THE RISE OF LEARNING RESOURCE CENTRES - INFOGRAPHIC http://pinnacle-furniture.co.uk/blog/the-rise-of-learning-resource-centres-infographic/ Stephen

A Brief History of Open Source Code Stephen

15 inspirational library quotes for the summer http://proud2know.eu/summerquotes_blog23/ "Here are a few inspirational quotes for the summer holidays from both library leaders and the famous. "A library is a place where you can lose your innocence without losing your virginity." Germaine Greer "An original idea. That can’t be too hard. The library must be full of them." Stephen Fry "Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving our quality of life. Libraries change lives for the better." Sidney Sheldon "Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation." Walter Cronkite "Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries." Anne Herbert "What a school thinks about its library is a measure of what it feels about education." Harold Howe "The health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested how well we support our libraries." Carl Sagan "A great library is one nobody notices because it is always there, and always has what people need." Vicki Myron "Great libraries have always looked to both the future and the past." Laura Shapiro "To ask why we need libraries at all, when there is so much information available elsewhere, is about as sensible as asking if roadmaps are necessary now that there are so many roads." Jon Bing "Our traditional model was one in which we thought of the user in the life of the library … but we are now increasingly thinking about the library in the life of the user." Lorcan Dempsey "We are coming out of a period of let a thousand flowers bloom, which has been amazing … since the network really got stable and got out there to scholars to the way they do their work and communicate their work." Clifford A Lynch "A library implies an act of faith." Victor Hugo We are going to see a lot more collaboration and joint work among groups of libraries. … We are going to see a lot more emphasis in scale and integration between systems." Clifford A Lynch "To be a librarian is not to be neutral, or passive, or waiting for a question. It is to be a radical positive change agent within your community." R. David Lankes" Stephen

How libraries can compete with Google and Amazon http://qz.com/454586/how-libraries-can-compete-with-google-and-amazon/ "Throughout the country, library initiatives are emerging to keep up with technological advances. And libraries are finding that one population they can serve better than anyone else is low-income Americans. We think of libraries as a public service, full of nostalgia and old books. That may be true. But librarians, and the people running large library systems, think of their users as customers, which means companies like Google and Amazon are competition—not for profit, but for users." Stephen

NEW ARTICLE: PARTICIPATORY AND TRANSFORMATIVE ENGAGEMENT IN LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS: EXPLORING AND EXPANDING THE SALZBURG CURRICULUM http://tametheweb.com/2015/07/13/new-article-participatory-and-transformative-engagement-in-libraries-and-museums-exploring-and-expanding-the-salzburg-curriculum/ Article in the new issue of the Journal of Education for Library and Information Science (JELIS)  - special supplement on international issues in LIS education. http://dpi-journals.com/index.php/JELIS/issue/view/310 "Participatory and Transformative Engagement in Libraries and Museums: Exploring and Expanding the Salzburg Curriculum R. David Lankes, Syracuse University Michael Stephens, San Jose State University Melissa Arjona, San Jose State University Abstract: During a program titled "Libraries and Museums in an Era of Participatory Culture," co-sponsored by the Salzburg Global Seminar (SGS) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), one of the discussion groups developed recommendations for skills needed by librarians and museum professionals in today’s connected and participatory world. The group focused on the concepts, knowledge, and processes that both librarians and museum professionals need to understand and know, realizing that participatory culture has ramifications both for traditional functions and emerging skills. The initial framework was an overview. This paper expands on the work started in Salzburg and calls for further discussion. By opening the conversation to the library and museum worlds, it is proposed that the two systems of education and continuing education will experience positive and possibly unexpected synergistic benefits." Stephen

Why You Should Care About Google’s New Open-Source Bluetooth Beacons http://gizmodo.com/why-you-should-care-about-googles-new-open-source-bluet-1717886196 "This vision isn’t new, of course — Apple said the same stuff when introducing iBeacons back in 2013. But Eddystone has the potential to catch on where Apple’s beacons fell flat: by open-sourcing the project, Google has left beacon hardware, firmware, and the user experience up to other companies; Google’s just providing the parts that let beacons talk to phones with the least possible effort." Stephen       Stephen

