... those robotic text-to-speech tools that are being foisted upon the eLearning development community (note my rant on that ... In an April post, I made my case for narration in eLearning. As a learner, I love it (when done right). So as a developer, I like to create narrated courses. Many of us, for budgetary reasons, have to do our own in-house narration work ... project. Cake. And who doesn’t love cake? For software, I use Apple’s free (with any Mac) GarageBand, which has been a great tool for narration recording. I will detail my process and the narration-friendly features ...

... versions are more beautiful and easier to use than ever. And the price (for eLearning development software) can’t be ... After what seemed like an endless wait, my favorite eLearning development apps have finally been refreshed. Articulate Studio ‘09 was released last night, including all-new versions of Presenter, Quizmaker, and Engage, as well as a new app, Articulate Video Encoder. In addition to fixing the niggling flaws with the previous versions that bugged me ... amazing new features (branching, yay!) that, in concert, simply leave other eLearning development apps I’ve seen ...

... assumption. Fortunately, there are tools available to compensate for these shortcomings. Adobe Kuler comes to mind. Create your own color theme for your eLearning course with the online tools, or choose from thousands of themes created (and ... Anyone who has ever taken an eLearning course or watched a PowerPoint presentation (i.e. all of us) knows that the effective use of color is not a common human ability. Based on countless cans of unused interior house paint I have chosen ... for Kuler. Now there’s no excuse for offensive color combinations in your eLearning courses. Helpful hint: ...

... still harbor hope that TechSmith will see the light and develop SnagIt for Mac (and suspect they are secretly busy doing just that). In the meantime, another fighter prepares to enter the fray: LittleSnapper from Realmac Software. With the beautiful (both visually and functionally) website development app RapidWeaver in their portfolio, I have high hopes ...

I often get requests for visual timelines in eLearning courses. Typically I’ll try to cobble something together using PowerPoint’s charting or drawing tools (shudder). Sometimes I’ll create the timeline in Apple’s Keynote (much nicer charting tools) and bring the graphic into PowerPoint (since I do most of my development work in Articulate Presenter). I’ve also created timelines from scratch using something like Adobe Fireworks, which can be a time-consuming endeavor. Timeline from Bee Documents looks like an interesting application. Whip up a ...

Jay Cross cracks me up (in a good way). When he’s not sharing gorgeous travel photos (including pictures of some of the most unique food you’ll ever see), he comes up with gems related to informal learning and educational technology. One of his latest offerings is a chart that outlines a variety of Web 2.0 tools, including a brief description of their business value. This is great! I appreciate that Jay is able to succinctly articulate their business value, especially because many people still don’t take these tools seriously. Click below to view the table: Found via: ...

... observations and discussions with colleagues.) Second, users are either hesitant or scared to use new tools like an RSS reader ... there are other reasons, but I’ll stop here… The topic of RSS came up for me recently because eLearning Weekly was just listed on a new web site called Alltop.com (actually, the eLearning Weekly link is on Alltop’s Education page). Alltop is a project developed by Will Mayall, Kathryn Henkens, and Guy Kawasaki. At first glance, the site may ... blogs and RSS readers into an organzation. This may allay some of the fears, uncertainty, and doubt around these tools ...

... pricey world of eLearning development software, is practically free. Not to mention all the typical testing equipment (and ... ;anecdotal evidence.” Wish me luck. Mac-using eLearning developers, give Silverback a look. And non-Mac-using eLearning developers, what the heck are you waiting for? ... Clearleft has just announced a new software usability testing application for Mac called Silverback. Silverback uses ... personal MacBook or iMac and do some eLearning usability testing on some of our customers using Silverback. I really ...

This week’s post starts with a simple question: At your organization, when you hold an instructor-led class, how do you give learners credit for attending the class in your LMS? I’ve seen organizations do this several ways, but I’ve never been a huge fan of how it gets done; it has always seemed like a workaround more than anything else. I’m going to list out a few of the ways I’ve seen. Please chime in if you know of other ways… Use a sign-in sheet Learners sign-in when arriving at the class, and then some poor soul has to go into the LMS after the class ...

TechEmpower, a software, web and eLearning development firm based in Los Angeles. A expert on using technology to improve ... to use these "eLearning 2.0" methods and tools for yourself and your organization. You will ... in Workplace Learning Tools such as blogs, wikis, social networks, social bookmarking, and RSS ... learningDefine strategies for eLearning 2.0 for your organizationMake a plan for getting an eLearning 2.0 toolset ... responsible for organizational learning and development Individuals seeking to improve their ...

... topics on eLearning, training and on-boarding with OneNote. Many companies, including Microsoft, are delivering eLearning solutions using OneNote."I must say that I am very hopeful about OneNote. Yes, I'm a Mac user, but I know that the majority of Corporate eLearning Development is done on WinOS. AND Microsoft is actually seeing the eLearning community as a market. Don't forget about LCDS (Learning Content Development System). AND the Sharepoint Learning Kit. If your ... these. Hopefully you'll find that these tool kits come as part of your enterprise license already, but I wouldn't ...

... that has made an appearance is the mixed legacy of PowerPoint and other "rapid eLearning development tools."Karyn Romeis ... managerial folks I have run into in past jobs think "Rapid eLearning Development" is about making the ENTIRE instructional design cycle fast rather than just the Development (taking the design and making it real) piece. There is no design time and little development time. The result - useless objects taking up valuable server space ... they think serves as "eLearning". (Can you tell I've been doing that a LOT this week?)Maybe I should make a poster ...

My organization, like many large organizations (and many if not most eLearning development professionals, for that ... eLearning imaginable. Personally, I avoid developing in it at all costs. And when I find myself in the pitiable role of the ... you can’t create compelling eLearning using this type of authoring tool. I will argue, however, that this type of authoring tool doesn’t encourage you to create compelling eLearning. In fact, compelling eLearning is created in ... the cold, hard facts: as a learner, your eLearning fast food is just not working for me. I view such LCMS tools as ...

... quotes to befit the eLearning scourge: “eLearning could be the most powerful tool on your computer, but it’s ... organization have seen fit to bestow me with some meager funds with which to purchase some much-needed software for eLearning ... to purchase the tools to create good eLearning was not lost on me. And the banner in the default template used in this ... his book. Since my profession is primarily in eLearning design - not sales, marketing, or classroom instruction - I found myself mentally replacing the words “presentation” and “PowerPoint” with ...

... people are following along. These were the Top 10 most popular posts of the past year: How do you build eLearning courses? Assima Simulation Software: Initial Impressions Using Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional eLearning Jobs Tutorial: Build SCORM-Compatible Lesson (This was my first post!) eLearning Design Documents Large-scale Applications Training Managing eLearning Development Hands-on with Assima Training Suite Need an LMS? Look at Inquisiq EX. Here’s to another ... My, how time flies! My first post to eLearning Weekly was one year ago today. It’s been a great year, ...

... talking heads!) focused on using its vast arsenal of creative development tools. I’ve made the obvious argument several ... use Adobe products (and as an eLearning developer, you almost certainly do), have a look at the new Adobe TV site. As an ... , eLearning Is Selling, Hold on, Kawasaki! (And Tippie Too!)) that a significant future trend in eLearning involves ... format. Educational and entertaining - it hits the eLearning sweet spot! Mmmmm! Might I even be so bold as to give it an eLearning Hall of Fame nomination? Perhaps I might. Bon appetit! Sidenote: hey Adobe, how about ponying up ...