TOP TOOLS
TOP 10 TOOLS 2007 & 208
Doris Edwards

Doris runs the Swiss network of training and development consultants called netlearn-ch. Their target clientele is the "Busy Professional" in service industry.

Doris's Top 10 Tools as at 31 March 2008

1. Camtasia Studio 5,  builds on our screen capture and flash compiler software ViewletBuilder. Camtasia is a small brother (or sister) of Apple's Final Cut Pro and Adobe's Premiere.  It is powerful and easy to use video "montage" tool that allows us to compile rapid e-learning video tutorials in many different formats, for viewing on the web and on mobile machines such as the sexy iPod/iPhone 
2. ViewletBuilder Professional has a screen capture facility that automatically reproduces the movement of the cursor, thus allowing the creation of flash tutorials or simulations in a jiffy. Because no programming is required, we spend our time on what we are really good at: solving people's problems by applying our instructional design competencies.
3. AT&T Connect – formerly Interwise, purchased in 2007 by AT&T, is a mature voice, web and video synchronous conferencing platform for learning, presenting and exchanging information. Participants attend our live training sessions via VoIP (like Skype) or by phone (fixed and mobile). Appreciated by our multi-national clients who wish to ensure that users are being told the same message locally and abroad 
4. Blogger ... allowing us to set up Blogs quickly and - in conjunction with Feedburner - deliver content to our users' doorsteps
5. Feedburner, acquired by Google during 2007, is a great tool to "burn" RSS feeds for blogs hosted by software such as Blogger (also acquired by Google), TypePad, WordPress, MySpace, and for distributing our Podcast videos. A "Feed" tells directories and web-based aggregators when new content is published. This also works for iPod/iPhone users who wish to automatically receive the latest of our e-learning videos for transfer to their mobile device (synchronisation between the iPod/iPhone and the PC happens via the iTunes software) 
6. Bloglines …a web based aggregator that makes subscribing to and reading RSS feeds easy. I particularly like the notification window that tells me when Blogs I have subscribed to have been updated. For example Jane's "E-learning Pick of the Day" Blog. See also "Feedburner", here above.
7. PB Wiki an easy to use collaborative tool that has seduced even our more conservative customers who thought that setting up a Wiki was a complicated venture. We got to work with PB Wiki thanks to Jane's E-learning Pick of the Day blog 
8. Doodle ... a great little tool (free) to propose and agree on dates for meetings and trainings 
9. Frontpage A great website design tool (unfortunately not continued by Microsoft) for users like me who know what their website should look like but do not want to spend time coding. Using .asp pages, I developed – in no time – interactive database web pages, with Microsoft Access as the back-end database
10. Access  An easy to use relational database that fulfills all our needs, specifically as the back-end application of our interactive web course catalogue

Doris's Top 10 Tools as at 10 August 2007

1. ViewletBuilder Professional has a screen capture facility that automatically reproduces the movement of the cursor, thus allowing the creation of flash tutorials or simulations in a jiffy.  Because no programming is required, we spend our time on what we are really good at: solving people's problems by applying our instructional design competencies.

2. Interwise Connect is a mature voice, web and video synchronous conferencing platform. Participants attend our live training sessions via VoIP (like Skype) or by phone (fixed and mobile).  Appreciated by our multi-national clients who wish to communicate the same message to users locally and abroad

3. We use Moodle as our asynchronous e-learning platform, as a complement to our live sessions with Interwise Connect (see above)  

4. Google Notebook - A great little tool allowing us to copy/paste (clip) any image, text or link on a web page into our personal Notebook. Being hosted on Google's servers, the contents is accessible from any PC.

5. Bloglines  …because it makes subscribing to and reading RSS feeds easy. I particularly like the Notification window that tells me when Blogs I have subscribed to have been updated. For example Jane's "E-learning Pick of the Day" Blog

6. Frontpage A great website design tool (unfortunately not continued by Microsoft) for users like me who know what their website should look like but do not want to spend time coding.  Using .asp pages, I developed – in no time – interactive database web pages, with Microsoft Access as the back-end database

7. Access  An easy to use relational database that fulfills all our needs, specifically as the back-end application of our interactive web course catalogue

8. Google Earth  For the sheer enjoyment of roaming the world!

9. Gliffy A free software tool, allowing us to create and share flow charts, organization charts, diagrams together with our customers

10. SnagIt  A neat tool for capturing screens. As trainers and instructional design people, screen capturing is an everyday occurrence