The Syndrome Syndrome and the Rise of the New World Disorders http://www.ideachampions.com/weblogs/archives/2015/07/heres_a_fun_tes_1.shtml "Below, you will find my guide to 14 of the most recently identified medical conditions. Study them carefully. If you have one of them, please check your health insurance policy immediately to see if it will cover the cost of the medicines you will soon feel compelled to buy. 1. FSGDD (Five Star General Distraction Disorder): The involuntary tendency of high ranking military officials to throw away their careers and share classified information with well-dressed socialites looking for diplomatic immunity so they won’t have to pay their parking tickets or wait on line at Wal-Mart. 2. CFSUD (Chronic Facebook Status Update Disorder): A debilitating disease that shuts down the immune system whenever a person’s need to change their Facebook status update supersedes their need to change their underwear, breathe, or have a meaningful conversation with another human being. 3. RAQS (Reflexive Air Quote Syndrome): The simultaneous extension of the index and middle finger, of both hands, to signal to anyone in one’s visual field that the word or phrase about to be spoken is either inconsequential, hyper-inflated, or attributed to someone from an opposing political party. 4. TGRES (Teenage Girl Rolling Eye Syndrome): The upward, lateralized movement of eyeballs in the presence of parents, teachers, or guidance counselors in the still forming cerebral cortex of teenage girls. Or like, whatever. 5. CPD (Compulsive Photoshop Disorder): A distortion of the visual field in which people, objects, animals, or natural expressions of Mother Nature are perceived to be deficient, requiring immediate digital manipulation. 6. MPS (Marital Projection Syndrome): A compensatory nervous system reaction triggered whenever a husband or wife believes so strongly in their own concepts of right and wrong that all they can do is criticize, judge, and wallow in self-righteousness for extended periods of time, resulting in high therapy bills, the sensation of walking on eggshells, and the cessation of sex for 30 days. 7. PID (Premature Intervention Disorder): The hallucinated belief by war-mongering American politicians that invading and occupying other countries for ridiculously long periods of time will increase national security, distract people from thinking about the economy, and lower gas prices. 8. VCD (Virtual Connection Dysfunction): The involuntary flapping of opposable thumbs, accompanied by the sudden, compulsive search for the nearest Smart Phone during early or late stage lovemaking. 9. RCOD (Remote Control Overload Disorder): A state of bi-polar catatonia triggered by the inability to make sense of all those tiny, misplaced buttons on one or more remote control devices, none of which correlate to anything in the known universe. 10. ITILLJDD (I Think I Look Like Johnny Depp Disorder): The irrational belief by men over 40 that just because they have a wispy mustache, slick their hair back, and have seen Pirates of the Caribbean twice, women will want to have sex with them. 11. MGITOGD (My God Is the Only God Disorder): A fanatical mindset in which one’s certainly about their own belief system can only be validated by making others wrong and, depending on the need for more oil, real estate, or power can lead to the death of thousands of innocent people. 12. FMYS (Four More Years Syndrome): The sudden, song-like repetition of the phrase "Four More Years, Four More Years" by straw hat-wearing, overweight, ridiculously optimistic followers of incumbent presidents at political rallies held in convention centers, state fairs, or parking lots. 13. CLS (Compulsive Like Disorder): The involuntary need to ask everyone you know to "like" your Facebook Page even if they don’t like it, don’t like you, or have already liked your page due to your incessant badgering and self-promotion. 14.BYHFSWAYTWSMLBBIAITHYSYACTHTLFSKOTOEWARLNEBATBOHND:(Blaming Your Husband For Snoring When Actually You, the Wife, Snore Much Louder, But Because It’s Almost Impossible to Hear Yourself Snoring, You Are Constantly Telling Him to Look for Some Kind of Treatment Or Else Wear a Ridiculous Looking, Nostril-Expanding Bandaid Across the Bridge of His Nose Dysfunction.) Just what it sounds like." Stephen

