"While many e-Learning producers are struggling to understand how the iPad may be useful in online instruction, one sales training team has already been successful in using Apple’s new device in blended instruction in the classroom. Here’s their story."Check it out:  http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/491/

Get pre-created animated slide templates at a reasonable cost.  Most sets are $29 and include 30 variations of the slide.  Insert the slide into your presentation and update the text.  Slides include animation effects. Check it out:  http://www.presentationpro.com/power_slides.aspx

Do you want to hide the title bars and/or navigation controls in Articulate Engage?  There's a widget for that!  Purchase the widget for $10.  While you are on the site, check out the other widgets and the Articulate templates for sale.Edit the XML file provided - http://screenr.com/tWW has detailed instructions for editing.  I created a folder in my working directory to make the next step easierPublish your Articulate course and then put the edited XML file along with the "null.swf" file in the "player" folder of the published directory.Each time you re-publish, make sure you copy the files again since Articulate wipes out the folder when re-publishing.Check it out:  http://elearningenhanced.com/products/engage-controls

Slideshop.com has more than 1000 templates for download.  You purchase slides sets which have 10-30 slide templates.  Each set costs about $30 but there's a special 30% on the site now.  Sign up for the newsletter and get a free slide each week.  You can also download a sampler pak with lots of good example.  You can easily customize the templates to work with your corporate branding.Check it out:  http://slideshop.com/

I'm particpating in the Practical Conference on Commincations - October 7 - 9 in Nashville, Tennessee.  This is a jammed-packed conference that includes a pre-conference workshop on Adobe Captivate 5.Train SMEs in the Design of Rapid e-Learning MaterialsInstructional designer Debbie Richards defines the roles of the subject matter expert (SME) in developing new training systems. She also presents the information design techniques that the SME must be aware of in order to successfully support an e-Learning program under development. If you are an instructional designer or if you’re designing instructions for print or on-line documentation, you’ll find Debbie’s forthright discussion of working with SMEs a useful way to improve your interaction with the people who provide content for documentation and training products.Check it out:  http://pcoc.stc-etc.org/

Project Draw is a browser-based diagraming utility that lets you draw to your hearts content, without the need for plugins of any kind.  You can import a DWF file or image.  You can export the file as a DWF, PDF or graphic.Check it out:  http://draw.labs.autodesk.com/ADDraw/draw.html   Instructional video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN60Ob5x7f0&feature=user

Just got my copy of E-Learning Uncovered: Articulate Studio '09 - I've included a direct link to the book on Amazon's website.  If you are new to Articulate Studio, you will love this book.  It contains step-by-step instructions along with great tips.  If you already use Articulate Studio, you will still find good information including timesaver shortcuts and special information for getting more from the software.  The accompanying website has a good resource page:  http://www.e-learninguncovered.com/resources.html.  The page includes guides for the color schemes and a football game (free) created using Quizmaker.There are also resources for another book from the same publisher - E-Learning Uncovered: From Concept to Execution.  http://www.e-learninguncovered.com/c2e.html has forms, checklists and a sample chapter from the book.

I'm speaking at the Working Today - Preparing for Tomorrow - Houston ASTD Conference.  I hope to see you there!Thursday, September 23,2010 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM CDTThe conference will focus on three critical areas: technology, business development and talent management.  The Keynote speaker is Chester Elton, co-author of The Carrot Principle, who will shares his knowledge, experience on reward, recognition and empowering organizational teams to greatness.  Breakout sessions will feature programs to provide an effective learning environment for professionals to define themselves and support their industries. Special emphasis will be placed on the critical components of technology, business development, talent management, and how integration must take place at both individual and organizational levels.Check it out:  http://astdhouston.org/en/cev/402

Here's another neat tool from eLearning Enhanced - allows students to take notes while in an Articulate Presenter Course.  Purchase and download the Printable User Slide Notes tool ($25) and copy the files in a published Articulate Course.  On the side navigation, you will see a new tab called "My Notes".  The student can enter notes for each page in the course and then print them.  The widget remembers the notes between sessions as well so that the user can leave the course and come back later.  If you want to call the tab something different, edit the art_plugins.xml file.The widget didn't work with a course on my local drive but once I put the course on a web server and in an LMS, it worked great.Check it out:  http://elearningenhanced.com/products/printable-user-slide-notes

Cathy Moore has a good blog article on the need for narration in elearning.  As one person who commented on the article said, it's one to save.There’s a lot more on this topic at the Learning Circuits blog and in two previous posts on her blog: Addicted to Audio? and Should We Narrate On-Screen Text?Check it out:  http://tiny.cc/gzo0s

Successful women in technology show the same attributes of success, the same human capital, and the same work values as senior level men.  Women hold 24 percent of technology jobs, yet represent half the total workforce.  Here's an interesting white paper from the Anita Borg Institute.  Since 1997, ABI has developed tools and programs designed to help industry, academia and government recruit, retain and develop women technology leaders.Check it out:  http://anitaborg.org/files/Senior-Technical-Women-A-Profile-of-Success.pdf

Knol is a Google project that aims to include user-written articles on a range of topics.  A knol is an introductory article about a specific subject. To write a successful knol, focus on the first things a reader would want to know about your topic.  Some Knol pages are opinion papers of one or more authors, and others describe products for sale. Some articles are how-to articles or explain product use.Check it out: http://knol.google.com/k/

