My Favorite Applications
I use a variety of software when creating my e-learning modules. I'm big on open-source software. So here's a list of open-source and free to download applications you can try:
Jing - I absolutely love Jing. It is made by the creators of Snag-it. They offer a Free and paid version. Jing let's you grab a screen capture or a section of your screen without having to deal with <CTRL><PrtSc> and it allows you to make annotations and highlight and all that other fun stuff.
JaDuka - this is one of my newest favs. Make a call via the internet using your own phone. Setup a customer service link without the need of costly 1-800 numbers. Give your audience a voice on yoru blog. You have to check it out.
AVG - a free antivirus program which is free to download and install. Receive regular updates. Protects just as good and sometimes better than commerical brands of antivirus.
Audacity - This is a sound recording/editing tool, which is really easy to use and great for creating offline podcast or adding audio to your video creations.
ArtRage- A very cool multi-layer painting application. It gives you the option to use oil paints, sketch pencils, glitter and more. So easy to use, my 8 year old picked it up in less than an hour.
Inkscape - This is a scalable vector graphic editor. It is similar to Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw.
Photostory - Allows you to create digital video and animations using photos.
Zoho - Very cool online Office Suite application. Forget about purchasing high price Office applications. Create on the fly and access from anywhere with Internet access. (5 star rating)
Google Doc - Another great creation by Google. With Google docs not only can you open Word documents, you can also create documents and save them to MS Word format.
OpenOffice - If you use Microsoft Office Suite, you can use OpenOffice. The difference between the both? Price! I've used OpenOffice for years and absoultely love it.
Freemind - A great application for brainstorming and creating outlines.
Scratch - An awesome application which allows you to create interactive stories, animations and more.
Alice - An educational program which teaches how to program in 3D environment.
Skype - I absolutely love Skype. This is a web-based phone/chat/video application. Allows you to make domestic and International calls. Purchase a phone number for just $12
PDF Creator - Allows you to convert your documents to PDF format. Installs a print driver on your system
Moodle - An excellent alternative to Blackboard and WebCT, plus it's free. Host your own Learning Management System (LMS). Requires PHP & MySQL
Scribus - This is a desktop publishing application which is FREE and fairly easy to use.
My Favorite Sites
@mcprgirl - follow me on twitter
Funkey Monkey Company - my etsy shop
Mommy Millionaire Blog - I'm a blogger here
Chicky Lounge Blog - I have lots to say
Twitter - mini blogging / social networking
YouMail - unleash your voicemail.
Blog2Print - Turn your blog into a book
BrowserShots - for designers who want to see how their websites will display on different browsers.
Google Base - get your products listed on Google's Shopping engine
Lynda.com - great video training for various applications
Cafemom - a social network for moms
Helium - a writer's forum, see my published work
Zencart - free shopping cart - I offer cart install
Gcast - create your own podcast free
Hire My Mom - offers telecommuting job listings
Weebly - a free website creation/hosting site. I created this site using weebly. Not Bad
Zoho - a complete office solution online. Free Meeting program, Word Processor and more
Photobucket - upload photos and videos to store and share
Slide - upload your photos and create cool slideshows
Flickr - upload your photos and videos.
Shutterfly - upload your photos and videos
BlogTalkRadio - broadcast your own Internet radio show
Twango - upload your videos and podcast
The Latina Army - a volunteer based organization helping Latina Girls get motivated.
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Other Software I use
Ok, so some of the software I use is not open source. The programming gods have not created all software equal and I still do pay for software. Even though I try not to. So here is the list of some of my favorite tools, which aren't free:
Camtasia - I can't see myself making a tutorial video without it.
Snag-It - made by the same company who brought us Camtasia. Has the ability to capture screen prints in a single bound and short videos without much fuss.
Articulate - talk about cool looking, interactive presentations. I'm not a fan of PowerPoint, but boy can this baby make your PowerPoint presentations look impressive. It has the ability to convert your PowerPoint presentation into a flash module which can also have an index attached and also has a quiz maker feature. Every teacher's dream.
Sony Vegas - Love this video editing software. It's not very intuitive but if you need help learning how to use this software you can try Lynda.com.