Posted: 07.23.2012 | Author: Nicole Legault | Filed under: eLearning, Instructional Design | Tags: Adobe Captivate, eLearning, Instructional design, Sample, Storyboard |
I’ve noticed that the e-learning storyboard samples I posted a few weeks back were very popular. Since it’s a resource that a lot of instructional designers and e-learning developers are looking for online (or so my stats would indicate, in any case) I’ve decided to add another template/sample.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, what you include in your storyboard will depend on the specifics of your project. If you’re going to develop the course yourself, you may not need to include notes for the developer. If your project doesn’t use audio, you won’t need a box for narration text or the space to list audio files. It all depends on the project and what your client wants to see in the storyboard. As you can see, in my sample I’ve included a detailed preview of the completed slide. When someone else will be developing the content, I like to show a detailed preview of exactly what I’d like the slide to look like in it’s completed state, so there’s less room for confusion or misunderstandings. I hope these examples serve as inspiration for someone out there who needs to start storyboarding!
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Posted: 12.06.2011 | Author: Nicole Legault | Filed under: eLearning, Graphic Design | Tags: Adobe Captivate, Design, eLearning, Template |
As of late, I have been feeling a “need” to be creative and unleash some of my artistic skills. As such, I’ve been on a roll and producing tons of graphic designs for my blog over the last few days. It’s great to have this blog as an outlet for my energy and to share my artwork. I really appreciate the support everyone’s been showing. So, I just created a few random eLearning slides in Adobe Captivate just for fun! I also use these designs in my portfolio, and might use them as templates in future projects if the opportunity arises. Mostly, just for fun though! Just a few random comments about what went into the design:
- I really like using rectangles with rounded corners. I feel like it really “softens” the design, as opposed to really sharp and angular rectangle edges. I’ve noticed I use them a lot!
- I started out with the photo of the business woman with the headset, and then picked up the light blue background colour from her shirt using the “Eyedropper” tool in the Captivate colour pane. So that’s how I picked my colour scheme. I decided to just go 2 colours, light blue and white.
- I love using photos with white backgrounds, or cutting out the background altogether (as I did with the headset woman). I find it looks clean and less cluttery that having photos with busy backgrounds.
- In a regular project, I would remove the duration/minutes showing at the bottom of the Table of Contents using a widget I found online. Very handy if you don’t want users to see the duration.
- The “decorative” font is called Dear Joe and the body text font is Calibri.
- For the “Incorrect/Correct” slides, I did a copy/paste of the question slide, and then put a gray rectangle with medium transperancy over top. Then I added the “Correct” and “Incorrect” bubbles over top. I like the faded out background effect, although I think I should have made the transperancy level a bit darker. The woman shows through too much.
- I don’t really like how the Captivate TOC says “Slide Title”. I have looked into ways to remove it but have not been succesful as of yet. If anyone knows how, let me know!
- Now that it’s done and I look at the screenshots, I think I would go back and make the Playbar at the bottom an “overlay”. As such, I would have to edit the slides and move everything upwards, so the playbar doesn’t cover anything. But I think it would look better, and would look more balance, as opposed to the playbar hanging off the bottom right now on its own. Not a big deal though.
Feel free to leave feedback and comments.
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Posted: 12.04.2011 | Author: Nicole Legault | Filed under: eLearning, Graphic Design | Tags: Adobe Captivate, Design, eLearning, Template |
Here are some screenshots from a basic eLearning template I created in Adobe Captivate 5.5. Hopefully they can provide some inspiration for your next eLearning project!
Since you’ve made it all the way to the end, perhaps you should subscribe!
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Posted: 10.07.2011 | Author: Nicole Legault | Filed under: eLearning, Instructional Design | Tags: Adobe Captivate, Authoring system, eLearning, Learning management system, Lectora, Moodle |
If you are an eLearning newbie and you’ve been tasked with developing an online course, you are probably asking yourself “Where do I begin?”. While it can be very tempting to some (ME!) to jump right into the creative development aspect, there are some critical things you should get straightened out first. Here are eight initial considerations that you should contemplate before getting started.
