Downloads
This is the place to sample training software, calculators, cool web services, and other helpful workplace tools. All demos, trials, and tools are FREE!, but some of the tools require registration. Each month we will take a look at a new suite of tools. Send submissions to rellis@astd.org.
December: Off-the-Shelf Courseware
SkillSoft
SkillSoft content offerings include business, IT, desktop, and compliance and consumer/SMB courseware collections. SkillSoft also offers complementary content assets such as Leadership Development Channel video products, KnowledgeCenter(TM) portals, virtual instructor-led training services and online mentoring services. SkillSoft's Books24x7(R) product offering includes access to more than 20,000 digitized IT and business books, as well as book summaries and executive reports. Many courses are offered in multiple languages, including Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish. Its business skills courseware demo center gives you the opportunity to take seven free e-learning courses and simulations.
Business Training Library
Business Training Library offers 3,500+ web-based training courses from leading education and training providers. Courses are organized into nine topical libraries, such as business and Professional skills, technical web development, and healthcare. Users may subscribe to one or more catalogs. The company also offers a streaming video library with over 300 industry leading training programs. With the demo, up to five people will have unlimited access to all the courses. In addition, your organization will receive a complimentary report summarizing the opinions of your employees regarding the e-learning system and the courses they've taken.
Element K
ElementK’s online course catalog features more than 2,800 courses covering IT and business skills, as well as several compliance issues. Much of its e-learning is authorized and developed in cooperation with such partners as Microsoft, Cisco, and Adobe. Element K also offers 1,300 print courseware titles, a learning platform, hands-on labs, and professional certifications. It’s 30-day free trial offers a sampling of its courses from Harvard Business School Publishing, dozens of full-text e-reference books, and valuable summaries of six business best sellers.
November: Social Networking
Twitter
Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length. Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. The sender can restrict delivery to those in his or her circle of friends (delivery to everyone being the default). Users can receive updates via the Twitter website, instant messaging, SMS, RSS, email or through an application such as Facebook.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is an online network of more than 25 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries. When you join, you create a profile that summarizes your professional accomplishments. Your profile helps you find and be found by former colleagues, clients, and partners. You can add more connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you. The purpose of the site is to allow registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people they know and trust in business. Users can invite anyone (whether a site user or not) to become a connection.
Delicious
Delicious, a service being provided to you by Yahoo! Inc., is a social bookmarking tool that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source. With emphasis on the power of the community, Delicious greatly improves how people discover, remember and share on the Internet.
October: ROI Calculators
Free Training Cost Forecasting Tool
BNH Experts offers free access to ADVISOR’s forecasting tool. You can easily assess start-up and recurring costs, as well as personnel and resources required. Moreover, the results are presented in concise charts and reports to provide the clarity needed for making decisions.
Training Costs Comparison Worksheet
MediaPro created the ROI Calculator (a Microsoft Excel workbook) to help you compare costs and calculate the return on investment (ROI) between varying methods of training. Using the ROI calculator you can compare training costs by student, class, or year; by life expectancy of the course; and by cost of facilities, maintenance, or equipment.
Online vs. Traditional Calculator
CUNA offers this free online tool to help its members calculate the net cost and ROI of online training vs. traditional methods. Fill in the white blanks (without commas) to the best of your ability. The grey blanks will have their figures calculated automatically.
September: Audio Editing Software for Podcasting
Sound Forge Free Trial
Award-winning Sound Forge digital audio editing software includes a powerful set of audio processes, tools, and effects for manipulating audio. Sound Forge software allows you to edit, record, encode, and master nearly any form of digital audio including WAV, AIFF, and MP3. Its exclusive Show Me How tutorials guide you through the entire creative process. Whenever you need help, just click the Show Me How button and choose your tutorial topic. Helpful text dialogue boxes, pointers, and guides will actually show you what to do and where to click.
Audacity
Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems. You can use Audacity to record live audio; convert tapes and records into digital recordings; edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files; cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together; and change the speed or pitch of a recording.
WavePad Sound Editor
WavePad sound editing software is a full-featured professional audio editor for Windows or Mac OS X. When editing audio files you can cut, copy and paste parts of recordings and, if required, add effects like echo, amplification and noise reduction. WavePad works as a wav editor or mp3 editor but it also supports a number of other file formats including vox, gsm, real audio, au, aif, flac, ogg and more.
