A popular buzz term among educators these days is e-learning, or electronic learning. It can encompass many forms of conveying lessons and lectures, from blogs and wikis to Flash tutorials.

With that diversity come myriad tools, some of which can be quite expensive. Microsoft has made available a workable, easy-to-use learning system for educators, LCDS (Learning Content Development System), a free, form-based utility that teachers can use to create e-learning content. It uses Silverlight — Microsoft’s response to Adobe’s Flash — to construct tutorials or interactive lessons.

You begin in a pane-based window, which you navigate by drop-down menus and icons. These are rather self-explanatory. Any media you wish to include — video, sound, images — must reside in a proprietary media folder, so be sure to copy those files to that folder.

One of the better features is the ability to preview work before publishing it. This allows you to see how your lesson will evolve and how your learners will interact with it. You can then post your coursework on a host system, make it available for download, or burn it to CD/DVD.

Microsoft also mentors an active learning community to guide you through the rough patches.

Once you build a suitable template, you can reuse that content in future lessons or courses, ensuring consistency across your work and strengthening learner familiarity with the environment.

Where to Get it: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/tools/lcds/default.mspx
Price: Free (you must register to download). Requirements: Any computer running Windows XP, Vista, or Vista 64 (see site for further requirements)

Bill Dubie and Dave Sciuto are industry columnists. They recommend strongly that you read the end-user license agreement on any software
you download, as the program could contain spyware or other utilities
you don’t want on your computer.

Tags: e-learning, Microsoft