The University of Minnesota’s Center for Teaching and Learning has created a page dedicated to using games in the classroom. Below is one example that can be used in-person or online as an ice breaker or a review.

http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/tutorials/powerpoint/games/index.html#twenty

From Connie Malamed’s Blog:

“People can typically hold around 4 or 5 pieces of information in working memory at one time. As you design interactions, limit the number of elements, instructions or moving parts that the learner will need to simultaneously keep in mind. In addition, limit the number of choices. It’s easier for people to make decisions when there are fewer choices compared to many choices.”

A 2007 Stanford University study asked: “Do you learn more if you interact with a live person, or if you interact with a computer?” The conclusion was that people do better when they believe that they are interacting with a person. But what if that person is really an avatar? And what are the implications for eLearning?

Read a short discussion at Learning Solutions Magazine:
http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/1021/research-for-practitioners-social-interaction-belief-and-learning

The Stanford Study:
http://aaalab.stanford.edu/papers/cogsci07_okita_id_7451.pdf

Auditory learners, visual learners, kinesthetic learners. Now that we know, what should we do? Once we know what to do, are we achieving the right balance? Read a blog post by Karla Gutierrez of the SH!FT: Disruptive Learning blog.

Peter Norvig, Director of Research at Google, gave a TED talk about redefining education when he and a colleague offered a freely available online class to the world. 160,000 people signed up and 20,000 completed the class (That’s actually a pretty good completion rate for this type of offering). However, his re-definition actually created “a classroom much more like a traditional class”. Watch the 6 minute video at: http://youtu.be/tYclUdcsdeo

Join the National Library of Medicine Training Center (NTC) trainers as they share “aha moments,” tips, techniques and research-based recommendations from three recent professional development conferences.  We will discuss:

• Presentation skills, including better PowerPoint design
• Tips for creating participant-centered training activities
• Distance learning recommendations

Date:  November 7, 2012

Time:  3 – 4 pm ET

Place:  Adobe Connect; web address will be sent to registrants

Register here:  http://nnlm.gov/ntcc/classes/schedule.html#class501

Wondering how to get started when first designing a presentation or training class?  This April 4, 2011 Bob Pike blog post by Marc Ratcliffe, “Seven Steps to Knowledge Transfer,” briefly describes “seven easy steps for success when session planning.”   The seven steps are:

1. Objective
2. Content
3. Sequence
4. Delivery
5. Time
6. Resources
7. Assessment

Filling out a spreadsheet with each step as a column header could be useful before you begin creating that first PowerPoint slide!