Pages

Friday, April 29, 2011

Ten presentation tips for movie lovers

Matt Gambino, Speaker and Trainer presents his best ten presentation tips for movie lovers.  And he does it so well!  Enjoy!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

The problem with technical documentation and training is that it's too technical!

Engaging Technical eLearning – Tips on Design and Delivery

Ray Jimenez, PhD, discusses how to make highly technical training more accessible to users in his blog, Vignettes learning.  Use scenarios and convey your message from the users' point of view rather than that of the engineers and writers.  Visit his blog for examples.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Hey! Tom just posted 5 Free PowerPoint E-Learning Templates for us!

5 Free PowerPoint E-Learning Templates

Tom, out at the Articulate Blog, is a great e-learning resource, even if you don't use Articulate (which I did when I first started reading his blog).

Actually, I'm listing links to two of his blogs, on with free templates and one that tells how he built an e-learning template.  Enjoy!

Free template blog #1

Tutorial on how to build your own template blog #2

Monday, April 25, 2011

The 10 best ways to visually represent IT data and what tools to use

No matter if you're creating written or online documentation or online training  for software, this artical is a great guide for how to represent IT concepts.  What software should you use?  Visio, PowerPoint, Camtasia, Excel, or something entirely new?

The 10 best ways to visually represent IT data


Thursday, April 21, 2011

Agile Technical Writing and Eating Your Own Dog Food

Do you work in the  world of Agile or Extreme Technical Writing?  Do you adhere to the practice of Eating your own dog food?

How does technical writing fit into the world of Agile Software Development, which has been around for about ten years now?  Don't worry. It does.



"Everything changes and the only constant thing is change itself."

If you write documentation for software, you need to look into this new way of writing.   This interesting online article is a good place to start.

And instructional design is just starting to get into the Agile game.

I have a lot to learn myself about these new developments, but the links in this post will give to a head start, and maybe we'll see each other in the XTM world!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

7 Ways To Position Yourself as a Technical Writing Expert Online

Wow. This article is GOOD.  It also has a link to download Technical Writing Templates.

Technical Writing Tips, Tools & Templates

7 Ways To Position Yourself as a Technical Writing Expert Online


Can you make real money as a Technical Writer on the Internet? Let’s say you want to make more money as a Technical Writer (especially online) but don’t know where to start. You have the expertise and experience but don’t know how to use the Internet to find work, attract clients or sell goods. How do you start?

http://www.ihearttechnicalwriting.com/technical-writing/technical-writing/4700/

Monday, April 18, 2011

Patch for Broken Snagit Scrolling Capture

If your Snagit scrolling capture broke when you upgraded to Firefox 4 or IE9, download this patch.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FgygukA&h=e30e7


Patch available for Snagit to fix IE9 & Firefox problems

The fix is in! We released a Snagit (PC) update today to fix problems with scrolling capture in Firefox 4 and Internet Explorer 9.

 

Friday, April 15, 2011

DON'T LET HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF (3)

View this historical presentation disaster and find out what not to do.

BULLET POINTLESS

It didn't take this long to build Rome. Next time, build a presentation that gets to the point.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/powerpoint-slidefest/do-and-dont.aspx



Wednesday, April 13, 2011

PowerPoint Presentation Tips & Tricks

  • Want to blank out your slide show when you're presenting?  Press "B" to black out your screen or "W" to white it out.

  • Hit F1 in slideshow mode to see all the keyboard shortcuts.
  • When in PowerPoint 2010 in presenter mode. Press the Ctrl key, hold down the left mouse key and you create a red lazer pointer effect... 
  • Use "Presenter View". Especially if you have PPT 2007, where you can add your speaker notes, and then zoom in on the notes section to get very large text so it is easy to glance down. Presenter view can provide a few nice things, but many times, if you are standing in front of people and the laptop is too far away, it is difficult to read the notes you put in. You can adjust window size, etc. in the Presenter View (ex: You can actually reduce the screen for your existing slide, and keep the "slide timeline" larger so you can see what is next, along with magnified speaker notes) so, realistically, you could put your bullet points - which are only reminders for the presenter - on there to refresh

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Free Fonts from Google

Tom, at the Rapid Elearning Blog  posted some links to free fonts for those of us on a limited budget, and who is not these days?


He also posted some great information on how to use them! 

Just remember--if you use these fonts in PowerPoint, embed them because when the PowerPoint is used on another computer that doesn't have them installed, the font that's spelled most like the one you use will pop up and you may get some very strange results--in front of an audience.    If you capture your PowerPoint in Articulate, Captivate or Camtasia, though, they'll work great!

Take it away, Tom!

Oh, and by the way, I read somewhere today that if you need to memorize something . . . type it out in a very-hard-to-read font.  Because it's hard to read, the words penetrate deeper into your brain.  But don't follow that same rule for your online presentations, please.  Use very unusual fonts sparingly and only when you have a good reason to do so!

Online Training and Web Design: Creativity vs. Usability

Today, on a Designers/Usability forum I follow, a graphic designer asked what skills she needs to develop to boost her Interaction design skills, and in answer, several interesting links were posted. 



The most interesting answer was that a usability expert tries to design for lower than optimum user expriences where a graphic designer shows how a site can shine when everything goes perfectly.  I like that explaination.  I've been known, when creating online content for an organization, for requesting (not as my main computer, but as a testing machine) the oldest, slowest computer being used by employees at a given time.  If I am creating online content they need to use, I need to understand what their experience actually is.



