TOP 10 TOOLS 2007, 2008 & 2009
Donald H Taylor

Donald H Taylor is the chairman of the Learning Technologies Conference, and chair of the Learning and Skills Group. He sits on the board of the Institute of IT Training, the SFIA Council and regularly writes for Training Zone and IT Training Magazine.

Don's Top 10 Tools as at 6 May 2009

1. Podcasts – remain at number 1 for me. They are the perfect way to learn on the move or just making a cup of tea in the kitchen. The apogee of quality is still the BBC’s Melvyn Bragg, but the business section is growing in credibility.

2. Social networking – in particular the Learning and Skills Group (LSG) community site. Which technology? Well, it’s the content and the people that make a social networking site work, not the tool. Currently LSG is on Ning, but it’s likely to move soon to a more configurable platform.

3. Webinars – there are too many webinar tools to name one, but they are a great, low-cost way both of distributing information and of collaborating. Love them!

4. The book – always a favourite, but the book’s days may be numbered. Kindle and the Sony Reader have paved the way for the VW Beetle of e-books: rough and ready, but reliable and always there, the iTouch could well transform the way we read.

5. My phone – it helps me talks to people who are in a different place! Imagine that! Beats e-mail, IM and most social networking sites for focused informal learning.

6. Audacity – fabulous free software for recording podcasts. So good you wonder how it can possibly be free.

7. WordPress - blogging may seem to be becoming less important, but that’s because it’s now part of the mainstream. It remains a crucial part of my online learning. Like Audacity, WordPress is a ridiculously good free tool.

8. Yahoo Pipes – Gives me control of my favourite RSS feeds. I rarely visit individual blogs without going to my aggregated feeds first for an overview.

9. Linked In – I find this social networking tool invaluable for learning. LinkedIn helps me keep track of my professional contacts, extend them, and to ask and answer questions. It also means that I am always contactable.

10. Google – it’s not infallible, but I cannot imagine working without it.

Don's Top 10 Tools as at 3 March 2008

1. Podcasts - for me podcasts are the perfect way to learn on the move – on the Tube, waiting for planes and driving. Favourite broadcasters are the BBC’s Melvyn Bragg and Peter Day, but I also recommend the Economist, and plenty more.

2. WordPress - blogging is an important part of my online learning – both reading and writing (Learning Technologies and Donald H Taylor). After a couple of false starts with other tools, I did some research in November 2006 and chose WordPress. I haven't looked back.

3. Internet Explorer - it does the job, and I have don't have to tinker with it. I am experimenting with Firefox, though, so who knows what I might submit for my tools next year?

4. Google - you have to treat the results sanely, but this is my search engine of choice, and I cannot imagine working without it.

5. Linked In - I find this social networking tool invaluable. Keeping in touch with people is a vital part of my life. LinkedIn helps me keep track of my professional contacts, and extend them.
6. Audacity - fabulous free software for recording podcasts
7. The book -  if this weren’t a new-technology-focused list, this would be number one. Still, what other learning tool requires no power, is lightweight, carries so much information and can withstand being dropped in the bath? It's a tribute to the book that it won't feature high on the list, because it's so much taken for granted, but don't be fooled: it's a technology product all right, and a sophisticated one, too.

8. Bloglines - I've got back into using Bloglines, and find it an invaluable to keep in touch every morning

9. Plaxo - as I increasingly move to doing everything offline, I find Plaxo the best tool for keeping in touch with all my contacts. Does this make it a learning tool? You bet. I have have thousands of contacts, and they are one of my major learning resources.

10. Webinars - there are too many of these to single out one tool, but they are a great, low-cost way both of distributing information and of collaborating.

I would also like to add:

• Not e-newsletters - I am in the process of unsubscribing to almost every e-mail newsletter I have ever subscribed to. It is saving me a lot of time. We have definitely moved from 'push' to 'pull' marketing and information sharing.

Don's Top 10 Tools as at 9 July 2007

1. WordPress - blogging is an important part of my online learning – both reading and writing (Learning Technologies and Donald H Taylor). After a couple of false starts with other tools, I did some research in November 2006 and chose WordPress. There were just under 500,000 WordPress blog then. Now there are over twice as many. I like the flexibility of WordPress in both design and utility.

2. iTunes - for me podcasts are the perfect way to learn on the move – on the Tube, waiting for planes, driving – and iTunes is easily the best way of finding and organising them. Favourite broadcasters are the BBC’s Melvyn Bragg and Peter Day, but I’ve recently got into poetry, general business, language and general science broadcasts, too. 

3. Internet Explorer - I don’t care if my machine is a Mac or a PC, and I don’t really care if the code is proprietary or open code, all I know is that I use IE 7 for hours every day, and it works for me. I particularly like the new tabs and easy-to-use RSS feed

4. Google - you have to treat the results sanely, but this is my search engine of choice, and I cannot imagine working without it.

5. RSS - Is RSS really a tool? I don’t know if it qualifies, but I use it every morning to check the latest postings on my favourite blogs and sites.

6. Linked In - I find this social networking tool invaluable. Keeping in touch with people is a vital part of my life. LinkedIn helps me keep track of my professional contacts, and extend them.

7. eMail - of various sorts, but especially the new free-to-use internet mail services from Yahoo Mail and Gmail. Like Linked In, it’s a vital part of my social network

8. Audacity - fabulous free software for recording podcasts

9. My phone - a simple T-Mobile MDA, I use it to store podcasts, read mail, surf the net, and to take pictures and notes. A vital memory bank in my pocket.

10. The book -  if this weren’t a technology-focused list, this would be number one. Still, what other learning tool requires no power, is lightweight, carries so much information and can withstand being dropped in the bath? Gutenberg, 557 years on, we salute you!