August: Free Mind Mapping Software
FreeMind is an open source mind mapping software from Softonic that enables you to visualize ideas, projects, concepts, brainstorming, internet research or any other task that can benefit from a structured overview. You can create nodes with child and sibling nodes and add icons, clouds, notes and custom formatting for better presentation. The nodes can be expanded or collapsed, or interactively linked to local files, other maps, online resources and more. You can also insert encrypted nodes or create encrypted maps for sesitive projects. The finished maps can be exported to HTML, clickable XHTML, Open Office document, image file and other formats.
Vue
VUE is a free, open source concept mapping application written in Java. The application is developed by the Academic Technology group at Tufts University. The Visual Understanding Environment (VUE) project at Tufts UIT Academic Technology is focused on creating flexible tools for managing and integrating digital resources in support of teaching, learning and research. VUE provides a flexible visual environment for structuring, presenting, and sharing digital information. VUE is licensed under the Educational Community License.
Edraw Mind Map is the quick and easy map mapping software for creating great-looking mind maps (graphical representations of thought processes) for brainstorming, problem solving, rational analysis, and decision marking. It includes thousands of ready-made graphics that you simply stamp to create your drawing. Edraw Mind Map is a vector-based freeware with rich examples and templates. Easy to create basic flow charts, mind map, brainstorming diagram and sketch map.
July: Free Project Management Software
Open Workbench
Open Workbench is an open source desktop application that provides robust project scheduling and management functionality. Already the scheduling standard for more than 100,000 project managers worldwide, Open Workbench is a free and powerful alternative to Microsoft Project.
Project.net
Project.net is a complete, web-based enterprise project management application that helps companies plan, execute and deliver on their entire portfolio of projects. Project.net is Commercial Open Source. Project.net is currently used by more than 50,000 people worldwide to help manage their projects.
TaskJuggler
TaskJuggler is a GPL-licensed (open-source) project management software that comes with all the standard features of most project management tools, including time lines, charts, resource management and contact lists. Taskjuggler works on UNIX systems and was specifically developed for LINUX, although there should be some cross platform compatibility, this may be a blow for many people who use Windows based systems.
June: Free Blogging Software
Blogger
Blogger is one of the easiest weblog tools available. It takes about five minutes to sign up for a Blogger account, you get a tool for writing your blog, space on the Blogger server if you need it, and built-in templates so your pages have style right out of the box.
Wordpress
Wordpress.com is a free blogging software that provides a limited amount of customization by way of free templates you can download for your blog. It is very easy to learn and provides automatic features such as a spam blocking plug-in (Akismet), automatic pinging, and more.
Typepad – 14-Day Free Trial
TypePad is the online version of MovableType. It gives you all the features that we've come to expect from MT, but in a hosted option where you don't have to worry about maintaining the software.
May: Virtual Classrooms
WebEx 14-Day Free Trial
WebEx is an on-demand, interactive web conferencing you can access through any web browser. You can subscribe to WebEx service and get unlimited use for a set monthly fee, or you can use our meeting service on a pay-per-use basis. Connect without regard for platforms, firewalls or distances. Integrate WebEx with other applications, such as Outlook. WebEx offers integrated audio, giving users the choice to engage the capabilities they need on a flexible basis. Also, you get multilayer security including user authentication and encryption.
Saba Centra 15-Day Free Trial
Saba Centra is an online learning environment that combines a highly interactive virtual classroom learning, e-meeting, and web seminar platform with a learning content management system to deliver optimal blended learning. And, Saba Centra extends Saba’s learning management platform to include real-time training and collaborative sessions. Features include Centra recording studio, Surgient Virtual Labs extension, and enhanced browser and OS support.
Microsoft Live Meeting Demo
Microsoft® Live Meeting is a fully hosted real-time solution that lets you connect multiple people in multiple locations with just an Internet connection and a web browser. The service offers a choice of either low pay-per-use or flat monthly subscription pricing. Features include Power Point presentation sharing, online attendee registration and reporting, polls and surveys, virtual breakout rooms, audio streaming via the PC, and Microsoft® Outlook integration. Expert training and live 24x7 technical support is available at no extra charge.
Adobe Connect Pro 15-Day Free Trial
Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro enables live, interactive web meetings, virtual classes, on-demand presentations and courses, and group collaboration. It allows organizations to effectively share a wide range of content, including Microsoft PowerPoint slides, live and recorded video, Adobe Flash® content, live screen sharing, application sharing, audio, and multiuser text chat. Running on ubiquitous Adobe Flash Player software, already installed on more than 98 percent of Internet-enabled desktops, Acrobat Connect Pro enables easy access to live sessions with no software downloads.
