Blog posts

Microsoft's entry into the e-learning world is a lightweight but free PowerPoint add-in. You can record presentations and do basic quizzing. They have their own reporting tool, but you can't use it in an LMS.

Tips on drag and drop interactions in Captivate. If you've seen drag and drop actions continue when you expected them to pause, read this post.

Lieve Weymeis explains why she recommends using standard actions even for actions like Show and Hide that can be completed as simple actions.

Summary of tips from the Articulate freelancer community

Tool for troubleshooting SCORM files that lets you actually analyze the errors. It's not cheap, but if you're spending lots of hours with trial and error guessing at what might fix a problem, it's probably worth it.

Easy tip for improving follow up actions after training

This summarizes some of my own discomfort with guest posts but articulates it more clearly than I could.

Freeware application for creating "action mazes" or branching scenarios

Overview of what roles need to be filled to develop e-learning. Some of these roles can overlap and be filled by the same person.

Badges for instructional designers in various areas. Not sure if employers would actually care about this or recognize the organization, but it's an interesting idea for peer-reviewed credentials.

Tips for writing scripts and recording audio. Tip #3 on "Conditional logic" is an odd name for it, but the tip is good.

Wiki by Kevin Wilcoxon with lengthy articles on learning and training. Categories are foundations, teaching online, course development, and the future (including references to the Serious e-Learning Manifesto). Currently everything is written by Kevin but you can sign up to contribute.

Extensive list of sources for free images, many of which are Creative Commons or public domain

Practical tips for juggling a work schedule and kids when working from home. My 1-year-old isn't independent enough for most of this to work for me now, but in a few years this will be more relevant to my situation.

Series of articles on LMSs. Selection, implementation, operation and governance, and the future of LMSs with xAPI.

Research comparing teaching the big picture as an integrated whole versus a series of short lessons on single topics. Breaking the content into smaller chunks and focusing on each one separately worked better.

Search the Articulate forums and resources

Random number generator. Enter a min and max. Good for making sure your correct answers in multiple choice questions actually are randomly distributed (not always C) and for generating random distractors for numeric questions

Diane Elkins (E-Learning Uncovered/Artisan E-Learning) ranks tools based on price, ease of use, graphics, animation, interactivity, quizzing, power/flexibility, ADA, mobile, and software simulations.

Lessons learned on what works for gamification: multiple levels, fun, variety, leaderboards, tangible rewards, virtual coaches, progress tracking, social connectivity.

A different reading list than many I've seen, with several selections outside of the main learning field. I've only read one of these eight books.

Open access journal with a number of articles on active learning, blended learning, problem based learning, etc. (My sister-in-law is the copy editor.)

Break up lectures every 10 minutes with active teaching techniques to improve student outcomes.

Tanya Lau's detailed explanation of her presentation on "Flipping the conversation" to performance and performance support rather than focusing only on formal training content. Includes notes on how she recorded and edited video on her smartphone for the presentation. She gives credit to my post on "Selling Storytelling" as part of the inspiration for her presentation because of how I scripted conversation around business objectives and measurement.

5 elements of a story structure: a beginning, middle, and end; a main character; the main character faces a challenge, the main character struggles, and the main character changes.

Review of Cp8, focusing on the interface changes and new features for mobile learning

Adobe's summary of new features in Captivate 8, including responsive design for mobile learning and a major user interface change

A solid list of questions for prospective clients to help develop a proposal and determine the scope.

Time and cost estimates for online higher ed. The article and research are from 2004, and I expect these ratios have gone down in the last 10 years. The estimates here say it's a 10:1 ratio for faculty time and about $25K per credit hour.

Tools for branching scenarios, from free and simple to expensive and complex. PDF, PowerPoint, BranchTrack, Inklewriter, Twine, Storyline, and SimWriter.