Item: Firefox Environment Backup Extension

Category: Utilities

It’s not something you often think of but a pc is not just a computer, it’s personal computer.  Think about it:  How easy or difficult would it be to log in and get your work done on a colleague’s machine?  We’re not talking about defeating the password, just being a to figure out what is installed, where files are saved and with what defaults the various programs are set.

While I don’t know of a universal “reconfigurator”, I do know of a great utility that will allow you to move you personal browser settings easily from one machine to another, or reinstall them easily on your own:  The Firefox Environment Backup  Extension.

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Item: Bulk File Renamer

Category: Utilities

I was fortunate to be able to get out of town with “Mrs. Free eLearning Tools” for a few days before the beginning of the new school year. Of course, getting away no longer means leaving the digital world behind. In fact, in addition to our usual day-to-day electronic gear, we also had our GPS and digital camera—the better to find the touristy spots and take pictures of them!

Once the pictures were taken, we had dozens (if not hundreds) of digital picture files—all named “DSC001, DSC002, etc, etc.” As memorable as some of the photos might be, the file names don’t exactly bring “Summer 2009 Vacation” to mind. It’s easy enough to change a single file name, but changing hundreds requires either lots of time and patience, or…something like the aptly named Bulk Rename Utility. (more…)

Item: Pixton – Interactive Web Comic Creator

Category: Graphic Tools & Resources

I never had more than a passing interest in comic books when I was growing up, but several years ago I picked up a book called “Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art,” by Scott McCloud.  Fans of the genre will recognize the name, but at the time it was random reading material to me.  As I discovered, the book is an excellent explanation of the form, function, and history of comic art – done entirely in the graphic format it so aptly describes.  It really made me appreciate the art and efficiency of the medium.

What does this have to do with eLearning?  Well, many of the challenges are the same:

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Item: GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)

Category: Graphic Tools & Resources

GIMP is an open-source, freeware image manipulation program developed on the GNU/Linux Operating System.  That is to say, GIMP is a free, Photoshop-type program that works on multiple computer platforms.  It wouldn’t even be fair to call it “Photoshop-lite” as it is much more than that.

To put it in context, I recently attended a “Photoshop for Beginners” workshop.  While it was only a two-hour session geared towards the basics, the fact is that I actually used GIMP in the class.  There were a few minor instances where I had to hunt for a tool in the program, but otherwise I was able to complete the same exercises as easily as the folks using Photoshop.

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Item: Twitter

Category: Microblogger /Short Messaging Service (SMS)

For those (one or two) of you who may never have heard of Twitter, take a moment and go to www.twitter.com to have a quick look.  It shouldn’t take you very long to look around the site, so I’ll wait here until you get back.  For the brief overview, click on the [What], [Why], and [How] links on the home page.

Done?  I have to admit, when I first saw Twitter my reaction was, “so what exactly would someone do with that?”  After trying it out for a few weeks, I’ve come to appreciate that Twitter’s intentionally narrow focus is actually part of its charm. (more…)

Item: My StuDIYo (beta), Web-based Interactive Quizzes

Category: Polling/Survey Tools

My StuDIYo (beta), is a web-based quiz creation tool that provides a free “channel” (home page) for your quizzes and allows you to embed created quizzes into your own home page.  The revenue model for the company is (at least in part) ad-based.  The free version does not allow any control over ad delivery and placement, but the ads themselves appear to be appropriate to the quiz content.   A quiz sponsored by a DIY-type magazine delivered advertisements for motor oil and the magazine itself.  As with most free eLearning tools, there  are for-fee “premium” options that allow additional customizations, control over ad placement, and varying degrees of advertising revenue-sharing.

What it Does:

A wizard guides you through the quiz creation process:  Select a design template, choose a name and category, add quiz questions, and edit a results page.  The output will appear on the My StuDIYo site and can also be embedded into a site of your own choosing.

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Item: Jing, Screen Capture & Video Capture

Category: Demo, Simulation Tools

This tool is a freeware offering by TechSmith, the makers of SnagIt (screen capture) and Camtasia (screen video capture) software.  You might want to think of it as a combined “light” version of these products.  There is even a Jing Pro version which–while not adding much in the way of additional functionality-provides the advantage of removing the Jing branding/logos from your recorded product.  Jing is available in versions for both the Windows and MAC OS X operating systems.

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Item: Royalty-Free, Podsafe, and Stock Music

Category: Audio Recording, Editing & Resources

If you need background music, sound effects, or other audio cues in your eLearning production there are some low-cost options available, but you will have to do your homework to stay out of licensing and copyright trouble.  Most importantly, you need to be aware that royalty-free does not mean copyright-free.  In most cases you are going to have to pay to use someone else’s audio in your eLearning production.  Note:  Resources are listed at the end of this blog post, but I encourage you to read through the terms first to get a better idea of which of them may really be useful to you!

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