This past week, I've spent a lot of time learning about how our brains work.  I've read numerous texts that have walked through the many different ways that we are able to not only obtain new knowledge but also how our brains are able keep hold of the knowledge for the long term.

I started searching through different websites in order to see what other knowledge was out there.  One website I found was designed for students with disabilities but the information shared in the site can really open a person's eyes, not just how the brain works but how teachers can effectively teach students with disabilities.  The site I checked was the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. One thing that I've noticed as a teacher is that modifications you need to make for students with disabilities usually work for all students in your classroom. The NICHCY offers multiple well thought out posts that can be helpful with working with both students with disabilities and students without.  These posts range from understanding how the brain works, what learning does for your brain, to understanding how to create a curriculum that gives all individuals an opportunity to learn.  I found this website very helpful and can definitely see myself revisiting it in the near future.

Another site that I visited was the Expertlearners.com.  Expert learners provides strategies to help you to process information more efficiently and help you develop a greater understanding.  They break their strategies into 3 categories; Expert learners topics like self-regulated learning, note taking, and visualization through graphic organizers.  The Expert learners combine learning theory with high level learning strategies.  I have found the site very helpful, especially in the area of self-regulated learning. This is one area that I know that I struggle in, and I found the SRL cycle very helpful.

Hello World

With how easy it is to start a blog and let the world know what is bouncing around in a person's head, I find it a little interesting that it took an assignment in a Instructional Design Course from Walden University for me to get started.  But that is the world we live in, and my first assignment is to blog about other blogs. I have been asked to look at blogs that can help me in the field of education and educational design.  In doing so, I have also been asked to critique the sites and discuss how the sites will be used as a resource in the future.

The first blog that I have bookmarked was  the Usable Learners Blog in which it is described to be designed for how people learn.  Usable Learners is written by Julie Dirksen who has been an independent consultant and instructional designer for the past 15 years.  The Useable user site seems to be orgininally created to sell her stuff, but her blog really seems perfect for me, since I currently work in middle school and her last couple of blog posts include WIIFM (What's in it for Me) and the discussion of how extrinsic motivation in the classroom.  Her sight also allows my voice to be heard, after each blog post, she asks for thoughts and comment on what she has posted.

The second blog that I bookmarked was  The Writers Gateway.  The Gateway is blog written by  Rupa Rajagopalan, an instructional designer for the past 7 years.  At first look I wasn't to impressed.  Rupa's latest post is about the best way to sales talk.   It did have a nifty little video to work with it, but I didn't think it was going to be helpful for me.  But after a more exhaustive search, I found that he offers a beginners guide to Instructional design, in which he discusses the concepts and process in order to be successful in the field.

The third blog I bookmarked was the Rapid E-Learning Blog.  The Rapid E-Learning Blog is hosted y Tom Kuhlmann who has over 15 years of experience in the training industry. The E-Learning blog shares tricks and tips to build a creative and successful e-learning environment including how to work with audio, video and graphic design.  I find it is even helpful in my own classroom, their tips for powerpoints and video will also help me improve my visual presentations.