if used correctly is also a great communications tool. Why not post the CEO’s next quarterly update as a video with a short assessment or poll as a means of both engaging with staff and checking for their understanding? 4. Modernise: the L&D toolkit should be deep and varied, our offerings for learners have to match up to the diversity of their lives outside of work. Design standards now have to match the worlds’ creative industries and we must be seen to be meeting this mark. Why not aim to get one piece of very modern, well designed learning out to mobile devices? Pick a new topic, keep it below the radar until the last possible moment and wait for the feedback. It is by beginning to experiment that we will effect change the most. It is easier to build your "modernising workplace learning" business plan once you have a better handle on what works in your organisation. Utmost, others will notice and I predict with a positive light. So, have a go, if you need support, just shout. Maybe the next post will be on the elements of an L&D Business plan? Peter Carlin The post Learning & Development: from crisis to growth appeared first on Logicearth Learning Services: eLearning and IT training Ireland.