The Brain & Learning and Information Processing Theory

Have you ever thought about the way you or other people learn or about how the brain process information? Well, there's some excellent information that I recently read that may peak your curiosity. The first is an article entitled "Brain and Learning" http://www.tused.org/internet/tused/archive/V3/i2/text/tusedv3i2s5.pdf  

that discuss the function of the brain, ideas and models about the brain, neuroscience and education, learning and the main factors that effect learning. The information in this article is excellent, especially for students doing research on this subject or anyone wanting to know a little bit more about how the brain works and functions as it relates to learning. The second article  entitled "Information Processing-Theory of Human Problem Solving"

http://octopus.library.cmu.edu/cgi-bin/tiff2pdf/simon/box00012/fld00830/bdl0001/doc0003/simon.pdf

is a wonderful article power packed with excellent information about characteristics of the human information processing system, perception and problem solving, information gathering strategies and of course, the theory itself. This article is will also be great for anyone wishing to know a little more information on this subject or students doing research in this area. 

Because Instructional Designers deal with Brain based learning and the Information Processing Theory, both of these articles will be beneficial in designing instruction that's fun and easy to learn.

Would You Like to Know More about Instructional Design?

What is Instructional Design? Well, "Instructional Design is the practice of maximizing the effectiveness, efficiency and appeal of instruction and other learning experiences", and is a very important and growing field in today's society. I believe we have entered into a new era, an era where learning and training are not seen as tedious and boring, but fun and engaging. Would you like to find out more about the subject of Instructional Design? Well, there's a lot of information floating around the internet, in magazines, books and videos; some good and some bad, but I've recently come across some excellent sites about Instructional Design that I'd like to share with you.

The first site I'd like to share is one of my favorites and is an Articulate network dedicated to the e-learning community. This site is filled with important and vital information about the learning process, managing e-learning, designing the right courses, and much more information on the "how to's" of Instructional Design.

http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/what-everybody-ought-to-know-about-instructional-design/

The second site I'd like to share is a professional website "designed to provide information about instructional design principles and how they relate to teaching and learning". This site also gives information about storyboarding, user interface design, and also gives great information about upcoming Instructional Design Conferences and presents information about notable Instructional Designers.

http://www.instructionaldesign.org/

The third site I'd like to share is probably important to most who are already in this field or would like to enter into this field. This site gives information on national salary data for Instructional Designers in different states and for different companies. http://www.payscale.com/research

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Instructional_Designer_%28Training_%26_Development%29/Salary

There's one more piece of information I'd like to share. If you'd like to learn more about Instructional Design and the process, please take a look at this excellent video I found.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnCNBEfKk2I

All of these resources are excellent, especially the Articulate Community, and all of these resources can help provide cultivation, training and development of all those wanting to or who have already entered into the field of  Instructional Design.