Articulate - Word of Mouth Blog

Weekly Recap: Crowdsource Your Way from Blank Page to Brilliant Interactions

David Anderson — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:51:23 +0000

Having trouble coming up with the right interaction for your project? Maybe you’ve got some ideas, but can’t get the activites quite right. Even the most experienced course designers are stymied from time to time with a blank or lackluster slide.

To beat the sad-space blues, tap into the collective expertise of the Articulate community. It’s your place to crowdsource fresh ideas and tips to help you create the best e-learning possible.

Check out the highlights below from this past week to see how the community’s jazzing up e-learning interactions.

Just a quick note to say THANK YOU to everyone who attended last week’s Rapid E-Learning Pro workshop hosted by Charity Learning. If you’d like to learn more about Global Giveback as a way to help while building your e-learning skills and network, visit Charity Learning’s Global Giveback page for more information.

Have a great week, E-Learning Heroes!

Community tutorials

Conversations in the community

New blog posts

Seen on Twitter

Fine-Tune Articulate Presenter Animations in the Audio Editor

Mike Enders — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:12:43 +0000

Articulate Presenter makes it really easy to sync your animations and audio. You can even fine-tune animation timing inside the audio editor. This can be a huge time-saver.

Let’s say you have a slide with two minutes of narration plus animations that you need precisely timed with the narration. You’ve synced the animations, but when you preview the slide, you notice that one animation is just a little bit off. Do you go through and resync all 10 animations again? I did this far too many times, until I learned that I could adjust a single animation with the audio editor. Here’s how:

Step 1:

In the PowerPoint animation pane, make note of the animation order and the animation you’d like to alter. For example, if you wish to alter the fifth animation out of 10:

Step 2:

Click “Audio Editor” in the Narration area of the Articulate ribbon.

Step 3:

Select the slide that you’d like to edit.

Step 4:

Identify the cue point for the fifth animation and simply drag it to earlier or later in the timeline.

That’s all there is to it. No need to resync all 10 animations; simply adjust the one. I’ll walk you through the process in the following Screenr:

View this screencast on Screenr.com

If you have other favorite time-savers, share them in the comments section below. And if you want more info on using the audio editor, see this screencast. Still have questions? Head over to E-Learning Heroes and ask away!

Weekly Recap: Boost Your Course Esteem

David Anderson — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:24:28 +0000

Are you concerned about pesky imperfections lingering in your course? Hasty development, SME neglect, and prolonged LMS exposure are just a few of the reasons designers put their courses under the knife.

The good news is that you have a number of less-invasive options available that don’t require full-course reconstruction. Cosmetic changes like text reduction, template reshaping, graphic peels, and test augmentation are just a few ways to revitalize your material and boost your course esteem.

Don’t be fooled by e-learning quacks. At E-Learning Heroes, you have a community of expert practitioners willing to give objective feedback and helpful advice. No appointment necessary, all coverages accepted, and there’s never any charge for your consultation.

Every course deserves the opportunity to become its best self. Take a look back at last week’s inspiring nips and tucks, including style guides, user freebies, design competitions, and more:

Community tutorials

Conversations in the community

E-learning style guide examples
What do you want from an e-learning design competition?
Naming conventions for version history
Simplifying and organizing e-learning content in an LMS
How to create an animated elevator door in Storyline
Seeking e-learning examples: Career planning | Professional sports | Project development plan | Read-only courses
Demos & freebies: Retro Arcade | iOS sliders | Interactive sliders | Navigation concept | Simple popup | Progress bar

New blog posts

Seen on Twitter

6 Tips on Designing Courses for iPad with Articulate Storyline

Mayra Aixa Villar, — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:35:56 +0000

I see a lot of questions on E-Learning Heroes about designing for multiple screen sizes. Indeed, mobile design requires new approaches and rules. As architects of learning experiences, we all want to deliver content successfully through different devices. But we’re dealing with not only dimension differences, but also with new learner expectations and behaviors. Mobile learners need access to content beyond the desktop, and they expect immediate, straight-to-the-point, contextual information. They also expect high-quality design and interactions that make their experience more enjoyable. Fortunately, there are mobile design patterns that effectively cater to these needs. In this article, I’ll provide some tips on optimizing your Articulate Storyline content for iPads.

Tip 1: Optimize user interface and user experience for mobile

One way to enhance user experience (UX) in mobile design is to employ an interaction design technique called progressive disclosure. With this technique, you show users (or learners, in this case) general information first, then have them perform an action to explore additional content. This prevents information overload and lets learners uncover content as they need it. Remember that mobile learners often multitask, so it’s very unlikely that you’ll have their full attention. Ignoring this dynamic is a huge mistake in UX design.

The horizontal tabs of an accordion menu are a great example of progressive disclosure. The interaction gives faster access to main topics and lets learners interact more freely with content as they explore each section. A sidebar menu, while a helpful navigation element in many online courses, can actually interrupt the natural way learners interact with content on an iPad. For this reason, I recommend hiding the sidebar menu on the player for the iPad accordion interaction. This also allows designers to focus on the most relevant elements and take full advantage of screen space and touch-based actions.

