Elearningonthecheap
E-Learning on the Cheap: Free and/or Open Source Tools
Seven Things You Should Know About... blogs, wikis, podcasting, RSS, course management, personal response systems, e-books, Creative Commons, open source, etc.
Common Craft videos: short video explanations of many tools and processes.
http://del.icio.us/martindale/free
Social Bookmarking--for assembling resource collections
Wikis: for knowledge management, information organization, and institutional memory.
- Video: Wikis in Plain English
- A wiki is a piece of server-based software that enables the user to edit a web page via the web browser. There are many variations in terms of types of wikis. A common feature is the easy creation of new wiki “pages” by combining words to form a web link to a new document. Most wikis include a basic shorthand so that users can create web documents without needing to know HTML.
- The most well-known and largest example of a wiki is probably Wikipedia—a vast web-based encyclopedia. Wikipedia is being developed and managed by a large group of vigilant contributors from around the globe. There are many other types of wikis.
- Wikipedia
- Wikibooks
- Wikiquote
- Mediawiki
- PMwiki
- PBwiki
- Wikispaces. Free full account for AECT members
- Wetpaint.com
- Executive's Guide to Blogs, Wikis, and RSS (PDF)
- Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not
Other Collaborative Writing
- Zoho: collaborative everything.
- Google Docs collaborative word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations.
Blogs and blogging
for documenting processes, helping employees connect, and generating ideas and innovations.
- Moveable Type
- Wordpress.org and Wordpress.com
- http://blogger.com - set up a free blog
What is RSS and why is it important?
- Video: RSS in Plain English
- RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a syntax for expressing information in a machine-readable format.
- RSS explained
- RSS compared to email
- Explaining RSS
Sample Feeds
- Trey Martindale's blog : http://teachable.org/blog/index.php/?feed=rss2
What is an aggregator, and why should I use one?
- An aggregator is a piece of software (client-based or web-based), that collects, displays, and otherwise manages RSS feeds.
- Google Reader
- NetNewsWire, a client aggregator (Mac)
- Awasu (Windows)
- Newsgator, a client and web aggregator (Windows)
- Bloglines, a web-based aggregator
- http://bloglines.com/public/martindale/
What are blogs and how do they work?
- newspaper, newsletter, journal, public forum, external brain, etc.
- dated entries, archived content, and commenting
- easily publish a sophisticated site with search, archives, formatting. auto-syndication with RSS. images, audio, video.
- http://teachable.org/blog/ - Trey Martindale
- http://www.corante.com/many/ - Many to Many: group blog
Course Management
Podcasting
Content Management
Project Management
Synchronous voice and/or text
Authoring Tools
- XERTE xml editor & run time engine: free tools for creating rich, interactive elearning content for the Flash platform.
Video Sharing
Social Networking
- MySpace
- ELGG
- Brandon Hall Network is a free online social network designed for e-learning professionals, consultants, vendors, professors, students, and newbies.