Learning Monitor, May 2009
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Free Learning Monitor
May 2009
Volume 2, Issue 4
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Subscribe to have the Learning Monitor delivered to your inbox monthly >>
1. Quote of the Month
2. This Month’s Features
3. A Note from the Editor
4. Views, News, and Insights
5. The Learning Smorgasbord
–> Aggregations, Catalogs & Communities
–> Science & Math
–> Libraries & Museums
–> Education
–> Computers & the Internet
–> Healthcare & Medicine
–> Business
–> Personal Growth & Development
–> Language & Culture
–> History
–> Visual Arts & Design
–> Music
–> Games
–> Odds & Ends
6. Contact Info
7. Subscription Management
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1. Quote of the Month
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It is important to have determination and optimism and patience. If you lack patience, even when you face some small obstacle, you lose courage. There is a Tibetan saying, “Even if you have failed at something nine times, you have still given it effort nine times.” I think that’s important. Use your brain to analyze the situation. Do not rush through it, but think. Once you decide what to do about that obstacle, then there’s a possibility that you will achieve your goal.
-The Dalai Lama, Emory University commencement, 1998
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2. This Month’s Features
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This site should help you arrive at a variety of information, whether you are looking for an organization contact, a particular report, guidance on how to license your educational work, or information on where/when a particular conference is being held. However, please keep in mind that thought we host some of these resources (such as event data), most of the information on this site is linked to other sites. Rather than duplicate efforts, we choose to drive traffic to the many excellent, existing resources out there. The goal is for everyone to contribute by adding information and links to sites we have not yet discovered.
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The Library provides easy-to-access, clutter-free, comprehensive resources regarding the leadership and management of yourself, other individuals, groups and organizations. Content is relevant to the vast majority of people, whether they are in large or small for-profit or nonprofit organizations. Over the past 10 years, the Library has grown to be one of the world’s largest well-organized collections of these types of resources.
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3. A Note from the Editor
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Hard to believe, but the Free Learning Monitor just started into year two. During the first year, I published literally hundreds (thousands if your include the links in pages I linked to) of free learning resources. I am always amazed with each new issue that the well seems nowhere near running dry.
With a new year ahead, I’d like to ask a favor of readers. Namely, if you find some value in what you read here, please forward this e-mail to a friend or colleague.
Or send out a tweet about the Monitor with a link to http://www.missiontolearn.com/newsletter/ (where it is also possible to access the archives). Ideally, also include the hashtag #missiontolearn in your tweet.
Or blog about it and maybe highlight some things you have found useful in it.
As I have noted before, I’d publish the Monitor even if I had no readers, but I’ll freely admit that knowing there is a group of subscribers out there that cares about receiving it each month is a big source of motivation. The bigger the group, the bigger the motivation. So, again, I’d be grateful for any help you are willing to lend in growing that group.
In the meantime, enjoy this issue of the Monitor and be sure to let me know about any free or low-cost learning opportunities you come across or are involved in creating.
All the best,
Jeff Cobb
Mission to Learn
http://twitter.com/missiontolearn
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4. Views, News, and Insights
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Improve Studying With The Theory of Three | LessonInLife.com
A theory that holds that our mind works best when it is associated with the number three. Read on, read on, read on.
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All That Gore Gets in the Way of Gameplay | GameLife | Wired.com
I found this article interesting in part because it suggests that violence is not what attracts gamers to gaming. But more important, in my opinion, is that it is one of a number of articles I have read lately that emphasize entertainment as the main selling proposition of games. The author ties entertainment to concepts like abstract thinking and puzzle-solving – in other words, learning activities.
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8 Tips To Remember What You Read
Just what the title says – 8 tips to help you remember what you read.
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5. The Learning Smorgasbord
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An eclectic selection of delectable learning. All of it either free or at very low cost.
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Aggregations, Catalogs & Communities
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Open Education Community at Creative Commons
A new open education community launched by the ccLearn group at Creative Commons. From the site:
This site should help you arrive at a variety of information, whether you are looking for an organization contact, a particular report, guidance on how to license your educational work, or information on where/when a particular conference is being held. However, please keep in mind that thought we host some of these resources (such as event data), most of the information on this site is linked to other sites. Rather than duplicate efforts, we choose to drive traffic to the many excellent, existing resources out there. The goal is for everyone to contribute by adding information and links to sites we have not yet discovered.
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(wlp)° – the world lecture project
This is the central platform for video lectures in any language and of any faculty worldwide.
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Free e-learning courses and tutorials available on the Internet.
