The Best Free Training

Adobe’s PDF document format is everywhere! PDF stands for “Portable Document Format” and its used by publishers to distribute eBooks, user manuals, course study guides, and all sorts of documents. PDFs may be downloaded and displayed on computers, ebook readers, and many other hand-held devices.

Since most computers come with the free Adobe Reader software, almost everyone is able to view PDFs as soon as they turn on their device.  However, if you use Adobe’s free Reader software to view these documents, you won’t be able to make changes or annotations.

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(Above: A Sample eBook Page Annotated by PDF XChange Viewer)

Enter Tracker Software’s amazing free software, PDF-XChange Viewer.

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Topic: How to upload PDFs (eBooks) to your iPad, Kindle, Sony Reader, & NOOK
Format: blog posts & videos with How-to info
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

Try this Google Search: “free PDF books.” Yikes! You’re gonna find a zillion free PDF-format ebooks all ready to download. If you’re a self-directed learner, this stuff is a gold mine! But how can you download these to your new iPad, Kindle, Sony Reader, or NOOK?

In support of my new eBook, The Project Management Minimalist, I just posted an article on my Project Management Resources website titled “Using The PM Minimalist eBook on the iPad, Kindle, or Sony Reader.” It’s got links to a bunch of video tutorials and blog posts that provide instructions on how to load PDF ebooks & documents to all these devices. Check it out… and then do that Google Search for “free PDF books” and start loading up your favorite e-books reader with tons of free learning!

URL: Using The PM Minimalist eBook on the iPad, Kindle, Sony Reader, or NOOK — http://michaelgreer.biz/?p=1039

[6/17/2010 update re: NOOK by Barnes & Noble: A reader alerted me to the fact that the Barnes & Noble NOOK ebook reader is able to directly load and read PDF eBooks. The following table compares the nook to the Kindle:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/compare/?cds2Pid=30195 ]

[6/21/2010 update] This may be the beginning of the eBook reader price wars! Barnes & Noble just dropped their price to under $150 w/WiFi!!  See ZD Net Article:

• Amazon’s Kindle in crosshairs: Barnes & Noble cuts nook prices as e-reader war heats up

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• 2009 Update: The Kid Stuff Collection - Free classes, study guides, tutorials, and more for kids of all ages, from pre-school through college

Topic: Powerful search tool & web safety rating resource
Format: It’s not training! It’s a Swiss Army knife for your web browser!
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

The LinkExtend Browser Add-On

Sometimes the best learning occurs as you ping-pong around the web, discovering new tutorials, courses, and classes for yourself. If you’re one of those restless, self-directed learners, then LinkExtend is just what you need! It will put your browser on steroids and vastly increase your chances of finding relevant, high-quality and safe websites, no matter what you’re searching for.

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Topic: Photography & its deeper meaning in our lives
Format: Website with a collection of blogs, photographic exhibits, videos, and more
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

Today the average 5-year-old can create crisp, high-quality photographs that would leave the early photographic pioneers gasping in amazement. We are awash in low-cost, simple-to-use image-making tools that have us all generating more pictures than we can process. But what does it all mean? And how has photography changed our lives? … our very consciousness? This amazing website from the Smithsonian will challenge you to think about the answers to these questions and to think about the small, but profound, role that you and your camera may be playing in altering the way humankind thinks about itself.

“click! photography changes everything is a new Smithsonian Photography Initiative program that looks at how photographs don’t just document what we do, but how photography shapes everything that we do.” — Smithsonian Photography Initiative website

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Topic: Overview of iPad hardware & how to use the iPad
Format: 11 Flash & Quicktime Videos (brief, approx. 3 minutes each)
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

This nice, tight collection of 11 short video tutorials will help you learn how to use your new iPad. Or, if you haven’t purchased one yet, it will give you an in-depth tour of Apple’s groundbreaking new device so you can figure out if you really want one… and what you might do with it!

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Topic: How to use Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn
Format: Web-based introductory tutorials and more
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

Have you been avoiding any of these great free social media tools because you can’t figure out where to start? Or, worse, have you signed up for them and find yourself clicking around aimlessly, wondering how to use them to accomplish your goals? Then it’s about time you for you to become more systematic in your self-teaching approach and take advantage of some of the free online training and info available for these products.  In this post, we’ll briefly review some of these resources.

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Topic: Filling an iPod or MP3 player with free learning materials as a holiday gift
Format: Collection of links and info
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

Here’s an idea for a low-cost, high-value holiday gift: Instead of stuffing a stocking, get a bargain iPod or MP3 player and fill it with free learning challenges. Then you’ll be giving one of the most valuable gifts of all: the gift of helping someone learn something new and expand their world!

In this post, we show you how to find a good, low-cost MP3 player and how you can fill it with free learning challenges on just about any topic you can imagine.

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