© 2010 Enokson, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Two years ago I began this regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention. You might also be interested in The Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers Of ELLs In 2015 - So Far and The Best Websites For English Language Learner Students In 2015 - So Far. Here are this week’s choices: 35 Times Translations Failed So Hard They Almost Won is from 22 Words. I’m adding it to The Best Collections Of Funny Signs (For Use In English Classes). Tools Of The Trade is a post from the Harvard School of Education and reviews free UDL (Universal Design For Learning) online tools that would be useful for English Language Learners and others. Materials in Spanish another challenge of Common Core is from The Santa Cruz Sentinel. Nathan Hall has a great collection of ELT Listening Material. Summer academy prepares young refugees for NYC schools is from The Associated Press. What do school leaders need to know about English learners? The basics is from MultiBriefs. Five essential listening skills for English learners is from The British Council. Six Things Principals Can Do To Support Their English Language Learners http://t.co/Szm13eKhvD #ELLChat — Shaeley Santiago (@HSeslteacher) July 12, 2015

© 2011 Nekessa Opoti, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio The United Nations has declared August 9th to be The International Day Of The World’s Indigenous People. You might be interested in The Best Sites For International Day Of The World’s Indigenous People. For IB Theory of Knowledge teachers, you might also be interested in the presentations my TOK students created on Indigenous knowledge systems, which can be found on our class blog. Readers might also be interested in The Best Resources For International Mother Language Day.

NPR has created this video, which contains "Hundreds of images from the space probe New Horizons mission stitched together with a poem by Ray Bradbury." I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About NASA’s "New Horizons" Spacecraft:

I often write about research studies from various fields and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a "round-up" of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature. By the way, you might also be interested in My Best Posts On New Research Studies In 2015 - So Far. Here are some new useful studies (and related resources): The Cognitive Benefits of Doodling is from The Atlantic and Making Learning Visible: Doodling Helps Memories Stick is from MindShift. I’m adding them both to The Best Resources On The Educational Value Of Doodling. The Good Habit Which Boosts Self-Control is from PsyBlog and Teenagers Who Don’t Get Enough Sleep at Higher Risk for Mental Health Problems is from Scientific American. I’m adding both to The Best Resources For Helping Teens Learn About The Importance Of Sleep. Personality outsmarts intelligence at school is from Eureka Alert. Reliance on smartphones linked to lazy thinking is from Science Daily. The Benefits of No-Tech Note Taking is from The Chronicle of Higher Education. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Effective Note-Taking Strategies - Help Me Find More. This Is Your Brain on Exercise appeared in TIME. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On How Exercise Helps Learning — Please Contribute Other Resources.

You will find no more forceful advocate than me for teaching Social Emotional Learning Skills in schools — I’ve written three books on the topic and have posted multiple related "Best" lists. I’ve also written, and spoken, about how some SEL advocates (including David Brooks and KIPP Charters) are using it inappropriately as a "Let Them Eat Character!" approach that doesn’t recognize the assets our students bring (it’s not an issue that our students don’t have self-control and grit - many have them in huge amounts and may just need some assistance in applying those qualities in academic ways) and acts as a substitute for providing adequate economic and political support to our students, their families and our schools (see my Washington Post piece titled The Manipulation of Social Emotional Learning and my post The Best Articles About The Study Showing Social Emotional Learning Isn’t Enough). This week’s CNN segment, Can Grit Be Taught? (embedded below), shows how seductive that "Let Them Eat Character!" approach can be - all it takes is a bit of grit and self-control and things will be fine. It demonstrates no recognition of the broader socio-economic challenges facing students and their families. I respect Professor Duckworth’s work, and appreciate her recent attempts to rein in over-zealous uses of her work (see Measurement Matters….Maybe Not So Much). Perhaps she is really trying to communicate a more nuanced approach and the media, not known for its appreciation of nuance, is not going for it. If she’s trying, I just hope she starts trying harder….

Today, President Obama announced a "new" plan to connect 275,000 low-income households to the Internet. You can read about it in The New York Times article, U.S. Program Will Connect Public Housing Residents to Web. Here’s an excerpt: I’m all for low-income families getting Internet access and, as regular readers know, have worked on this issue for years (see The Best Resources For Learning About Schools Providing Home Computers & Internet Access To Students). However, in reviewing what this "new" program does, I don’t see anything new in it apart from Google providing connections free in the three cities where they have Google Fiber, and one Native American-owned utility providing it free to their local public housing residents. Everything else, except for a bunch of "training" with very questionable value, is already available under Comcast’s free program and the expansion the FCC ordered all cable companies to do. Perhaps I’m missing something - let me know if I am. I just get concerned that pseudo big new programs provide the illusion that something is being done when it isn’t, and then reduces the likelihood of real solutions actually occurring….

