Thunder Media Center

By Izzy Woods

Bringing technology into the classroom is becoming more and more achievable as time goes on. Much of this is due to the way in which the web has become central to our modern lifestyles. It’s now possible to do almost everything online, from buying baby clothes to studying for a degree. Another reason for the ease at which technology can be brought into the classroom is the fact that most people are now familiar with using computers. But what is the best way to blend technology with learning, and how can web tech be harnessed to promote and encourage learning?

Well, for many people, eLearning is the way forward. Whether that be via standalone HTML websites or simple PowerPoint presentations, eLearning has tremendous teaching power if used correctly. But you don’t need to rely on makeshift solutions, there are lots of great software solutions that can help produce eLearning courses with ease. Let’s take a few moments to look at three of the very best.

Articulate  

This is probably the most well known eLearning authoring tool on the web. But even then, it’s not exactly installed on everyone’s computers. However, Articulate is one of the most versatile pieces of software and provides almost unlimited options to those looking for a way to impart knowledge quickly and easily.

Articulate seamlessly integrates with Microsoft PowerPoint, so lots of people will already be familiar with how it works. It’s a simple matter of creating each slide as a ‘screen’ within the course, then importing it to Articulate to create a Flash version. You are free to add various interactive elements, including quizzes that can be used to ‘test’ participants at various points during the course, and even generate a certificate for them to download and print out. Articulate also allows for the easy implementation of modules, so you can create a structured learning course built around different areas of learning.

At present, Articulate is only available on the Windows platform, and has an extensive support center and very active forums, so you’ll have plenty of help on hand if you get stuck.

Joomla LMS (Learning Management System) 

If you’re at all web savvy you may have heard of Joomla. It’s a CMS (Content Management System) that can be used to create websites; but it’s also been adapted into Joomla LMS too. In essence, the framework is the same – you are able to create a structured learning experience based in HTML which can be navigated from any web browser.

The big benefit of Joomla LMS is that it offers fully featured back-end tracking of learning. The others on this list offer this functionality to some degree, but Joomla LMS is a lot more fully featured. The downside comes from the visual presentation of Joomla LMS-authored courses. Unlike Articulate, there aren’t many ‘bells and whistles’, and visually the experience will be similar to basic websites. However, Joomla LMS is the most affordable of the bunch; and because it’s web based, it’s accessible from any platform – even mobiles.

Rapid Intake eLearning Studio  

Rapid Intake’s eLearning Studio is similar in many ways to Articulate; however it manages to distinguish itself in others. The sales pitch on this is that the system allows you to create professional eLearning courses in Flash without having to know any HTML, CSS, or Flash. They’re also proud to shout that their system works faster than Articulate, and this is true, especially with the built-in WYSIWYG editor which lets anybody drop in and create their own learning materials in no time. eLearning Studio is also cloud-based, meaning that your work is stored on their servers and accessible from anywhere.

You can of course save your work locally too. You can craft your learning experiences in a number of formats, including importing from PowerPoint. Rapid Intake have another key selling point in the form of mLearning Studio – a mobile version of its bigger brother. This takes the eLearning authoring power and puts in on devices like the iPhone and iPad.

If you’ve ever wanted to create eLearning materials on the go, this one might just be for you. It’s available for Windows, Mac, Linux and mobile devices.

QR Voice is a fairly new service that allows you to create recorded messages into QR codes. When I first saw QR voice, I was instantly overwhelmed with all the fun assignments you could create using the site; however, when I tested it with my own phone, imagine my disappointment when it didn’t work! Since then, I have learned that not all QR code readers function properly with QR Voice (which was the instance with my phone); however, when you do have the right app, it is a STINKING AWESOME tool that could be used to create classroom assignments and scavenger hunts. Something additionally cool about QR Voice is that it will speak in many different languages so you could create a fun scavenger hunt using new vocabulary or terms from your foreign language course! (cha ching)

I do wish that you could “say” more than 100 words at a time, but that is a small flaw for such an great (and easy) tool to use. For my DHHS faculty, the Library staff would be happy to create a fun scavenger hunt for your classes – just write us the clues and we will make, copy, and laminate the codes for the activity!

Themeefy is a neat tool to create online magazines of content from the web (Google, Wikipedia, Flickr, Facebook and Twitter). A Themeefy magazine is simple to compile and looks quite sophisticated once complete. I like that Themeefy allows you to edit your magazine in any way you want after your content is added as well – so, if you add a website to the magazine and want to get rid of all the irrelevant stuff, it is easy to do so. Once your magazine is prepared, you can share it via email, social network, or url.

The Themeefy homepage has a quick video that will introduce you to the site and how it functions!

I am constantly paranoid that I am going to forget something so I am continually developing lists and creating reminders for myself. I have recently been using Remind2Me to email me reminders about things that I need to take care of in the future. Remind2Me is a service that allows you to email yourself on a future date and it is as easy as sending an email, so everyone knows how to use it. I have been enjoying it so far so if you feel like you need a reminder, Remind2Me might be your answer.