We  just released some new training content:

iPad iOS 6 – Courseware
Mac Basics – Courseware
PC Basics – Web Based Training

Current clients can log in to their LMS account to access these courses. Stay tuned for online learning for iPad Basics and Mac Basics!

For more information, please email us at info@customguide.com, or call us at 888.903.2432.

The CustomGuide team is on its way to DevLearn 2012 in Las Vegas. We are looking forward to attending the conference and expo tomorrow, and catching up with many of you at our booth. Here’s how you can find us:

• Visit us at Booth 407. Look over our products, and tell us about your training needs.
• Attend our session, “Enriching Training with After-class Resources” at the Technology Enriched Training Stage at 12 p.m. on Wednesday.
• Look for the people in blue shirts! We’re excited to attend the phenomenal sessions at DevLearn.

See you soon!

One of the annual rituals we have at CustomGuide is Presentation Day. It’s a day that everyone looks forward to because it’s a change of pace. The day’s schedule usually includes presentations from each department, a catered lunch (dessert included!), and a group activity. This year, we’re having lunch at a nearby restaurant/bowling alley so we can bowl a few games in the afternoon. It’s going to be a great day.

Of course, the purpose of Presentation Day isn’t only social. It’s really an opportunity to assess how our company is doing as a whole. Each department gives a presentation that reviews the past year and looks ahead to the future. It’s also a time where we try to forecast what the next year will bring, and the goals we need to set in order to make them happen.

While each department has its own set of responsibilities, skills, and goals, here are some of the company-wide initiatives we’ve been working on:

Mobile is a necessity: Making our training material available on mobile devices is something that’s been on our radar for a long time.

What we’ve done: We’ve made a lot of preparations for mobile, such as converting our existing Flash WBT tutorials to mobile-compatible video, and adapting Captivate instead of Flash as our WBT development tool.
On the horizon: We are in the process of making our materials available as iBooks on the iPad, and continue to look for an HTML 5 solution that provides the interactivity we need in the future.

People like to customize: While off-the-shelf training materials like ours are great, people like to have custom courses that are specific to the needs of their organization.

What we’ve done: Customization has always been a main feature of our materials. Whether training is used in print or online, our clients are encouraged to use only the tutorials they need for their courses.
On the horizon: We are working on a new product that allows users to create and manage their own courses online. Look for more information in 2013.

People like great content: Last but not least, content has always been the foundation of CustomGuide. It’s why people keep coming back to us.

What we’ve done: We’ve continued to make new courses available over the last year, in conjunction with making big changes in our development process and tackling new products.
On the horizon: Look for web-based training for the iPad and more business skills titles on the way. As always, we are closely watching release dates and betas on Microsoft Office 2013 and Windows 8 as well.

So as we share in our Presentation Day tomorrow, we invite you to share with us. What are some of the training goals and needs that you have for 2013? How can we help you meet these goals and needs?

Jon High, president of CustomGuide, recently went on a mission vacation with his family to El Salvador. Such vacations are in vogue now, where you visit an exotic location and do good works while you’re there; a holistic rejuvenation of the body and spirit.

But for Jon and his family, it was more than a family vacation. It was a chance to continue the relationship CustomGuide started two years ago with AMILAT (Asociación Amigos para Latinoamerica), a non-profit organization that operates an orphanage and school in El Salvador.

 

In late 2009, CustomGuide’s founders, brothers Dan and Jon High, were doing their end of the year bookkeeping when they realized that they had a decent profit. Having grown up in a household where giving and helping others was valued and practiced, they decided to donate a significant portion of their profits–$30,000– to someone in need.

They didn’t have to think long before they knew where they wanted to send it. Their mother, Carol High, was a frequent volunteer at AMILAT, which ran a school and orphanage in El Salvador. Having heard her stories about the school and orphanage, they felt their donation would have a positive impact on the students and orphans living there.

“We didn’t really know what would happen with our donation, we just figured it would go for whatever was most needed,” Dan High said. When they were told that the funds went to creating a computer lab, they were pleased.

“Computers and technology are a way for these kids to have more opportunities and a better future,” Jon High said. As for the naming of the lab? “We didn’t expect to be recognized like that, but it’s very flattering,” he said.

The the most valuable lesson is the one taught by the students in their gratitude and appreciation for the opportunity to use these new tools. You can see it in PowerPoint presentation the children made with the help of their instructor. Hard not to love the eager smiles and bright shining eyes from these kids.