eLearning Tools

The following are commonly used eLearning tools. Development in this area is rapid, so this is far from a complete list. There are a few links to items I have written.

Development – These tools allow you to write, edit, and publish modules that are in commonly used file formats such as .swf (a Flash movie).

  • Articulate, a powerpoint add on, based around slides, with options for quizzes and spacial organization of information (flowcharts, etc)
  • Camtasia, another powerpoint add on, but video rather than slides
  • Captivate, more robust, but essentially more of the same from Adobe
  • Flash, by far the most versatile, but requires a more extensive set of skills to wield effectively.
Content Management System –  Tools to organize collections of content so that users can navigate to what they want.
  • WordPress – easy to use, intended for blogging but one could easily use wordpress to share reading course materials with students
  • Joomla – open source, harder to use in that you run from your own servers, used for many different types of sites
  • Youtube – easy to use, millions of free videos of all kinds, used by everyone on the planet
  • JStor – if you’ve written a research paper, you likely used JStore. Lots of peer-reviewed journal articles.

Learning or Course Management Systems –  These tools facilitate learning goals by organizing content, allowing communication between teacher and students, provide a means for teachers to give and receive assignments.

  • Blackboard – proprietary, typically used by larger organizations with large budgets
  • Moodle – open source with many extensions and add-ons

Technology Standards – These “tools” take care of certain kinds of compatibility issues involved with plugging modules into an LMS.

Web 2.0 – These tools can support social aspects of learning.

  • Facebook
  • Ning
  • Yahoo and Google groups
  • wikis – set of user-editable pages where a group of learners/practioners collectively write and edit to develop a body of knowledge into a mature reference work