eXe Learning Software

If you are looking for an affordable (how's free!) elearning course development tool, consider eXe Learning Software.
eXe Learning Software is an open source, innovative program that bridges the gap between the rapid advance of technology and user technical skills. This software is very easy to use and eases the burden placed on corporate trainers who, in addition to never-ending classroom responsibilities, are expected to be e-learning experts and knowledgeable about web design.
eXe is built around a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) interface that allows technologically challenged users to create and publish their work without learning a lot of code. It is scorm compliant and runs on Windows, Max and Linux systems.

Navigating the Software
Exe Learning Software has two panes that are particularly helpful in lesson planning and in the preparation of learning materials and classroom activities. In the Outline Pane, users are not only guided to create their own web pages, but are also given the tools to write appropriate goals and objectives.
The iDevice Pane is really just a list of common tasks as predefined templates that users can simply click to access and immediately begin creating e-learning content. This default list of iDevices is not overwhelming and wont scare off even the most technically challenged teacher. Everything included here is relevant to every trainer's typical work on and off the computer. With iDevices like reading activity, case study, multiple-choice, true/ false questions, trainers will become very comfortable with the technology in a snap!

With the rich text editor incorporated into the software, it is super easy to format content, too. Users don't have to worry about html code at all, and instead can focus on improving their materials and activities. eXe Learning Software is pretty much like using a word processor with the option of publishing files in web-ready format. Images, sound and video can even be added and can be modified according to the requirements of the project. Heed this warning though: Never copy Word docs directly into the eXe learning software. Word bloats your copy with a ton of unnecessary junk code that can make editing it later a real pain. If you have content in Word, copy it to Notepad first and then copy it from notepad into eXe Learning Software and that will get rid of the Word bloat.

For more information on this very cool software, check out the Exe Learning Software user manual and installation procedures at their website at www.exelearning.org.