eLearning Tools

A chart on the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies lists the most important and popular tools online for elearning. I was happily surprised to find that I had links and memberships on all but a couple.

The Tutorials pages (where available) provide you with support in using the tools.

Category		Named tools	Tutorials	More tools in the Tools Directory
1	Web browser	Firefox | Google Chrome	Firefox	Browsers, Extensions, Toolbars & Players
2	Social bookmarking tool	Delicious | diigo	Delicious	Social Bookmarking tools
3	Blogging tool	Wordpress | Blogger	Wordpress	Blogging tools
4	RSS/Feed reader	Google Reader | Bloglines	Google Reader	RSS/Feed readers & Alerts
5	Micro- blogging tool	Twitter | Tweetdeck	Twitter	Micro-blogging tools Twitter apps
6	Email	gMail/Google Mail | Outlook£	gMail	Email, SMS, Voice & Video Messaging tools
7	Instant Messaging	Skype	Skype	Instant Messaging & Voice call tools
8	Personal productivity tool	Evernote | Google Calendar	Google Calendar	Note Taking & Sharing tools Calendars, Event & Meeting Scheduling
9	Mind mapping	Freemind | Bubbl.us	-	Mind mapping & brainstorming tools
10	Presentation tool	PowerPoint£ | Prezi	-	Presentation tools
11	Presentation sharing tool	Slideshare | VoiceThread	Slideshare	Presentation hosting & sharing tools
12	Online office suite	Google Docs | Zoho	Google Docs	Document, spreadsheet & database tools
13	Web conferencing	Dimdim | Adobe Connect£	Dimdim	Web conferencing (& screen sharing) tools
14	Course authoring tool	Articulate£ | Lectora£	-	Course authoring tools Interactivity tools Quizzing and testing tools
15	Screen capture	SnagIt£ | Jing	Jing	Screen capture, screencasting and software demo tools Learning games and simulation tools
16	Demo/Screencasting tool	Camtasia | Adobe Captivate£ | Jing
17	Web authoring	Dreamweaver£ | Google Sites	Google Sites	Web authoring tools (& HTML editors)
18	Wiki tool	PBworks | Wikispaces		Wiki tools
19	Image/photo tools	flickr | Adobe Photoshop£	flickr	File hosting/sharing tools Media creation and editing tools
20	Audio/podcasting tools	Audacity | iTunes	Audacity | iTunes	Podcasting tools
21	Video tools	YouTube | Flip£	YouTube	Video tools, hosting and sharing sites
22	Personal dashboard	iGoogle | Netvibes	iGoogle	Start Pages
23	Course management system	Moodle	Moodle	Course & Learning (Content) Management System
24	Social networking	Ning | LinkedIn | Facebook	Join a Ning | Set up a Ning	Social networking (& community) tools Social Networks Facebook apps
25	Integrated social media platform	Elgg	Elgg	Social learning systems Team, Group & Enterprise Collaboration tools

After nearly 5 years as a corporate trainer and SEO consultant, I suppose that isn't a surprise.

Multiple documents in One Word Window

In previous versions of Word, it was possible to split the window to see two parts of a Word document. While that was handy, many people intuitively thought the feature would allow them to see two different documents. 

They were disappointed. Previous to Office 2007, the only way to do something like that was to open multiple Word windows and arrange them to work from one to the other.

By checking the Option under Tools for View--> Windows in Taskbar, Word 2007 is no longer a disappointment. Details are explained below in part of a ZDNETAsia article.

Unlike its Office 2003 counterparts Excel and PowerPoint, Word 2003 does not let you rearrange document windows within a single program window.

Unless you change the default view option, each Word documents exists in its own window with its own menus and toolbars.

Consequently, when you use Arrange All to compare three documents on the screen at once, it looks like Figure A.

Figure A 

To remove the screen clutter, follow these steps:

1. Go to Tools | Options.
2. Click the View tab, then deselect the Windows In Taskbar check box (Figure B) and click OK.

Figure B 

Now all three documents will display without the clutter, as shown in Figure C.

Figure C 

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Use the REPT function to create quick charts

Wouldn't it be great if you didn't have to embed a chart in a spreadsheet to get a graphical comparison?

You can, by using Excel's REPT (REPeaT) funtion.

Here is an example from ZDNET Asia. It's just part of the article, so scroll down a little.

To keep employees informed of their progress, you might keep a worksheet like the one inFigure A, which tracks the completion rates of assigned tasks.