"A Decade of Critical Information Literacy: A Review of the Literature A Decade of Critical Information Literacy: A Review of the Literature By Eamon Tewell http://libraryjuicepress.com/blog/?p=5053 From Communications in Information Literacy, Vol. 9, No. 1 (2015) ABSTRACT As information literacy continues in its centrality to many academic libraries’ missions, a line of inquiry has developed in response to ACRL’s charge to develop information literate citizens. The literature of critical information literacy questions widely held assumptions about information literacy and considers in what ways librarians may encourage students to engage with and act upon information’s complex and inherently political nature. This review explores the research into critical information literacy, including critical pedagogy and critiques of information literacy, in order to provide an entry point for this emerging and challenging approach to information literacy. Full text: PDF" Stephen

50 Inspirational Quotes from Literature http://www.myprint247.co.uk/blog/50-inspirational-quotes-from-literature/   Stephen

Try this infographic to connect your YA readers to your history collections . . . Historical Inspiration for Game of Thrones: INFOGRAPHIC http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/historical-inspiration-for-game-of-thrones-infographic/107672 Stephen

Full Text Article: "A Library in the Palm of Your Hand: Mobile Services in Top 100 University Libraries"   http://www.infodocket.com/2015/07/23/full-text-article-a-library-in-the-palm-of-your-hand-mobile-services-in-top-100-university-libraries/ "The following full text article appears in the current issue of Information Technology and Libraries. Title A Library in the Palm of Your Hand: Mobile Services in Top 100 University Libraries Authors Yan Quan Liu Southern Connecticut State University Special Hired Professor at Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin, China Sarah Briggs Library/Media Specialist at Jonathan Law High School, Milford, CT Source Information Technology and Libraries Vol 34, No 2 (2015) Abstract What is the current state of mobile services among academic libraries of the country’s top 100 universities, and what are the best practices for librarians implementing mobile services at the university level? Through in-depth website visits and survey questionnaires, the authors studied each of the top 100 universities’ libraries’ experiences with mobile services. Results showed that all of these libraries offered at least one mobile service, and the majority offered multiple services. The most common mobile services offered were mobile sites, text messaging services, e-books, and mobile access to databases and the catalog. In addition, chat/IM services, social media accounts and apps were very popular. Survey responses also indicated a trend towards responsive design for websites so that patrons can access the library’s full site on any mobile device. Respondents recommend that libraries considering offering mobile services begin as soon as possible as patron demand for these services is expected to increase. Direct to Full Text Article (16 pages; PDF)" Stephen

The 37 Best Websites To Learn Something New https://medium.com/@kristynazdot/the-37-best-websites-to-learn-something-new-895e2cb0cad4 "edX — Take online courses from the world’s best universities. Coursera — Take the world’s best courses, online, for free. Coursmos — Take a micro-course anytime you want, on any device. Highbrow — Get bite-sized daily courses to your inbox. Skillshare — Online classes and projects that unlock your creativity. Curious — Grow your skills with online video lessons. lynda.com — Learn technology, creative and business skills. CreativeLive — Take free creative classes from the world’s top experts. Udemy — Learn real world skills online. →LEARN HOW TO CODE Codecademy — Learn to code interactively, for free. Stuk.io — Learn how to code from scratch. Udacity — Earn a Nanodegree recognized by industry leaders. Platzi — Live streaming classes on design, marketing and code. Learnable — The best way to learn web development. Code School — Learn to code by doing. Thinkful — Advance your career with 1-on-1 mentorship. Code.org — Start learning today with easy tutorials. BaseRails — Master Ruby on Rails and other web technologies. Treehouse — Learn HTML, CSS, iPhone apps & more. One Month — Learn to code and build web applications in one month. Dash — Learn to make awesome websites. →LEARN TO WORK WITH DATA DataCamp — Online R tutorials and data science courses. DataQuest — Learn data science in your browser. DataMonkey — Develop your analytical skills in a simple, yet fun way. →LEARN NEW LANGUAGES Duolingo — Learn a language for free. Lingvist — Learn a language in 200 hours. Busuu — The free language learning community. Memrise — Use flashcards to learn vocabulary. →EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE TED-Ed — Find carefully curated educational videos Khan Academy — Access an extensive library of interactive content. Guides.co — Search the largest collection of online guides. Squareknot — Browse beautiful, step-by-step guides. Learnist — Learn from expertly curated web, print and video content. Prismatic — Learn interesting things based on social recommendation. →BONUS Chesscademy — Learn how to play chess for free. Pianu — A new way to learn piano online, interactively. Yousician— Your personal guitar tutor for the digital age. UPDATE: Full list including the best of your suggestions can be also found here." Stephen