This could be an interesting video to show in Geography class. I’m adding it to The Best Geography Sites For Learning About The United States & Canada:

I’ve written a lot about Luis Rodriguez, one our students’ favorite authors. Here’s a new, and great, news segment on him (it may or may not show up in an RSS Reader):

It’s summer fever for IT vendors and customers. Microsoft announced Windows 10, Google announced the new Android a couple of weeks ago and Apple just announced the next iOS and OS X versions. But, the best news is probably about the platform you use everyday and really care about: eFrontPro has been updated to 4.2.0. Ever since we introduced eFrontPro as a modern, future-proof base to build upon, we’ve worked hard to get major updates full of new features coming your way with impressive frequency (and don’t let the version numbers fool you, what we call 4.1 or 4.2 other vendors would have happily called 5 and 6 feature-wise). But I digress. Let’s open the (virtual) box, and see what goodies eFrontPro 4.2.0 brings to the table… Revamped ILT eFrontPro 4.2.0 takes the instructor led training (ILT) features we’ve introduced in earlier eFrontPro versions to the next level, giving physical world trainings and webinars the same first class status online courses had. Physical world training is represented with a Training Event, which is a special form of Lesson, and can have one or more Training Sessions, each being led by one or more Instructors and taking place in its own location and/or date/time. eFrontPro 4.2.0 is even smart enough to prevent you from accidentally assigning the same location to more than one sessions at the same date/time (resource sharing prevention). To handle enrolling and capacity issues, eFrontPro offers automatic waitlist management and automatic iCal invitations (compatible with MS’s Outlook, Apple’s Calendar and most popular calendar applications).­ ILT sessions are also integrated with eFrontPro’s own calendar, so that a user’s upcoming sessions automatically appear there too. Instructors can pre­-book seats, but it’s also possible for students to self-­enroll to their preferred training sessions, with successful attendance leading to automatic lesson/course completion and certification. Oh, and for those of you that have configured BBB or Webex in eFrontPro, you now get one-click setup of webinars. OpenSesame Integration eFrontPro now integrates with the OpenSesame service, a huge marketplace of SCORM ­compatible content that you can purchase and add to your eLearning offerings. Administrators can browse the whole OpenSesame catalog from eFrontPro’s management interface, and purchase any available content with one click. eFrontPro takes it up from there, automatically converting purchased content to Lessons that can be allocated to courses at will. If you’re interested in more details about working with OpenSesame material in eFrontPro, stay tuned as there’s an upcoming post dedicated to this alone. Upgraded upgrade system Upgrading just got a lot easier with 4.2.0, as installing the latest version from now on just takes a simple click on the "upgrade" button within the management interface. This makes it dead simple to stay up to date, which means you get all the new features sooner and always have the latest and more secure version installed. Keeping in sync eFrontPro 4.2.0 comes with a powerful engine that can periodically check for CSV files in specific folders, and update its own data, making integration and syncing with external sources as easy as pie. Here’s how this works:­ the administrator creates import tasks that are ran periodically (e.g. every 24 hours). When the task is run, eFrontPro looks for data files in a predefined folder and imports them, just as if the administrator had manually used the "Import from CSV" option. eFrontPro keeps detailed reports for each task run, and notifies the administrator if anything went wrong (e.g. data mismatch). It’s a whole new day for the calendar A new, easier to use yet more powerful calendar UI is available in the full calendar page. Not the tame, humble calendar you once knew, this one supports drag-and-­drop handling of events and one-click export of its data in iCal format (suitable for importing in Outlook, Google Calendar etc.). Question everything eFrontPro 4.2.0 also brings back some advanced question types you might remember from eFront 3.6: HotSpot and Matrix. HotSpot allows the professor to upload an image and specify parts of it that need to be clicked for the answer to register as correct. Matrix questions are based on a MxN table (a grid, or "matrix" in math terms), where the user must pick the correct rows and columns. New security features Besides the dead easy one-click updates we’ve already mentioned (which will ensure you always have the latest security updates installed), eFrontPro 4.2.0 brings a few more security enhancements. First, there’s a new Security tab in the Settings page which will make configuring the various security options easier. Then, there are (even more) elaborate password rules you can set, including password expirations, the option to forbid password reuse, account lockup after several unsuccessful login attempts, etc. (all optional of course). You can also optionally enforce unique email addresses. What’s more, any security related errors are logged for later inspection by the administrator. File library A simple to use file library is now available in all lessons. All the professor has to do is simply drag and drop files to add them to the library, and they will be made available to all of the lesson’s users. And more… As always that’s not all. eFrontPro also comes with lots of smaller features, bug fixes and enhacements. Dig in the new version to find out for yourself, and keep an eye open for our upcoming decicated OpenSesame post. Enjoy! Bonus: You can now create your own personalized eFrontPro trial learning portal by visiting the following URL: http://www.efrontlearning.net/demo The post eFrontPro 4.2.0 - your favorite LMS with extra awesome appeared first on eFront Blog.

