Friday, May 8, 2009

Wild and Wacky Friday - WetPaint websites

Wetpaint has created several videos that demonstrate the advantages of Wetpaint over competitors such as freewebs or wikia (in the style of PC vs. Mac)

Check it out: http://www.wetpaintcentral.com/page/What+is+a+Wetpaint+site

Consider a WetPaint site as a quick way to build a collaborative learning site. Wetpaint allows the user to very easily set up a free, professional-looking wiki. It provides WYSIWYG editing (that is, you don't have to – in fact, you can't – use code or html), which allows you to simply click into a page and start working. This, and the range of templates available, makes it a perfect wiki for the beginner. Slideshows, photos, and text are easily added, as are widgets such as polls, calendars, and YouTube videos. A sidebar search (and a tag cloud) makes it easy for users to navigate around your wiki, and discussion threads on each page ensure easy communication.

Examples:

http://bakersdozenarizona.wetpaint.com/

http://coloradolearns.wetpaint.com/

http://www.elearninglearning.com/wetpaint/wiki/

http://learningfutures.wetpaint.com/

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Free writing courses and teaching resources

Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab): The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and provides these as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out-of-class instruction.
  • Writing and Teaching Writing
  • Research
  • Grammar and Mechanics
  • Style Guides
  • ESL (English as a Second Language)
  • Job Search and Professional Writing

Check it out: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Simulated Conversation Interactions

KDSimStudio enables you to easily develop and publish Simulated Conversation Interactions.

Simulate interpersonal interactions with one or more characters. Simulate sales calls, interviews, call center support training, employee evaluations, proctored quizzes, and just about any other kind of interpersonal interaction.

Check it out: http://www.kdsimstudio.com/index.htm

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Offering 2 ways to teaching information

This company offers e-Learning in two different formats. This is an interesting way to get the info out - and let the students pick the way they want to learn.

Quick lessons - 2 to 4 minute long skills-based modules that teach the key search skills quickly. The total course in this format would take about an hour to complete.

Step by Step lessons - 6 to 18 minute long scenario based modules that present the techniques in the context of everyday search requirements. Studied this way, the total course time is 2 hours and 40 minutes.

You can preview a sample of each method on the website. Both versions look like they were developed using Articulate Presenter.

Check it out: http://www.boostelearning.com/Default.aspx