The Top 10 Reasons Why the Top 10 Reasons Don’t Matter http://www.ideachampions.com/weblogs/archives/2015/07/the_10_top_reas.shtml "1. Reason is highly over-rated. 2. If you need more data to prove your point, you’ll never have enough data to prove your point. 3. Analysis paralysis. 4. You’re going to follow your gut, anyway. 5. By the time you put your business case together, the market has passed you by. 6. "Not everything that counts can be counted; not everything that can be counted counts." - Albert Einstein 7. The scientific method came to Rene Descartes in a dream! 8. Most reasons are collected to prove to others what you have already decided to do. 9. "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." - G.B. Shaw 10. I am, therefore I think." Stephen

The Three Types of Problem in the World http://www.onlydeadfish.co.uk/only_dead_fish/2015/07/the-three-types-of-problem-in-the-world.html "I rather liked this delineation of the three different types of problem in the world, featured in a paper on reform in the healthcare industry by Brenda Zimmerman of York University and Sholom Glouberman of the University of Toronto, and quoted in The Checklist Manifesto: Simple problems are ones like baking a cake from a mix. There is a recipe. Complicated problems are ones like sending a rocket to the moon. They can sometimes be broken down into a series of simple problems. But there is no straightforward recipe. Success frequently requires multiple people, often multiple teams, and specialized expertise. Unanticipated difficulties are frequent. Timing and coordination become serious concerns. Complex problems are ones like raising a child. Once you learn how to send a rocket to the moon, you can repeat the process with other rockets and perfect it. One rocket is like another rocket. But not so with raising a child, the professors point out. Every child is unique. Although raising one child may provide experience, it does not guarantee success with the next child. Expertise is valuable but most certainly not sufficient. Indeed, the next child may require an entirely different approach from the previous one. And this brings up another feature of complex problems: their outcomes remain highly uncertain. Yet we all know that it is possible to raise a child well. It’s complex, that’s all." Stephen

How to Effectively Use Visual Storytelling [INFOGRAPHIC] http://www.searchenginejournal.com/effectively-use-visual-storytelling-infographic/136436/ Stephen