I was inspired to build an iPad-ready accordion template when I saw this accordion template posted on E-Learning Heroes.

The accordion interaction is great for performance support applications. It provides an easy way for learners using iPads to carry out specific procedures, scan through different sections of a document, and quickly check FAQs in the field. You can include brief explanations or definitions, and illustrate them with short videos or images. As a side note, be sure to optimize your multimedia elements to reduce response times on iPads. I usually use smush.it! to compress images. Also, make sure that your videos are no longer than three to five minutes and that the format is compatible with the target device. MP4 outpaces other formats in mobile delivery since it requires less bandwidth, reduces file size, and provides high-definition videos.

Tip 2: Adjust your canvas size for multiple screens

Another important consideration is the canvas size. A suitable story size for projects that need to be accessed through PCs, laptops, and iPads (without a sidebar) is 960 x 640. On E-Learning Heroes, you can find a comprehensive discussion and tutorial on choosing the right story size.

Tip 3: Look to iOS widgets for inspiration

In order to give the accordion template an “app-like” look and feel, I changed the default feedback box in Articulate Storyline. I adjusted the colors and the size of the feedback box to resemble iOS notifications.

Here’s how I did it:

a. On the View tab, click Feedback Master.

b. Right-click on the grey shape and select Format Shape.

c. Then, adjust the settings.

Tip 4: Publish to Articulate Mobile Player

When you go to publish your course, you’ll find options that include HTML5 output and Articulate Mobile Player, a free iPad app. This app significantly optimizes content viewing on iPad, delivering complex interactions and software simulations with great fidelity. Besides, the output is compatible with Tin Can API-supported learning management systems, such as Articulate Online.

If you decide to deliver content via mobile browsers instead of using the native Articulate Mobile Player app, be aware that HTML5 presents some limitations and you should review this list to make sure your interaction will work as designed.

Tip 5: Test on real devices

Even though you can test how your course will look on a mobile device with an online emulator such as http://ipad-emulator.org/ or http://ipadpeek.com/, it’s always better to test your courses in a real performance environment, under real delivery conditions. This will allow you to identify problems more precisely and avoid potential issues with the final product. More importantly, through usability testing, you’ll gain a better understanding of how your design performs and renders when deployed on devices like iPad.

To emphasize this point, I want to share a mistake I made when I designed this mobile accordion template. I’m used to designing for the precision of the mouse, so thought nothing of linking screens by placing small rectangular hotspots over the button images. On a PC, the hotspots would have worked perfectly well. But as soon as I launched the course on my iPad, I realized I needed a larger hotspot to enhance usability. Why? Because of the way we hold mobile devices and how we can “touch” the content with both hands.

To quickly test your projects on iPad, upload your published content to a cloud storage server like Dropbox and email yourself the link to the story_HMTL5.html or ioslaunch.html. You can find more information here.

Tip 6: Get help on E-learning Heroes

One last note. If you’re just getting started with mobile learning, E-Learning Heroes is definitely the place to find great assets, clear-cut answers, and inspiration for your future projects. When I embarked on m-learning design, it was so valuable in helping me put all the pieces together.

If you have more suggestions on designing, testing, and delivering iPad solutions with Articulate Storyline, please leave your comments below or post on E-Learning Heroes!

You can also view a screencast about my accordion interaction here and download the iPad-ready Articulate Storyline template here.

Weekly Recap: Freshen Up Your Look

David Anderson — Mon, 06 May 2013 13:24:03 +0000

Taking on an e-learning course remodel seems like a daunting task. Whether you’re going for a quick touch-up or a complete renovation, it’s easy to paint yourself into a corner. But “do-it-yourself” doesn’t mean you have to do it by yourself! Lean on the E-Learning Heroes community to lend a hand with inspiration, guidance, and handy tips to make your project shine.

Here’s a look back at the community’s e-learning creative palette, including audio tips, user demos, development times, and more:

Community tutorials

Conversations in the community

New blog posts

Seen on Twitter

How to Build Video Quizzes in Articulate Quizmaker

David Anderson — Fri, 03 May 2013 19:12:31 +0000

Video-based quizzing gives you so much flexibility to choose the questions you ask and the material you cover. When I’m building interactive video quizzes, I like to use slide view in Articulate Quizmaker ’09 to work with slide objects and quiz elements. Today, I want to share with you two ways that slide view can help you do more with your video quizzes—and make them more memorable for learners, too.

Sequence quiz questions and video

If you want to make sure learners see important videos, you can delay showing your quiz questions until after your video finishes. And, since the video and questions are on the same slide, learners can easily review the video for information they missed. Simply use the timeline in slide view to control the timing of your video and questions—watch this screencast to see how:

View this screencast on Screenr.com

Integrate quiz questions with your video

Another reason I like the slide view in Quizmaker is that it lets me access specialized question types like the sequence dropdown. E-learning developers often use this question type to have learners select items from drop-down menus and arrange them in sequence. However, you can also use this feature to create a series of multiple-choice questions that display at the same time as your video. As the video plays, learners choose their answers based on what they see and hear in the video. Check out this screencast to see how:

View this screencast on Screenr.com

For even more ways to use video in your Quizmaker quizzes, check out the following tutorials:

Weekly Recap: View This Week’s Specials from the Articulate Community

David Anderson — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:10:55 +0000

From our community to yours! Now it’s even easier to stick to your budget and build better e-learning. Loaded with free graphics, templates, storyboards, and job aids, the Articulate Community makes e-learning fun for teams of all sizes. Visit E-Learning Heroes for more specials.

