Edutech.ch Toolbox

EasyPHP

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 23:00:00 +0100

Installer and Administration Tool for PHP, Apache, MySQL, PHPMyAdmin

Features

Very easy to install and use, indeed click and play
Provides quick access to starting and stopping apache and mysql
Provides easy access to PHPMyAdmin to set up databases quickly
Can install on a USB stick
Supported operating systems: Windows

Comments

Very simple and convenient way to get apache and mysql installed on a Windows system. System try icon gives easy access to server controls and configuration files.

HotRecorder

Wed, 31 Aug 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Audio recorder for internet voice communications

Features

Record, play, save, send and search voice communications
Includes voice mail for Google Talk and Skype
Can add Emotisound sound effects (kisses, claps, laughs, cries, etc.)
Supported operating systems: Windwos 2003, XP

Comments

Without the premium version, you can only save in HotRecorder's own format, called ELP. The premium license includes a converter (beta version) that converts ELP files to .wav or .ogg formats.

iRecordMusic

Wed, 31 Aug 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Audio recorder

Features

Records internet audio
Makes multiple recordings at the same time
Can save from and to several different formats
Browser interface is clean and simple to use
Supported operating systems: Macintosh OS X

Comments

Inexpensive yet performs very well and is quite stable.

BeamYourScreen

Wed, 31 Aug 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Screen sharing server application

Features

Allows you to share your screen with others over the internet
Simple set-up and use for both presenter and viewers
Viewers can watch presenter's mouse movements
Supported operating systems: presenter needs Windows, others can view from any system using a java-enabled browser

Comments

Client software installation required for presenter. Screen sharing sessions are run on BeamYourScreen's server. Can be used in combination with Skype to add audio communication.

StepVoiceRecorder

Mon, 29 Aug 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Records as MP3 any sound reaching the computer (includes Micros, inline, streaming sound

Features

Recording from any sounds sources, such as microphone, line in, internet radio (all players), or movie sounds.
Supported file format: mp3. Sounds are encoded into mp3 "on-the-fly", without creating temporary files, saving disk space and time.
The program can record over any portion of an existing mp3 file. Simply "rewind" to any position, and begin recording over the previous recording.
Recording and playback visualization. Supporting types are peak meter and oscilloscope (wave meter).
With the auto-name system, which generates file names based on current date and time, new file creation is simple. Just click on "Create new file" and "OK".

Supported operating systems: Windows 95/98/NT/2k/Me/XP version (including service packs and other fixes installed), US or international, OEM or not.

Comments

Recent Versions are no longer freeware but pricing is very modest !

Audacity

Tue, 26 Jul 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Audio recording and editing

Features

Record live audio.
Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs.
Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, and WAV sound files.
Cut, copy, splice, and mix sounds together.
Change the speed or pitch of a recording.
Supported operating systems: Windows, Mac OS 9 or 10, Linux/Unix

Comments

Audacity has a simple, easy to learn interface, comfortable even for users who are not audio experts.

Breeze

Tue, 26 Jul 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Presentation, Screensharing, Video, Audio

Features

Powerpoint presentations, screen sharing, polling tool, shared whiteboard, video, audio
Sessions can be recorded and viewed at a later time.
Supported operating systems: Windows, Macintosh (some features limited to Windows) for presenters; for participants a browser with Flash plug-in 6 is required.

Comments

Sound quality has improved enough in version 5 to easily justify using Breeze for an online meeting. The whiteboard tool is very powerful. The user interface can take some getting used to (presenter role), but can be learned with practice. Link to Switch Breeze page

Spontania video4IM

Tue, 26 Jul 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Send video images while using Skype

Features

Send video images in Spontania while talking via Skype.
Supported operating systems: Windows 2000 or XP

Comments

Can adjust image quality and therefore bandwidth requirements. Spontania runs alongside Skype as opposed to being integrated into the Skype interface.

Spontania video4IM

Tue, 26 Jul 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Features

Send video images while talking via Skype
Supported operating systems: Windows 2000 or XP

Comments

Can adjust image quality and therefore bandwidth requirements

vSkype

Tue, 26 Jul 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Video and Screen Sharing Plug-in for Skype

Features

Send video image (webcam) while skyping
Screen sharing while skyping
Supported operating systems: Windows XP and 2000

Comments

Functions as plug-in to Skype. Screen sharing works well, sound and image suffer a bit with more than 2 users.

Essential Bookmarks for web designers

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 22:00:00 +0100

A regularly updated list of more than 450 bookmarks on web design, css & html tools and techniques, etc.

BB FlashBack

Sun, 05 Jun 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Screen Recorder

Features

Easy to use screen recorder
Export formats: Flash, WMV or AVI movie, PowerPoint, Windows executable .exe
Recordings can be edited (post processed), static text boxes, interactive click zones and audio can be added later.
Supported operating systems (for the recorder): Win only

Comments

BB flash back does not have the features of comparable products like Camtasia. However is it easier to use and more affordable.

Foxit PDF Reader

Tue, 31 May 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Reader for PDF Documents

Features

small (less than 1 MB)
starts up immediately
runs on Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP/2003

oXygen

Tue, 24 May 2005 22:00:00 +0100

XML Editor, Schema Editor and XSLT Debugger

Features

Different perspectives: source editor, XSLT debugger, tree viewer/editor
Edit and validate support for XML Schema (visual diagram), Relax NG (visual diagram), NRL, DTD, Schematron
Conversions from DTD, Relax NG or a set of documents to XML Schema, DTD or Relax NG
Supported operating systems: MacOS X, Win, Unix/Linux, Web-browser integrated Java Applet

Comments

oXygen is basically a complete XML development environment. It is rather not a replacement for text editors or word processors.

TiddlyWiki

Sun, 22 May 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Easy to use personal web notebook

From the author : "A TiddlyWiki is like a blog because it's divided up into neat little chunks, but it encourages you to read it by hyperlinking rather than sequentially. if you like, a non-linear blog analogue that binds the individual microcontent items into a cohesive whole.

Features

Very easy and fun to use with nice interface.
"tiddlets" (micro-content) can be created and edited very quickly
Can generate RSS feeds

Comments

TiddlyWiki is not a classical wiki, i.e. it is file-based (no server back-end). You really have to try it to appreciate it !

FeedCreator

Fri, 13 May 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Php Library for Creating RSS Feeds
FeedCreator is a PHP class that provides an easy way to create RSS feeds from within PHP.

Features

creates valid feeds according to RSS 0.91, 1.0 or 2.0 as well as PIE 0.1 (deprecated), OPML 1.0, Unix mbox, ATOM 0.3, or customizable
HTML or Javascript format.
configurable feed caching
very well documented and easy to use
includes almost all RSS 0.91 attributes
decide which version to create during runtime
easy to use and well documented class interface
intelligently truncates strings when needed

Comments

Very easy to use.

The blog revolution? « Give me a break »

Tue, 10 May 2005 22:00:00 +0100

This article delves into an unusual aspect of blogs, their economic exploitation.

Grokker

Tue, 10 May 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Search results in topically organized visual maps

Broad Perspective

Grokker brings together multiple information sources in a single application and presents up to 2,000 results per query, giving you the ability to explore.

Powerful Tools

Grokker’s advanced search menu, customized filters, preview balloons, and intuitive zoom in/zoom out navigation let you efficiently explore large amounts of results.

“'Groxis' maps a new way to search the Internet”

Tue, 10 May 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Groxis is based on Yahoo's web search engin and displays the search results graphically in all mayor browsers.

