I haven’t posted my Top 10 Tools for Learning, part of the list curated by Jane Hart, for some years. So it’s time to fix that.

The list below is my top 10 in no particular order. I wouldn’t rate one over another because they’re all important at different times and in different ways. I am surprised with how few changes there are with previous lists – is that a lack of new tools or am I not changing?

Tweetdeck – I’m a big fan of Twitter as a means of connecting, but the most recent updates to the interface make it an unpleasant experience. I’ve used Tweetdeck for years as my primary desktop Twitter app because of the way its easy to set up # channels, etc. The key benefit now is that promoted tweets don’t appear in my timelines.

Feedly – since the removal of Google Reader, Feedly has been my go to RSS feed reader. It’s easily configurable and the best way to aggregate topics and content. I have some 150 sites feeding content in on an hourly basis and it really helps find the new and interesting.

WordPress – the host of this blog for 8 years and still (in my opinion) the best blogging tool. Simple, quick, portable across devices.

YouTube – for technical learning queries, YouTube is a great resource. I wouldn’t go anywhere else for Excel related guidance.

PocketCast – one of the few paid apps I use, PocketCast is my preferred podcast app. Easy to add sources and synchronisation across devices makes it my preferred choice.

Kindle – I don’t like being part of Amazon’s infrastructure but it’s still the best library and easiest way to carry a personal library.

Pocket – I use Pocket extensively to bookmark content to read later. It works as the sift from Feedly; content I want to read is stored there for as long as I need. It’s a great way to store links people send via Twitter etc to read later.

MS Teams – I expect MS Teams is going to take over internal platforms over the next few years. It simply works as a tool to cooperate, share and communicate.

TED Talks – Still the best place to find jewels of interesting content. Its diverse range of topics is a good place to start research. The keyword there is start – don’t use it as a singular source and it will add to your other information streams.

Evernote – I draft blog posts in Evernote, save receipts in Evernote, archive notes in Evernote, retain libraries of content in Evernote. One tool with so many uses. It does get better the more you use it and, again, is an app I pay for.