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ZaidLearn: ZaidLearn’s Master List
Zaid has put together a master list of the great collections of resources he has assembled over time on his site. Visit this page and bookmark it!
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Science & Math
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Hunkin’s Experiments (over 200 home experiments)
Cool cartoons that will have you experimenting with food, sound, light, math, clothes, and lots more!
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110+ free online courses from Top Universities on Science Subjects
I have been through all of these, but this seems to be what it says it is.
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A Flash-based and flashy look at various scientific topics through the eyes of Bill Nye, The Science Guy.
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Libraries & Museums
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American Museum of Natural History
Resources for learning about natural history from THE American museum on the topic.
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Education
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A resource for teachers, literacy organizations and anyone interested in reading and education, created in collaboration with LitCam, Google, and UNESCO’s Institute for Lifelong Learning.
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The Leitner System is a popular method of studying with flashcards using spaced repetition. Spaced repetition makes studying with flashcards much more efficient and effective.
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Computers & the Internet
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40 WordPress Optimisation tips – Yoast – Tweaking Websites
If you use WordPress, this is a must. Even if you use a diferent platform for blogging, you will find some good information here.
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Microsoft has put out some free learning for Windows 7. This blog has the links. (JTC)
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This looks like a nice effort from the Microsoft Developers Network:
Ramp Up is a free, online, community-based learning program that will help you build professional development skills. Join Ramp Up (it’s free!) and help advance your career – click on a track now to start!
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JavaScript: The Missing Manual
A sizable collection of tutorials on the ubiquitous scripting language.
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SimonSezIT.com – We Teach IT. You Learn IT.
Tips, podcasts, advice and free video tutorials on a wide range of technology topics.
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Healthcare & Medicine
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2 Serious Games For Diabetes Education
via FUTURE-MAKING SERIOUS GAMES
A post from Eliane that highlights GRIP, a Serious Game for 7-11 year old children with diabetes and their parents, and The Magi and the Sleeping Star, a game that puts players in the role of a young magic-user who has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
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Welcome to the MDVU! The Movement Disorder Virtual University is the healthcare professional’s source for movement disorder news, resources and educational activities. Brought to you by WE MOVE.
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Business
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6 lessons with morals. Tongue-in-cheek, but with a dose of wisdom as well.
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Management Methods | Management Models | Management Theories
Management portal explaining 250+ methods, models and theories on strategy, performance management, finance, valuation, change, corporate governance, communication, marketing, leadership and responsibility. Value Based Management.
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The Library provides easy-to-access, clutter-free, comprehensive resources regarding the leadership and management of yourself, other individuals, groups and organizations. Content is relevant to the vast majority of people, whether they are in large or small for-profit or nonprofit organizations. Over the past 10 years, the Library has grown to be one of the world’s largest well-organized collections of these types of resources.
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Free Marketing Courses | IttyBiz
Starting a Home Business | Home Business Ideas | Work From Home, Starting a home business? Legitimate home based business advice, tips, and ways to work from home. (Note: Some readers here on the Monitor may take offense at Naomi’s language, but she knows what she’s talking about!)
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Wild Apricot Blog : Social Media for Non-Profits: 26 Great Slideshare Presentations You Can Use
Great new presentations on social media are coming out almost daily, and many are directed specifically to the needs of non-profits. But it can be time-consuming to search out those that are up-to-date, actionable, and appropriate to nonprofits. Here’s a list.
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ShoeMoney Xtreme Internet Marketing Guides
(If you don’t know who Jeremy is, trust me, he’s the real thing. JTC)
I’m Jeremy “ShoeMoney” Schoemaker and for 13 years I’ve been building successful online businesses. For the past five years I’ve been working hard writing a book to help others get started online. I recently decided that there is just too much great information in my book to exclude people from reading it. I have now backed out of my major book deal and turned it into a completely FREE 12 week guide to Internet marketing. No strings attached. Enter your email and start receiving the weekly guides directly in your inbox!
A growing collection of business book video summaries.
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Personal Growth & Development
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Career Profiles, Salaries, Job Advice, Career Descriptions- TheCareerProject.org
The Career Project is an interactive career profile database created for job seekers to learn and research career information directly from the people who work them.
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Language & Culture
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A quick and easy way to learn english thanks to more than 1,000 available exercises totally free.
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Ted Landphair’s America: Ted’s Wild Words
VOA American life correspondent travels across the United States and captures the unique elements of American people and culture.