Figure A 

Just listing the completion rates, however, makes it hard to compare one task with another. It's easier to monitor results when they are presented graphically. Follow these steps.

1. Select D2:C11.
2. Enter the following formula (Figure B):
   =REPT("|",C2*100)

Figure B 

3. Press Ctrl + Enter.

The comparative results are now shown graphically, as shown in Figure C.

Figure C 

(Note that you can use any symbol for "|" in the formula. )

Use Word like a Typewriter for forms

Essentially, the plan works like this:

1. Scan the document into a file.
   
2. Place it in the Header of a Word file.
   
3. Set Word's font and line spacing to move smoothly down the document.
   

And you can just type normally using the Return and Tab keys to fill in the form.

You can just print out the form normally once it's filled in. Here is part of an article from ZDNet Asia that gives more detail.

What do you do when someone hands you an application to fill out or when you need to fill out a printed tax form? If you don't have a typewriter, you probably fill in the form manually, hoping that the recipient can read your handwriting.

Fortunately, you can use Word to "type it in" instead. Follow these steps:

1. Scan the form and save it as a picture to your My Pictures folder, or any folder where your picture files are kept. For this example, I scanned a tax form and saved it as a .PNG picture (Figure A).

Figure A 

1. Open a blank document in Word.
2. Go to View | Header and Footer. (In Word 2007, double-click in the Header pane of your document.)
3. Go to Insert | Picture and then click From File. (In Word 2007, position the insertion point in the Header pane, click the Insert tab, and then click Picture in the Illustrations group.)
4. Navigate to the file containing your form and click the Insert button.
5. Crop, resize, and reposition the picture as necessary to fit the page.
6. Right-click the picture, go to Format Picture, and click the Behind Text option. (In Word 2007, make sure the form is still selected. Then, under Picture Tools in the Format tab, click Text Wrapping in the Arrange group and choose Behind Text.)
7. Double-click anywhere in the document outside of the Header pane. You can then enter the desired text. (Figure B).

Figure B 

To type the data as shown, I decreased the font size to 9, changed the paragraph formatting to single line spacing, and applied 0 spacing before and after the paragraph. This made it easier to use the Enter key to move from one line to another, as if I were using a typewriter.

Add a looping introduction to a PowerPoint presentation : TechGuides : Microsoft Office Suite : ZDNet Asia

Add a looping introduction to a PowerPoint presentation : TechGuides : Microsoft Office Suite : ZDNet Asia: "Displaying an introductory or welcome slide while your audience arrives for a presentation is common. You might display general information or a friendly hello.

Displaying an introductory or welcome slide while your audience arrives for a presentation is common. You might display general information or a friendly hello.

Usually, you display just one slide and the presentation doesn't progress until you begin the presentation manually. This setup is okay, but to generate a bit more interest, you might want to display more than one introductory slide--call it a mini presentation if you like.

That way, you'll have the attention and interest of your audience before you even begin.

Two presentations in one
While the audience enters the room and finds a seat, they may chat with one another, help themselves to refreshments, or sit quietly and wait for the show. Regardless, most will be thinking about other things, and not your presentation.

The one-slide introduction that says welcome and displays pretty flowers is quaint, but it won't grab anyone's attention as they enter the room, and it certainly won't keep anyone's interest while they wait. ...

Mine the pockets of the middle class the pollies are told. They can bloody well keep their minding to their own business!

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10+ lesser-known shortcuts for formatting Word text : TechGuides : Microsoft Office Suite : ZDNet Asia

10+ lesser-known shortcuts for formatting Word text : TechGuides : Microsoft Office Suite : ZDNet Asia:

The shortcuts

Keystroke	Function
Ctrl + Shift + D	Double underline the selected text
Ctrl + ]	Increase the size of selected text by 1 point
Ctrl + [	Decrease the size of selected text by 1 point
Ctrl + Shift + A	Make selected text all caps
Ctrl + =	Toggle subscripting for selected text
Ctrl + +	Toggle superscripting for selected text
Ctrl + Shift + Q	Apply Symbol font to selected text
Ctrl + Shift + N	Apply Normal style to current paragraph
Ctrl + Alt + 1	Apply Heading 1 style to current paragraph
Ctrl + Alt + 2	Apply Heading 2 style to current paragraph
Ctrl + Alt + 3	Apply Heading 3 style to current paragraph
Ctrl + Shift + L	Apply List Bullet style
Ctrl + 0 (zero)	Apply or remove space above current paragraph

Mine the pockets of the middle class the pollies are told. They can bloody well keep their minding to their own business!

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