Tom is Product Design Architect at Element K . He has been at Element K for over nine years, with much of that time spent as a senior instructional designer and manager of instructional design. He has a BA degree in Philosophy from the University of Rochester, and also did graduate studies in philosophy at Ohio State University.

Tom Stone's Top 10 Tools as at 25 February 2009

1. OneNote - This remains at the top of my list, now three years running.  Far too few people know about OneNote. It is so simple, yet so versatile -- I have completely eliminated the need for post-it notes, scraps of paper, short text files, word docs, etc., to keep track of ideas, projects, goals, research, websites to investigate, and much more. It complements one's email/calendaring application beautifully -- and don't get me started on all the ways you can use it to implement David Allen's "Getting Things Done" (GTD) principles!  In addition to personal use, it can be used collaboratively through shared notebooks on a network share, or storage in Sharepoint.  By now I know many people who use it, and I have yet to meet someone who tried using it for a few weeks who didn't get addicted and then swear by it going forward -- even some Microsoft-haters and Mac-switchers (who say this is the one Windows app they miss). Competitors in this space, such as Evernote, Google Notebook, and Zoho Notebook don't compare in terms of features, though having it available "in the cloud" would be nice someday.

2. Twitter - Although I started using Twitter in 2008, this year will be the year that really has a major impact for me. I learn more from using Twitter than from any other source, because by its nature it isn't a single source of information, but X number of sources… however many people you are following! The trick to getting such a high value from Twitter is to follow the right people -- smart people, interesting people, experts/gurus in your field or interest areas, and so on -- and most of all, people who don't usually answer the Twitter question literally (What are you doing?), but rather tweet along the lines of "What good stuff are you reading?" or "What interesting ideas are you having?".  Along with Twitter itself, I'll note that I am currently using both Twhirl and Tweetdeck as my desktop apps to access the tweets, until I settle on which one I prefer.

3. Google Reader - My preferred RSS feed reader and aggregator. I've used several over the years, but having it alongside the various other Google apps I use makes this one the winner for me.  Without RSS and a good reader app, I simply wouldn't bother to regularly read many sources of info and opinion.

4. iGoogle - In 2008 this took over as my default browser homepage. I have several tabs with lots of widgets, but the key ones for me are Google Bookmarks, Weather, Google Search, and Search Wikipedia. Most others are rotating quotes or images, stuff that is "for fun" mostly.

5. Facebook -  Like so many millions, I am hooked on Facebook. I use it for both personal and professional connections, joining groups for both aspects of my life as well. As Facebook continues to grow, the line between it and the more "purely professional" LinkedIn is getting very blurred. I refuse to join any other general social networking sites besides those two, though I've joined several L&D industry networks (e.g., LearningTown, CLO Magazine Network, Training Magazine Network).

6. Snag-It - A light-weight, easy to use screen-capture tool that I've been using for many years.

7. Adobe Presenter - Useful for adding audio to a PowerPoint presentation and outputting Flash for the web. It is actually very similar to Articulate Presenter, as both are plugins for PowerPoint and they have nearly identical feature sets. But I prefer Adobe Presenter, for several reasons, but in part because its interfaces are similar to Adobe Captivate -- so once you learn one, you are well on your way to learning the other.

8. Adobe Captivate - The easiest tool that I know for creating software demos and even interactive simulations. It has many features, including customizable callouts, prompts, and so on. It makes it relatively easy to integrate audio with the demo/interactive, or to create quizzes. Output is standard Flash. Keeps getting better with each new version.

9. Adobe Connect Pro - My preferred webinar delivery platform.  I've attended many webinars over the years, on just about every platform imaginable, and they all have their pros and cons. But overall I'm happy that at Element K we use Adobe Connect Pro.

10. PureText - A very small utility that sits in your Windows System Tray, and will strip out any formatting from text in your clipboard memory. This is great for copy/pasting text from the web or elsewhere into another application where you just want the text, and none of the formatting included. I use this probably dozens of times a day -- far more efficient than opening up Notepad, pasting there, then selecting all and copying again.

NOTE: In revising my list this year I've decided to exclude any tools that are so common-place that they seem like saying you find it beneficial to drink water. Many of these I use every day, and more often than some in my Top-10 list, such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or Outlook; Lotus Notes (email at work); the Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers; and Notepad for that matter. I've also excluded popular websites such as Amazon, Google (the basic search functionality), eBay, YouTube, and Wikipedia: these are all critical to me and provide me with learning opportunities almost daily, but  preferred my Top-10 list to focus on apps and also include some of the "less obvious" tools that are so valuable to me.

Tom's Top 10 Tools as at 10 February 2008

1. OneNote - This is easily the most important application I use. It is so simple, yet so versatile -- I have completely eliminated the need for post-it notes, scraps of paper, short text files, word docs, etc., to keep track of ideas, projects, goals, research, websites to investigate, and much more. It complements one's email/calendaring application beautifully. Few people besides students and Tablet PC users are very familiar with it -- even though it is great for all computer users, and even can be used collaboratively through shared notebooks on a network share. By now I know many people who use it, and I have yet to meet someone who tried using it for a few weeks who didn't get addicted and then swear by it going forward. Online competitors from Google and Zoho don't compare in terms of features, though having it available "in the cloud" would be nice someday.

2. Outlook -  I had been a long-time Eudora user, but in 2007 I switched to Outlook (when Office 2007 came out). Outlook has so many useful features, and I really like the new Office 2007 ribbon interface (although Outlook only implements it partially). Outlook and OneNote are a very solid combination for keeping all the info I need organized.

