Joe Ganci is an eLearning consultant with a long track record. Since 1983, Joe's design approaches and his expert use of development tools, has helped many to improve their eLearning design and development. Joe's personal and hands-on style has his services constantly in demand and he is privileged to have visited with many clients all over the world. He has taught classes for many years at client sites and publishes a free eLearning tools newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/eLearningJoe. Joe is on a mission to improve the quality of eLearning with practical approaches that work.
Joe has expertise in Adobe Connect, Authorware, Captivate, and several other relevant software packages. He has a strong programming and development background, which often has assisted him in finding innovative programming solutions to difficult e-Learning challenges.
Articles by Joe Ganci
Toolkit: Lectora Inspire
(4/23/13)Lectora from Trivantis is not a newcomer to the eLearning development tool market. However, the latest version is an overhaul from the ground up, and in this review, Joe reports that it feels like a brand-new tool.
Go and Animate with Go!Animate
(3/26/13)Go!Animate is cloud-based software that creates animated videos. These can be very effective for eLearning applications and much less expensive than live action shoots. Here’s a thorough review of everything that Go!Animate offers.
Choosing the Right Tool for the Job: 2013 Update
(3/11/13)Of all the tools available, how can you find the ones that will help you meet the needs of your staff’s talent, your eLearning topics, and the techniques and best practices you have adopted? In this update, Joe will help you discern the differences between the top tools that are available now, and he will give you an idea of what’s coming next!
Toolkit: TechSmith Camtasia Studio 8
(2/26/13)Techsmith’s Camtasia 8 is a complete reboot, rewritten from scratch, and it is attracting attention not only from eLearning developers but also from video production professionals and even from consumer periodicals. This is a beautiful tool to add to your kit, and you can read all about it here!
Toolkit: Ready? Go! The ReadyGo Authoring Tool
(1/22/13)The ReadyGo authoring tool is one of those that always seems to be unknown to most eLearning developers. This review should definitely get ReadyGo on your radar!
Toolkit: The Tumultuous Year in Review
(12/26/12)What happened this year? Historians will see 2012 as the tipping point for eLearning tools. Joe reviews the past 366 days (goodbye, leap year) and the highlights in the world of design and development software.
Toolkit: ZebraZapps Goes Pro with New Release!
(11/27/12)Allen Interactions has released ZebraZapps Pro. While it contains all of the many features of the earlier version, now called ZebraZapps Creator, it adds several important elements that any serious eLearning developer will want. This review covers all of the new features available in the Pro version.
Toolkit: Do You Know … dominKnow Claro?
(10/25/12)Claro by dominKnow is one of those products that you see in the exhibit hall at every major eLearning conference (including DevLearn 2012) and yet, when you ask someone if they know about Claro, they scratch their head a bit and say, “Well, I’ve heard of it…” Claro is like a well-kept open secret. But no more! It’s time to keep this a secret no longer.
Toolkit: Adobe Presenter 8 Leaps Ahead
(8/30/12)Adobe has released Presenter 8, which attempts to surpass competing PowerPoint-based authoring tools in power and ease of use. Here is a review of the new features; it turns out that they are not just “more of the same,” but are additions that can help instructional designers create better designs.
Toolkit: Adobe Connect 9 Adds New Features
(7/31/12)Adobe released Version 9 of its Connect Web-conferencing tool last month. Here’s a rundown of the new features and the limitations of the latest iteration of this widely used software.
Toolkit: Adobe Captivate 6 Strong Out of the Gate
(6/26/12)From HTML5 output to high definition screencasts to new pre-test and branching capabilities, plus numerous other important improvements, Captivate 6 is a huge step forward from the prior version, with new additions and features that make it easier to create engaging eLearning and let you do it even faster. Here’s an early look at the release.
Book Review: The Starter's Guide to ZebraZapps, by Chris Lee
(6/21/12)The first guide to ZebraZapps is available! Here’s a review and information on where to download the book.
Toolkit: Articulate Storyline, a Brand New eLearning Development Tool
(5/22/12)Articulate’s Storyline has been one of the most-anticipated product launches in months. Now that it’s out, was it worth the wait? Here’s an in-depth review.
Toolkit: iSpring Suite – Lots of Features at a Great Price
(4/24/12)Developers and managers of eLearning have many choices when it comes to rapid development tools. One of the least well-known, yet feature-rich, choices is the iSpring Suite. Here is an in-depth look at what this set of tools can do.
Toolkit: Online Courses With a Twist – Rapid Course
(3/27/12)If you have been in the eLearning field for a while, you are used to online course libraries that offer only the SCORM files for the courses. Yukon Learning has launched a promising product that provides some unique twists on a familiar idea, by including all the source files used to create and publish the course.
Toolkit: News from the Tools Front
(2/21/12)The first seven weeks of 2012 have already brought many changes in the world of eLearning vendors and tools. Joe tries to keep you caught up on the trends, and the tools to keep an eye on as the year progresses.
Toolkit: ZebraZapps is Ready!
(1/24/12)After two years of anticipation, ZebraZapps is available to developers. Was it worth the wait? Read Joe’s review!
Toolkit: Reflections on the DevLearn 2011 Expo
(12/27/11)Did you go to DevLearn this year? If so, did you visit every Expo exhibit to see the latest and greatest tools and services? If not, then you’ll want to read Joe Ganci’s column this month. He checked out the expo hall thoroughly and asked the exhibitors a lot of questions, some of which made the exhibitors uncomfortable. Read Joe’s take on what he saw and heard. Be ready to be surprised!