April 2008: “Sim” Software
Adobe Captivate Free Trial
Adobe Captivate 3 software enables anyone to rapidly create scenario-based training without programming knowledge or multimedia skills. Developers can capture and record screen activity and synchronize audio and video. The point-and-click user interface and such time-saving features such as automated text captions and automated rerecording of web applications in Microsoft Internet Explorer will get users up and running quickly.
Viewlet Builder Demo
Qarbon’s ViewletBuilder's patented screen-capture process automatically reproduces the movement of your cursor, allowing you to create Flash tutorials or simulations that exactly mirror the way your product or web site works. Developers can easily add callouts, notes, interactivity, audio narration, and Flash files that have various actions associated to events. Then publish finished tutorials as small, secure Flash files that can be delivered over the Internet or packaged as executable files to be sent vial email or burned on CDs.
SnagIt Free Trial
Using
Camtasia’s SnagIt, developers can select and capture anything on their screens, then easily add text, arrows, or effects, and save the screen capture to a file or share it immediately by email or IM. The SnagIt image editor makes it easy to add creative and professional touches with a full-featured paint tools palette, a variety of edge effects, and practical options for color and size adjustment.
March 2008: Open Source Learning Management
Moodle
Moodle is a free, open source course management system (CMS) used by educators to create effective online learning communities. You can download and use it on any computer you have handy (including webhosts), yet it can scale from a single-teacher site to a University with 200,000 students. Moodle has a large and diverse user community with more than 330,000 registered users, speaking over 70 languages in 196 countries. Moodle is available in a variety of download packages with different levels of stability, as well as via CVS. A number of additional modules/plugins and language packs are also available.
Sakai
Sakai is a free and open source product that can be used to create online collaboration and learning environments. Many users of Sakai deploy it to support teaching and learning, ad hoc group collaboration, support for portfolios and research collaboration. Sakai is built and maintained by the Sakai community, which is actively developing new Sakai tools: IMS Common Cartridge, SCORM, blog tool, shared whiteboard, shared display, multipoint audio, multipoint audio, pod-casting, IMS Tool Interoperability, and others.
ATutor
ATutor is an open source web-based learning content management system (LCMS) designed with accessibility and adaptability in mind. Administrators can install or update ATutor in minutes, develop custom themes to give ATutor a new look, and easily extend its functionality with feature modules. Educators can quickly assemble, package, and redistribute Web-based instructional content, easily import prepackaged content, and conduct their courses online. Students learn in an adaptive learning environment.
February 2008: Authoring Tools
CourseLab—Free, Free, Free!
CourseLab is a powerful, yet easy-to-use, e-learning authoring tool that offers programming-free WYSIWYG environment for creating high-quality interactive e-learning content that can be published on the Internet, learning management system (LMS), CD-ROMs, and other devices. And it is FREE!
ToolBook Test Drive
ToolBook provides an integrated solution with everything you need to quickly create interactive content, quizzes, assessments and simulations. With ToolBook, you can create web content that runs well stand-alone or with your learning management system. Create highly interactive and engaging e-learning content that gets results. Take a free test drive.
Lectora 14-Day Trial
The Lectora Publisher authoring tool provides you with the ability to create and publish content quickly, easily, and independently. Key features include drag-and-drop capability, extended file support, advanced testing elements and wizards, customized templates, and metadata support. It is ideal for those who desire quick, easy content creation as well as complex content creation for adaptive e-learning.
January 2008: Survey Software
Zoomerang
Create custom web-based surveys using more than 100 pre-built survey templates, or develop your own survey from various question types. When the survey is ready, email your participant list, wait for the results, and analyze them with Zoomerang’s online tools. The free version is limited to 100 responses per survey, with a maximum 30 questions per survey. You can view survey responses for 10 days.
SurveyMonkey
Using just your web browser, create your survey with our intuitive survey editor. Select from over a dozen question types (multiple choice, rating scales, drop-down menus). The free basic version includes options that allow you to require answers to any question, control the flow with custom skip logic, and even randomize answer choices to eliminate bias. The free version is limited to 100 responses per survey, with a maximum 10 questions per survey. Users have unlimited access to survey results.
InstantSurvey
With InstantSurvey you can immediately start creating online surveys from scratch or by choosing from our wide supply of survey templates. The survey creation wizard makes survey creation a simple and straightforward process. You can personalize surveys with your own look and branding, as well as incorporate images and other media. The free version is limited to 50 responses per survey, with an unlimited number of questions per survey.
Send submissions to rellis@astd.org.