Here are some great resources I have found in my research on developing e-learning.
Let's first look at the FREE stuff.
FREE Tools to Use for Producing E-learning
FREE Graphic/Art Tools to Use for Producing E-learning
- Pixie (Pixie is a simple color picker. It gives me the hexadecimal or RGB color codes. I use it all the time to pull colors from images when I work in PowerPoint. All you do is open it and then you can pick a color from any part of your computer screen.)
- Color Schemer (Helps you create color schemes. You start with one color and then by combining a mathematical formula and the input of a panel of shamans, you end up with a complementary color scheme.)
- Paint.net (Paint.net has really developed into a nice application. I wasn’t as fond of it initially, but I find that I use it quite a bit now. The price is great (free) and it does most of what you expect from a graphics editor.)
- Photo Resizer (Photo Resizer is kind of an interesting tool. It’s almost magical. I tend to do a lot of image resizing, especially for the blog. This tool is perfect for quick resizing of images. All I do is drag the image (or folder of images) I want resized onto the icon. Then they get resized to whatever the number is on the application title. If you want a new size, just change the number. How easy is that?)
- Pixon (Create comics.)
FREE Audio/Video Tools
- Audacity (Audacity
is an open source audio editor. I’ve been using it for a few years now and have never had any problems with it. It’s easy enough for the basic stuff (which is mostly what I do) and sophisticated enough if you need more.)
- Moviemaker (Moviemaker comes with your Windows PC so most likely you already have it on your computer. It’s an easy-to-use video editor. I do most of my basic editing with it because it’s on my PC and does most of what I need for my online courses. There are other free applications, and of course if you use a Mac, you have your own video editor.)
- Format Factory (Format Factory lets you convert media from one format to another.)
- SWF Player (SWF Player lets you view Flash SWF files. Simple as that. Click on the SWF file and SWF Player lets you see what it is and view the file’s properties. This is a very handy tool and makes viewing the SWF files on your PC a breeze.)
- FLV Player (What the SWF Player did for SWF viewing, the FLV Player does for viewing Flash videos in FLV format. It’s another simple tool, but one that works well. It’s one of those tools that you don’t notice until you don’t have it. If you happen to be using the Articulate Video Encoder ‘09, then this is a redundant tool. But for everyone else, it’s another good one to have.)
- Photo Story 3 (Create slideshows using your digital photos. With a single click, you can touch-up, crop, or rotate pictures. Add stunning special effects, soundtracks, and your own voice narration to your photo stories. Then, personalize them with titles and captions. Small file sizes make it easy to send your photo stories in an e-mail. Watch them on your TV, a computer, or a Windows Mobile–based portable device.)
- VisualDub (VisualDub is free and powerful re-encoding and video editing software. )
FREE PowerPoint Resources
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Commercial E-learning Authoring Tools
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