I had the misfortune of attending a live Web-based class today on a new content management system being used by my organization. I’m sure you can correctly guess exactly how it went. One learner in the class brought things to a grinding halt as she fumbled with multiple windows and documents on her [...]

Posted in Rants, eLearning Design 5 Comments »

When a colleague approaches you with the teaser “You just GOTTA hear this,” you know you’re in for something truly great.  And of course by truly great, in most cases, I mean truly bad.  And truly bad is exactly what it was.
And what it was was an eLearning course – narrated, produced and published by [...]

Posted in Audio, Narration, Rants 4 Comments »

The term “Mac-like” is often bandied about when talking about software, including in my own ruminations here on eQuixotic. And while most Mac users will see the term and nod in contented understanding, those new to the platform (or those still peering over the fence curiously) may not yet “get it.” And frankly, [...]

Posted in Apple, Rants, Things I Love, eLearning Design, eLearning Development Tools 1 Comment »

To start, let me say that eQuixotic is not a hardware/gadget review blog. That said, hardware is used in the creation of eLearning and presentations. Thus, people creating eLearning and presentations purchase hardware, and are often faced with hardware buying decisions. Me, I love to research every product I purchase. Unfortunately, [...]

Posted in Hardware, Rants, Reviews, eLearning Hall of Shame 47 Comments »

Create an interface like that of the Bulk Rename Utility. Why do I hate so much of the software on the Windows platform? Bulk Rename Utility says it all with a single screenshot. Thanks guys for the succinct visual of that which I struggle to verbalize.
Hat tip to Gruber (Daring Fireball).

Posted in Rants, eLearning Design 1 Comment »

Yes, I’m digressing to the topic of Apple’s App Store again, but I am ever baffled that developers/creators/authors could allow glaring flaws to appear in their eLearning courses, presentations, websites, printed ads, etc.
Everyone is trying to grab some of that sweet, sweet App Store cash right now. With the iPhone rising to the top-selling [...]

Posted in Apple, Rants No Comments »

Like many other tech nerds, I awaited Google’s announcement of its first Android-based device yesterday with bated breath. Alas, like many other tech nerds, I was ultimately disappointed with what I saw.
Without a doubt, the mobile device user has been abused for years by poorly-designed and implemented operating systems that seemed to delight in [...]

Posted in Apple, Presentations, Rants, eLearning Design 6 Comments »

The debate rages whether Apple’s iPhone is as revolutionary a device as Apple claims it to be – with certain feature omissions (copy/paste and MMS being the two most-often mentioned) providing plenty of fuel for criticism.
Less open to debate is the point that the iPhone offers what is probably the most beautiful user interface on [...]

Posted in Apple, Presentations, Rants, eLearning Design 7 Comments »

Recently I’ve been pushing our organization to focus on nurturing more in-house eLearning development skill versus frequently relying on outside vendors who give us mundane eLearning at outrageous prices. “We can do far better for far less!” I wail. Fortunately, my cries are finally being heard, and we now seem to be heading [...]

Posted in Rants, eLearning Design 3 Comments »

My organization, like many large organizations (and many if not most eLearning development professionals, for that matter), has bought into the Reusable Learning Object (RLO) concept with reckless abandon, implementing a Learning Content Management System (LCMS) (shudder) which shall remain nameless (but rhymes with Neato HorsePen).
This system is not only a horrifically cumbersome environment in [...]

Posted in Rants, eLearning Design 5 Comments »