This is a guest blog written by Maria Rainier. Please see below for her full bio.

There has never been a better time than now to use the Internet for the purpose of e-Learning. This is especially true when educating adults, whose learning needs are different from the needs of younger learners. Adults often require a more concrete idea about how what they are learning may relate to the real world. As such, incorporating a few online training resources, particularly audio and video clips that demonstrate real-world applications of theories and skills they are learning, is especially important. Here are a few resources that I find especially enlightening:

RSA Animate

RSA Animate is a series of cartoon lectures that explain cutting edge research in a very easy-to-understand, visual way. Created by the Royal Society of the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, RSA Animate is a great e-Learning education tool to incorporate into any learning curriculum. Of particular interest are videos that showcase studies in psychology, education and economics. Although some of the authors and professors featured in the lectures may be difficult to understand in their books, RSA Animate uses cartoons to break down difficult concepts into small, entertaining bits.

TED Talks

The subject matter of TED Talks is similar to some of the ideas discussed in RSA Animate. In fact, many of the same TED Talks speakers are featured in the RSA Animate series. For those of you who have never heard of TED, it’s an organization that brings together leading thinkers in various fields to discuss “ideas worth talking about.” On the TED website, instructors can pick videos by different categories. If you are trying to design a corporate curriculum, searching through the various TED talks devoted to discussing ideas on business will be right up your alley.

Business Balls

Although not an organization in and of itself, Business Balls is a learning resource that, among other things, compiles different video and audio clips that directly relate to business. Aside from clips, Business Balls also offers quizzes, diagrams, resources for stress relief and many other items relevant to corporate trainers hoping to use online computer-based training in their respective curriculums.

These resources are a few among the various options that exist on the Internet that can help develop your curriculum into one that is more globally focused on current ideas and trends. Adding this sort of relevancy to your lessons plans will help tremendously in keeping your learners motivated and excited about learning. Good luck!

Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where she writes about education, online colleges, online degrees etc. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming and avoiding her laptop.