Mtasc

Mon, 09 May 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Action Script Compiler

Command line compiler for ActionScript 2
Supported operating systems: Windows, Linux, OS X (compilable source code also available)

Course Management: Ready for Prime Time

Mon, 09 May 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Four examples that show how four american universities manage the growth of their CMS using the platforms Blackboard, WebCT, Jenzabar, et Sakai. In particular, exact costs per student are given.

Screen Movie Recorder

Sun, 24 Apr 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Screen Recorder

Features

Creates Quicktime movies from screen activity
Available in English, French, German and Italian
Easy to use, no set up time necessary
Supported operating systems: Macintosh only

Comments

Simple tool, good price

Korn Shell Scripting Tutorial

Thu, 14 Apr 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Features

Website tutorial to learn Korn shell scripting
Basics for beginners; offers advanced topics too
Included good practices, answers why, goes through improvement steps of a sample program

Comments

Comprehensive enough to serve as a reference
Author: Philip Brown

Platypus

Thu, 14 Apr 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Creates Application Wrappers for Scripts (Mac OS X)

Features

Easy to install and use
Supports shell scripts, Perl, Python, PHP, Ruby, Expect, Tcl, AppleScript
Wraps up rescource files along with scripts, if needed
Allows you to require administrator authentication
Quick and friendly help direct from the developer
Supported operating systems: Macintosh OS X

Comments

Very straight-forward interface for wrapping scripts into clickable applications, simple to use, quick results. Developer reponded very quickly to help request. Nice utility.

W3 CSS Reference and Tutorials

Sun, 23 Jan 2005 23:00:00 +0100

Well organized list of CSS selectors, with plenty of tutorials too.

MySQL Query Browser

Sun, 30 Jan 2005 23:00:00 +0100

GUI Client for Managing MySQL Databases

Features

Query database
Edit table structure
Export result sets as csv, xls, xml, html
Create and delete tables
Supported operating systems: Windows and Linux

Comments

Easy to install, pleasant interface, video tutorials on basic functionality available on the website. All data manipulation is done through SQL queries - no easy copy/paste or drag and drop functionality.
Supports MySQL from version 4.1 - older versions might not work as well with it

CocoaMySQL

Tue, 11 Jan 2005 23:00:00 +0100

GUI Client for Managing MySQL Databases

Features

Add and remove databases and tables
Edit data entries
Edit table structure and indices
Import dump or csv files
Export database or tables as dump, csv or xml files
Allows custom queries
Supported operating systems: Macintosh OS X

Comments

Very pleasant to work with, nice interface, stable performance

MySQL Control Center

Tue, 11 Jan 2005 23:00:00 +0100

GUI Client for Managing MySQL Databases

Features

Create and manage databases and tables
Execute SQL queries
Supported operating systems: Windows and Unix

Comments

Easy to install and use. Seems quite stable in spite of being a beta version. You can save tables as text files with mysql cc, but it doesn't seem to have a simple dump operation. NB: No longer being developed.

Lersus Easy Content

Thu, 06 Jan 2005 23:00:00 +0100

LERSUS is a software product that allows creating interactive tutorials, computer training courses (CBT), and e-learning courses (WBT) according to the existing e-Learning standards.

LERSUS is the optimal product for the development of learning and informational materials.

The program ensures fast development of high quality content, guarantees the clearness of content structure and design, provides uniform standard for all the documents, and cuts the costs of high quality content production.

The editor creates content in the form of web-content or printable documents.

eduforge

Tue, 14 Dec 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Eduforge is an open access collaborative learning and exploratory environment designed for the sharing of ideas, research outcomes, open source educational software, and tools within a community of educators, researchers and developers.

Javaranch

Sun, 05 Dec 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Website with many resources for learning Java, high traffic forums with friendly help

Comparison of Course Management Systems

Sun, 19 Sep 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Features

Reviews of about 70 different Course Management Systems
Allows comparison of different products using their "Edutools Decision Engine"
Lists features with detailed descriptions

SubEthaEdit

Sun, 22 Aug 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Collaborative text editing software for Macintosh

Features

Text editor with syntax highlighting for many languages (AppleScript,ActionScript, C, C++, CSS, HTML, Java, Javascript, LaTeX, Objective-C, Pascal, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, SQL, XML)
Allows synchronous collaboration on text documents (Mac users only)
Collaborative texts can be saved locally
Possible to mark individuals' contributions to a text
Texts can be designated as read only or read/write
Supported operating systems: Macintosh, OS X 10.3 (older version available for OS 10.2)

Comments

Pleasant user interface for text editing (only txt or code files). Connecting to other users via IP address is simple and intuitive. Possibility to connect to a local network via Macintosh's Rendezvous technology.

Version 2.0 added syntax hightlighting for ActionScript (Flash scripting language) and AppleScript.

Surveymonkey

Wed, 18 Aug 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Comments

Basic Subscription is free and includes all of the basic features of SurveyMonkey, limited to a total of 10 questions and 100 responses per survey. A professional subscription is $19.95/month, and includes up to 1000 responses per month.

Open Survey Pilot

Wed, 18 Aug 2004 22:00:00 +0100

generates online surveys, polls etc.

UCCASS

Wed, 18 Aug 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Unit Command Climate Assessment and Survey System

Features

Web-based installation
Smarty template engine and ADOdb database abstraction layer
Unlimited surveys, questions, and answers with public and private surveys and results
Answers can be large or small text areas, multiple choice with the ability to choose one or more answers, and matrix (or grid) type layouts and questions can be marked as required or optional
Dependencies allow questions to be hidden or required based upon answers to previous questions, creating the ability to have separate branches in the survey
Survey results shown as bar graphs with customizable images for each answer
Survey results filtered according to the results of any question (you can view the results of all the questions just for those users to answered a specific question or questions with a specific answer or answers)
Create a new survey from scratch or copy an existing survey so you don't have to recreate all of your work
requires web-server with php and a ADOdb supported database

PHP Survey Scripts

Wed, 18 Aug 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Google Answers page for:

PHP Survey Scripts

phpESP

Wed, 18 Aug 2004 22:00:00 +0100

php Easy Survey Package

Features

editor for online surveys
supports various question types: yes/no, radio buttons, check boxes, drop-down box, ratings on 1-5 scale, date, number and free text
allows anonymous or password protected surveys
supports multi-page surveys
results can be shown graphically or numerically
results can be downloaded in CSV format to be further processed by spreadsheet of statistical tools
requires web server with php and mysql

Comments

phpESP is a functionnaly complete tool. The graphical interface is rather intuitive but not very esthetical. The authoring interface requires a bit of training in order to be productive.

A major drawback is, that anonymous surveys with password protection (closed anonymous surveys) are not supported. There is also no way to prevent a user from filling in the survey more than once.

