by Learning Solutions Staff
Bloomfire is launching the 2.0 version of their social learning community platform on November 22, but at DevLearn they are offering attendees a special opportunity to start a Bloomfire for free before the launch.
by Anne Derryberry
Learning can literally be addictive, thanks to the effects of dopamine on the brain. A well-tuned game heightens these effects. Anne explains the principles that will help you leverage the learners’ physiological responses.
by Bill Brandon
As organizations adopt social media for corporate communications and marketing, e-Learning pros will need to help managers and executives learn about it. Here is a textbook that may help.
by Ben Betts
As we find out how learning happens, and how technology can support learning, some interesting hybrids (mash-ups?) are appearing. Four ideas dominate: informal learning, social learning, mobile learning, and games-based learning. This week’s feature looks at how a team in England is putting these together, plus features to motivate learners. The result: a very different way of learning.
by Anne Derryberry
Social gaming seems to be a rapidly growing opportunity for the learning sector. Underscoring this is the acquisition by a developer of serious games and mobile learning solutions of a pioneer in creating compelling interactive experiences. Here’s a look at where serious games are headed, and at the potential for reusable platforms and content that is as fresh as this morning’s news.
by Bill Brandon
Little more than a year after release as a “preview,” Google Wave has gone flat. Google announced this afternoon that it is shutting down development of the communication tool as a standalone product.
by Mike Dickinson
Designing compliance training can be a great challenge, on many levels. Blended learning, including classroom, games, online elements, and scenarios, is an excellent way to deal with this, but creating it is not necessarily simple or easy. Here is the story of how one (very small) training department backed into a highly effective solution over three years of effort.
by Anne Derryberry
Anne summarizes her experience in creating an environment and platform for social networking by college-bound 9th-graders. As always, the lessons learned weren’t just for the students, and they apply equally to learners of all ages and circumstances.
by Anne Derryberry
“After a few disappointing weeks of limited interest or participation by students and rumbling frustration on Ms. L.’s part, I suggested we take part of a class session to get feedback from the students. We got an earful of useful input.”
by Mary Arnold
Real-world meetings and classrooms require ground rules and good classroom management or facilitation skills. The Web 2.0 learning environment also needs to provide guidance and facilitation for learners, and this is part of the instructional designer’s job. Here are three questions that can help you stay on course as you work to establish a collaborative learning environment.

