Mon, Jan 26, 2004

Striking a balance: The Northern Ireland peace process

Striking a balance: The Northern Ireland peace process has been made available online as part of Conciliation Resources’ Accord Programme documenting peace processes.

First published December 1999, updated in August 2003, this online resource on Northern Ireland is part of a growing series that aims to respond to the ongoing challenge of informing and enhancing peace processes around the world. Working collaboratively with locally-based organizations, the Accord Programme provides documentation and analysis of past and comparable peace processes to support the efforts of those directly involved in transforming armed conflict into opportunities for sustainable human development. It seeks to address the issues and experiences involved from a ‘practitioner’ perspective, in order to make an appropriate contribution to the design and implementation of more effective peacemaking strategies.

The programme aims to a) document peace processes and initiatives and the sources and dynamics of particular conflicts; b) increase public access, both locally and internationally to the understanding of peace processes and peace agreements c) promote learning, domestically and internationally from past and comparable peace making experiences; and d) to work in such a way as to model conflict-sensitive international relationships, enhancing local capacities and engaging in a timely way.

Conflict Resolution for School Personnel: An Interactive School Safety Training Tool

This free (shipping charges may apply) interactive CD-ROM contains five modules (anger, threats, attacks with weapons, suicide, and weapons on campus) that are intended to aid school personnel in their responses to such potentially violent situations. The modules, which can be viewed in any order, are broken down into 12 didactic tutorials (e.g., de-escalating student conflicts, assessing a suicide threat, suspected gunshots) and 14 interactive scenarios (e.g., fight in library, Internet hit list, gun in cafeteria). The interactive portion presents videos of potentially dangerous situations and asks the viewer to select a response from a variety of choices. Available for order from the NCJRS website. You can also order by calling NCJRS at (800) 851-3420, or writing to P.O. Box 6000; Rockville, Maryland 20859-6000. Published in 2002, the CD is provided to the public by the federal National Institute of Justice.

Fri, Jan 23, 2004

Dr. David Merrill on Effective Instruction - RealAudio Video

This 20 minute video presentation on Effective Instruction is a guest lecture given by David Merrill,  Founder and director of the Division of Instructional Research, Development and Evaluation at Brigham Young University and author of 12 books on instruction and instructional technology. He presents a brief but cogent overview of principles of good instruction. From the website, “Over the years I have had the opportunity to evaluate hundreds of instructional products. An amazing number of these are surprisingly ineffective and some do not teach at all. ..”

Brokering Peace - Flash Summary of Camp David Peace Accord Process

The PBS Documentary on Jimmy Carter includes a nice summary of the Camp David peace process, presented in a Flash interactive module entitled “Brokering Peace”. The site invites you to “see the Camp David negotiations through the eyes of the participants, and witness Carter’s role in brokering peace.”

NoodleTools Search Engine Chooser

The NoodleTools Site provides assistance for researchers wanting to mine the world wide web. Their “Choose the Best Search for Your Information Needs” tool provides suggestions based on the job you are working on at the moment. The referenced tools appear to be up-to-date and relevant.

Univ of Georgia Learning Team Multimedia “Games” for Students

A group known as the Learning Team at the University of Georgia have produced a series of multimedia (Shockwave and Realplayer) games designed to orient and instruct college students on topics of importance.
The current collection includes:
Test Anxiety in Action! (on Study Skills)
A Very Unusual Study Session - Sally’s Dilemma (on Academic Honesty)
Who says college isn’t a game?! (on Getting Oriented to Campus)
Binge Drinking Friend (on Alcohol Abuse)
Academic Advising Meets Disco Fever! (on Planning Ahead)
Sex in the City - or should we say -ÜSex on the Campus! (on Safe Sex)
They are available for play over the web or can be downloaded in alternate formats for desktop play.

Thu, Jan 22, 2004

Cooperative Communication Skills Extended Learning Community

Provided as a public sevice by the Institute for Cooperative Communication Skills, this Extended Learning Community website specializes in web-viewable workbooks and articles about communicating effectively. The site provides free books, essays and exercises to help you: communicate more creatively, successfully, & compassionately; encourage dialogue/resolve conflicts/prevent violence, & work with family members in building a more cooperative sharedÜlife.

Library content includes:
- Radical Questions For Critical Times, by Sam Keen
- Prof. Barnett Pearce: essays in communication studies
- Essays by Gene Knudsen Hoffman, Quaker peace activist
- Essays and book by David Richo, PhD, on relationships and the process of becoming human
- “Seven Challenges” to Communication Teaching Materials
- Essays, articles, poems, drawings & book by Dennis Rivers

Mon, Jan 12, 2004

Out on a Limb: a Guide to Getting Along - Conflict Resolution Website for Kids (uses Flash)

This flash-based learning activity is designed to help teach youth how to better manage conflicts and challenges they face on a daily basis. The activities of Out on a Limb website are designed primarily for third graders, but can be used to entertain and educate youth from the second and fourth grades as well. It is part of a collection of online learning tools from the University of Illinois Extension office Urban Programs Resource Network. More examples of their youth offerings are available as well.  The design is simple but appealing for kids, and it is available in Spanish as well as English. What would a similar one look like for adults, I wonder?

Sun, Jan 11, 2004

Online Rubric Building Tool

Rubrics are scales that provide students with a clear explanation of what is expected in an assignment or activity, and it thus helps them choose their own level of excellence knowing what is considered first rate by the instructor. An online tool called the RubiStar provides a quick way to access premade Rubrics that you can then modify to suit your particular circumstance.

Sat, Jan 10, 2004

Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the Association of American Law Schools Website Launched

The Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the Association of American Law Schools has launched a website hosted by the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. The site provides resources about dispute resolution activities especially relevant to law schools and the teaching of ADR. Many faculty around the country have contributed materials now available for public use. The website is organized into sections for the AALS ADR Section; DR Syllabi;  Teaching Materials; ADR Programs and ADR Links.

Fri, Jan 09, 2004

National Conference on Conflict Resolution in Education - Higher Ed Track

The national conference being hosted this May in Ohio is shaping up nicely. Have a look at the higher education track to get a flavor for what’s in store.

Thu, Jan 08, 2004

Graphics for Facilitators - Meeting Room Demo in Flash

Grove Consultants has put together a nice Flash site supporting their series of graphic tools for meeting facilitation and group work. Check out the Meeting Room and see what I mean.

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