Flash Studio Pro

Tue, 03 Aug 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Converts swf to exe and mac projectors

Features

Converts swf to exe or to mac projector, more customizing than with Flash authoring tool.
Customize shape, size, border, style etc. of projector
Supports video, embeds html or pdf in projector
Direct connection to Access or MySQL database using FSCommand scripts (no server scripting)
Supported operating systems: For use with Windows only, but will convert to mac projector

Comments

NB: Review information reproduced from product web page

StudyMate

Sun, 01 May 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Flash activity and glossary generator

Features

Generates several activities in Flash (swf) format
Activities include typical quizzes plus...
...jeopardy-like knowledge testing games and
...and glossaries
Flash activities can be used with any web server or published directly to Blackboard (6.0 or higher), WebCT CE (4.0 and higher), and WebCT Vista (2.1 or higher)
StudyMate will also import questions and glossaries from MS Word or text files
Supported operating systems: Windows only

Comments

Product is still in beta version, but looks promising. Goes beyond simple multiple choice quizzes with Challenge game (like Jeopardy) and glossary production. Importing questions and glossaries from doc or text files, plus the ability to integrate into BB or WebCT is interesting.
NB These comments are based on browsing the demo activities at the Respondus web site, not on using an installed application

zFeeder

Mon, 09 Aug 2004 22:00:00 +0100

PHP Script to Display RSS Content

Features

zFeeder is a PHP script that can be used to display RSS content on a web site, intranet or desktop.

simple to include on any php page
supports all versions of RSS (0.9, 0.9x, 1.0 and 2.0)
uses templates to change the content's appearance
simple to install and configure
uses flat-files (no database needed)
uses a cache for better performance

Comments

zFeeder is used on the edutech web site to display the news on the front page, as well as in the Flashnotes section.

iloveexams

Tue, 27 Jul 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Features:

Web-based quiz generation
Multiple choice, fill in the gap and causal logic question types
Relatively easy to use, produces quizzes quickly
Evaluates and reports individual and class performance on quiz
Can create one quiz and publish copies to different classes for class specific evaluations
Possible to determine test release period
Option to create test with time limit
Application is intended primarily for schools, but "look" can be modified (by developer) to fit a higher education audience
Interface available presently in German only
Reasonable price (SFr. 90-150/year)
Developer located in Switzerland

FlashPaper

Tue, 26 Oct 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Converts printable documents to Flash or pdf format

Features

Converts printable documents to Flash (swf) or pdf format
Either drag and drop onto the application, or integrated in Office (creates FlashPaper menu in Office applications)
Easy to install, easy to use
Produces searchable scalable documents quickly
Allows password protection for pdf documents, plus options to disallow printing, text selection and copying
Email as pdf document directly from within Word is a convenient option, opens email client with pdf attached already
Shortcoming: no information is given about the html tags necessary to embed the swf file in an html file.
Supported operating systems: The stand alone version is only available for Windows. As an integrated module of Contribute 3, FlashPaper is available to users with Windows or Macintosh operating systems.

List of Powerpoint to Flash converters

Tue, 20 Jul 2004 22:00:00 +0100

A list from Robin Goode's website aka Master New Media, with comments on 20 different conversion tools.

Comparison Engine

Wed, 14 Jul 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Comparison Engine

Finds and compares rank position for specific keywords on many different search engines

Wink

Mon, 05 Jul 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Freeware: Distributed as freeware for business or personal use. However if you want to redistribute, you need to get permission from the author.

Input formats: Capture screenshots from your PC, or use images in BMP/JPG/PNG/TIFF/TGA/PCX formats.

Output formats: Export your presentations as Macromedia Flash, Standalone EXE, PDF, HTML or any of the above image formats. Use Flash/html for the web, EXE for distributing to PC users and PDF for printable manuals.

Performance/Quality: Creates highly compressed Flash presentations (few kbs to few hundreds of kbs, much smaller than competing commercial products) ideal for using on the web.

Tools:

		Navigation buttons to move to next/previous/random frames in the presentation, you can use custom bitmaps for these buttons (full transparency/alpha channel support).
		Callouts and balloons for displaying text explanations. The inbuilt Callout Editor is used to create custom shaped callouts as you want.
		Intuitive drag-n-drop editing of the frame, callout, cursor, navigation buttons and the title elements.
		Advanced features like templates, cursor editing, palettes, background images etc.
		Completely PC and Web ready with exports to PDF, HTML, SWF and EXE formats.
		Ingenious and innovative compression techniques applied to reduce filesize of output Flash file. Generated flash file plays in Flash players from version 3 and above, giving you widest array of target audience.

FCKeditor

Thu, 01 Jul 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Browser Based HTML Editor

Features

HTML editor that can be used inside web pages
provides a subset of the functionalities of desktop-based HTML editors like Dreamweaver
compatible with most IE5+, Netscape and Mozilla (others possible, should be tested)

Comments

Very interesting tool that allows editing of HTML content without the need to install a program.

PHP and MySQL Web Development

Thu, 17 Jun 2004 22:00:00 +0100

PHP and MySQL Web Development, Luke Welling, Laura Thomson, SAMS, 2003

Recherche d'information sur Internet (in French)

Thu, 10 Jun 2004 22:00:00 +0100

This web page gives some very good starting points for doing searches on the Internet, and provides lots of useful addresses (search engines, directories, etc.).

WebCopier

Mon, 03 May 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Offline browser / Web Copier

Comment

One of the most powerful tools.

Coster

Wed, 21 Apr 2004 22:00:00 +0100

COST€R Tool 2.6 consists of a database driven programme, allowing you to create your own cost estimate for the multimedia product you want to produce.

Features

An overview of all the cost categories and production stages of multimedia production
Up-to-date costing info from Belgium, France and Spain based on industry standards
A decision making application for estimating the total cost of your own productions
A simple user manual
An explanation of the multimedia terms used
Supported operating systems:Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP; Mac OS X with Java 1.4 installed

Web Page Development : Best Practices

Tue, 30 Mar 2004 22:00:00 +0100

This article gives some practical hints on how to create standards-conforming websites, and to work around some of issues that will arise for Explorer for Windows.

Authorware

Tue, 23 Mar 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Rich-media production tool for e-learning

Features

Interactive tool to create interctive multimedia content
Supports audio streaming, Flash import, Powerpoint import, XML import/export
can be exported to SCORM module
extensible through scripting (but no API to plug in external applications)
Requires Authorware Player (Win and Mac)
Supported operating systems: Authoring: Win only, Playback: Win and MacOS X only.

Comments

Authorware is very rarely used (in CH) to create e-Learing courses in higher education. The main reasons are: too expensive, not well suited for web-based content, proprietary data-format.

There's an interesting discussion of independent authorware users, talking about their experiences. Some of their comments about authorware (AW):

AW is expensive
AW is good to effiently create content (streamlined production)
Updating and maintaining large courses is easier in AW than in Flash
AW is not suited to create web-based content. Users prefer Flash
AW has a good data handling/managing concept

CSS Praxis (german)

Mon, 08 Mar 2004 23:00:00 +0100

CSS tips and tricks. Many examples how to design/manage menues, colors, boxes, printig, etc. with CSS.

Why tables for layout is stupid

Mon, 08 Mar 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Numerous arguments why (in most cases) CSS is better to control layout than tables. Nice presentation with funny cartoons!

Javascript Examples at w3schools

Wed, 03 Mar 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Features

JavaScript code examples
The "Try it out" feature allows you to alter the code yourself and see what the results would be immediately - no need to create separate files and test in a browser
Supported browsers: Their note claims that most of the examples require IE 4.0+, Netscape 7+, or Opera 7+! (Works also with Mozilla 1.3)

Comments

Being able to try out the code samples directly is a very handy tool. You can start with the basic code you need, then modify it for your specific purposes easily and quickly.

learn eXact

Mon, 01 Mar 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Learning Content Management System

Features

integrated suite
create, manage and deliver e-learning content
supports learning objects represented in XML, AICC, IMS and SCORM interoperability specifications
LCMS-features that allow to create, index, store, revise and manage e-learning contents
modular architecture

CSS.Maxdesign

Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Excellent tutorial for CSS-lists, CSS-selectors and CSS-floating elements.

css Zen Garden: The Beauty in CSS Design

Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Impressive demonstration of the power of CSS2.

The same html content is formatted with different css stylesheets giving the site a totally different look-and-feel.

