Tools Used for Gathering Source Contents from SMEs February 15, 2009
Posted by elearningtyro in : Instructional Design, Useful Resources , trackbackThis post is the continuation of my earlier post, Tips for Gathering Source Contents from SMEs_Part 2.
In this post, I will share information on tools or softwares that an Instructional Designer (ID) could use when gathering source contents from the Subject Matter Expert (SME).
Here are the possible instances which an ID might come across when gathering source contents from the SME, and the tools that can be used in each of those instances:
Instance 1
The SME provides all the source contents in the form of Microsoft Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, PDF documents, blog posts, and Web site articles. Therefore, an ID does not require additional sessions to gather source contents from the SME.
The ID and the SME can use the following tools in this instance:
- If the ID and the SME belong to different organizations, they can use free FTP tools like File Zilla for uploading and downloading files from a common FTP site.
- If the ID and the SME are from the same organization, they can use the file server like Microsoft Office SharePoint Server or other file servers being used in their organization.
Instance 2
In addition to standard documents and presentations, an ID, especially for developing courses on software applications, requires source contents that include screen grabs with relevant audio being spoken by the SME. Therefore, the ID need to attend one-to-one sessions with the SME to gather required source contents.
The ID and the SME can use the following tools in this instance:
- If the ID and the SME are from the same organization, the SME can share his or her desktop screen with the ID by using tools such as Microsoft NetMeeting and Microsoft Office Communicator. The ID can place his or her laptop closer to the SME’s laptop or desktop, enable the in-built microphone in the laptop, and use tools such as TechSmith Camtasia and Adobe Captivate to record screen grabs and audio being spoken by the SME.
- If the ID and the SME belong to different organizations, they can arrange one-to-one sessions through effective Web conferencing tools like WebEx and use the screen sharing, conferencing, and recording features in those tools.
This brings to the end of the series of posts on effectively gathering source contents from the SME. Thanks for visiting these posts and watch out the ‘Blog’ section frequently for more interesting posts

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