Toolkit: Easygenerator Impresses
(11/22/11)A number of new tools launched at DevLearn this year, and one that received a great deal of attention and buzz was easygenerator. In its North American debut, this SaaS offering from the Netherlands brings many extremely interesting features, as you will see in this review.
Toolkit: Mobile Challenges, and Notes on Seven New Tools
(10/25/11)In some ways, the move to mobile involves two steps forward and one step back. How will authoring tools meet the demands of smaller screens, slower processors, slower connections, and easily distracted learners? In addition to his comments about these challenges, Joe looks at coming changes in a number of popular tools.
Seven Top Authoring Tools
(10/12/11)The eLearning Guild has just published a new research report, Rapid eLearning Authoring. The report provides an analysis of the top seven tools used by thousands of Guild members. Joe Ganci, the report author, offers you a handy table that summarizes the key features of the current versions of those top-seven tools, including best uses and cost.
Toolkit: Tools, Tools, and More Tools
(9/27/11)In a time of change, it can be difficult to keep up with authoring tools as they evolve. Here’s a look at the Flash vs. HTML5 controversy, notes on three new tools, updates to two more, and status checks on Allen Interactions’ ZebraZapps and Articulate’s Storyline.
Toolkit: Reviewing Hand Multimedia's Roleplay
(8/23/11)One of the things readers ask for most is reviews of authoring and graphics tools, especially of lesser-known tools. Toolkit is our newest monthly column, designed to deliver those reviews. Joe begins by introducing you to Roleplay, a Web-based tool designed to create sophisticated, decision- driven, online scenarios.
Adobe Captivate Updated to Version 5.5: Should You Upgrade?
(6/30/11)Adobe has upgraded Captivate to Version 5.5 by providing a new interface for faster development, a number of new features, and several improvements. Is it worth the cost to upgrade? Joe takes you through the important changes to help you decide.
The Right Tool for the Job: Optimize Talent, Topics, Techniques, and Tools
(3/7/11)Selecting the right tool for the job is a critical decision, and one that needs to be guided by a strategy, not driven by marketing copy in ads or on Web sites. Two experts give you a step-by- step method in this article to create that strategy.
Cameo by Yukon Learning
(9/20/10)Would you like to shorten the time it takes for a learner to demonstrate expertise, especially if it isn’t expensive to do so? But how? Yukon Learning's product called Cameo provides one innovative approach.
The New Adobe e-Learning Suite v2
(7/12/10)Adobe has just released the latest version of its e-Learning Suite and with it comes a number of improvements and updates, for both Windows and OS X. Our review of Adobe Captivate 5 appeared here previously. Now read an application-by-application review of the rest of the Suite.
First Look: Adobe Captivate 5
(6/28/10)Many think of Captivate as a software simulation tool, and it does do this very well, with new features and improvements added over the years. However, Captivate is also a very effective tool for creating soft-skill simulations, quizzes, and other types of e-Learning applications. But wait, there’s more! Read this review to see what they’ve added to make your life easier.
Mobile Learning: Obstacles and Solutions
(6/7/10)Seven industry experts who will speak at mLearnCon in San Diego next week, answer three simple questions about mobile learning (mLearning): What are the obstacles to practical delivery of learning via mobile devices? What will it take to solve these problems? When do you think this will happen? If you create or manage online learning in your organization, you must read their replies.
A Review: Suddenly Smart SmartBuilder for Case-based Scenarios
(5/17/10)Case-based scenarios provide the e-Learning designer and developer with far more instructional power than the boring linear lessons that are all too common in e-Learning. But you can’t create these with PowerPoint, and many designers don’t have the skills to create them in ActionScript or Flash. Here’s a review of SmartBuilder, a tool more powerful than PowerPoint and easier to use than Flash.
Harbinger Raptivity: Packaged Interactivity
(4/14/10)Raptivity (Harbinger Knowledge Products Inc.) allows designers to create and customize over 225 types of interactions. Interactions are Flash SWF files and can play independently or within any authoring environment that accepts SWF files. You don’t use Raptivity to build whole courses, rather, you build rich interactivity with it, one interaction at a time.
Tool Overview: Questionmark Perception
(2/22/10)Questionmark Perception is a popular assessment tool in the e-Learning community. Its three parts offer functionality for e-Learning designers and developers, and convenience for subject matter experts (SMEs) who assist with course development work. This article gives an overview of the Perception tool and a case study of user experience at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Assigning a User Variable in Adobe Captivate 4
(11/15/09)The latest version of Adobe Captivate includes a new feature, the use of advanced actions and variables. This feature, among other things, can make maintenance of e-Learning applications much simpler. Here is a tip, including a Captivate movie, that shows you how to set up a new user variable and assign it.
Authoring Tools, Ghosts, and Scared Programmers
(6/29/09)Technology and practice in e-Learning have been advancing quickly, and delivery modalities have become more diverse in the last three years. Design and development practices now offer a wide spectrum of choices, and everyone is not “in the same place.” An expert looks at what has been happening, and where we may be heading.
Combining Authoring Tools for Best Results
(6/27/05)Developing e-Learning requires the use of many tools for many different specialized tasks. However, knowing which tools work well together, and how to get the best use of the combined tools, requires study and experience. Read this article by a recognized expert developer to learn how to get five of the most-frequently used tools to work together to provide the optimal solution for your project.
Authorware Secrets, Part 2: How to work faster in Authorware
(2/14/05)Little-known Authorware secrets, by one of the masters of development: Keyboard shortcuts, and how to set up your own icon palette.
What To Do When There's No Time To Do the Job Right
(10/6/03)We all have projects where the turkeys come to roost. A product has been developed and will be launched next week, and we are asked to come up with online training for the sales team by Monday.
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