Blender

Tue, 09 Dec 2003 23:00:00 +0100

Software for 3D modeling, animation, rendering

Features

A range of 3D object types including polygon meshes, NURBS surfaces, bezier and B-spline curves, metaballs, vector fonts (TrueType, PostScript, OpenType)
'Smooth proxy' style catmull-clark subdivision surfaces
Boolean mesh functions
Editing functions such as extrude, spin, screw, warp, subdivide, noise, smooth
Soft selection editing tools for organic modeling
Python scripting access for custom tools
Supported operating systems: Windows, Linux, Irix, Sun Solaris, FreeBSD or Mac OS X

Comments

Testing, Quizzing and Gameshow Software

Tue, 04 Nov 2003 23:00:00 +0100

Hotscripts Applets

Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Collection of hundreds of free or commercial Java applets

Meet-O-Matic

Mon, 27 Oct 2003 23:00:00 +0100

Web Application to Schedule a Meeting

Features

Find a date for meetings with many participants
Easy to use
Accessible using just a web browser
Sends emails to announce meeting to participants
One person initiates meeting and receives updated information
Supported operating systems: all (requires only Internet browser and email)

Comments

Convenient and easy to use tool that simplifies a common task.
Lisencing agreement may become possible in the future to allow own installation.

Inspiration

Wed, 22 Oct 2003 22:00:00 +0100

Mind Mapping Tool

Features

Draw mindmaps, organize ideas, organize concepts
extensible object library
HTML export
Cross platform tool. Supported operating systems: Win and Mac

Mindmap

Wed, 22 Oct 2003 22:00:00 +0100

Mind Mapping Tool

Features

vector drawing tools
object library tools
HTML export, various other import-export formats
Cross platform tool. Supported operating systems: Win95 - XP, MacOS 8.6 - OS X

Trillian

Tue, 14 Oct 2003 22:00:00 +0100

Instant Messaging Client for Multiple Communication Networks
Trillian is a communications tool that includes a number of features.

Features

gives access to multiple networks (Yahoo, AIM, MSN, ICQ, )
Text only (no synchronous audio or video)
Supported operating systems: Win

GEONEXT

Mon, 01 Mar 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Dynamic Math Worksheets

Features

GEONEXT is a dynamical math software for geomety, analysis and algebra.
Can run directly from the internet (Java2 has to be installed).
Supported operating systems: Linux and Windows

CamStudio

Sun, 13 Jul 2003 22:00:00 +0100

Desktop Recorder & Demo Generator

Features

Record screen activity to create video (.avi) or Flash (.swf) format demo files
Avi movie player also included for distribution with avi files
User can define the frame rate of video capture
Audio can be recorded or added from an audio file
Text annotations can be added during recording
Supported operating systems: Windows only (to create demos)

Comments

Records video of screen activity only - user activated screen shots are not possible.

Problems were experienced with stability and speed.

Available in French, German, Italian, English and several other language versions.

Video files can not be edited with CamStudio, but with a third party video editor.

TurboDemo

Sun, 13 Jul 2003 22:00:00 +0100

Desktop Recorder & Demo Generator

Features

Creates a demo file from user-defined screen captures
Text input fields, hot spots, mouse overs, feedback text and other effects
Sound can be recorded or added from sound files
Demos are created and edited relatively quickly
Images can be imported for use in demo
Supported operating systems: Windows only (for creating demos)

Comments

Easy to use and quick to learn.

Prices above don't reflect discounts for educational institutions.

Standard edition creates only Flash swf format, professional edition creates swf, avi, exe, or java applets.

User can choose to produce demo that has German, French, Italian, English or Dutch interface (loading message, etc.). The authoring environment is available in several separate language versions.

SkillsOnline/PearlServer

Mon, 09 Jun 2003 22:00:00 +0100

Web-Based Math Excercise/Exam Environment

Features

easy to use authoring application to create interactive online excercises.
good support for mathematical excercises: Import of LaTeX formulas. Students can type in formulas that are automatically checked/corrected
extensive computational capabilities for the users provided by the computeralgebra-system on the web-server
proprietary content format
supported operating systems:
Authoring: Windows, Linux (Java application)
Viewing: any (web browser)

Comments

eProject Workgroup Edition

Fri, 09 May 2003 22:00:00 +0100

Web-based project management solution designed for team managers to quickly deploy to their project teams

Features

Collaboration

Discussions - Remove time and location barriers with online discussions that facilitate faster and better decisions. Improve ongoing conversation flow with threaded discussions and keep conversations focused by grouping discussions by key topic.
Project Calendar - Keep everyone on the same page with, central project calendars that track deadlines, team meetings and milestones. eProject Workgroup exports to Microsoft® Outlook to help the entire team stay in touch easily.
Web-based - Travel, time zones and organizational boundaries no longer impede progress; all team members can participate 24/7.

Project Management

Task Management - Add, track, and assign tasks quickly and easily. Reference project tasks, milestones and relationships via the online Timeline View.
Issue Management - Keep projects on track by anticipating and resolving unexpected issues quickly. Identify, prioritize and tackle issues based on critical status and track progress of each issue on the way to resolution.
Project Templates - Jump start each new project with reusable templates that save time and encourage adoption of best practices.

Communication

Real-time status updates - From task changes to work progress, your team knows everything in real-time and you know exactly what work is getting done.
News and Polling - Announce and post project-related news or quickly poll your team for input on critical decisions, viewing poll results in summary charts or full detail. News and poll information is stored centrally for quick reference.
Reporting - Flexible reports help you deliver important information concisely and consistently. Use the canned reports to track project activity or customize reports to show the data and issues most important to you.

Comments

High usability - high prices.

Synergeia

Thu, 08 May 2003 22:00:00 +0100

Synergeia is designed to support collaborative knowledge building in classrooms of schools.

Features

work-space

shared
structured
web-based

in which

collaborative learning can take place,
documents and ideas can be shared,
discussions can be stored and
knowledge artifacts can be developed and presented.

Teachers can structure

seed and
guide work
in Synergeia to facilitate knowledge building in their classrooms.

ViewletBuilder3 Lite

Wed, 16 Jul 2003 22:00:00 +0100

Desktop Recorder & Demo Generator

Education version of ViewletBuilder3 Pro lacks some features. In particular, the mouse click screen capture option is not available.

See URL for comparison with Pro version
Currently supported operating systems: Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Supported operating systems in the future: Mac OSX, Linux, Solaris 8/9

Comments

The education version offers a good tool at a very reasonable price, but the lacking option to use mouse clicks for screen capture (as in the Pro version) could be a significant drawback.

Open Source Content Management

Mon, 03 Mar 2003 23:00:00 +0100

opensourceCMS

Mon, 03 Mar 2003 23:00:00 +0100

LQ

Mon, 01 Mar 2004 23:00:00 +0100

IMS-QTI Player and Viewer

Features

interprets IMS-QTI standard
no proprietary extensions to the IMS-QTI standard
quizzes displayed as Flash application
nice look-and-feel
results can be written back to a server through PHP/mySQL interface
can be viewed by any web browser with Flash plugin installed

OpenDir: Course Website Software

Sun, 02 Feb 2003 23:00:00 +0100

UNESCO free software portal

Sun, 02 Feb 2003 23:00:00 +0100

NetBeans

Tue, 28 Jan 2003 23:00:00 +0100

Java Development environment (IDE)

Features

general IDE for a large variety of programming languages
Supported operating systems: any, that run a Java VM

Eclipse

Tue, 28 Jan 2003 23:00:00 +0100

Java Development Environment (IDE)

Features

IDE for any programming language
Supported operating systems: any, with Java VM

Ariadne

Wed, 18 Dec 2002 23:00:00 +0100

Course Content Repository Software and Network

Features

uses LOM indexing scheme
distributed network of learning content databases
foundation members are allowed to reuse learning content

Ariadne also contains a learning management system.