3. Google Search - Always my first stop for searching online. I rarely use other general search engines, though I do make use of niche and subject-specific search sites and link directories.

4. RSS - A technology, not a particular tool, RSS feeds are obviously hugely valuable for keeping up with all the content providers -- blogs and others -- that I care about. Without it, I simply wouldn't bother to regularly read many sources of info and opinion.

5. Wikipedia - What can you say? Simply amazing. Flawed to be sure, but that is the nature of beast. You just have to know when to trust what is there and when to get second opinions. I sometimes use Wikipedia as a first source for info, before doing a Google search. And a hat-tip goes to MediaWiki too, the software that runs Wikipedia (and that I've used for corporate wikis as well).

6. Adobe Presenter - Useful for adding audio to a PowerPoint presentation and outputting Flash for the web. It is actually very similar to Articulate Presenter, as both are plugins for PowerPoint and they have nearly identical feature sets. But I prefer Adobe Presenter, for several reasons, but in part because its interfaces are similar to Adobe Captivate -- so once you learn one, you are well on your way to learning the other.

7. Captivate - The easiest tool that I know for creating software demos and even interactive simulations. It has many features, including customizable callouts, prompts, and so on. It makes it relatively easy to integrate audio with the demo/interactive, or to create quizzes. Output is standard Flash.

8. Blogger - There are lots of great blogging apps available. I still use one of the standards here, though others have more features.

9. Amazon.com - I'm adding this to my list in 2008, because in recent years it has grown to be much more than just an online store. Because of its Web 2.0 features, most notably user ratings and reviews, I don't make any major purchases without first going to Amazon (and a few other such sites) to read the good, bad, and ugly from others who have bought the particular product.

10. The written word - I see others have already included this, so I will too. As much time as I spend online, listening to my iPod, using Tivo, or whatever, I do still find the written word -- magazines and newspapers in particular -- to be very valuable and convenient. And I very much prefer those printed items that are also freely available online (e.g. Wired, BusinessWeek), so that I can easily link to articles in my blog, quote from them in emails, and so on

Honorable mention (in no order): GoogleMaps, iTunes, LinkedIn, YouTube, eBay, Word, PowerPoint, Instant Messaging, SnagIt, Notepad

Tom's Top 10 Tools as at 11 August 2007

1. OneNote - This is easily the most important application I use. It is so simple, yet so versatile -- I have completely eliminated the need for post-it notes, scraps of paper, short text files, word docs, etc., to keep track of ideas, projects, goals, research, websites to investigate, and much more. It complements one's email/calendaring application beautifully. OneNote must be one of the most poorly marketed applications ever, as few people besides students and Tablet PC users are very familiar with it -- even though it is great for all computer users, and even can be used collaboratively through shared notebooks on a network share. By now I know many people who use it, and I have yet to meet someone who tried using it for a few weeks who didn't get addicted and then swear by it going forward

2. Outlook -  I'm a long-time Eudora user who recently switched to Outlook 2007 when Office 2007 came out. Outlook has so many useful features, and I really like the new Office 2007 ribbon interface (although Outlook only implements it partially). Outlook and OneNote are a very solid combination for keeping all the info I need organized

3. Google Search - Always my first stop for searching online. I rarely use other general search engines, though I do make use of niche and subject-specific search sites and link directories

4. Wikipedia - What can you say? Simply amazing. Flawed to be sure, but that is the nature of beast. You just have to know when to trust what is there and when to get second opinions. I sometimes use Wikipedia as a first source for info, before doing a Google search. And a hat-tip goes to MediaWiki too, the software that runs Wikipedia (and that I've used for corporate wikis as well).

5. Captivate - The easiest tool that I know for creating software demos and even interactive simulations. It has many features, including customizable callouts, prompts, and so on. It makes it relatively easy to integrate audio with the demo/interactive, or to create quizzes. Output is standard Flash.

6. Adobe Presenter - The easiest tool that I know for adding audio to a PowerPoint presentation and outputting Flash for the web. It is actually very similar to Articulate Presenter, as both are plugins for PowerPoint and they have nearly identical feature sets. But I prefer Adobe Presenter, for several reasons, but in part because its interfaces are similar to Adobe Captivate -- so once you learn one, you are well on your way to learning the other.

7. Blogger - There are lots of great blogging apps available. I still use one of the standards here, though others have more features.

8. RSS - A technology, not a particular tool, I find RSS feeds to be hugely valuable to keeping up with all the content providers -- blogs and others -- that I care about. Without it, I simply wouldn't bother to regularly read many sources of info and opinion.

9. Internet Explorer 7 - Like Blogger in that space, I realize that many others have moved on to other, arguably better browser applications (Firefox most notably). But I still use IE, and with the new features in IE7 (many of which pre-existed elsewhere), I have little reason to switch right now.

10. The written word - I see others have already included this, so I will too. As much time as I spend online, listening to my iPod, using Tivo, or whatever, I do still find the written word -- magazines and newspapers in particular -- to be very valuable and convenient. And I very much prefer those printed items that are also freely available online (e.g. Wired, BusinessWeek), so that I can easily link to articles in my blog, quote from them in emails, and so on

Honorable mention (in no order): iTunes, LinkedIn, YouTube, eBay, Amazon, Word, PowerPoint, Instant Messaging, Notepad