Almost one mobile phone for every person in the World already and by 2020 completing the conversion to all smartphones and mobile broadband http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/07/almost-one-mobile-phone-for-every.html "In 2015 there are more than 7 billion mobile cellular subscriptions worldwide, up from less than 1 billion in 2000. Globally 3.2 billion people are using the Internet of which 2 billion are from developing countries. By end 2015, there are more than 7 billion mobile cellular subscriptions, corresponding to a penetration rate of 97%, up from 738 million in 2000. The number of Chinese mobile phone users accounted for 94.5% of its total population by the end of June, latest data showed. In the first half, China saw 6.88 million new mobile phone users, bringing the country’s total mobile phone users to 1.29 billion, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in a statement. The ratio of mobile phone users to population was higher than 100% in nine provincial-level regions, including Beijing, Shanghai, as well as provinces of Guangdong and Zhejiang. China will have 1.3 billion mobile phone users by the end of 2015. India is nearing 1 billion mobile phone users. The switch of all mobile phones to smartphones is also rapidly occuring The number of users choosing broadband mobile internet services (3G and 4G services) reached 674 million by the end of June, accounting for 52.1% of all mobile phone users. Many African countries are lagging with about 33% mobile phone penetration and 20% mobile broadband. Mobile broadband internet for developed countries is about 86%. Mobile broadband already accounts for over three-quarters of connections in the developed world and, by 2020, the figure will reach 92%. In contrast, less than a third of connections are currently on higher speed networks in the developing world. However, this is projected to nearly reach two-thirds of connections by 2020. In absolute terms, the number of mobile broadband connections in developing markets will increase by 3.1 billion over the period. Fourth-generation (4G) mobile network, which offers faster Internet access than previous modes, witnessed explosive user growth last month, with total 4G users up 24.69 million from a month earlier to 225 million. Mobile broadband connections will account for almost 70% of the global base by 2020, up from just under 40% at the end of 2014. Smartphone adoption is already reaching critical mass in developed markets, with the devices now accounting for 60% of connections. It is the developing world—driven by the increased affordability of devices—that will produce most of the future growth, adding a further 2.9 billion smartphone connections by 2020. The mobile ecosystem is a major driver of economic progress and welfare globally. In 2014, the mobile industry generated 3.8% of global gross domestic product (GDP), a contribution that amounts to over US$3 trillion of economic value across 236 countries. This figure captures the direct, indirect and productivity impacts of the mobile ecosystem, but does not include broader socio-economic effects. In the period to 2020, mobile’s contribution will grow at a faster rate than the rest of the global economy, contributing 4.2% to the world’s GDP by the end of the period. The projections for 2020 do not include possible game changers like the Google Loon project for stratospheric solar or the next generation of global satellites from Google, Elon Musk and others." Stephen

College textbooks 1,041 percent more expensive now than in 1977 http://www.salon.com/2015/08/03/college_textbooks_1041_percent_more_expensive_now_than_in_1977/ "Incoming college freshmen will be paying 1,041 percent more for their textbooks than their peers did in 1977, according to NBC’s review of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Nicole Allen, a spokeswoman for the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, claimed that the dramatic increase is the result of students being "captive consumers," incapable of buying anything other than the books they’re assigned. But such sentiments don’t accord with the reality that many students purchase used copies — which are still very expensive — or rent books on a semester-by-semester basis. Most students, however, do purchase textbooks, if only so they can sell them back for a quick infusion of cash at the end of the school year. An NPR investigation in 2014 found that while the price of textbooks has continued to increase, the amount students are actually spending on them plateaued in 2002. NPR surmised that the availability of online venues like Amazon and Chegg.com, as well as a movement toward open-source textbooks in the hard sciences — where the majority of the most expensive textbooks can be found — has created an environment in which students can get away with only paying $320 per semester on books. Which is still, of course, criminally more than their peers did in 1977. Watch a short video on the phenomenon via NBC News at http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/freshman-year/college-textbook-prices-have-risen-812-percent-1978-n399926." Stephen

Here’s a step-by-step guide to taking your business online Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/sc/small-business-e-commerce-infographic-2015-7#ixzz3gz3EYTay http://www.businessinsider.com/sc/small-business-e-commerce-infographic-2015-7?IR=T Stephen

Very useful listicle post from Lisa Waite Bunker at Pima County Library. Fab graphics tools for Facebook pages July 20, 2015 http://www.library.pima.gov/blogs/post/fab-graphics-tools/  Created in just a few minutes using a generator "Every 4th Tuesday of the month businesses and nonprofits based in Pima County can come to the Idea+Space at Main Library and get expert help with their social media presence. They can get guidance on what platforms to start with, brainstorm ideas for content, or learn about how to use analytics to assess their success. One of the things we commonly talk about is voice and tone, and how to balance marketing messages with more shareable posts that help build a strong following. You could do this by re-sharing topical posts you find on other pages or blogs (crediting the source, of course), but for those who have their own ideas and branding here are some free tools that will help you create professional-looking graphics or your own humorous "memes." Can’t afford Photoshop or a designer? Try making your own signs, posters, and cards Pixlr: An image editor you don’t have to download Canva: templates to make graphics the perfect size for social media; also has an infographic generator (available as an iPad app: Canva) PosterMyWall: templates for signs and flyers WordSwag (iOS devices only) Highly recommended OK, how do I find photos and graphics to use? Pixabay: searchable royalty-free stock photography and clipart Morguefile: searchable royalty-free stock photography Make your own infographics: Piktochart, Venngage, Easel.ly Make your own humorous "memes": Keep Calm and…1, Keep Calm and…2, MakeaMeme, QuickMeme, ImgFlip. More: Ultimate Guide to Finding, Customizing, & Using Free Images for Blogs Lists of those odd, interesting days of the year Chase’s Calendar of Events: classic and authoritative Days of the Year includes some of the quirkier holidays Brownielocks Foodimentary: national food holidays National Day Calendar" Stephen

