Over the course of my studies I have tried using other tools for creating and distributing learning content - one being Adobe InDesign. InDesign is great alternative to word for many reasons:
- Images can be moved to any location on the page without complicated formatting
- Text can be placed in any shape, not just rectangular boxes
- Text "should" always be aligned, regardless of which InDesign version you or your reviewers have
- Make custom style sheets and templates
- Output to PDF or eReader format for mobile devices
- Keep text to single page - formatting won't skew preceding pages
I agree, Microsoft Word is definitely no fun when you're trying to create something visually interesting. I rarely create printable materials though, so unfortunately, learning InDesign hasn't been high on my list. Is it fairly easy to learn?
ReplyDeleteAs far as alternatives go, I typically use PowerPoint over Word, at least in terms of being able to rotate graphics and place them wherever I want without other objects moving things around. PowerPoint often gets a bad wrap, but really, you can do quite a bit with it. Still... "one of these days" I'm going to learn InDesign! :)
Jason-
ReplyDeleteAlthough not sophisticated, I use Google Docs for nearly everything just because of the instant collaboration it provides. I am just starting to work with InDesign so I cannot offer an insight yet. As far as cool software goes, I am learning InDesign, Captivate, and Photoshop at the moment. A HUGE task to undertake, but I have been using www.Lynda.com to watch video tutorials and it has been helping tremendously. It also allows users to download practice materials so you are able to follow along with the video instructor.
My biggest issue is I only have the software at work so I am unable to practice at home. Do you use InDesign in your work setting, or just in our coursework? What are your career goals after the program?
-Amy Linville
Hi Amy,
DeleteI have InDesign on my work laptop and Macbook Pro at home. I hope to become proficient with InDesign so I can create print and web-based documents for my customers in the future. The text and images seem to be richer than Microsoft.
Jason,
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right about InDesign. There is nothing like that in the market when it comes to its design features. That said, depending on the task, there are certainly some alternatives that can be used to create learning content. But Pages is not a bad tool. It offers some good features though not as sophisticated as InDesign. As for the formatting, it is not that complicated either. I realize that the latest version has stripped down many features and the template count has dropped from 140 to 60 in the recent version, sadly!
I was looking around for alternatives to InDesign. I have a Creative Cloud subscription, so no problem using everything Adobe has to offer. But for those who cannot afford CC subscription, there is Scribus which is free and apparently it has all the features (well, almost!!!) of InDesign. One of its main strengths is making PDF files with animation and interactive presentations. The user can also employ Scribus to design small books, brochures, newspapers and newsletters.The reviewers and users say that it does a pretty decent job.
There is MS Publisher that is not bad either.
One of the interesting ones I might try is Lucidpress. It is web-based, it also supports real-time collaboration, revision history, digital document creation and many other things that InDesign simply can't as a desktop application.
Another tool is Serif Pageplus: Ebooks can be created in the .epub and mobi formats and PDF files can be created, edited, viewed and published. A starter version is available for free.
The coolest of all, though not for printing purpose, is epaperflip. This is a cloud-based publisher. It can transform any PDF to a flip book. It looks awesome. Check these tools out.
Hi Shyam,
DeleteThanks for all of the great resources. I will see how well they hold up to InDesign.