Happy New Year to you all! As we all start to settle in to 2011, what better way than to enjoy the best of last year’s wealth of goodness on the Web.

Here are 25 list posts to highlight the best of 2010 and to help propel you into 2011.

Here’s to a great year ahead!

 

General

1. BBC – Most read stories of 2010
2010 started with a lot of snow and ended much the same way.  Oh yes, and if you looked carefully, you may have spotted some student protests somewhere in between.

2. Wall Street Journal – Words of the Year 2010
Be it ‘iPad’ or ‘Eyjafjallajökull’, some words suddenly grew in popularity.

3. Top 10 Harvard Business Review posts 2010
You don’t need to wait until you graduate to think about business issues. Many tips are just as relevant now.

4. Guardian’s most read business stories for 2010
Speaking of business, here’s what people have been reading (and photos they’ve been viewing) over at The Guardian.

5. The Best of Open Culture in 2010
So much to discover. Varied and entertaining stuff.

6. Essential Zen Habits of 2010
More calm win.

Students, Learning & Productivity

7. Freelance Students: 10 most popular posts of 2010
Judging by the list, a lot of students are looking for CV, career & graduate advice.

8. Her Campus Top 10 Articles in 2010
Fashion, social life & careers take the top spots on Her Campus.

9. Top 10 Most Inspiring Graduation Speeches Of All Time
Famous people pumping new graduates full of inspiration for the future.

10. Lifehack – 100 Best Lifehacks of 2010 (Year in review)
Covering personal growth, productivity, lifestyle, relationships, creativity and more.  As always, Lifehack delivers plenty.

11. Best Critical Thinking Posts in 2010
These critical thinking posts are great. Don’t consider that, just take my word…

12. Top 10 student insights from 2010 to use in 2011
From potential student to job-seeking graduate, what are the trends for 2011?

Social Media, E-Learning & Tech

13. Jane Hart’s Top Social Media & Learning Links for 2010
A wide range of hand-picked links around the Web on social learning. Sorted by month.

14. Tweet Smarter – Most important social media events of 2010
A brief infographic of all the big online landmarks last year.

15. Best of Twittercism 2010
I like Twitter. If you do too, don’t miss Twittercism’s best.

16. e-Learning Stuff – Top 10 posts of 2010
James Clay presents the most popular learning and technology posts on his site.

17. MakeUseOf’s 10 most popular posts of the year
MakeUseOf give the lowdown on Internet and tech goodies you’ll want in your life.

18. Rapid E-Learning: Favourite posts of 2010
Aimed more at creating e-learning courses. However, there are some good presentation tips here, as well as creative guidance.

19. Chronicle – Most popular education technology articles of 2010
If articles weren’t enough, Chronicle even highlight their most popular podcasts. Spoiling us, really.

20. Top 113 eLearning posts & 28 hottest topics for 2010
Whether you’re a student, a tutor, or just interested in learning, there’s an almost overwhelming amount of information here.

Creativity & Personal Development

21. Angela Maiers’ Top Posts for 2010
Angela Maiers gives much focus to childhood learning and development on her blog. But don’t be fooled; there’s a great deal of relevant insight in what Maiers says, no matter what level of learning you’re at.

22. Best of Lateral Action in 2010
Time to get creative!

23. A Daring Adventure – 10 best self-development posts of 2010
If you’re gonna do it yourself, it’s good to get some help…

24. Penelope Trunk’s most popular posts of 2010
Happiness, anger, liking, hating. Something for everyone!

25. Charade: Make Your Life Amazing
Not a ‘best of 2010’ post, but a brilliant way to end this list of lists.  Megan has put together a set of articles on how to make your year a great one.

—

If you have found any other ‘best of’ lists for last year, share the wealth and let us know in the comments!

A ‘not as chatty as usual’ EduLinks. Prefer it short and simple, or do you miss my accompanying ramble? Tell me what you think!

Scott Young ponders permanent incubation and lifelong learning.

Kelly Page gives many reasons why students should get blogging.  Good, clear advice.

When a to-do list isn’t your thing, the ‘Autofocus Productivity Method‘ may be your answer.

Get even more done with these 8 habits of highly productive people.

New site, FeelGooder, helps you leverage your passions to bypass entry level jobs.

Doing some group work? Critical Thinkers examines how to avoid ‘GroupThink’ and do things more effectively.

Leo Babauta of Zen Habits is interviewed by Stanley Lee, where they discuss lifestyle, freeganism and consumerism.

