http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ A search of MERLOT materials Copyright 1997-2013 MERLOT. All rights reserved. Sun, 19 May 2013 19:09:11 PDT Sun, 19 May 2013 19:09:11 PDT http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/images/merlot.gif http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ 44 34 http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=367883 This is an online book that covers several major learning theories and gives some multimedia activities and animations to support/illustrate points. For some learning theories, examples or case studies are provided as well. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=342835 The networked environment seems to have successfully released enormous creative energy in domains ranging from software design to encyclopedia writing. It has come, in many cases, to compete with and outperform traditional proprietary, market-based production. The question we face is whether the basic economics and organizational strategy that have proved so successful in other areas are equally applicable to learning objects and other educational resources. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=378675 Informal science is a burgeoning field that operates across a broad range of venues and envisages learning outcomes for individuals, schools, families, and society. The evidence base that describes informal science, its promise, and effects is informed by a range of disciplines and perspectives, including field-based research, visitor studies, and psychological and anthropological studies of learning.Learning Science in Informal Environments draws together disparate literatures, synthesizes the state of knowledge, and articulates a common framework for the next generation of research on learning science in informal environments across a life span. Contributors include recognized experts in a range of disciplines--research and evaluation, exhibit designers, program developers, and educators. They also have experience in a range of settings--museums, after-school programs, science and technology centers, media enterprises, aquariums, zoos, state parks, and botanical gardens.Learning Science in Informal Environments is an invaluable guide for program and exhibit designers, evaluators, staff of science-rich informal learning institutions and community-based organizations, scientists interested in educational outreach, federal science agency education staff, and K-12 science educators. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=378662 Free eBookThe mission of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is to establish "high and rigorous standards for what teachers should know and be able to do, to certify teachers who meet those standards, and to advance other education reforms for the purpose of improving student learning in American schools." In response to a request from the U.S. Congress, the National Research Council developed a framework for evaluating programs that award advanced-level teacher certification and applied that framework in an evaluation of the impacts of the NBPTS. Specifically, this book addresses the impacts on students, teachers, and the educational system in this country. Assessing Accomplished Teaching finds that teachers who earn board certification are more effective at improving their students' achievement than other teachers, but school systems vary greatly in the extent to which they recognize and make use of board-certified teachers. Many of the questions on the evaluation framework could not be answered because the data have not been collected, and the report makes recommendations for the kinds of research that are needed to fully evaluate the impacts of board certification by the NBPTS. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=343096 This guide outlines a process for developing publications for people with limited-literacy skills. The process was derived from communications, health education, and literacy research and practice. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=484670 This is a free online textbook offered by Saylor Foundation.College Success takes a fresh look at what it means, in today’s world, with today’s students, to be successful in college.Although many of the topics included—from study skills to personal health, from test-taking to managing time and money—will look familiar to those who have used student success texts that have been around for many editions, College Success takes a new approach. The focus is on realistic, practical tools for the students who need them.This is a book designed, frankly, for students who may have difficulty with traditional college texts. The style is direct and to the point. Information is presented concisely and as simply as possible. This is not a weighty tome that discusses student success—this is a manual for doing it. College student demographics have changed considerably in recent decades. More than a third of all students enroll not directly from high school but after a delay of some years. More students are working and have families. More students come from varied ethnic and cultural backgrounds. More students are the first in their family to attend college. More students have grown up with electronic media and now read and think in ways different from the previous generation.With these and so many other cultural changes, more students are not well prepared for a college education with the study skills and life skills they need to become successful students. For each student to get the most out of College Success and their college experience they must understand who they are as it relates to college.To that end, in every chapter students explore themselves, because success starts with recognizing your own strengths and weaknesses. Students make their own goals based on this self-assessment, determining what success in college really means for them as individuals. Interactive activities then help students learn the choices available to them and the possibilities for improving their skills. Skills are presented in step-by-step processes, tips for success in manageable highlighted displays. Most important, students always see the value of what they are reading—and how they can begin to apply it immediately in their own lives.College Success is intended for use in Freshmen Orientation, Study Skills or Student Success courses. A 2009 study revealed that currently nationwide, 34% of college freshmen do not return to their college for their sophomore year. This book is designed to help change that. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=494976 Digital information technologies are transforming the way we work, learn, and communicate. Within this digital revolution are new learning approaches that transform hierarchical, industrial-based models of teaching and learning.The creation of this book employed the very principles it espouses. It embodied a forming relationships model, and the sharing of ideas to produce new thinking model. A unique interactive, collaborative research model based on the formation of online relationships among 50 contributors from around the world representing research, administration and business communities. The development of the book demonstrates the powerful opportunity afforded by online technologies in this digital revolution era.Education for a Digital World contains a comprehensive collection of proven strategies and tools for effective online teaching, based on the principles of learning as a social process. It offers practical, contemporary guidance to support e-learning decision-making, instructional choices, as well as program and course planning, and development.Practical advice, real-life examples, case studies, and useful resources supply in-depth perspectives about structuring and fostering socially engaging learning in an online environment. A plethora of e-learning topics provide insights, ideas, and usable tools. Tips and evidence-based theory guide administrators, program and course developers, project teams, and teachers through the development of online learning opportunities.Education for a Digital World is an indispensable guide, resource, textbook and manual for policymakers and practitioners in developing and developed countries.* Part 1: The Impact of Instructional Technologies* Part 2: Preparing Online Courses* Part 3: Implementing Technology* Part 4: E-learning in Action* Part 5: Engagement and Communication http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=343150 Manual for how to publish medical textbooks if you are a doctor http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=626657 Guide to Grammar and Writing is an online college-level english composition text developed and hosted by the Capital Community College Foundation in Hartford, Connecticut. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=518879 ״As globalisation advances, education is increasingly crossing borders - national, regional, sectoral and institutional. At the same time, educational systems are having to respond to other profound changes, such as the knowledge explosion, the changing interaction between the public and private spheres, and the increasingly rapid development of information and communication technology (ICT). The present volume deals with distance higher education systems - especially those designed for lifelong learners - in the context of these changes, emphasising the need for international co-operation and for well thought-out policies in areas ranging from funding, appropriate use of ICTs and quality assurance. Aimed at planners, policy-makers and other stakeholders, the book is intended to be a practical tool for capacity-building and decision-making.״