ToolBook Translation System is software that reduces the cost, time and complexity of creating multilingual content. Using TTS in conjunction with either ToolBook Instructor or ToolBook Assistant ? the two authoring solutions in SumTotal’s ToolBook product line companies can create multilingual content for their global e-learning initiatives. TTS identifies what elements of an online course need to be translated, serves up these elements to a translation expert and preserves any format or design in the course for the pending translation.

“After an author creates a course using either ToolBook Instructor or ToolBook Assistant, he or she simply clicks a few buttons whereupon all the course elements to be translated are put in a digital package,” said Brad Crain, SumTotal’s vice president of ToolBook. “The ToolBook Translation System takes the digital package and delivers it to the person carrying out the translation from, say, English to German. As the translator prepares the German text, she can — with a few keystrokes — see how the course will look in German at any stage of the process.”

ToolBook and TTS give employers a way to divide work between experts. First, instructional designers can tap ToolBook to build training courses. Second, linguists can focus on translations without having to understand how to manipulate software for creating elearning content (i.e., ToolBook Instructor or ToolBook Assistant).With ToolBook and TTS, staff can create multilingual simulations, tutorials, assessments, courseware and other interactive learning content. And if a manager must update the content of a course because of a change in policies or procedures, then translators can tap TTS to handle these revisions without disturbing the online course’s layout, hypertext information, pop-ups or any other data.

When a translator converts the text of an online course from one language into another, TTS remembers the exact context and formatting associated with the text and places the translated copy back into the original layout, mirroring such things as color schemes, simulations and graphics.’TTS doesn’t require that a translator know how to use ToolBook because the TTS application stands apart from ToolBook. This is a key benefit,’ adds Crain, ‘because it enables translators to focus on what they do best — translating content.’

TTS works with numerous languages, including Afrikaans, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.