Remember this clip from The Jerk? [Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOTDn2A7hcY] You may laugh but, when I started blogging a few years ago, I had this scene from that movie playing through my head. Of course, I realized that I was assigning myself way too much self-importance. Who would come after me? But on the other hand… sometimes a certain level of paranoia is justified. All this bruhaha about privacy settings on Facebook has caused a number of people I know to trash their Facebook accounts.  I myself am looking for a way to completely delete my account.  Here’s what I found: How to Completely Delete Your Facebook Account Instructions for Facebook Deletion on Wiki How I love having a connection to friends and people, I also like learning more about the things I’m interested in both professionally, culturally and hobby-wise, but Facebook’s intricate privacy protocols actually irritate me. I’m pretty much aware of the fact that if you have any sort of online presence, you’ve become a gold nugget for marketers who are mining for info.  I think I’ll stick to Twitter for now. I’m really enjoying the sort of coffee-break distraction and quick fix I get from reading my Twitter feeds.

In part of this interview, Godin asserts that our school system is designed to develop factory workers and that we should be angry about this.  How do we change schools? Or should we even try? It’s awfully hard to change institutions. You can make your best shot, but maybe it’s better to take on the challenge of building more innovative minds on a smaller scale. I think there are things that parents can do outside of school and at home to help model innovative and collaborative behavior to their children. 1.) Try learning new things. Make taking a class or even a workshop part of your family activities. I remember my mother actually taking cooking classes, macrame, even public speaking. Both my brother and I were often dropped off at the community center to take a crafting or nature class during the summer months. We often looked forward to doing this. 2.) If you’re failing at household tasks… point it out.  Not everyone is Martha Stewart perfect at the things they do. You don’t have to engage in huge creative projects.  Build a small pond, arrange your picture frames, experiment with colors when you knit a mitten.  If it doesn’t work out… it’s okay. I meet so many adults who are so afraid of doing things wrong they get so wrapped up in making things perfect. They’re not really paying attention to what they’re doing along the way or how they got there. This neurotic compunction to make things look just right seems like excessive self-flagellation to me. Modeling this neurosis for our children can stunt their willingness to experiment or try new things. 3.) Tinker, tinker, tinker. My father-in-law owns a machine shop so it isn’t surprising that he found a way to make his car run with propane during the Oil Crisis in the 70′s. It’s also not surprising that he now has two sons who aren’t afraid to creatively solve design problems or develop tools or products. My husband eschewed the customary IKEA setups when designing our kitchen and instead designed a the layout in 3D in Blender to fit our odd shaped pre 1950′s house. My brother-in-law designed a built a salt-water tank with specialized lighting that mimics sunlight in a reef setting specific to a part of a globe. Don’t ask how and why… he just did. 4.) Work with other adults on a project where you’re solving a creative problem. I remember people coming to my house as a child to work out problems with my dad. Whether it was building a deck or fixing the car. Working together to piece a quilt and even solve out the design with others is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate this ability to work with other adults to solve a creative problem. Now I’m only providing a few suggestions here, but you probably get the picture. Children are keen to pick up on adult behaviors and when you’re modeling the type of ‘compliance’ Godin refers to or even fear of trying new things, there’s a good chance that they’ll be influenced by it.