Community tutorials:

Conversations in the community:

New blog posts:

Seen on Twitter:

Introducing New Articulate Super Hero: Nancy Woinoski

Maria LeStage — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:45:21 +0000

Time to shine a light on another great Articulate Super Hero, Nancy Woinoski! She’s using her sparkly superpowers to keep the Articulate community informed, engaged, and brimming with bright ideas.

An independent e-learning consultant, Nancy first joined the community around the time that Articulate Studio ’09 came out to do some pre-purchase reconnaissance. “Like most newcomers,” she recalls, “I lurked in the forums, popping in and out whenever I needed an answer to a question. Once I saw how friendly, responsive, and powerful the community was, I became much more involved.”

Nancy highlights the genuine roll-up-your-sleeves nature of the community. “The Articulate community is filled with real people, happy to share not only their issues but their ideas, insights, tips, and designs. People take the time to look at problem files and come up with creative solutions.” She marvels that the community does more than just help out—they hop right to it, usually in 10 minutes or less!

People in the e-learning community know Nancy for her fun and fresh ideas, but she’s quick to credit the Articulate community for keeping her up on new and better ways to work. “Once, a member posted a question looking for help with a drop-down menu,” says Nancy. “Within a day, a banter between community-mates produced a steady stream of solutions and refinements that really opened my eyes.” She continues, “It’s a great example of the way this community collaborates.”

Nancy’s got tricks of her own that she’s quick to share with the community as well. Check out this screencast for a fun way to create a jazzy background in your course:

View this screencast on Screenr.com

She counsels e-learning designers new to Storyline on the fastest route to get up to speed: “Take a project you built in another e-learning tool and try to recreate it in Storyline. You’ll see the differences right away.” Nancy also encourages anyone, from newbies to experienced designers, to get involved with the Articulate community. “It’s like this wonderful e-learning incubator you can tap into any time, day or night, whenever you need inspiration, motivation, or solutions.”

We’re so lucky to have this twinkle-eyed Super Hero in our midst, using her superpowers to support the e-learning community. Thank you, Nancy, for your inspiration and motivation over the years!

Fun facts:

Nancy has a real appetite for adventure. She’s on a quest to visit all the countries in the world—yep, all 195 of them! She’s 30 countries in and eyeing her next destination. How about an interactive map of your travels, Nancy, so we can keep tabs on you?

Oh, and once, while she was offshore, a pod of killer whales chased a sea lion right into her boat. That’s no fish story!

Where to find Nancy:

Message her in E-Learning Heroes
Visit her website at pinchedhead.com
Follow her on Twitter @pinchedhead

Weekly Recap: Tips, Tricks, and Templates to Help Your E-Learning Steal the Show

David Anderson — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:55:13 +0000

If you’re noodling on some script ideas for your next big course, consider pitching your idea in E-Learning Heroes. The helpful folks in the Articulate community won’t care if you’re producing low-budget indies or corporate blockbusters—they’re willing to help everyone become e-learning stars!

This week’s recap features tips for getting started, portfolios, free templates, and lots more! Check out the highlights below:

Community tutorials:

Conversations in the community:

New blog posts:

Seen on Twitter:

Quizmaker Discoveries

Mike Enders — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:23:45 +0000

When I first started working with Articulate Quizmaker, I was hooked by how easily I could create super-functional quizzes in form view. Then one day I discovered slide view and realized that Quizmaker has so much more to offer than meets the eye. Slide view completely changed how I use Quizmaker, and I want to share three of my favorite discoveries with you.

Timeline Controls

The timeline is a feature I certainly didn’t expect to find, so maybe it will surprise you too. With it, you can control the way items enter and exit the screen, as well as change their layer positions (front to back, and vice versa). It’s super easy to revise the timing or layering of an object. Watch this video for tips on using the Quizmaker timeline:

View this screencast on Screenr.com

Design Features

Many people don’t realize they can use Quizmaker as a stand-alone e-learning tool to build entire courses. It has PowerPoint-like design tools, animation controls, built-in branching capabilities, and much more. You can actually create dynamic content without ever leaving Quizmaker. Take a look at this wonderful course by David Anderson and see for yourself how to use Quizmaker’s sleek built-in branching tool.

Media layering

My favorite discovery is the way Quizmaker handles media. It’s a cinch to insert video and then adjust the content layers in front of or behind it. For example, you can design a special frame to go on top of a video to give it visual pop. Watch this video to see how easy it is to layer content over your video:

View this screencast on Screenr.com

For more great Quizmaker tips, check out the Screenr streams from Jeanette Brooks and David Anderson. You’ll find a bunch of ideas for your next Quizmaker project!