The Best Free Training

Topic:  March 2010 Health Care Reform Laws (political, moral, ethical)
Format: Unbiased, balanced pro/con format website that collects & presents both sides of issues
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

If you’re tired of wading through the rants of biased bloggers and media talkers, ProCon.org is ready to help you get the facts about the March 2010 US federal health care reform laws. So educate yourself and obtain some solid, unbiased, self-study material about this important landmark legislation. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve had your fill of ranting talking heads, personalized and emotional attacks during political discussions, and the general negative tone of our recent political discourse, you’ll be delighted to learn about The Coffee Party’s “15 minute issues barometer” known as the SPHERE.

Comparing Two Different Political Perspectives Using The Coffee Party's SPHERES

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Let’s face it: The holidays can be a real test of our mental health and well-being. For a few days (or if you’re “lucky,” a couple of weeks), we find ourselves outside our comfortable work routines and spending time with family members and friends we might see only once a year. If your family is like most, there are all sorts of emotional undercurrents running through these reunions.  Ancient roles, inescapable expectations, historic feuds, and long-running issues pollute what could be a fairly happy time — if only we could figure out how to connect to our own (and subsequently others’) happiness.

In the last couple of years I’ve spent a fair chunk of time exploring the topic of happiness. And here’s the great news: I am absolutely certain that you can (if you spend a little effort trying) teach yourself and your family group to be happier and to interact more positively. In this post, I share some of my recent podcasts that can get you started. I hope you find them valuable. And… HAPPY (Yes, Happy!) HOLIDAYS!!

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Topic: Basic Business, Managerial, and Workplace Effectiveness Skills
Format: Collection of online courses by many different publishers (free registration required)
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

The LatitudeU website, which offers online courses from many different publishers, continues to expand its catalog of free and pay-per-course online courses.  One of our favorite LatitudeU publishers is Global Mindset, whose courses are short, no-nonsense, yet quite well designed.

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Topic:  US Healthcare debate
Format: 1 hr., 15 min. video lecture by investigative journalists (also available as audio download)
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

Thanks to LearnOutLoud for alerting us to this great free video resource!
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Topic:  US Healthcare debate (political, moral, ethical)
Format: Unbiased, balanced pro/con format website
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

According to the Los Angeles Times* (my bold added):

“For Americans worn out trying to weigh the motivations and machinations of the most vocal proponents and opponents of healthcare reform, the nonpartisan organization ProCon.org is here to help. Its mission is to promote critical thinking about controversial issues in a straightforward, no-nonsense way. It presents the arguments for and against; what you make of those arguments is up to you… The site offers more than 10 arguments per side (with sources, not heresay), plus a chance to weigh in. It’s hard to argue with the need for critical thinking in this case.”

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Topic:  Controversial Issues (political, moral, ethical)
Format: Unbiased, balanced pro/con format website
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

Happy 5th Anniversary, ProCon.org!!

This month marks the 5th anniversary of ProCon.org whose slogan is “We promote critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship. Our sites present controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, primarily pro-con format.”

If you’re tired of wading through the rants of biased bloggers and media talkers, ProCon.org is ready to help you get the facts about critical issues.  And what better free training could you provide yourself than solid, unbiased, self-study about those important issues of our day?

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