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Free Language Lessons and Language Courses
We have gathered together here a number of free language lessons and language courses for those learning various foreign languages, along with some other language resources, such as online foreign language newspapers, foreign language dictionaries, foreign language internet radio sites, and other sources relevant to the student of a foreign language. Most of these sites will be in English, although a number are multilingual in nature.
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Learn German for free through music!
Learn German for free through music.
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iPhone/Web 2.0 » German Course
These aren’t free, but they are also not all the pricey – and hey, it seems like having some hip iPhone stuff is required these days.
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History
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Active History – Games, quizzes, online revision, lessons and worksheets for the history classroom.
History Games, online revision, lessons, worksheets and quizzes for school history teachers and kids at KS3, GCSE, AS, A2 and IB History Level
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100 Free Courses to Teach Yourself World History
These open courses will help you to learn about history in diverse countries and time periods to give you a well rounded knowledge of the social, political and intellectual history that has shaped the modern world.
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Visual Arts & Design
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30+ Most Wanted Photo Manipulation Tutorials in Photoshop Part I
Inspired by the 30+ Weirdest Animal Photo Manipulations, I made a list of Photoshop Tutorials for you to learn how to make your own photo manipulation. Here is a 30+ Most Wanted Photo Manipulation Tutorials in Photoshop to help you enhance more techniques on manipulating images. There will be a Part II on this showcase so make sure to watch out for it.
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Digital Art Education: 25 Free Online Resources for Art Students
From the site: Looking for free design tools, images, or art education? Maybe you’d like to sell and promote your artwork. Whatever your needs are, there are plenty of free resources to be found online. Here are 25 worth exploring.
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Art Lessons with Talent Teacher
Learn to draw and paint cartoons, landscapes, the human figure, Asian art, anime, seascapes, still life and crafts
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Music
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Like the iPhone German lessons above, this one is not free. But I’m a guitarist, and this looks really cool. So, I figured other guitarists might want to know about it. JTC
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Games
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(Note: Any games that appear in other sections are repeated here for convenience.)
What is Game Design Concepts? « Game Design Concepts
This blog is an experiment in game design and pedagogy. During Summer 2009, I will post a series of lectures, course notes, readings, and challenges to this blog on the subject of game design.
This blog is a course in game design (specifically, non-digital systems design).
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Welcome to PlanetInAction.com where the world is your playground. Google Earth is a highly detailed 3D representation of our entire planet. Rather than just looking at it, why not play on it! PlanetInAction.com brings you top quality ideas, applications and concepts that will let you experience your planet in a whole new way. Thanks to the ever increasing detail in Google Earth it has now become feasible to write high quality applications for the Google Earth plugin. We are proud to announce our first instalment: “Ships”
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2 Serious Games For Diabetes Education
via FUTURE-MAKING SERIOUS GAMES
A post from Eliane that highlights GRIP, a Serious Game for 7-11 year old children with diabetes and their parents, and The Magi and the Sleeping Star, a game that puts players in the role of a young magic-user who has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
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Odds & Ends
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Wisdom 101: A Course in Practical Wisdom
This free online course is about crafting full, rich, creative, and enjoyable lives for ourselves — lives that are significant, lives that contribute in some way to the world around us. The course is rooted in the idea that some steps toward wisdom require nothing more than a fresh look at common life situations, nothing more than an appreciation of the difference between skillful and unskillful ways of dealing with those situations. Its premise is that a few truths about everyday life, if pointed out and taken seriously, can make a significant difference in the quality of day-to-day living and our enjoyment of life.
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GreenCE.com, your first choice for sustainable continuing education.
GreenCE is an online resource for design professionals who want to learn more about sustainable design, conservation, and LEED related topics. Our mission is to educate design professionals about environmental benefits, health benefits, and economic benefits when designing a structure.
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Freshpreserving.com -|- Your complete source for all fresh preserving needs.
An excellent virtual resource for first-time and experienced fresh preservers.
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Suzie The Foodie: Tutorial: How to make a granita
(With summer coming, this seemed like a good one for the foodies out there. JTC)
Granita sounds fancy but it is just shaved ice made with either fruit or fruit juice. I made mine with kiwi and green grapes and got the idea from Christine Cushing. This granita is tart with a bit of sweetness and tons of flavour! The great thing about a granita is it is a cold dessert that does not use an ice cream maker.
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Cleaning Tips – Speed Cleaning
(You have to register for this. I haven’t tried it yet, but I have to say I am intrigued! JTC)
Speed cleaning tips for cleaning your house, bathroom, garage, kitchen, and closets in record time.
