Top 10 Click Getters from the Free Learning Monitor

I put out a new edition of the Free Learning Monitor yesterday, and as part of an effort to attract new subscribers (may as well be up front about it, eh?), I thought I’d highlight the 10 items in it that have received the most clicks from readers. Here they are, starting with the most popular.

1. Unschooling Rules
https://unschoolingrules.blogspot.com/

Ongoing Research on the Perspectives and Insights from Homeschoolers and Unschoolers on Deconstructing Schools and Reconstructing Education and Life. Via https://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=52177

2. Now I Know: Learn Something New Every Day, By Email
https://dlewis.net/nik/

We’ve all heard the adage, “you learn something new every day.” It’s definitely true.   Want to keep learning all sorts of interesting things? “Now I Know” is my free daily email where I share these things.  No more than once a day.  No spam.

3. Reading in a Whole New Way
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialsections/40th-anniversary/Reading-in-a-Whole-New-Way.html

[Kevin Kelly’s contribution to a recent 40th Anniversary edition of Smithsonian Magazine to which 40 thinkers were asked to contribute (you guessed it) 40 “things you need to know about the next 40 years.”]

4. Very Important Study On Learning & The Brain
https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2010/05/26/very-important-study-on-learning-the-brain/

Learning Strategies Are Associated With Distinct Neural Signatures is the not-very-“sexy” title of a report in today’s Science Daily about a very important study on learning and the brain. It appears — at least, to me — to provide more scientific evidence to the perspectives on motivation that Daniel Pink and others have written about.

5. Nixty: Empowering Education for Everyone
https://www.nixty.com/

NIXTY is a Virginia-based startup that is revolutionizing education. The co-founders wanted to create a service with the outrageous goal of empowering education for everyone. They had experience in the eLearning/LMS market, but needed to learn more about open education. They consulted with several thought leaders, professors, and students around what a next generation learning platform might look like. The result is NIXTY!

NIXTY combines powerful technology with open education to meet the audacious goal of empowering education for everyone! NIXTY provides
an educational platform that students, educators, and institutions harness to meet their learning goals. Primary products include ePortfolios, Courses, WikiCourses, and Continuing Education Courses.

6. iPad Curriculum
https://www.ipadcurriculum.com/

[I recently wrote about my own use of the iPad as a lifelong learning tool and subsequently stumbled upon the iPad Curriculum site.] iPad Curriculum is a collection of the best in applications, practices, and deployment of the iPad as a learning device. Via Go Sky Watch Planetarium ~ Stephen’s Web https://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=53007

7 through 9
The following three are currently tied:

Email College – Free Online Learning At Your Convenience
https://www.emailcollege.co.uk/

Want to develop a new skill, be entertained, get on at work, start a business, earn an extra income, unleash your creativity or discover new ideas and interests? Our Free Online Learning Courses are effective, powerful, easy to use and give you world-class training on your desktop along with a completion certificate. There’s no paperwork, no exams, no commitment, no sales, no advertising, no junk mail and no catch. Just practical online courses that have relevance to your life. Via https://allwomenstalk.com/8-free-online-courses/

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Effective Learning Skills (concentration, memory, and more)
https://www.asa3.org/ASA/education/learn/203.htm#i

[I can no longer remember how I came across this site, but it has some useful tips.] These “power tool” ideas for studying really work, and your improved learning skills will help you immediately and will continue paying dividends for a long time.

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School of the Future | Unschooling Education
https://schoolofthefuture.org/

[It’s a little hard to get a grip on what this is all about, but then, I think that is part of the point.] School of the Future is a project about what a school can be. The mission/hypothesis of the future is that the best learners/teachers are the best teachers/learners. School of the Future invites anyone to propose
classes, workshops, apprenticeships, installations, or moments that add to our active research about how to make a better education.The project defeats the notion that school is as it should be, and to offer witnesses of the school the freedom to experiment with what their learning and teaching process can be. In the process of exploring the possibilities of school, we aim to become a body of unschooled and educated teaching students.

10: 100 Intro Open Courses on Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Learn
https://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2010/05/12/100-intro-open-courses-on-everything-youve-ever-wanted-to-learn/

While the classes you take through online college  are a great resource, you can augment your learning by taking some time to see what entirely free courses are out there offered by universities. Taking these courses can be a great way to get a foundation of knowledge or expand on what you already know. Here are 100 open courses that are designed for beginners, so you can start your educational journey on the right foot.

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There’s plenty of other great stuff in the Monitor to go along with the items above. Subscribe now and the latest edition will be sent to your inbox automatically.

Jeff