Surviving in this day and age is as much about activities in Cyberspace as it is one’s physical health and safety. Even if you are not a regular online user, the Internet may provide information about you or your family to others in areas such as association Web sites newsletters, extended family Web sites, and public directory services. The bottom line is that everyone needs to be aware of the potentials for Internet safety and security problems, and to determine how to limit personal risk. i-SAFE has created a series of instruction especially for adults who use the Internet.i-SAFE Inc. is a leading publisher of media literacy and digital citizenship education materials and programming with worldwide distribution channels. Founded in 1998 and supported by the U.S. Congress and various executive agencies of the U.S. government,  I found the program, iFifty, to be of particular interest, when teaching my mom about the Internet.  She's almost 80 and is just learning to use the computer.    Access to the program is free.  There are five options with five different users in mind. Those registered as educators with i-SAFE have the greatest access to view the modules because you work closely with students and parents. Those registered as parents and fifty+ have access to either of those modules since many users fit both categories. However, students are limited to the i-MENTOR Training Network. And the Operation i-SHIELD module is reserved for those in law enforcement.   Check it out:  http://ilearn.isafe.org/

According to a research report from Ball State University titled "A Play Date with the iPad," the iPad is best for leisure activities. It found that content creation is too difficult on the device but ideal for content consumption. The free white paper is available for download through BSU.Check it out:  https://www.bsu.edu/webapps2/cmdreports/product_select.asp?product_id=30

Interesting interview with VS Girish Kumar - Center Training Manager in Hewlett-Packard’s (HP) Training and Knowledge Management department.Check it out:  http://tiny.cc/z0rha

Wikimedia Commons is a media file repository (images, sounds and videos) making available public domain and freely-licensed education media content as long as the source and authors are credited.Check it out:  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Join 1,600+ government, corporate and learning executives to hear the experts share their case studies, technology implementations and best practices at this live virtual event.The summit is free of charge to industry professionals. No travel. No cost.  Check it out:  http://events.unisfair.com/index.jsp?eid=630&seid=31

Date: Tuesday, October 26, 2010Time: 10:00 AM Pacific / 1:00 PM EasternSponsored by Training Network MagazineVideo is an effective way for training organizations to capture knowledge from wherever it is in the organization. The training organization is in a unique position to harness this collective knowledge and make it compelling, accessible and reusable by the organization.In this one-hour Webinar, you will learn:• How easy it can be to capture an organization's knowledge with video• How video can be used for formal and informal learning• Examples of how video is used by best in class organizations• How video content can be the basis for enterprise collaboration• What video in the enterprise really looks likeCheck it out:  https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/event/description?instance_id=27685

Thursday, October 28, 2010:  FREE Event: 9am - 12pmStewart & Stevenson Training Center581 Garden Oaks Blvd., Houston, TX 77018Register:  http://astdhouston.org/en/cev/471Jam Sessions are an informal user group meeting designed to bring together local Articulate users for some practical tips & tricks training on all things Articulate. Dave will available to answer your questions and show you some quick tips & tricks. If you want to bring your projects, we can look at them together. This casual and informal event is open to anyone who wants to learn to create more engaging e-learning with Articulate. It is a free event but space is limited to the first 25 people who register.  You do not have to be a member of ASTD to attend.About the Presenter:  Dave Anderson is an E-Learning designer with more than 13 years of experience in online training. His portfolio includes designing custom E-Learning for NASCAR, Mercedes, Tufts University, Delta and America West Airlines. As Community Manager at Articulate, he works with Articulate's e-Learning community, helping users get the most from their tools while finding creative ways to build more engaging courses. He also shares e-Learning tips and tricks through his screencasts.

I found some great research on developing e-Learning in a global environment and wanted to share it with you.The Impact of Cultural Differences on Learning and Teaching - What it Means for eLearning - 1-hour recorded webinar, done for Walden University by Dr. Edmundson, explaining how educational and corporate organizations need to accommodate the cultural differences of learners in other countries to be successful.http://www.waldenu.edu/Media/31878.htm?height=700&width=870Developing e-Learning Modules Across Languages and Cultures: Lessons Learnedhttp://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/105/developing-e-learning-modules-across-languages-and-cultures-lessons-learnedLearning Beyond Borders by Deanna Hartley - Chief Learning Officer magazine presents an article on going global. International learning leaders are required to grapple with thorny issues, such as the role of local context in content development, solutions to language barriers and finding the right balance between centralized and decentralized learning. http://www.clomedia.com/features/2009/April/2596/index.php

When: Wednesday, October 27, 2010 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM US/PacificDescription: In this interactive eSeminar, RJ Jacquez, Senior Product Evangelist from the Technical Communication Group in Adobe Systems, will present key trends in online content consumption (both technical communication and non-technical communication), as well as explore practical ideas for leveraging these trends and for delivering engaging experiences that consumers expect from everything they do in today’s world, including the way they consume technical documentation.Click HERE for Event Details and Registration

Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2010Time: 10:00 AM Pacific / 1:00 PM EasternJoin Training magazine on Tuesday, November 16 for this complimentary Webinar, sponsored by Saba, and learn to incorporate rich video content into enterprise social learning platforms. In our personal lives, we increasingly use YouTube, Flickr, and Facebook to share video instantly with friends and family. Yet, most training content in enterprise and academic training is still predominantly "textual" or old-school.In the one-hour Webinar, join Milind Pansare, expert speaker in the fields of Enterprise 2.0 and Enterprise Web 2.0 technologies, and discover two emerging trends in learning: using video as the medium of choice for learning and the emergent use of enterprise business networking technologies to power social learning.Register Now

Creative Interactive Ideas made the Largest Houston-Area Training Companies list (Houston Business Journal).  We've made the list every year since 2007.

The Adobe Online Learning Resource Center is a great resource for online learning documentation.  The site features a number of white papers including step-by-step instructions for Adobe Cativate tasks such as "Using Master Slides in Captivate" and "Adding Adobe Presentations to PDF documents".Check it out:  http://www.adobe.us/education/resources/hed/instructional/connect/collaborative_teaching/