TechMeme or "Tech Memorandum" is a website which uses both algorithmic and human based content filtering to give you the top stories. Its blended approach gives readers a great overview of the goings on at any time in the tech world
this discussion by MIT's Henry Jenkins is a fabulous overview of the role Social Media played in the 2008 Presidential Campaign (and, by extrapolation) and how these technologies are shaping cultural and personal time. Very good!
Smith and Ragan's Instructional Design principles, chapter 2: overview of the philosophies and theories underlying the practice of instructional design