PLENK2010 - Personal Learning Environments

Stephen Downes, George, Siemens, Dave Cormier, and Rita Kop are conducting a "course" in September that may interest you...it certainly interests me!

It's an experience centered around Personal Learning Environments Networks and Knowledge (PLENK); it's for the serious learner, from what I gather...and if my guess is right as to the reach of the participants, it's likely to result in some significant advancement and awareness of PLNs.

For information on how it works and what it's all about, start here. If it works for you, I'll see you there. I'll blog here through the experience; if you do, remember to include the hastag #PLENK2010 in whatever you create.

e-Learning DevCon Insights

I'm speaking at eLearning DevCon 2010 this week for the first time. I've heard about this conference for years, but this is my first trip here. I have to say that it's been a great experience.

Smaller venue that some of the bigger conferences, and much fewer attendees--about 300+, according to the opening session.

The networking has been great, as virtually everyone at the conference is interested in e-learning development. Sessions are fewer, but the topics are more focused on development and related concepts.

Particularly enjoyed Brian Chapman's keynote, which while it was future-focused, was mainly informative around what some larger companies have been doing to solve key problems, especially social learning challenges. Also Nick Floro has done a bunch of really good sessions. Tatiana Chapira also had a nice session on prototyping this morning and will be doing another on "bite-sized learning" later.

Overall, this is a nice conference and well worth consideration. The hands-on sessions are a great way to pick up some competency quickly.

Twitter hashtag: #EDC10, which apparently is someone's twitter name too. Oops.

The 12 Tutorials of the Promised Land (sorta...)

Okay, so I may have gotten a little carried away with the headline, but our buddy Tom Kuhlmann has just posted another great article pointing to 12 tutorials that walk you through an approach to creating engaging, interactive e-learning.

Definitely worth a read: The Rapid e-Learning Blog

e-Learning Salary Survey

The e-Learning Guild released findings from it's 2010US Salary Survey today...among the highlights:

- The average salary of a person who lives in the United States and works in e-Learning is $79,252.

- Salaries of e-learning pro's continue to rise, even against a poor economy.

- Still appears to be considerable gender inequity, with men making more than women.

- Contractor salaries are are relatively weak when compared with full-time employees and factoring in benefits.

This is my off-the-cuff summary a couple hours after reading the report. If you want the details and you're a Guild member, it's here. If you're not a member, you may want to search for other, more detailed summaries...or join the Guild for full access.

Sentence Diagramming

Here is a nicely done instructional video on sentence diagramming. It's part of a series on this topic.

What really jazzes me about this series is the simplicity: these are just a bunch of videos...but because of the content, your brain is compelled to apply the lessons as you go...making them even more powerful!

The other interesting thing is that by reading the comments, it's clear that these are very helpful to a number of learners.

I can think of a handful of ways this could be improved instructionally, but as components of learning, these simple explanations are excellent!

Google Wave Book

Okay, I'll admit it...even though I have a Google Wave account, I haven't done much with it.

So I'm excited to learn about this guide. It claim comprehensivity, which I don't doubt at all. But perhaps the most interesting thing about the book to non-Wavers is the publishing model. You will note, when you follow the link, that the book's contents are freely available online, but you also can purchase the book, if you like.

I really like this model. It's a nice balance between openness and entrepreneurial thinking. While I might not shell over the bucks for this specific book, there are plenty that I want to have in my hand as I apply the concepts and the learning.

Open Source e-Learning Tools

Great post by Michael Hanley on the e-Learning Curve blog. You made the blogroll.