It's not the technology. It's what you do with it!TM

Best-of-Breed Technology Recommendations

FutureU's Toolkit for Virtual Learning and Collaboration

Fifteen years before the Internet became a household word, FutureU co-founder Claude Whitmyer was already writing a software column for workplace publications. Claude knows software! Today he heads up FutureU's technology team, applying his 30+ years of experience to the ongoing search for best of breed in software (and hardware) for virtual communication and learning.

Virtual teamwork and virtual teaching are true crafts. Every great craftsperson needs a good toolkit. After many years of researching the best of the best communications and learning technologies Claude has created a recommended toolkit for getting these jobs done and doing them right.

What should such a kit include? At least these basic tools:

Content Delivery

• An online "space" to support group learning and team work across distance or time zones. (See Moodle below).
• A real-time, virtual classroom for "same time, any place" meetings. (See Elluminate Live! for Mac, Windows, Linux or Solaris or GoToMeeting for Windows only below).
• Desktop video conferencing that is very basic and cheap and easy to learn and use. (See I-Visit below).

Content Creation/Editing

• An image creating, editing and archiving tool with a huge library of clip art and photographs for creating high quality visuals for use in Web pages or PowerPoint presentations. (See SmartDraw and Picasa below).
• A web-page capture tool with a way to capture images, text, and mouse movements from a computer screen and to add annotations, hot spots and voice-over narration. (See SnagIt below).
• A PowerPoint recording tool to capture live presentations for later, on-demand playback that integrates the slides with narration and a picture-in-picture video of the instructor. (See Camtasia below).
• A PowerPoint compression tool to compress the size of large PowerPoint presentations so that people with slow connections can still view them without a loss of text features, animation, and other effects. (See Impatica for PowerPoint and PowerPoint to Flash below).
• A web page building tool that is easy to learn, easy to use and doesn't require you to learn a programming language. Then you can assemble web pages from existing text, images and other media files. Your resultant web pages should be standards based so that they easily integrate with any standards compliant course-management or learning-management software. (See LessonBuilder and ReadyGo Web Course Builder below).
• One or more brainstorming/concept mapping tools. (See Inspiration below).
• A reliable FTP software to upload and download files quickly and efficiently from your course web site. (See FileZilla below).
• Robust blogging and wiki software. (See WordPress and MediaWiki below).
• Audio editing software for creating soundtracks, voice overs and audio podcasts. (See Audacity/LAME and WinAmp below).

It's a rare day when FutureU endorses any product. To date, only the few mentioned above and described below have made the cut. Each one has features that set it apart. Each one gets our vote for being easy to learn and easy to use or a best-buy value. You may not know them all by name. Not yet. But, you can be sure that if a product appears on this list, it deserves a place in your future.

By itself, of course, even the best technology won’t guarantee success with distance education or virtual communication. Other essential ingredients are:

1. A current understanding of the technology marketplace
2. Careful planning
3. Accurate needs and readiness assessments
4. Participant buy-in
5. Training in technology skills and best practices
6. Superior content
7. Skilled facilitation
8. Professional evaluation

This is a fast-changing market. To avoid costly wrong turns, organizations as diverse as the NASA Astrobiology Institute and the California Virtual Campus have turned to FutureU for help in identifying the right solutions for their needs.

In addition to our tool kit of best-of-breed technology, FutureU delivers value-added services that address these markers of success. Our consultants, instructional designers, trainers and researchers are all seasoned professionals with national and international reputations. FutureU is here to help you identify and choose the most appropriate technology for your needs and to bring maximum value to that investment.