Here are some great groups/organizations/blogs that I follow as part of my Personal Learning Network. As a lifelong learner, I have found that by growing my PLN, I gain knowledge from numerous relevant platforms that help me become more successful in the eLearning/Instructional Design industries.
Linkedin Groups:
This group boasts active discussions on elearning, relevant articles, and news about tech in education.
Distance Learning and Digital Technologies group on Linkedin provides member with current news, scholarly articles, and more as it relates to distance learning in the United States.
Mobile learning into the Future is a group that is mostly made u of member discussions, members pose questions and other members help problem solve and come up with solutions to mobile problems and ideas.
ASTD requires you to pay a membership fee, but this organization does a lot of F2F networking events and training sessions in and around Denver. HUGE emphasis on building professional connections.
Distance Education Roundtable truly is a roundtable of members helping to solve problems and discuss ideas about distance education.
Pinterest Boards:
The Ed Tech Resources board that I follow is made by ISTE and has literally thousands of pins of ideas for in the classroom technology and higher ed.
Ed Tech is a board that I follow by Donna Baumbach and is mostly made up of FREE tools, ideas, and content that teachers can get their hands on online and offline.
This board covers things topics like: LMS, instructional design, k12, mLearning, Blackboard, etc. VERY helpful to an online instructor or instructional designer
This ISTE board provides innovative tools, solutions, and ideas for anyone interested in advocating for mobile learning.
This Distance Learning board is made by a University in the UK and offers a more worldly, broader approach to some distance learning ideas through numerous boards and pins.
Google + Communities:
This Google community literally shares insights about new innovations in the e-learning industry. It also provides numerous resources to members.
This community is meant to be a foundation for designers and instructors to collaborate and share resources.
This community is mainly for educators and anyone who is interested in e-learning. This is an ongoing MOOC for students who wish to learn more about digital cultures.
This a great community for instructional designers to connect with other industry professionals and share ideas.
This community discusses changes and trends in higher education when it comes to technology.
Twitter:
ISTE Connects tweets out live updates about new technologies, live talks, and resources.
U.S. News Education provides followers with up-to-date news and information about the happenings surrounding education in the United States.
Wall Street Journal helps keep followers up to date with national news and industry happenings across the US.
If you are looking for a job, CU Denver tweets out job fair announcements and community listings for followers.
NASA Technology informs followers about the latest missions and study findings of various projects.
Blogs:
A personal perspective by Lisa Nielsen on all of the changes in education and technology and her ideas and input on a variety of educational topics.
VERY active blog by Steven Anderson about technology in education and showcases all of the new tech tools and videos.
This blog offers free technology resources for teachers, grant information, and contests.
This blog helps you design podcasts, learn how to use new authoring tools, and touches on current issues with elearning.
This blog leans more toward the creative and design side of learning experiences. You can view project ideas and get tips on how to become more creative.