APREM

Wed, 18 Dec 2002 23:00:00 +0100

Learning Content Repository Software

Features

Server software to manage reusable educational content
LOM compilant indexing scheme

Comments

system and documentation available in french only
the system is under development

Camtasia Studio

Tue, 03 Aug 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Features

Several tools for recording and editing videos of screen activity
Creates video (.avi) files of screen activity and can convert them to Flash (.swf) files
Sound and sound editing
Text notes and callouts can be added
Camtasia Player can be distributed with videos for lossless playback
Relatively easy to learn, short time to production
User's guide and tutorials available on website
Supported operating systems: Windows

Comments

Camtasia Studio 1.0 offers more features than its predecessor Camtasia 3.0, including export in Flash format, among others. Camtasia Studio is only available for Windows, 2000 or XP is recommended. Smooth recordings of mouse movement and animations are possible, recording videos that are playing on screen is not always reliable.

Captivate (previously RoboDemo)

Sun, 17 Oct 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Features

Produces Flash format films from screen activity
Based on screen shots that are timed automatically or manually
Possible to add text notes, audio, user input text fields, track user scores, plus other interactive elements
Available in several language versions (French, German, Italian)
Import and export of various file types
Relatively easy to learn, users able to produce demos quickly
Elearning Edition: SCORM support, quizzing, branching

Comments

Editing is flexible, but can be time-consuming. RoboDemo is available only for Windows operating systems. June 2003 RoboDemo announced the RoboDemo FLA Module, which allows you to import a RoboDemo file into Flash MX for direct editing with Flash.

Antville

Wed, 20 Nov 2002 23:00:00 +0100

weblog-hosting service

Features

open source project aimed to the development of an "easy to maintain and use" weblog-hosting system

Comments

very simple to use yet a powerful tool

Swish

Mon, 01 Mar 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Flash-animation generator

Features

exports the same SWF format used by Macromedia Flash
use Swish zu make interactive presentations, text and logo animations, intro movies or navigation bars
Supported operating systems: Windows

Comments

easier and less expensive than Macromedia Flash

IHM Concept Map Tools

Wed, 17 Mar 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Creates on- and offline concept maps

Features

construct, navigate, share, and criticize knowledge models represented as Concept Maps
platform independent and network enabled
allowing the users to build, and collaborate during the construction of concept maps with colleagues anywhere on the network, as well as, share and navigate through others' models distributed on servers throughout Internet

Comments

easy to use, a great tool for online learning

Swiki

Mon, 05 Aug 2002 22:00:00 +0100

Collaborative Website Manager

Features

Comanche is an open-source web server for Squeak. Comanche contains the server framework, which makes it possible to develop web applications entirely in Squeak, without the need to run an external web server. Swiki is a quite popular implementation of Ward Cunningham's WikiWikiWeb (Squeak + Wiki = Swiki) that runs under Comanche. Swiki is often also called CoWeb, short for Collaborative Web-site. Both Comanche and Swiki are implemented by Mark Guzdial's Collaborative Software Laboratory at Georgia Tech.

Comments

If you want to try something new with your students...

SVG Viewer

Mon, 05 Aug 2002 22:00:00 +0100

SVG Viewer plugin

Features

Get ready to download Adobe® SVG Viewer 3 and experience the next generation of data-driven, interactive, and personalized graphics on the web. Adobe® SVG Viewer 3 includes a number of new features and performance enhancements:

More Elements
Support for the following elements: color-profile, marker, title, and view; full support for the switch element; support for the general requiredFeatures and systemLanguage attributes; the image element now supports links to SVG files.

More CSS Properties
Support for the following CSS properties: color-profile, marker, marker-end, marker-mid, marker-start; support for the @media CSS rule, and the media attribute for style elements.

More DOM Support
Support for the SVGMatrix class; support for the getCTM, getElementsByTagNameNS, and getBBox methods.

New Platforms
Macintosh OS 10.1 native
Windows XP

Faster, More Powerful
Significant performance improvements
Save as compressed SVG (.svgz)

Comments

A must have plugin for XML-enthusiasts!

Total Recorder

Mon, 29 Aug 2005 22:00:00 +0100

General Audio Recording Tool

Features

Total Recorder Standard Edition records PC audio from almost any source, including streamed audio from programs like Real Player and Windows Media Player. It can also record conventional audio from CD's, the microphone and other input lines on a sound card.

Comments

Good tool if you want to store a streamed audio signal on your PC!

SnagIt!

Mon, 01 Mar 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Features

What does SnagIt do?

SnagIt makes it easy to:

Capture an exact copy of anything that appears on your screen
Apply edits and annotation
Send the screenshot directly to the printer, a file, an e-mail, or the Web

How is it superior to the Print Screen key?
Why would you want to use SnagIt when you already have the Print Screen key? You are probably familiar with the whole, long Windows screen capture process:

Hit the Print Screen key
Open a graphics program
Paste in the image
Crop out everything you didn't want to capture
Clean up the image
Take that image and paste it somewhere else so you can actually use it.

Comments

Good tool if you want to explain complex human - computer interactions. Just snag it!

MathType

Thu, 22 Jul 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Math Equation Editor

Features

MathType is a powerful interactive tool for Windows and Macintosh that lets you create mathematical notation for word processing, Web pages, desktop publishing, TeX, LaTeX, and MathML documents.

MathType 5 for Windows includes a new MathPage™ technology that enables you to save an entire Word document as a Web page with equations that print and display beautifully.

Comments

A must for mathematicians and engineers!

Mozilla

Fri, 05 Mar 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Standards compilant Web-Browser

Comments

Mozilla is an open-source web browser, designed for standards compliance (e.g. MathML), performance and portability.

Alternative web browser with built in WYSIWYG HTML editor, email and newsgroup software. Supports MathML! Phoenix of Netscape...

Sound Forge

Thu, 22 Jul 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Audio Editing Software

Features

Sound Forge is an digital audio editor that includes a powerful set of audio processes, tools, and effects for recording and manipulating audio.

There is an list of all features available.

Comments

A good solid piece of software...

QuickTime Pro

Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Features

Use QuickTime to play back, create and deliver rich multimedia experiences.

There is an list of many features available.

Comments

Small tool with an astonishing number of possibilities.

Nimo Codec Pack

Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Features

Nimo's Codec pack for video files. Works for example with Windows Media Player or DivX Player.

There is an list of all features available.

Comments

Suitable for multimedia enthusiast only ;)

Gordian Knot

Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Features

Gordian Knot is a frontend for SBC encoding. In its current version it is a frontend for pretty much everything related to SBC encoding, including ripping, creating DVD2AVI project files, resize, calculate bitrate and encode audio and video. Its use is pretty straightforward so that even less experienced people can use SBC for their rips to get better quality than the most popular encoding program in the newbie world: FlaskMpeg/XMpeg.

Comments

Suitable only for multimedia enthusiastics. Contains many little tools and gadgets ;)

Ptolemy Project

Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Simulation of embedded systems

Features

The Ptolemy project studies modeling, simulation, and design of concurrent, real-time, embedded systems.

There is a list of features available.

Comments

Helps a lot if you are into plotting or simulating something with applets.

StyleAssistant

Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Comments

Handy tool for creating cascading style sheets CSS for HTML and XML documents.

Platform: Windows 9x, NT 4.0, 2000 and XP

HTML-Kit

Wed, 17 Jul 2002 22:00:00 +0100

Source Code Editor

Features

HTML-Kit is a full-featured text editor designed to help HTML, XML and script authors to edit, format, lookup help, validate, preview and publish web pages.

There is an enormus list of features available.

Unfortunately no WYSIWYG-Editor, but has a preview mode.

Comments

Useful tool with many downloadable plugins and already included tools (clean up Word-HTML, beautify code, remove font-tags...)

