BP3_2009101_Google Reader

I managed to find 5 RSS feeds that I think will be really helpful. It was harder than I thought to find the feeds I could use. Many of the search engines were aimed at finding sites related to K-12 teachers when you search on terms like "education". If others are having this problem, what worked for me were the search terms "corporate training" and "eLearning". This still did not give me what I really wanted, which was feeds for eLearning related to Nursing Education, but I think what I have found so far will be helpful. A friend offered the suggestion for one of the feeds that I found to be really useful related to Nursing Education.

The feeds I chose are:

Corporate Training: eLearning Technology

Corporate Training BNET

Best of eLearning

The Rapid eLearning Blog

Promoting Problem-Based Learning in Nursing Education

When I went through the process of selecting these sites, I found a lot of good articles related to technology, which was exactly what I was looking for. There were great tips and reviews of software and hardware related to eLearning. This should save me a lot of time, sweat, and tears of frustration. In addition, there are articles related to presentation styles, and how to deal with some of the problems one encounters in the classroom. For example, I found a lot of discussion about how to, and whether to deal with distracted learners. Apparently mine is not the only classroom where learners are spending a good deal of their time sending text messages, etc.

The combination of focusing on eLearning, corporate training, and Nursing Education is a very important balance for me. I am acting as a change agent in my organization, so I really need to be versant in the technological side of eLearning. I need to know what the trends are in corporate training, because that is really what I do. Our corporation is a hospital, but the way that we plan and deliver our training is most closely related to corporate training. There is also a lot of information in these feeds about return on investment, and the need to change learner behavior on the job. This is definitely the focus in our work, too. Of course, I must also be able to tie this in with what is happening in the Nursing Education world.

I believe the feeds I have chosen will give me a solid basis for making the kinds of arguments I need to make in order to get changes implemented in my workplace. Of course, the information I gather is going to change my practice, too.

BP2_2009101_iGoogle

This is my iGoogle site. The first shot is of the ETC tab.
The second shot is of my AR tab.
The last shot is of my Home Page. I love my iGoogle! After I constructed it I made it my browser home page. I can get pretty much everything I need right off of this site. I am also thinking that this kind of functionality could be very helpful to my learners, especially if we develop an RSS to send them information and thought questions about the classes they are scheduled to attend.

BP1_2009101_Educational blogs

Although I thought I already had a pretty good handle on the educational uses for blogging, just from my own plans and ruminations, I found out even more by researching the topic! Go figure! In fact, I found a great item on Edublogs that covered the topic very well. Some of my favorites statements from the list that Anne (2007) published in her blog were:
Blogging allows students and teachers to learn from each other. Many of my "students" are nurses with many years of experience, so they often have great insights to share, and I always see comments on evaluations saying that learning from their co-workers is one of the most valuable parts of coming to class. The expansion of this benefit would be exponential if any nurse could find the exact information they were looking for because the information was available in a blog, instead of contained in a classroom.
Another thing Anne mentions in her blog is that is that blogging engages students in an active learning process. It has become so important to me over the course of my teaching career to get my participants involved in the process. Ordinarily, I do this by asking questions, and allowing the learners to ask questions. But there are some in the group that never say anything. Blogging removes that barrier. You know what everyone is thinking...in fact; everyone knows what everyone is thinking!

My intention is to begin a journal club blog. I can link to an article and post a thought question for the journal club members to respond to. This creates the kind of learning community that isn't possible when you are confined to a specific amount of time, and space. I will probably start with just a classroom group, and then expand the club to the larger hospital community. Our 5-hospital system is part of a larger group that has hospitals in several states, so if this goes well, I will offer to open it up to the entire system.

I also found a link to an article that suggested using blogs as a warm-up before an educational activity, and review after (Yih-Ruey, 2008). Having the question posted for discussion before the class allows for a deeper learning experience during class. Using the blog for review gives time for reflective learning. Perhaps they have made some connections in retrospect that were not obvious at the time, or they may even have had a patient experience that related to the content.

Welcome

This is my blog about exploring the use of Web 2.0 tools for education. I hope you enjoy it, and maybe learn something from it, but even more, I hope you respond with stories of your own.