Buzzword: Micro-learning I was introduced recently to a new buzz word making its way across the learning & development industry: Micro-learning. If you’re like me, you’re probably starting to get a bit tired of people adding their particular spin to learning – all in search of the holy grail that is the “right way” to make learning happen. It doesn’t exist. But having got that out of the way, it is worth looking at these ideas to see if there’s anything we, as learning professionals, can learn from them. As a term, “micro-learning” has been around since about 2004, when it was put forward in a PhD thesis by Gerhard Gassler. Basically, micro-learning describes a method of learning, whereby concepts and ideas are presented (or retrieved) in very small chunks, over very short time-scales, often at the point of need, or at the point of maximum receptiveness. Examples include: As can be seen from the examples above, micro-learning is generally pulled rather than pushed. ie. the learner dictates when they learn.
Collection History The David Rumsey Map Collection was started over 25 years ago and contains more than 150,000 maps. The collection focuses on rare 18th and 19th century maps of North and South America, although it also has maps of the World, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. The collection includes atlases, wall maps, globes, school geographies, pocket maps, books of exploration, maritime charts, and a variety of cartographic materials including pocket, wall, children's, and manuscript maps. Digitization of the collection began in 1996 and there are now over 55,000 items online, with new additions added regularly. Maps are uniquely suited to high-resolution scanning because of the large amount of detailed information they contain. With Luna Imaging's Insight® software, the maps are experienced in a revolutionary way. Materials created in America and that illustrate the evolution of the country's history, culture, and population distinguish the collection. about the technology Computer Network:
The Art of Wisdom and the Psychology of How We Use Categories, Frames, and Stories to Make Sense of the World by Maria Popova The psychology of how we use frames, categories, and storytelling to make sense of the world. “It’s insulting to imply that only a system of rewards and punishments can keep you a decent human being,” Isaac Asimov told Bill Moyers in their magnificent 1988 conversation on science and religion. Schwartz and Sharpe write: [Aristotle] thought that our fundamental social practices constantly demanded choices — like when to be loyal to a friend, or how to be fair, or how to confront risk, or when and how to be angry—and that making the right choices demanded wisdom. External rules, while helpful in other regards, can’t instill in us true telos. People who are practically wise understand the telos of being a friend or a parent or a doctor and are motivated to pursue this aim. We need to appreciate that cultivating wisdom is not only good for society but is, as Aristotle thought, a key to our own happiness. A wise person knows the proper aims of the activity she is engaged in.
Interviews - Clifford Nass | Digital Nation | FRONTLINE What is multitasking? Multitasking as we're studying it here involves looking at multiple media at the same time. So we're not talking about people watching the kids and cooking and stuff like that. We're talking about using information, multiple sources. And that is the part of everyone's life that's growing so rapidly, “We have not yet found something that [multitaskers] are definitely better at than people who don't multitask.” So is it that most people think it is possible to do two things at the same time? We know that there are a few things humans can do at the same [time], two things at the same time our brains can do, but not any of the things we think about as multitasking. ... The idea of autopilot is not really precise. So what's the big point here [behind your research]? The big point here is, you walk around the world, and you see people multitasking, working on tasks while watching TV, while talking with people. What are you putting them through here [in your lab]? ... ...
Formula for success in learning If you have found this place in the vast cyberspace of the web, you are probably not the one to convince that knowledge is power, and that solutions to most problems facing humanity could be found if we were armed with more understanding of how the world works. While knowledge is power, information can be overpowering. An increasing proportion of the population suffers from Information Fatigue Syndrome, i.e. from stress related to being overwhelmed with an unmanageable glut of information. This text introduces you to simple steps toward managing information and toward rock-solid knowledge. No cheap miracles. I have been working on the problem of effective learning for 16 years now since, as a student of molecular biology, I first understood how I could greatly change the quality of all my actions were I able to improve the recall of what I studied for exams (and not only). You may find the first three points obvious. This is the shortest path to empowering knowledge: Further reading
OATD – Open Access Theses and Dissertations How to Be an Explorer of the World by Maria Popova “Every morning when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand-new hours to live. What a precious gift!” As a longtime fan of guerrilla artist and illustrator Keri Smith’s Wreck This Box set of interactive journals, part of these 7 favorite activity books for grown-ups, I was delighted to discover her How to Be an Explorer of the World: Portable Life Museum (public library) — a wonderful compendium of 59 ideas for how to get creatively unstuck by engaging with everyday objects and your surroundings in novel ways. From mapping found sounds to learning the language of trees to turning time observation into art, these playful and poetic micro-projects aren’t just a simple creativity booster — they’re potent training for what Buddhism would call “living from presence” and inhabiting your life more fully. It all began with this simple list, which Smith scribbled on a piece of paper in the middle a sleepless night in 2007: Eventually, it became the book. Spread photos via Geek Dad
How to Ace Your Finals Without Studying I’ve never been that keen on studying before an exam. I rarely study for more than a half hour, even for big final exams worth more than half my grade. When I do study, I usually just skim over the material and do a few practice questions. For some of my math classes I have yet to do a single practice question for homework. Most people study by cramming in as much information before walking into the test room, whereas I consider studying to be no more than a light stretch before running. Despite what some might point out as horrible studying habits, I’ve done very well for myself in school. It’s very easy to look at my successes and apparent lack of effort and quickly deem that it is an innate gift, impossible to replicate. Webs and Boxes The system I use for learning I’m going to call holistic learning. People who learn through compartments, try to organize their mind like a filing cabinet. Holistic learning takes an opposite approach. Very few people are purely compartmental learners.
Expands xConsortium to Asia and Doubles in Size with Addition of 15 New Global Institutions EdX Expands xConsortium to Asia and Doubles in Size with Addition of 15 New Global Institutions CAMBRIDGE, MA – May 21, 2013 – EdX , the not-for-profit online learning initiative composed of the leading global institutions of the xConsortium, today announced another doubling of its university membership with the addition of its first Asian institutions and further expansion in the Ivy League. The xConsortium is gaining 15 prestigious higher education institutions, bringing its total to 27, including Tsinghua University and Peking University in China, The University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong University of Science & Technology in Hong Kong, Kyoto University in Japan, and Seoul National University in South Korea, and Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. EdX also welcomes nine universities from North America, Europe and Australia. While MOOCs, or massive open online courses, have typically focused on offering free online courses, edX's vision is much larger. Asia – Australia - Europe -