eFrontBlog is an eLearning resource for Instructional Designers. It is also set up as a formal website that offers to host solution and learning environment tools for customers. eFront is a learning management system that is set up to help organizations in rich social functionality. Essentially they offer this service to offset the cost for organizations that utilize learning technologies and systems.
At first, I felt as if the site was built by amateurs, the modest blue and navy headers would have turned me off to it. It also has a simple design that looks like it came from a high school html media class. However, hidden behind the simplistic design is the power within the organization and all the solutions it is offering. This could be a diamond in the rough.
RSS links and older postings are where you would expect them to be. Within the blog area, the postings are original, they have been recently written. They offer a collection of authors that post each entry. And as a professional service the grammar and spelling are on point.
Blog Activity is spotty at best. I noticed more than two weeks sometimes a month between postings. Perhaps they are researching the best information before they post. Commenting is welcome though there seems to be only one reply for each post. There are areas for twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Delicious.
The blog has a very plain and boring template, but it is informative and rich.
Instructional Design and Development is a blog of De Paul University. It is created using WordPress, a blogging software company. The FITS department of DePaul University is the academic area of the college’s Faculty Instructional Technology Service. The posting comes from the department heads, teacher's facilitators and instructors with the occasional student of the program at the school. I would say this site is a valuable aid to De Paul and the students involved in that department.
The blog looks unassuming, and they certainly are using the basic of templates for the design. With that simplicity in mind, each blog is straightforward and uses the same design as the main page. I did not find any issues with the layout. The simplicity of the design makes the blog easy to understand. It is difficult to get lost here. Each post opens dynamically in the main page, which makes it easy to follow, no using the back arrow here at all. A RSS feed and older posts are kept on the blue sub category bar on the right.
All content is coming from the faculty staff and students of De Paul University FITS Department. Since all the postings are from an academic realm, they are written for students and faculty. The postings might be more slanted to those individuals, so an outsider might need some translations here and there.
Postings are added almost daily, and I did not detect a break of more than three days long. Like all blogs, they offer up areas for discussion and postings, but I’m just noticing just one posting in few of the posts. I would propose that this being from a college environment only those in that group would be inclined to respond, or even the authors themselves.
I would say this blog comes highly recommended from a student starting out in Instructional design.
This blog caters to students and veterans of the Instructional Design Field. One might say that it is for advanced persons in this field, or someone looking to pick up a credential or two. This blog offers subscribers the opportunity to check out the latest trends in instructional Design. It offers opinions and thoughts on trends that are working and some that are a part of this realm.
Langevin offers workshops and learning opportunities to its visitors. They are the largest train the trainer company. They offer the best opportunities for credentialing and certification in the study of Instructional Design. This blog section is just a part of the site of a company that has been around since1984. It has an extensive history and offers customers the opportunity to be the best in their field.
I was slightly confused at first, and then noticed that I was just in the blog portion of the website. The blog is built into the website itself. Unless someone was specifically searching for the blog, I would not have known about its existence. The blog flows pretty well and is organized by date. Overall, the site looks fantastic and holds an academic appeal. The layout is easy to follow with tabs across the top
that guide the user to different areas of the site. To the left side in the blog section, we have a whole area with subcategories devoted to an RSS feed, recent post, Categories, Recent Comments, a Twitter feed, tags and authors. The contents of the posts are unique, and they range from essential leadership methods to dealing with down time. All the postings are easy to read and look as they came from the Yahoo news feed. The posts are lengthy and filled with the information any Instructional Design professional will appreciate. The posts are proofread, and there does not seem to be many mistakes in grammar or spelling. Posts seem to be added at intervals, as there are different postings from independent authors. In each post at the bottom, there is an area for comments though many of the postings lack participation or comments. As there are few postings, the authors do not seem interested in replying. The authors might just be posting for the sake of doing it.
A very academic and scholarly credentialing type of blog!
Hello, I am new to blogging, and usually keep my social networking to aminimum. However, I am quite adept at Facebook, Tumblr, Foursquare, andLinkedIn. I am new to the field Instructional Design. I have a backgroundin the Army as a Joint Nodal Network Switch Operator. My Bachelors degree is in Technical Management. 