OK. There's my opinion.  Now here are the useful links:

Pleasure & Pain--Improving the human experience one day at a time--So you wanna be a user experience designer

Alertbox: Current Issues in Web UsabilityBi-weekly column by Dr. Jakob Nielsen, principal, Nielsen Norman Group


Stimulus Design (Web 7 Graphic Solutions).  This site has some interesting examples of online user interaction solutions

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Are you the PowerPoint Queen (or King?) Prove it!

CONTEST!  CONTEST!  CONTEST!

Begins April 11

Prizes (See below)  

Enter here!

 ONE (1) BEST IN SLIDESHOW GRAND PRIZE: A trip for winner to TEDActive 2012 (February 27, 2012 – March 2, 2012) in Palm Springs, CA. Trip package includes admission to 2012 TEDActive; four (4) nights' hotel accommodations for winner (single room; double occupancy), hotel to be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion; and a $500 American Express gift card for travel and other expenses (terms and conditions of the gift card apply). Winner must complete the trip February 27, 2012 through March 2, 2012 or the TEDActive admission and hotel will be forfeited. No refund or compensation will be made in the event of the cancellation or delay of any flight. Trip package is subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Contest. All expenses and incidental travel costs not expressly stated in the package description above, including but not limited to, transportation, meals, incidentals, passenger tariffs or duties, airline fees, surcharges, airport fees, service charges or facility charges, personal charges at lodging, security fees, taxes or other expenses are the responsibility solely of winner. Sponsor will not replace any lost, mutilated, or stolen tickets, travel vouchers or certificates. Sponsor is not responsible if TEDActive 2012 is delayed, postponed or cancelled for any reason, in which event that portion of prize is forfeited in its entirety and no substitution will be provided except as in Sponsor’s sole discretion. Winner will be required to complete the application for TEDActive and if the application is not accepted, Sponsor will substitute a prize of equal or greater value. Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”): $5,250.
ONE (1) PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD PRIZE: Xbox 360 with Kinect (all specifications determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion) and Microsoft Office Home & Student Edition 2010. ARV: $550.
FIVE (5) CATEGORY PRIZES (One (1) for winner of video, animation, color, synopsis and graphics categories): Microsoft Office Professional 2010. ARV: $500.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Free Online Graphic and Audio Files for Students and Teachers

Look What I just found!

Free graphic and audio resources for students & teachers — An online service of Florida's Educational Technology Clearinghouse



  • ClipArt ETCThese pictures are traditional, black and white pictures.  64,843 pieces of free clipart and growing every week.

     
  • ClipPix ETC—NEW SITE with thousands of color photographs for classroom use .  ClipPix ETC is your source for photos and pictures for classroom use. A friendly license allows teachers and students to use up to 25 free photos in a single, non-commercial school project without further permission.  Nice, color photographs.
  • Presentations ETC—A collection of over 20,000 backgrounds for presentations and webpages.  Use these free backgrounds, templates, letters, frames, and buttons for school presentations, websites, class newsletters, digital scrapbooking, and student portfolios. Thousands of presentation elements and millions of combinations allow you to customize your school projects, electronic scrapbook, or eportfolio. A friendly license allows teachers and students to use up to 50 items in a single, non-commercial project without further permission.
     
  • Maps ETC—Thousands of maps covering all regions of the world.  Here you will find over 5,000 maps representing many different time periods. A friendly license allows teachers and students to use up to 25 maps in non-commercial school projects without further permission. All maps are available as GIF or JPEG files for screen display as well as in PDF for printing. Use the GIF or JPEG maps for classroom presentations and student websites. Use the PDF maps for displays, bulletin boards, and printed school reports.
     
  • Lit2Go—A free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. You can:
    • Download the files to your Mp3 player and listen on the go,
    • Listen to the Mp3 files on your computer,
    • View the text on a webpage and read along as you listen,
    • Print out the stories and poems to make your own book.

     

THE SMOKING POET: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS – SUMMER 2011.

They are reading submissions now.

http://thesmokingpoet.com/


THE SMOKING POET publishes flash fiction; fiction; nonfiction; poetry; feature author interview; feature poet; feature artist (by invitation only); travel essays; book and cigar reviews. We publish work that ignites our imagination, inflames our passion, leaves us with a smoky aftertaste. The Smoking Poet also shares an extensive list of links and resources for writers and the cigar aficionado.

Submissions open year round. Send with genre in subject line: poetry, fiction, general non-fiction, or cigar themed fiction/ non-fiction/poetry and cigar reviews.

For full submission guidelines and contact information, visit:
http://thesmokingpoet.com/

SUMMER 2011 Issue Deadline: May 31, 2011

See also guidelines for Fifth Short Story and Poetry Contest, on now!

TSP News: Keep up with updates at
http://twitter.com/thesmokingpoet

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

DON'T LET HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF (2)

View this historical presentation disaster and find out what not to do.

GRAPH GAFFE

Since man first discover presentation tool, he try make presentation won't get him clubbed.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/powerpoint-slidefest/do-and-dont.aspx

DON'T LET HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF

View this historical presentation disaster and find out what not to do.

ANIMATION AGGRAVATION

The rising number of witches in the fiefdom agree, even the coolest animations can be overused.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/powerpoint-slidefest/do-and-dont.aspx

Friday, April 1, 2011

Everything you need to know about elearning in one short video

You've been waiting for it  Here it is!

http://elearning-examples.s3.amazonaws.com/Werner_tips/player.html



Tells you
  • How to spell elearning E-learning  leearning!
  • How to communicate with students. "Dude, you are the Schnitzel!"
And much, much, much, much more!