Fine editor for beginners (who want to understand HTML) and professionals (because of the many features).

Search Maker Pro

Mon, 01 Mar 2004 23:00:00 +0100

HTML Navigation Generator

Features

Search Maker Pro will examine a web site, indexing all the pages that it finds. It will then create a single HTML file that contains both these indexes and JavaScript to enable the indexes to be searched.

By simply placing the single HTML file on your web site, you will be providing full search facilities for anyone accessing your site!

The tool itself works only on windows stations. The search functions work with most browsers on most operating systems

Comments

Good tool for site search on small websites (up to 100 pages). Works online and offline!!!

LabVIEW

Thu, 04 Jul 2002 22:00:00 +0100

Programming Environment for Experiments and Remote/Virtual Laboratories

Features

Graphical programming environment for data acquisition and control, data analysis, and data presentation
Creation of virtual and/or remote laboratories
Applications can be connected to and control real instruments
Web-based control of applications with (free) LabVIEW Player
Supported operating systems: Windows 2000/XP/NT/Me/9x, Mac OS, Linux, Sun Solaris

GNU wget

Tue, 25 Jun 2002 22:00:00 +0100

Web-Site / FTP-Site Mirroring Tool

Features

Can resume aborted downloads, using REST and RANGE
Can use filename wild cards and recursively mirror directories
NLS-based message files for many different languages
Optionally converts absolute links in downloaded documents to relative, so that downloaded documents may link to each other locally
non-interactive commandline tool, so it may easily be called from scripts, cron jobs, terminals without Xsupport, etc.
Supports HTTP and SOCKS proxies
Supports HTTP cookies
Supports persistent HTTP connections
Unattended / background operation
Uses local file timestamps to determine whether documents need to be re-downloaded when mirroring
GNU wget is distributed under the GNU General Public License.
Supported operating systems: Linux, Unix, Windows

Teleport

Tue, 25 Jun 2002 22:00:00 +0100

Website Spider / Copier

Features

Downloads all or parts of a website, enables to browse the site directly from the hard disk at greater speeds
Creates an exact duplicate, or mirror of a website, complete with subdirectory structure and all required files
Searche a website for files of a certain type and size
Downloads a list of files at known addresses
Explores every website linked from a central website
Searches a website for keywords
Makes a list of all pages and files on a website
different flavours of Teleport are available, that additionally offer scripting and larger download projects
Supported operating systems: Windows only

HTTrack

Mon, 17 Jun 2002 22:00:00 +0100

Offline Browser / Website Copier

Features

downloads websites to local disk
grabs recursively web pages
adapts all links so that they still work on the local copy
fully configurable
Supported operating systems: Windows, Linux

Comments

Simple, yet powerful tool to grab entire websites or parts of it. Can be used to make working website copies on a CD-ROM

ViewletBuilder

Tue, 03 Aug 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Desktop Recorder & Demo Generator

Features

Creates demos from screen shots and produces a Flash format movie
Mouse movement is tracked automatically, timing can be adjusted
Creating and editing a demo movie is relatively quick and simple to learn
Demos can be easily edited, text notes or balloons added, as well as text fields for user input and mouse "hot spots"
Sound files can also be integrated into a demonstration.
Multilingual interface integrated into one product
(not necessary to purchase separate products to have more than one language version)

Comments

Videos playing on screen can not be reproduced

Zend Studio

Tue, 05 Mar 2002 23:00:00 +0100

PHP Editor and Debugger

Features

Code Editor
- Syntax highlighting (HTML and PHP)
- Code completion (HTML and PHP)
- Quick reference for PHP functions
Files can be organized in projects
Built-in PHP runtime
PHP debugger: built-in and remote
- Step by step
- Breakpoints
- Watches (variable inspection)
- Call stack
- Full access to local and global variables (variables can be modified)
- Remote debugging module
  - can be installed on production server
  - Zend Development Environment can control the execution of PHP applications on the server
Built-in FTP client
Includes Zend Information Center Context sensitive help and PHP manual
PHP and Apache web server included in package: can be installed if needed
Integrated server configuration application

Platform independent (Java based):

Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Linux
Mac OS X (beta version).

Weaverslave

Mon, 22 Apr 2002 22:00:00 +0100

IDE for HTML and PHP

Features

integrates HTML help and PHP functions list
highly customizable
also supports XML
Supported operating systems: Windows
no debugger

Comments

Editor for PHP and HTML
among the free IDEs the most stable one

PHPEdit

Mon, 22 Apr 2002 22:00:00 +0100

PHP IDE with Debugger

Features

Remote Debugger: Graphical frontend to dbg, a php extension for debugging by Dmitri Dmitrienko.
- Step by step / Just in time debugging on Unix/Win32 servers
- Breakpoints
- Watches (variable inspection
- Call stack
- profiler
adaptable syntax highligting
customizable
class browser
comment block generation
Supported operating systems: Windows

Comments

Although still under developement, stable IDE with many useful features

Yahoo Groups

Wed, 22 Oct 2003 22:00:00 +0100

Online Groupware System

Features

group management (invite, enroll members)
powerful messaging system: email (mailing list), chat
share files, photos, bookmarks
online calendar
define online shared databases (many predefined databases like class assignment, phone book, inventory, recipes etc.)
poll system

Comments

This service is easy to use and easy to set up. It offers the basic functions that are needed in smaller workgroups like classes and development teams.

HotEqn

Tue, 11 Dec 2001 23:00:00 +0100

Equation Viewer Applet

Features

displays LaTeX equations in almost any browser
Supported browsers: all that include a Java virtual machine

Comments

The viewer applet is smaller in size than WebEQ and loads faster. However, it does not seem to support printing.

Swift-Generator

Tue, 11 Dec 2001 23:00:00 +0100

Dynamic Flash Content generator

Features

dynamically replaces texts, fonts, sounds, images and movie clips in either a Template file or a standard Flash™ file
dynamically changes action parameters in frames or buttons
the generation is script based and CGI 1.1 compliant
requires an authoring tool like Macromedia Flash 4 or 5.
Supported databases: MySQL, ODBC
Supported operating systems: Linux, Windows, Solaris, MacOS X, FreeBSD

ScientificWord

Tue, 04 Dec 2001 23:00:00 +0100

Scientific Text Editor

Document Creation Features

Graphical interface to enter text and mathematics naturally
Print documents with or without typesetting with LaTeX.
Produce portable LaTeX output
Use tags to format and define the document structure.
Work with pleasing on-screen mathematics and italics created with TrueType outline fonts.
Generate automatic footnotes, indexes, bibliographies, and tables of contents.
Use our choice of more than 100 document style templates.
Use the supplied Style Editor for developing, modifying, and previewing document specification and print styles. The Style Editor has been significantly upgraded in Version 3.5.
Supported operating systems: Win platform only

IMS Package Editor

Tue, 27 Nov 2001 23:00:00 +0100

IMS Content Packaging & Management Editor

Features

Import/create new lesson package based on IMS Content Packaging Specification 1.0 and 1.1
Organise/aggregate lessons within/among different packages via drag-and-drop mechanism
Detect and copy embedded resources (linked/embed files) in HTML lessons into a package directory
Reconstruct lessons from existing zip archives
GUI for Meta-Data editing -based on the full IMS Meta-Data Specification version 1.1 and 1.2
Specification versions conversion
implemented in Java
Supported operating systems: Win, SunOS, Unix, MacOS X

LRN Toolkit

Wed, 12 Dec 2001 23:00:00 +0100

IMS Content Packaging Editor
Learning Resource iNterchange (LRN, pronounced "learn") is a reference implementation of the IMS Content Packaging and Metadata Specifications.