You’ve already invested in eLearning, and you’re reaping the rewards. Or maybe you’re interested in why you should be investing in eLearning. Here’s a snapshot of some of the benefits to you: Empowering and motivating your workforce with training that slots simultaneously into their work routine, without depriving employees of desk time in the office. Functional, engaging learning that can be revisited when convenient. Tailored to every part of your workforce’s individual, distinct requirements. Affordable, fully manageable in-house and adaptable. But how can you scale your eLearning investment effectively? I - with the help of a little research - can help you there. eLearning is Growing; Scale With It eLearning is growing (just take a peek at the diagram below), and you need to learn where to invest your learning and development (L&D) money, fast. Expected 2015 Investment in LMS Software (Sample of US HR Professionals) - Source: Learning Management Systems Userview 2015, Software Advice The LMS market is expected to grow from $2.55 billion in 2013 to $7.83 billion in 2018 and from a wider perspective, the global eLearning sector is expected to reach an estimated worth of $107 billion in 2015. Clearly, now is the time to focus on ROI as you expand your eLearning L&D plan. In this article I’ve collaborated with an industry expert and colleague of mine, Richard Anderson, and examined a few different sources of industry research to understand how and where you should be investing your eLearning allocated L&D budget. Let’s begin with which particular eLearning techniques you should be incorporating into your L&D strategy. Getting the most out of your LMS starts here, and from using the following techniques, you’ll benefit from increased success in your staff training programs. eLearning Techniques You Should be Using Concise, conversational content First and foremost, eLearning course content should fulfil the purpose of its use (i.e. enhancing an employee’s relevant knowledge for their job role). But educational content doesn’t need to be complex and detailed! How to implement: The days of endlessly clicking next are coming to an end; consumable bites are more important than long modules. Content should be easy to navigate, enjoyable to read and collated in manageable chunks. Making your content informal, friendly and even a little chatty will aid you massively in engaging your users with the course. Adopt a more conversational tone when writing your courses from now - as a guide, think of how a manager would chat with one of his employees, rather than the kind of language typically found in a textbook. Searchable & tailored training Managing your company’s internal eLearning software allows you to tailor your training program to particular divisions, departments, projects, teams - even drill down as far as personalising it to individual employees! However, despite our best efforts to tailor training to our employee’s individual needs, it is probable that material which covers existing knowledge will slip through. This discrepancy between the knowledge we desire our workforce to possess and the knowledge they already possess creates a barrier to learning for some of your workforce. More damagingly, it tarnishes the social element of eLearning - we’ll cover that a bit later. How to implement: Establishing each training user’s initial knowledge level is time consuming and unrealistic. For most companies, this is not the solution. No - instead, to enhance content to the necessary level, it should be made searchable for ease of locating relevant content. The rationale behind this is that our tech savvy generation are able to search sites like YouTube, and expect to be able to do the same with their training courses. Searchable content means that training users with existing expertise can search for knowledge gaps to save time and frustration, whilst users with little prior knowledge can proceed through the entire course as intended. It’s beneficial for users at all learning stages. Even users who have absolutely no knowledge of the subject may find one area in particular quite difficult to understand, and can quickly navigate to this area time and again to solidify their expertise in this area. Incorporating engaging offline learning aspects Establishing a regular online meeting where a manager or external tutor can explain some of the topics in more detail can be a big help in retaining training users’ interest. How to implement: The key here is to communicate this aspect of the course as a support mechanism. Course features that draw from offline methods such as this should only be supplementary elements of the course which users do not need to uptake if they feel that they entirely understand the course and do not require assistance. Not all your training users will enjoy the thought of this - remember, they agreed to learn via eLearning, and you don’t want to force anyone into learning in a way that they didn’t originally express interest in. For those who are interested, the online meetings could be conducted weekly or more frequently if necessary. Video streaming of the manager/tutor, along with active, live comments from session viewers, allows for learners to benefit from a more social, interactive learning experience. That leads us quite nicely on to our next technique. Cultivating a social