1. What are your timelines?
Determining your timelines is an important first step. The software you use, the level of interactivity of the training and the overall quality of an eLearning project is directly impacted by the timelines involved. If you have 1 week to develop a 30 minute eLearning module for a soft skills training course, you might not have much time to get creative, and you almost certainly wouldn’t have time to do anything remotely fancy like audio narration. On the other hand, if you have 3 months to make a 30 minute eLearning module, you have more time to find great graphics, add realistic scenarios, and maybe even throw in some animations and narration. So the first thing to do is to take into consideration how much time you have to create this course.
2. Which authoring software will you use?
There is a plethora of eLearning software out there and as the industry grows new options are available every day. Personally, I am a believer in the tried, tested and true. When it comes to developing rapid eLearning, the top authoring tools are Adobe Captivate, Articulate and Lectora. You could fill a blog about the advantages of one vs. the other (and indeed, such blogs do exist) but the bottom line is that the three are well-known and used by thousands. This means you can find TONS of online help, forums, chatrooms, experts on Twitter, etc. who can answer your questions should you run into any issues. If you are a newbie, chances are you might run into one or two head-scratchers. If you are using new software, there will be a learning curve no matter which one you choose. You can make life easier on yourself by downloading a free trial of any of the abovementioned softwares. This way, you can try them out first and see how you feel about the functionality and interface.
3. How will your learners access the eLearning?
The answer to this question might rest on if you are using a Learning Management System (LMS) or not. A LMS is generally used when you want to track scores and quiz results. If you already have an LMS, then the training will most likely be accessed from inside the LMS. If you don’t currently have a LMS but think you might need one, there are free (*technically free, but you do pay for the server space, time to set it up, etc) ones out there, such as Moodle. Moodle can be set up and configured relatively easily by a web developer or IT department. There are also hundreds of non-free ones, for larger organizations with big projects and lots of eLearning courses.If you aren’t using an LMS at all, there are still options available to track scores (some products come with Quiz Reviewer tools) but you’ll need to decide from where your users will access your eLearning. From an intranet portal? The company website? A shared folder? It’s something to consider early on.
4. What are the required resources?
Before you get started, identify all the resources that you will need for your eLearning project. Your SMEs are one of your most valuable resources. Identify who has the most knowledge on your subject, and who can provide you with explanations and clarifications. Hopefully, they can also provide you with examples, scenarios and (hopefully) help you sort out the need to know. vs the nice to know. Some other resources to consider: image editing software to crop/edit photos, a stock photo account for graphics, recording software to add narration… etc. It is wise to get a good handle on your required resources and have everything approved by management. This should avoid some headaches, i.e, you find the perfect photo, but can’t download it until you get approval from 3 levels of management to order a 25.00$ photo package.
5. Who are the learners?
Who is taking your eLearning course? It’s important to assess your eLearning audience. Are your learners factory workers who aren’t very computer savvy? Or are they software engineers who are highly technical and very computer literate? Will your eLearning course be taken by highly motivated interns and new employees? Or by people who hate their jobs and don’t want to take the course? Take your audience into consideration. Get an overall idea of their level of education, their work experience, knowledge of the subject at hand, average age, background, motivations, etc. This is a critical step which will really help you create a course that is more relevant and meaningful.
6. What are the hardware/software requirements?
Requirements can be many things ranging from simple web access to get to an online eLearning course. Some other examples: will learners need Flash to view the course? Will they need a screen resolution of higher than 800 x 600px? It’s a good idea to put together your hardware and software requirements, to ensure that the vast majority of your learners will be able to access and view your eLearning course without too many issues.
7. What are the branding/ style requirements?
Some organizations have a thick style guide that dictates exactly which font, colour schemes, logos, etc., can be used in any corporate documentation/materials. This may or may not include your eLearning courses. Find out ahead of time if there are style guidelines. If not, it’s still a good idea to stick to the general look and feel of the organization. There’s no need to overdo it and slap a huge logo on each and every slide, but using the basic corporate colours is a simple way to make it consistent with the brand.
8. Does the eLearning need to be localized?
Localizing content can be time-consuming and costly. Even when using sophisticated software, it costs money to translate content and it takes time to duplicate a course in another language. Some design considerations also need to made when content will be translated. Certain languages, like Spanish and French, have more verbiage and longer words than English. This could lead to space constraints, if it’s not taken into consideration in advance.
Are there any other important initial considerations that I’ve left out? Leave a comment!
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