Features

Supports IMS and SCORM
Supported operating systems: Win

Morphon XML-Editor

Wed, 12 Dec 2001 23:00:00 +0100

WYSIWYG XML-Editor

Features

WYSIWYG WordProcessor-Like XML Editing and Hierarchical views. Views are extensible through a plugin API.
Unicode 3.0, UTF-8, UTF-16 and ISO-Latin support
Support for Tables
Remote Editing and Publishing (HTTP or FTP). Extensible through a plugin API.
Supported platforms: Windows, Unix (Linux, SunOS, etc), MacOS (8 and higher including X) and other platforms supporting Java.
uses CSS as the styling language. The CSS can be edited using the CSSEditor.
Various plugin APIs for developers to use. The Storage API allows for customisation of the storage process such as interfacing directly with an XML database. A View API allows software developers to write custom views such as toggle buttons for yes/no questions, custom selection lists, etc. All APIs are documented.
Dynamic localization for different languages (ships with English, French and Dutch). API available for localization.
Full support for Drag and Drop (structures as well as text) and a dockable toolbar for commonly used actions.
XSL processing and preview: Preview of the document using an XSL stylesheet.
Supports catalogs: OASIS Entity Management Catalog as well as the XML Catalog format.

AgentSheets

Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Simulation Applet Generator

Features

Interactive graphical environment to create Java applets
environment allows to build complex simulations and dynamic models
no programming knowledge required
Supported operating systems: MacOS, Windows

Comments

Useful tool for non programmers, to build educational applets.

eProject Express

Tue, 09 Oct 2001 22:00:00 +0100

Project management and collaboration software

Features

Project Calendar
Team Directory
Tasks (very good!)
Project News
Document Sharing

25MB of storage per project, projects not logged in last 6 months are auto-archived. A CD-ROM with the archive is available for $30.

Comments

eProject Express is an alternative to BSCW 3.4: it is easy to use and is especially suited for groupware beginners. Keep in mind, that your data is stored in America which might lead to legal problems!

BSCW

Tue, 13 Nov 2001 23:00:00 +0100

Web based software for teamwork
BSCW (Basic Support for Cooperative Work) enables collaboration over the Web. BSCW is a 'shared workspace' system which supports document upload, event notification, group management and much more. To access a workspace you only need a standard Web browser.

Features

document management, project management and groupware system
documents can be uploaded, shared, downloaded
web-interface / clients fully web-based
functions:
- file upload
- edit (ascii) text on server without download
- version management
- document format conversion
- discussion forums
- search
- annotation and rating
- notification: by email or monitoring applet
administration features:
- create (hierarchical) workspaces
- users and group management
- informations about activities in the workspaces
security: sophisticated access rights
calendar and appointment organization
project flow
multi lingual interface
user interface customizable

Comments

With the new user interface BSCW is highly recommandable for all lecturers who want to interact with their students via the web.

Adobe Acrobat

Sun, 09 Sep 2001 22:00:00 +0100

HTML to PDF converter
You can download Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) pages from the World Wide Web or an intranet in Acrobat and convert them to Adobe PDF.You provide the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the Web pages, and Acrobat converts and opens the pages in one step.

Google Directory: Test Authoring

Wed, 22 Aug 2001 22:00:00 +0100

PlanBee

Wed, 22 Aug 2001 22:00:00 +0100

Concept Map Browser Extension

Features

Create a dynamic visual map of selected Web sites and information called a buzPAK™.
Add notes to your buzPAK and bring personal meaning and structure to Web information.
Attach any type of file (audio, video, graphic, jpeg) to your buzPAK and match Web information to your context.
Create and modify Web tours to build a guided tour of your content.
Change and customize the look of a buzPAK to suit your needs.
Make Web references instantly meaningful by adding and renaming labels.
Pick up and revise previous research right where you left off.
Work on multiple buzPAKs at a time, adding links between them and copying information from one to the other
PlanBee is an extension to the web browsers Netscape or Explorer
available for Win platforms only

Concept Mapping Software

Wed, 22 Aug 2001 22:00:00 +0100

Atlas of Cyberspace: Surf Maps

Tue, 21 Aug 2001 22:00:00 +0100

Atlas of Cyberspace: Web Site Maps

Wed, 22 Aug 2001 22:00:00 +0100

Opera

Sun, 09 Sep 2001 22:00:00 +0100

Web Browser

Features

Opera is a fully fledged web-browser. It offers the most important features of standard browsers like Navigator or Explorer, but also more special features like:

very fast
small size
zoom for web pages, also for printing
much more standards compilant than Navigator or Explorer
Available for many platforms: Windows, Mac, OS/2, BeOS, EPOC, Linux, Solaris, QNX

Comments

Opera offers many useful features that are not available in Netscape or Explorer. It is very fast and doesn't require many system recources (runs also well on outdated machines).

Nestor

Sun, 26 Aug 2001 22:00:00 +0100

Web Browser and Cartographer
NESTOR is an experimental browser that draws maps while you are surfing the Web. It is based on research on Web navigation and CSCL and it is being developed through a participatory design process.

Features

graphically presents the trace of visited web pages
has been designed to promote constructivist learning
allows annotations of web pages
"guided tour" generator
guided tours, trace maps and annotations can be exchanged beween users
Nestor is an extension to Internet Explorer. It is only available for Win 95/98/NT platforms

XML Transform

Thu, 06 Nov 2003 23:00:00 +0100

XSLT Stylesheet Editor

Features

graphical interface do edit and debug complex XSLT stylesheets
support for the W3C XML Schema (XSD), DTDs and other schema standards
Built-in processor for instantly viewing stylesheet results
Graphical interface allows simultaneous viewing of both inputs and outputs
Integrated differencing engine summarizes the changes made between two XML documents
Simultaneously view both the source code and the graphical mapping view while developing XSLT stylesheets
Transformation graph to show the XML mappings
Error pane to identify XSLT stylesheet errors
Trace feature allows line-by-line execution of stylesheets
The summary view organizes stylesheets into a tabular view for clearer understanding of mappings
The development environment of XML Transform allows users to create documents that are either source-driven or destination-driven
Operating System Support: XML Transform is a Java-based application that available for the following operating systems:
Windows 95/98/ME/2000 and NT 4.0
Linux x86 with glibc 2.1.2
Solaris SPARCx86 2.6 or higher
HP-UX 11.0 and 11i
any UNIX platform with J2RE Support

XML Spy

Mon, 02 Jul 2001 22:00:00 +0100

XML IDE: Editor, Validating, Schema Editor, Stylesheet Generator

Features

provides five views on documents (but no WYSIWYG view)
- grid view for strucutred editing
- database/table view that shows repeated elements in a tabular fashion
- a graphical XML Schema sesign view
- text view (source code) with syntax-coloring for low-level work
- browser view that supports CSS and XSL style-sheets
editing features: templates, context sensitive choices, auto-completion, entry helpers, undo/redo
includes fully fledged graphical schema design editor
includes XSL editor (XSLT only) with context sensitive entry helpers
support various import/export scenarios: text import/export, database import/export, word document import
customization: major command can be arranged in user defined toolbars

Comments:

XML spy is a complete development environment. It can be recommended for XML programmers and developers. If a configurable editing environment is needed, that is simple to use for non-expert users and that hides technical details, XMetaL is the better choice.

epcEdit

Tue, 06 Apr 2004 22:00:00 +0100

Cross-Platform XML / SGML Editor

WYSIWYG XML editor including support for images and tables (CALS and HTML scheme)
validating XML parser
implemented as Tcl/Tk application
available for Linux, Solaris and Windows platforms
Professional version: includes source code of epcEdit´s user interface, and allows for building customized integrated XML/SGML systems

Anfy Collection

Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Applet Collection
The collection includes the following applets:

Navigation menu: Cube Menu, Morph Menu, Tree Menu, Wheel Menu
Fractals & ALife: Flozoids, IFS Fractals, Life2d, Mandelbrot fractal
Image effects: Bumpmapping, Deform, Fireworks (new!), Hue Rotator, Lake, Lens, Snow (new!), Warp, Water, Wobbler, ZoomRotator
3D Applets: Anfy 3d Light, Fluid, Galaxy, Tmap Cube 3d, Tunnel, Tunnel 3d, Voxel landscape, Wormhole
Banner/Slideshow: Book Flip, CrossFade banner, Mosaic banner
Other: Anfy Chat (Add-On!), Anfy Cam (new!), Anfy Paint (new!), Anfy Blobs, Blur Animator, Fire, Flag (34 nations), Flag load (any flag), Plasma, Solid Scroller (new!), Text Scroller

The license fee has to be paid once for an entire site (web-server). The access for an unlimited number of clients is free.