Just before yesterday’s vote on higher tuition fees, a new site appeared, called factsonfees.com.  Responses came pretty quickly.  There’s the facts on facts on fees, as well as the ‘REAL Facts on Fees‘. BBC also has a Q&A on university funding.

CV writing doesn’t have to be conventional. Is it time to start writing your future?

Finally, while it’s not quite Christmas yet, I hope you enjoy this bizarre wooness (via Derek Baird):

Time for some more EduLinks. Want to see links on a particular topic? Have some links that may be of interest to readers?  Let me know in the comments, or get in touch!

On with the links…

Grad Recruiter – CV Structure and Format Checklist

Get your CV looking and feeling great with these simple tips.  Not a ‘how to’ guide to work from scratch, but how to tweak your CV so it flows better.

Chronicle – Tweeting Students Earn Higher Grades Than Others in Classroom Experiment

It’s all about engagement.

Guardian – Innovation is born when art meets science

Art and science need to mix better. I always said they should be friends.

On focus:

• MindBlog – A wandering mind is an unhappy mind
• Harvard Business – Will Focus Make You Happier?
• Harvard Business – Warning: Your Attention is Under Siege

Who’d have thought that daydreaming made you *less* happy?

Seems like we need deeper focus more often than we tend to allow ourselves.

MakeUseOf – 10 Online Synonym Dictionaries That Help You Find A Similar Word

A thesaurus gives you many words to express a similar sentiment.  This post gives you many websites with a similar function…

Impact Magazine – Weapons of Lash Destruction

A history of drinking games.  “Since when did our drinking habits become so organised?”

The Boar – The Price of a Promise

Lib Dem MPs signed a pledge before this year’s general election to say that they would vote against any increase in tuition fees.  Some are due to go back on that pledge and Nick Clegg said he regretted signing the pledge.

The Boar examines what a promise is and explains why MPs going back on a pledge damages the public’s confidence in politics.

Cognition & the Arts – Does background music aid or impair reading comprehension?

Do you work better when listening to music, or would you prefer silence?

A study has found that people work better in silence.  However, so many questions are left unanswered, as this post explains, that you needn’t switch the iPod off yet.

My advice has always been, if you’re finding concentration tough, do the opposite of what you’re currently doing.  When you’re in silence, try listening to music.  Also, try listening to different types of music, or opt for a bit of noise.

Ben Casnocha – How to Draw An Owl

A short post that says so much…and leaves so much more to the imagination.

My apologies, it’s been a while. Please have some weekend linkageness to make up for it…

Dangerously Irrelevant – Struggling with your dissertation?

I like the first thought, “You’re not going to save the world with your dissertation”.  No need for grand ideas that can’t be built in time (or at all).

Ones to Watch – National news journalism graduate trainee schemes

The Guardian, FT, Telegraph & Sky are looking for graduates to take up paid internships.  Be warned, you’ve only got this weekend before Sky’s deadline arrives. So be quick if you’re interested!

Lifehacker – Adopt the 30/30 Minute Work Cycle to Increase Focus

One of many ways to use your time productively. 30 minutes working and 30 minutes relaxing.  There are worse methods.  Will this technique work for you?

Open Culture – Ways of Seeing… Art

A 1972 BBC series. I started watching this and it was enough to get me ready to watch more. Bizarre. Compelling…

Speak Schmeak – Speaking from a script doesn’t have to sound scripted

Advice on making your presentations appear natural.

From Wired Campus – Students Lack Basic Research Skills, Study Finds:

“…college students approach research as a hunt for the right answer instead of a process of evaluating different arguments and coming up with their own interpretation.

“‘Not being aware of the diverse resources that exist or the different ways knowledge is created and shared is dangerous,’ she said. ‘College is a time to find information and learn about multiple arguments, and exploring gets sacrificed if you conduct research in this way.'”

The Boar – Union warns against finding houses early

A problem that’s been with us for years.  Students panic about renting a place long before they even need to think about it:

“Every year the same myths come up, that there will be a lack of housing, that the good houses go early. There’s a horrible trend for students to rush into a group of friends for a house for the next year. People can end up with worse houses than if they had waited.”

Calm Growth – Other People’s Opinions and Your Actions

Your good news won’t sound positive to everyone.  Marko says that shouldn’t put you off, recommending you “Do what is right for you!”

Other people can advise you in things you hadn’t considered, but the final choice needs to land with you.  Just because a similar thing didn’t work out for one person, your own circumstances will be very different.  It’s up to you to take advice on board and work out if you need to think about things more.

WorkFlowy

Need something quick, easy and online to handle your to-do lists and workflow organisation?  WorkFlowy is as simple as it comes.  And being online, you can login wherever you can get reach the Web.