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8] Great film that helps us envision education and learning in transition. Some things educators, policy makers, parents, teacher, curriculum developers should all be getting excited about… Cloud Computing - In many cases you don’t need to have software installed on your computers.  Content development tools such as Google Docs and many others make it possible to create and share documents, materials, etc. on the web. Students can track changes, add notes or comments and truly author pieces together. Mobile Devices - Mobile devices and smart phones are definitely here to stay. Yesterday I realized that I only use my laptop if I’m working on something complex or lengthy. All other materials for reading or immediate access are funneled through my mobile. Educators can search out or even design learning enhanced by or using Mobile Devices - Why not create or develop learning activities where students can enhance their learning by connecting to materials and resources while they’re learning, or on a field trip? In a previous post I shared a number of different possible learning applications for cellphones. Several are quite ingenious and fun. You can view a detailed mind map of the lecture notes from the presentation where I got those ideas. Leveraging Social Networking and Media Sharing Tools - Students and educators can learn from social networks that have pods or communities built around the topics they are interested in.  I found this great community on Learning Physics Online. You could even find or start communities on Ning or other similar networking site. Students (and or their teachers) can create videos, film projects, and presentations to put up on ‘safe’ sharing sites such as TeacherTube or YouTube. Check out this group of student’s retelling of the Boxer Rebellion. Love how they cleverly used recognizable styles and characterizations from Hong Kong  & martial arts cinema. I shared this some time ago, but I never get tired of watching it. Alternatives to Written Papers - While I still think this skill is absolutely necessary to have. I don’t think the essay is the only way to test someone’s knowledge and grasp of content anymore. Students can put together podcasts. Writing the content and putting together the interview questions for the podcast as well as engaging in the discussion and interviews can help reinforce the content they are learning. Sometimes writing a script for a film, story boarding, and coordinating the filming is way more labor intensive than writing a term paper. Plus you’re actually using far more skills that can transfer to real jobs and life (… outlining, drafting, planning, writing, coordination, directing, … ummmm project management. I actually heard somewhere that film school is the new MBA ) Ethics & Security Education for Parents and Students - yes the web can be a scary place, but so is the street. If we train students  (and parents) to be aware of the dangers and learn guidelines for avoiding them then that’s half the battle. It would also be in our best interests if we teach the younger generation appropriate netiquette. More resources: Pew Internet Research on Cloud Computing Are You Ready for Mobile Learning? Safe and Ethical Use of Technology Is Cinema Studies the new MBA?

This option for layering content will possible work for some of the projects I’m working on. Also I agree wholeheartedly with avoiding "Scope Creep" and reducing content instead of putting too much content in such a limited space or in a format that is not favorable for lengthy reading. I wonder sometimes if the impulse to do this comes from hardcoded behaviors and understanding of the ‘print world.’ Sometimes folks find it difficult to transfer from print media to online. Experience tells me that elearning people do not have a lot of time to go back to the vault of existing training and revise it. New projects dripping with deadlines take priority. Still, it’s not easy knowing that the older elearning is out there and that new hires will be required to take those courses-or worse: that whole teams or the entire company will retake one of those old modules every year. It might be more embarrassing if you actually … Read More via eLearning Weekly

I have a little bit of time to think about generating as many ideas for online learning activities. This list of course is not exhaustive, and I will probably benefit from the contributions of colleagues, at work and not at work. Click to view larger image. I’m trying to keep these activity ideas simple and as ‘familiar’ as possible. Not all stakeholders are open to newer forms of learning online. Whenever introducing a strange or unfamiliar tool or technique (for example: using synchronous chat or Twitter to facilitate discussion)  I try to pair it with a similar or analogous term use for traditional or face to face training. In my past experience, I found that designing learning opportunities is only the first part of good online learning design. Facilitator preparation and training is the next key piece to achieving success. In my last position I was fortunate enough to work with a crack team of Instructional Designers who worked hard not just to create the training materials, LMS (Learning Management System) simulations, and activities to prep our facilitators by helping them adjust to the ‘culture’ of working online. Last week I was able to quickly develop a slide set that covers my take on successful online facilitators based on what I’ve learned from my experience. You will have to download the presentation via Slideshare to view my notes.