We are always looking for ways to save you money. This month our credit crunch tip is DimDim.

You are probably aware of Moodle, the open source Learning Management System (and if not, read our free Moodle overview). But you may be less aware of eXe, the open source e-learning authoring tool.

We have not been overly impressed with previous free authoring tools but we took eXe for a test run and began to see the potential. The future looks bright.  At this rate, is anything not going to be open source by next Christmas?

As Google continues to develop tools and applications, we see increasing opportunities for their application to learning. Whether it’s looking for answers to specific problems, integrating tools into low cost blends or simply informal learning by browsing, there are some great tools out there from Google.

Moodle is fast becoming the world's favourite learning management system or virtual learning environment. We have been strong advocates since we launched back in 2005.

Moodle has the potential to turn the LMS market upside down - many would argue it already has. Rich in functionality, easy to use, with the power of a huge developer community at your disposal...is there a better stocking filler this Christmas than a Moodle for your loved one?

We take a swing on the branches of the best survey tool out there.

We’ve spoken many times here about web 2.0 and the need to encourage collaboration with users. One of the quickest ways to achieve this is to get your learners to feedback on their experiences and share their ideas through a survey. And if you’re thinking about surveys, you need to think about Survey Monkey.

We review the tool and suggest five ways it can benefit your learning initiatives.

If you’ve been logging on to the Kineo site for a while, you’ll know there’s plenty from Google that has excited us for its potential application to the world of learning.

Ever wanted to create a timeline? We recently had a play with Xtimeline which allows you to create free timelines quickly and easily. The tool is currently free to use, and although the output is hosted by Xtimeline you can create a link to it as we have done below. Ideal if you want to use it as a resource in your Moodle or other online environment.

See the TimeLine we created on the rapid rise of Kineo.