Microsoft Learning Essentials

I downloaded the Microsoft Learning Essentials for Teachers and the one for students. Both of them were very helpful in showing how to make good use of technology for the classroom and learning with plenty of practical tips and tricks. The presentation itself is something I should like to be able to do and it is customisable so I shall give it a whirl after I have mastered the content of the Learning Essentials packages. The Learning Essential packages come with tools and tutorials you can work with if you feel insecure about using things like Office and PowerPoint, but they are more than that because they get you off your desktop and onto the web so you can easily use your computer for what it was intended…a tool to help you learn. As I am doing this I am experiencing what my students will go through to some extent. I have to bear in mind I am a digital immigrant…they are native born to the digital age.

Microsoft Education

The Microsoft Education site is full of practical help for teachers with their e-learning initiatives and it also contains plenty of examples of how teachers can use what is already on their computers to help lift the standard on their own use of technology and engage their students in a world they love. Students like to be lost in images, files, videos, games. Microsoft Education lets you know how this can all be done in a real way because there are videos of classrooms there and then there are the educational updates and discussions. A web designer needs to get hold of that site though and tidy it up because in terms of presentation the site needs an artist’s eye. I could not believe how encouraged I felt from looking on this site. I am pretty comfortable on a computer but am conscious of needing to properly shift myself away from my paper trail classroom into technology. Like it or not it is how we are going to be and I have made some good inroads. This site has given me some more clues as to how I can put it all together.

Butterscotch

Butterscotch offers tutorials in techie things so that you can cut the mustard with others who are more comfortable in that sphere. It demystifies a lot of tech talk and knowledge. The other thing the site does is bring you up to the minute news on technical developments and trends . It is explained in a straightforward easy manner. The site also has links to freeware and shareware giant Tucows and highlights the sorts of things you might find useful in an e-learning world.

Inspiration

When it comes to e-learning then it is important to be constantly inspired. The audience you are presenting to is likely to be relatively tolerant but probably very critical of materials. It is just how people are. They can accept you are doing your best but there are some very classy visual effects around and we are all living in a highly visual world. On the one hand it is great for artists but on the other it is a tough challenge for mere mortals. aiAlex is a great sight to visit. It provides you with a wealth of positive inspiration and then this list of the 50 inspirational sites for designers.