Every day there are hundreds of articles which get published on the Internet on the topic of eLearning and Online Learning. And sometimes keeping up-to-date with all these information becomes very difficult. That's why the experts here at SHIFT have read through many of these articles and picked out some of the best for you to read. It's definitely time you stay up-to-date on best eLearning practices and tips this year.  

Click the links to read the full articles. 

1) eLearning Innovation: Ground Rules for What Comes Next 

Distance learning is always changing. But, what kind of learning innovations will people dream up next? What do people think about the future of eLearning?  Take a close look at this article and find out what some experts say. 

2) 17 Tips To Motivate Adult Learners

Truth is students are in charge of what they learn and much of it is determined by their level of motivation. That's why having highly motivated students is really important in eLearning.  This article suggests 17 things you can do in your courses to motivate adult learners like never before.  

3)  Boring to Brilliant: 5 Tips to Convert Your eLearning To a Story-based Approach

Storytelling is a powerful tool in education. Stories give adult learners a relevant context, making them personally-involved in the material. This article gives five valuable tips for turning boring PowerPoint into brilliant eLearning courses through storytelling. 

4) What is the role of the Learning Professional? 

What is the primary role of the learning professional in a company today? In many cases, leaders and manager, even at the highest levels in the organization, often don’t understand the role of these professionals and don’t know how to leverage learning as a strategic advantage. Hart's article comments the primary role of the learning professional. Very interesting! 

5) Interactive elements in eLearning

It's a fact that most instructional designers are moving away from using common (and boring) PowerPoint slides and trying to find ways to add a level of interactivity to their courses. This article clearly explains how we can all move away from “page-turner” eLearning course into a new world where courses are motivating for the students.

6) Best Practices for Creating an Online Course [+ Infographic]

To help you create the best eLearning courses, this article includes an awesome (and very helpful) infographic on the“Best Practices For Creating An Online Course“, which provides you answers to these three critical questions: How do I begin my course?, How do I present the course content? and, How do I conclude my course?

7) Do you know your eLearning Buckets? 

It's a fact that everyone has a different idea of what eLearning is and what it takes to develop it. SO just to make things clear, this article explains how eLearning needs to be categorized in different buckets depending on what the needs of the learner are. The next time you're evaluating learning needs in your company, here are some of the eLearning buckets you can think about.

8) 5 Levers of eLearning Design 

eLearning professionals continually ask a lots of questions about improving skills and becoming better at eLearning. If you read through these quick tips and ideas you’ll find that your courses become more interactive and engaging. There are a lot more ways to improve your eLearning design skills. But these five are a good start.

9)  10 Basics of Creating Effective eLearning

It is amazing to see how frequently the basics of good eLearning design are missed! There are many in-depth lists of instructional design principles backed up by studies into effective learning, but in this article you'll find a definitive list of the 10 most commonly ignored or misunderstood eLearning principles.

10) 5 Simple (But Critical) Tips for Creating Better eLearning Courses 

Creating effective and engaging eLearning course is much easier said than done. That's why in this post, you'll do a quick run through some of the best practices every eLearning professional should consider when developing or improving their courses.

11) Feedback in scenarios: Let them think! 

This is the perfect reminder article! Truth is effective eLearning provides regular and constructive feedback. However, there are plenty of ways to give an effective feedback. In this article, Cathy Moore presents  the most common types with some practical examples. The bottom-line: Let learners think for themselves, if only for a few seconds!

12) Instructional Designer Essentials: Making Learning Meaningful 

Why do lots of people involved with training find it hard to create meaningful practice? Because they are largely unaware of instructional design. The very guidelines, principles and techniques that would help them to create learning that has meaningful practice at its heart. This article offers a free and very helpful Essential Step-by Step Guide to Instructional Design Success. 

13) 5 Important Factors for Estimating an eLearning Course Development Time 

One of the biggest questions faced by every instructional designer is: “How much time does it take to prepare 1 hour of eLearning?”. Unfortunately this is not an easy and straightforward question to answer. As you can guess there are a number of factors that must be taken into consideration. In my opinion, the following 5 factors are the most important for estimating an eLearning Course Development Time.

14) Important eLearning Statistics for 2013 

Do you know that eLearning is a $56.2 billion business and it's likely to double in size before 2015? Check out these and more interesting eLearning facts for 2013, in an awesome infographic. 

What have you been reading recently? Feel free to add some links in the comments.