The year-end top 10 lists are something of a cliche, but I love them! They’re fun to read and inspire reflection. In honor of the approaching year-end, here are my top resources of 2011: Sites, articles or resources I visited over and over again, sent to colleagues, memorized or otherwise relied upon, in no particular order.
- Jane Hart’s Top 100 Learning Tools. When DimDim ceased operation, where did I turn? When I needed a simple video editing tool, who did I consult for advice? Jane Hart’s Top 100 Learning Tools listing is an excellent resource for finding the tech tool you need for any challenge. (Honorable mention for Jane’s Top 100 Articles of 2011.)
- OneHundredFortyWords.com. Judy Unrein is a prolific writer on her blogs, in Learning Solutions Magazine and most recently on the ASTD Learning Circuit’s blog. With her product reviews and comparisons, deep understanding of HTML5 and her great podcast with Brian Dusablon, her writing is immensely useful for keeping on top of technological developments for elearning. Bookmark OneHundredFortyWords.com to keep up with all of Judy’s writing and podcasts.
- Hack Education. Audrey Watters is an education technology journalist with a focus on technology for academic learning. Above all she writes about how learners interact with technology, and isn’t afraid to call hype, hype. From discussion of software to nitty-gritty reviews of new gadgets, Watters’ posts are essential reading.
- The Articulate Community. Even if you don’t use Articulate software to create elearning, the Articulate forums are a brainstorming team, feedback source and a living wiki of elearning challenges solved.
- David Glow on LinkedIn and Twitter. David has an almost encylopedic knowledge of elearning, SCORM and learning management system technology – and a firm eye for design. And he’s unfailingly generous with his expertise, writing expert reviews of courses on OpenSesame, answers to questions on LinkedIn and guest blog posts everywhere. Follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter for his insights and ideas.
- The OpenSesame eLearning Leaders Twitter list. I created this list to make sure I was always up-to-date with the elearning “cool kids”. In all seriousness, social signals are essential for understanding what really is essential reading – and this is my knowledge network, including all the smart folks I’ve mentioned here already and more, like Shannon Tipton, Cammy Bean, Dawn Mahoney, Meg Bertapelle, Trish Uhl, Aaron Silvers, Kris Rockwell and Nicole Fougere.
- Presentation Zen. Garr Reynolds is a visual designer, and his blog shares incredible insights on how humans interact with visual imagery. Reviewing these examples has dramatically changed how I approach visual design.
- Jane Bozarth’s Nuts and Bolts. Jane’s monthly columns in Learning Solutions Magazine reflect her essential approach to talking about instructional design: Witty, practical and readable – but more importantly, focused not on the elearning developer’s need but on the learner’s need. We all need more of this.
- Flex Design. Lisa Chamberlin is an expert elearning developer and instructional designer, and she has recently started blogging about learning experience design, with excellent examples.
- The eLearning Roadtrip. Ellen Wagner blogs (brilliantly) about the future of the learning & development sector, focusing on emerging technology and implications for learners.
Because it’s 2011 (and because we love Spinal Tap), this list goes to 11:
11. Bersin & Associates blog. Josh Bersin and his colleagues do an amazing job of evaluating new products, technologies and ideas. A must read!
What were your top resources of 2011? What did I forget? Tell me in the comments!
Image Credit: hellojenuine on Flickr