eLearning experience Your LMS should exist as a ‘lobby’ in which students can engage with each other, sharing opinions and perspectives, posing questions, addressing issues and assisting one another throughout the learning process. The theory behind this is that with the ability to challenge one another throughout the learning experience, the entire process of learning will be enhanced if made as collaborative, open and social as possible. How to implement: Messages of encouragement could be posted by tutors and your LMS could also host peer-reviews of resources and materials. There are so many resources available from which training users can further their knowledge, so, whether they’re sharing articles or simply discussing course content, the social side of your eLearning is an important learning booster that could just give your organisation the edge. Assessing your employee’s knowledge The multiple choice exam still remains the best way of testing applied knowledge. For managers, multiple choice assessments provide clear guidelines as to what has or has not been learnt. From a quick look at the statistics for each question, you can easily identify any problems that your workforce are encountering, and subsequently seek to address the issue. Allow me to provide an example to illustrate this. Example One group of employees in Spain were struggling with the ‘Cheques’ section of a money-laundering eLearning course that they were undertaking as part of their training. It was soon established that staff were struggling to get to grips with this particular area as it had no relevance to their actual job roles. As a result, management were able to react to this and alter the course accordingly. How to implement: Multiple choice questions should be a standard feature of any competent LMS; if you’re dissatisfied with your current LMS, why not take a tour of eFront’s LMS features? Our eLearning Program is ready, what now? Following these simple directions will aid you in maintaining the most resourceful eLearning program. However, this is only the beginning. The diagram below displays just how expansive the array of eLearning methods available to us - as employers - is: What you must decide is what’s most appropriate for your particular industry - for your business, culture, and workforce. Research can however give you a nudge in the right direction: eLearning Trends in Specific Business Areas So, now that you’ve streamlined your company’s eLearning program, you’ll find yourself re-investing in this revolutionary training tool year on year (YoY). But in which area of your business will eLearning be most effective? This table shows us which industries LMS software is being invested in. From its results, we can make certain inferences as to why eLearning is more popular in some business areas and industries than others. Unsurprisingly, industries such as retail in which skills remain broadly practical, verbal and face-to-face have little investment in eLearning as a training tool. From my personal opinion, industries such as Manufacturing will receive higher investment YoY as these processes become increasingly automated. Areas highly dependent on technical know-how which can be easily delivered with eLearning courses - such as Technology and Financial services - are investing the most in eLearning software. Could this trend in investment be replicated internally within your business? Departments with needs similar to those of IT and Finance will benefit the most from eLearning as a concept. Summary Unfortunately there appears to be little research in eLearning investment by industry or department, but utilising all the above research, you’ll be able to commence streamlining your eLearning L&D strategy successfully. Adhering to the principles I’ve described above will enable you to develop your eLearning program, whilst maintaining its use and purpose - right down to the individual level. Key takeaways: eLearning is growing; your L&D strategy must be sufficiently robust for successful scaling. Content should be snappy, searchable and conversational in tone; this way, it’ll be enjoyable to navigate, read, engage and learn from. Treat every area - whether that’s standalone employees or an international division - with individual compassion. Tailor and adapt your eLearning to their needs. Incorporate offline training aspects; this allows for increased support and adds a dimension of variety to your course (examples: video streaming, live chat - simulates the experience of offline training methods). Focus on building a social eLearning environment to create a collaborative culture between training users that enhances the process for everyone involved. Use multiple choice questions as an assessment method for ease of problem identification. Author bio: Jordan Bradley works for High Speed Training (HST), a fully accredited specialist eLearning course provider based in the UK. He enjoys his responsibility of managing HST’s Hub - a blog which posts weekly insightful articles on a range of topics related to their array of online courses. Jordan spends the rest of his time running around the countryside, travelling on weekends to visit friends he wished lived closer, and fighting hard in the battle against laziness, amongst other things. The post Scaling with eLearning: How & Where to Grow appeared first on eFront Blog.