This week I located several instructional design blogs that I think are worth following. I have subscribed to these blogs, as well as to some others, on my RSS feed software.
Cathy Moore: Let's save the world from boring elearning
The first blog I would like to profile is that of Cathy Moore. Cathy is a consultant and speaker on instructional design and the creation of exciting and engaging learning. Her goal is to save people from "boring instruction," as she calls it. She has been in this field for 28 years, and she has a long list of prestigious and well-known clients in fields ranging from retail to government to higher education to nonprofits, and just about everything in between. Cathy's blog is titled "Cathy Moore: Let's save the world from boring elearning!" The title of her blog will give you a good idea of Cathy's personality and style. Cathy's blog is a collection of engaging and energetic posts (approximately one each month) that cover a range of instructional design concepts. Her articles are well written, well structured and nicely illustrated. Her postings provide practical, hands-on activities that instructional design practitioners can use in their own projects. I think Cathy's blog will be one that I will refer to again and again, to gain new insights and generate new ideas for designing courses more effectively.
Tom Kuhlmann: The Rapid e-Learning Blog
Tom Kuhlmann's blog presents "practical, real-world tips for e-learning success." One of the first things that I noticed about Tom's blog is that it is very colorful and engaging. Tom uses a lot of vibrant colors on his site, including cartoon motifs, photographs, illustrations, and videos. While these elements in themselves do not guarantee quality in the content, they are an indication that the author is making a concerted effort to make his content visually engaging for the audience. Upon deeper examination, Tom's content holds up well to scrutiny. His posts are very specific and useful, presenting a lot of practical and thoughtful ideas that instructional designers can adapt immediately and easily to their own projects. Tom's blog is very well written, presenting very articulate and practical ideas.
The Upside Learning Blog
The Upside Learning Blog is a company -sponsored blog that features the work of multiple authors. Upside Learning is a consulting company that offers business performance improvement inspired by innovation and technology. It appears that the blog is written by multiple authors within the company, including Abhijit Kadle, Aneesh Bhat, and Vivek Garg, to name a few. At first I was hesitant to use this blog, as it is sponsored by a business, and that begs the question about whether or not the content is truly useful, or simply propaganda for the business. However, upon closer inspection, I found myself really impressed with this collection of targeted and specific articles. And, Upside Learning is located in Pune, India. I like the idea of keeping up with trends in learning around the world. I think reading a blog sponsored by an elearning company in India is a good way to keep up to date with global diversity, which is an increasingly important aspect of elearning. Upside Learning is a high-tech, innovation company, with customers in 13 countries. Most of their articles deal with technology issues in elearning. For example, they have a recent article on "The Future for Flash," which I know is a subject of intense debate in my elearning development team. They also have recent articles on mobile learning and gamification, which are two areas of intense interest in the elearning field right now. The Upside Learning blog is an excellent addition to the selection of learning blogs that I am following, as it provides a unique outlook on the technology and innovations that are driving elearning.
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