PHPEd

Mon, 22 Apr 2002 22:00:00 +0100

PHP Editor and Debugger

Features

Remote Debugger: PHPEd fully integrated with dbg, a php extension for debugging by Dmitri Dmitrienko.
- Step by step / Just in time debugging on Unix/Win32 servers
- Breakpoints
- Watches (variable inspection
- Call stack
Code Editor
- Customizable Syntax highlighting for PHP, Perl, Javascript, HTML, Python, ASP, C++, SQL
- Quick reference Tooltips
- Code complete (Dropdown for php, Javascript, html and CSS)
- Code templates: Templates for commonly used script fragments
- Bookmarks
- Document templates
- Matching deliminator. It can locate matcing deliminator for { [ ( ) ] } " ' with F2 key
- Clipboard History: It traces the clipboard and records.
Built-in FTP client
Built-in Web server
- Fully configurable web server with cgi, isapi... support
- Default document, Home directory
- File extension association: Useful for perl, php and python
Built-in Browser (Internet Explorer): Providing instant preview, and debugging features. Utilities
- Websearch : You can search some valuable resources to get answer to your questions, find examples: PHP mailing list, WeberDev.com, ...
- Todo list
- JavaScript reference

Pros

Comfortable IDE with many features.

Cons

too expensive (in view of the fact, that PHPEd mostly consists of freeware)
Available for Windows platforms only.

Flash

Wed, 03 Mar 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Flash Authoring Software

Features

Allows creation of lightweight animations and interactive movies
Compatability: playing Flash movies requires a plug-in (lightweight and free), but can be counted on to render across browsers and platforms
Interactive elements: buttons, text fields, mouse and keyboard events...
Sound can be integrated in Flash movies
Can work with external data (text, xml, database, web applications, web services )
User interface components provided as of version MX
Quiz templates are available: 6 types, including multiple choice, true/false, fill in blanks etc.
ActionScript editor is much improved with version MX.
Videos can be integrated natively.

Comments

A certain learning curve is necessary, though it's possible to produce simple animations relatively quickly.
Adding interactivity to Flash movies requires using its scripting language (similar to Javascript), therefore some desire to program or to learn programming is required.
Quiz templates take a little time to get used to.
Version MX 2004 (Sept 2003) offers ways of adding some interactivity without having to write ActionScript.

Eduweb

Wed, 04 Apr 2001 22:00:00 +0100

Educational Web Adventures

e-learning Centre

Wed, 04 Apr 2001 22:00:00 +0100

Showcase: educational Ideas

Respondus

Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Third party tool that allows to create and manage WebCT quizzes offline.

Features

creates quizzes, self-tests and surveys
can import questions from external text base (not all question types), or from WebCT
manages large number of questions in "question bank"
no HTML knowledge required
quizzes can include images, audio and video
includes math equation editor
generates reports of student results
only available for Win platforms

See also the user review by Michael LeRoy, Wheaton College.

WebEQ Viewer

Sun, 18 Mar 2001 23:00:00 +0100

Math viewer applet for MathML or WebTeX encoded equations
Features:

viewer applet compatible with Win, Mac and UNIX clients
client can scale equations
equations can include hyperlinks and other interactive features
applet can be installed transparently on client's browser (no explicit download and install procedure is required)

Hot Potatoes

Tue, 13 Mar 2001 23:00:00 +0100

HTML quizz editor
Features:

generates HTML + JavaScript quizzes
can include graphics and links
the test-taker can be given hints and clues
question types: multiple choice, fill-in-the-gap, short answer, jumbled sentence, crossword
available for Win and Mac platforms

Questionmark Perception

Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Features:

Multiple question banks for random assessments
Instant feedback to participants
Adaptive branching based on how questions are answered
Online viewing of assessment results and question analysis
Export answers for custom reporting
Storage of answers, scores, and results in MS Access or SQL (Microsoft or Oracle) databases
Question types: Multiple choice, Multiple response, Fill-in-the-blank, Essay question, Word response (text match), Numeric questions, Matching/Ranking (selection question), Hotspot (image map question), Matrix
Authoring tool available for Win platform only
LDAP supported

Teaching Templates

Tue, 13 Mar 2001 23:00:00 +0100

Interactive quizz editor
Features:

generates HTML quizzes
customizable user interace
can include sound and images
available for Win platform only

WebEQ

Sun, 09 Sep 2001 22:00:00 +0100

MathML equation editor
Features:

easy to use math formula editor
includes command line interface for batch processing
output formats:
- HTML + JPEG or PNG images
- HTML + strict MathML
- HTML + WebEQ Math Viewer applets
- HTML + WebEQ Math Viewer applets using strict MathML

The WebEQ Viewer is a nice applet that displays fomulas in a web browser. It also allows to scale the formulas. There is no installation required (fully transparent for the student)

MathType

Sun, 02 Dec 2001 23:00:00 +0100

General math formula editor
General and powerful math formula editor.

available for Win and Mac platforms
Output formats: GIF, MS-Word object, MathML, LaTeX, Ams-LaTeX, Ams-TeX

XML editors at XMLSoftware

Mon, 01 Mar 2004 23:00:00 +0100

HTMLDoc

Wed, 07 Mar 2001 23:00:00 +0100

HTML to PDF converter
HTMLDOC Can

Convert HTML files to PDF or PostScript
Generate a table-of-contents for books
Generate indexed HTML files
Cope with tables, images and background images

HTMLDOC Provides

A command-line interface for batch and WWW applications.
A graphical interface for interactive work.

The software is available for Windows and Unix/Linux platforms.

MovieXone

Wed, 31 Aug 2005 22:00:00 +0100

Video Editing Tool
See online review of the c't magazine (German).

Applet Series

Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Viva Orange Applet Series
Low cost commercial applet collection:

image series: zoom, rotate, ...
navigation series
audio series

The applets are easy to use, even by unexperienced web authors.

Premiere

Sun, 29 Feb 2004 23:00:00 +0100

Professional video production tool

Anfy Chat

Tue, 10 Oct 2000 22:00:00 +0100

Text Chat Applet

Features

can easily be added to any webpage
various parameters define presentation
supports multiple chat groups and rooms
user interface languages supported: english, french, italian, spanish, swedish, german

One Studio (formerly Forte for Java)

Wed, 20 Nov 2002 23:00:00 +0100

Integrated Java Development Environment

Features

IDE written in Java (Open source)
Extensible IDE (plugin API)
Visual interface design (Swing or AWT)
Debugger

VisualAge for Java

Wed, 27 Sep 2000 22:00:00 +0100

Integrated Java Development Environment

Features

visual interface builder
Debugger
supports team development
generates JavaBeans
available for Linux, Windows 9x/2000/NT