Helping others

I have to brag about myself right now. I've been having a pretty crappy time at work recently but somehow I drag myself there every day. Yesterday I was given two coins in appreciation for the help I have given a specific department in recent months. These coins translate into a VIP gift card or, if I collected enough, an entire day off.

The help I gave that department is with a product that I am becoming an expert with- our web conferencing software called Centra. I have been involved with Centra for the last 3 years in all aspects- training, troubleshooting, content development, administration and scheduling.

My favorite part of it is training. It is really easy to use and people tend to get the concept really quickly.

When I train people on how to use it, I have several methods. I tend to "hold hands" with users until they are comfortable with the product. But I always make sure I have plenty of technical documentation with step by step instructions.

A while back I found a great tool to help me with capturing screen shots and enhancing my training material. Snagit 8 Screen Capture Software was introduced to me by the folks at Centra, and I tried the trial copy to create instructions on how to fill out the eform used to schedule a web conference.

I loved the recording feature used to demonstrate exactly how to fill in the fields, and it was much easier than using my pitiful paint program to edit screen prints and paste into power point slides.

Unfortunately there wasn't a budget to purchase snagit for just little old me. But I would recommend it to anyone looking to create training material that needs screen shots to go along with the instructions.