Since delving into learning content development a few years ago, I've been continually impressed with Microsoft PowerPoint's capabilities. It has awesome enhancements for photos and graphics, it has rich animation building capabilities, and it has a super easy user interface. Those are just a few reasons I like it. But I do e-learning development and the tool I am using most often these days is Adobe Captivate. still leverage PowerPoint whenever I can. For example, I use PowerPoint to create transparent PNGs ( see my post from another blog ) that I can use in my Captivate projects. MORE >>

I’m happy to report that the eLearning Guild has just released this year’s mobile learning research  report I authored for them (after doing the same last year). It’s free if you’re already a paid member of the Guild, which has other benefits (e.g. similar free access to other coming research reports, Thought Leader Webinars, etc). Combining my summary of the ‘state of the industry’ with the results of surveys of the Guild’s membership, it’s a snapshot of the state of mobile learning. mobile strategy MORE >>

I admit it. love when people seek my opinion. That happened a lot in Denver, at ASTD 2012. am soon entering or have recently entered the field. What do I do to make a success of it? Let’s pretend that somebody asked me to deliver a commencement speech in response to that question, preferably on a lush, ivy covered campus, near amiable watering holes. Thank you for inviting me to share this wonderful occasion with the workforce learning graduates of 2012. Let me begin by congratulating you on your career choice. What do I mean by right? think this is a bountiful time to be in our field. Mobile? MORE >>

These are my live blogged notes from the webinar Training Online: Creating Visual Stories That Resonate by Nancy Duarte. My side comments are in italics. Any errors, typos, and incomplete thoughts are mine, not Nancy’s. Check out Cammy Bean’s notes too. She started with her personal story, told mostly with old photos on the slides and very little text. Story: likeable hero, encounters roadblocks, emerges transformed. Why are so many presentations bad? We use presentations to create reports–dense “slide-uments” When you need to persuade, use a story. Ordinary world. MORE >>

" Gamification is using game-based mechanics, aesthetics and game thinking to engage people, motivate action, promote learning, and solve problems." - Karl Kapp From the book: 'The Gamification of Learning and Instruction'. Just READ IT! Also, check out this cool interactive Evolution of Learning graphic (yes, it is infused in my graphic above), although I don't endorse its opinion, which to me is kind of misleading. Because great learning experiences depends as much on the educator (and learner) as on the mode chosen for learning. Game over! Okay, I do! So, let's look at some examples. MORE >>