Month: September 2014

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Fundamentals of Designing and Developing Cost-Effective eLearning

When: September 22-25
Where: McCormick Place, Chicago (Part of the Online Learning Conference Certification program)

There are multiple tools available that will let you create compelling eLearning content including Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, TechSmith Camtasia Studio, and Adobe Presenter. But which tool is the best, most affordable option for your needs?

Once you select your eLearning tool, what's next? How do you get started creating your first eLearning content? Once you start, how long is it going to take you to finish? What's the real cost for your effort? Are there hidden costs? How will you be able to measure the effectiveness of your eLearning?

Join IconLogic's Kevin Siegel for an intense, tool-agnostic, hands-on workshop where you'll get a jump start on  building your first eLearning course.

Among other things, you'll learn:

  • Strategies for building effective eLearning
  • The eLearning development process
  • How to create an eLearning script and/or storyboard
  • How to get started on creating eLearning content using Captivate, Storyline, Camtasia or Presenter

More information.

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September eLearning User Group Meeting in the Books

Last night the Adobe eLearning User Group: DC, Maryland, and Virginia met at the Adobe offices in McLean, VA (and online for those folks that couldn't join in person).

During the meeting, the group was treated to an awesome presentation on creating eLearning Voiceover Scripts by Jennie Ruby. And while the Connect session gave us fits (it kept crashing poor Jennie's computer every time she tried to screen share), everyone who attended virtually was still able to hear Jennie's talk. (Special thanks to Lori Smith for serving as the go-between for the onsite audience and the virtual audience.)

Ruby1

If you attended (or listed to the audio portion of the presentation), you learned 10 valuable tips for create effective voiceover scripts including who's talking, who's listening, the value of consistent naming of screen objects, and effective use a style guides and script templates.

Ruby2

Of course, the pizza was awesome too (especially that vegan, gluten-free one… what was that one again AJ?).

Our next meeting is early November. Stay tuned to our Meetup page for more information on that. If you'd like to speak at one of our sessions, please let me know (we're always looking for sponsors as well).

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Writing & Grammar: Confusing Words for 400

by Jennie Ruby View our profile on LinkedIn
 
Answers to the Confusing Words for 300 challenge are brought to you by Jay Herman:
  1. What is the main principle/principal involved in this physics problem?
  2. Do you remember the principle/principal of your elementary school?
  3. The principle/principal mathematical principle/principal involved in calculating a tip is moving the decimal point.
  4. How much principle/principal will we pay off in the first year of the loan?
  5. What are the principle/principal parts of speech in Latin?
  6. How much further/farther can we drive before needing gas?
  7. Mars is further/farther from Earth than the moon is.
  8. How much further/farther can we pursue this discussion before we get into a fight?
  9. Can we farther/further our goals by raising the interest rate a little farther/further?
  10. The lake is a little farther/further away from the road than/then the playground.

Correct respondents: Kathi Reynolds, Judy Bragg, Chris Zimmel, Lisset Vega, Aimee Bosse, Ginny Supranowitz, Mindy Clark, Beth Grace, Tanya Davis, Vera Sytch, and Martha A. Phillips.

The problems the most people missed were number 6 and number 9, both involving further versus farther, and understandably so. How much further/farther can we drive can be construed as either how much more or how much longer (in time), which could justify using the word further. However, I wanted to see the answer farther, referring to the distance. In raising the interest rate further/farther, I was looking for the answer further, in the sense of more. However, a strict reading of Merriam Webster's take on these words could allow the idea of how much farther (distance upward) can we raise the interest rate.

And bunches of you still missed additional problems later in the sentences! Watch out!

Confusing Words for 400

It's hard to get possessive pronouns versus contractions correct, not because we don't know them, but because we forget to check or we make a too-hasty decision.

Here are a few that will get you if you are not careful: 

it's (it is)
its (belonging to it)

you're (you are)
your (belonging to you)

who's (who is)
whose (belong to whom)

Give these a try, and watch for multiple problems in the same sentence.
  1. Its/It's not a forgone conclusion that your/you're going to get these right.
  2. Your/you're spelling checker may not correct these errors.
  3. Your/you're likely to forget to save your/you're file if you leave work to / too quickly.
  4. Whose/who's to blame if the database is not updated properly?
  5. Whose/who's keys are these?
  6. The program may crash if its/it's cache is not cleared.
  7. The client whose/who's form was received yesterday told us there was an error in its/it's text.
  8. Whose/who's on first? asked the comedian whose/who's name escapes me at the moment.
 As always, feel free to post your answers below as comments.

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If you love Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Check out some of Jennie's mini courses.
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eLearning: Articulate Storyline and Microsoft PowerPoint

by Kevin Siegel Follow us on Twitter View our profile on LinkedIn View our videos on YouTube

If Microsoft PowerPoint is your starting point for developing eLearning content, you can reuse that content in any of the top eLearning development tools including Adobe Presenter, Adobe Captivate, and TechSmith Camtasia Studio.

This week I'm going to show you how to use Articulate Storyline and PowerPoint to jump start the eLearning development process.

You can either create a new Storyline project using a PowerPoint presentation or import PowerPoint content into an existing Storyline project. In the image below, notice that there is an Import PowerPoint menu item on Storyline's Welcome screen.

Articulate Storyline: Import PowerPoint

After clicking Import PowerPoint and opening the PowerPoint presentation, the Import Slides dialog box opens. You can select all of the PowerPoint slides or pick and choose. Once you've selected the slide(s) you want, click the Import button.

Articulate Storyline: Import PowerPoint dialog box.

The PowerPoint slides are imported into the Storyline project as Storyline slides and you'll end up in Story View.

Articulate Storyline: PowerPoint Slides in Story View

Unlike Camtasia (where the presentation becomes one, uneditable video), or Captivate (where each slide is converted to an uneditable video), opening a Storyline slide reveals an interesting possibility: the original PowerPoint slide objects can be manipulated. For instance, in the image below, the PowerPoint text box says "To continually develop…"

Articulate Storyline: Content from PowerPoint before editing.

Without leaving Storyline, I was able to edit the text in the image below to "To usually develop…"

Articulate Storyline: Content from PowerPoint after editing

The ability to edit the PowerPoint content directly in Storyline is awesome. However, there is no link between Storyline and the original PowerPoint presentation. If your subject matter expert is still making changes to the original PowerPoint presentation, you won't see those changes in Storyline (moreover, you'll have to make those changes in Storyline yourself). If the PowerPoint presentation is a moving target, you might want to wait until all of the PowerPoint edits are final prior to importing the presentation into Storyline. As I showed you last week, a Captivate project and original PowerPoint presentation can be linked. If the PowerPoint presentation is updated, you can easily get those updates to appear in Captivate. You might want to keep this fundamental difference between Captivate and Storyline in mind when choosing between the two development tools.

According to Articulate Support, here are some other limitations you should keep in mind when importing PowerPoint content:
  • Imported text may not look the same way it does in PowerPoint. You may find some variations in font size, line spacing, alignment, colors, or bullets.
  • Presentation size: If your PowerPoint presentation is a different size than your Storyline project, you may need to make adjustments to the size and placement of objects after importing them. Or, you can change your story size to match your PowerPoint presentation before importing.
  • Embedded fonts: Storyline doesn't support embedded fonts from PowerPoint. If a font used in the PowerPoint presentation isn't installed on your computer, Storyline will apply the default Articulate font to the imported text.
  • Animations and slide transitions: PowerPoint entrance and exit animations are supported in Storyline and will be imported–though some will be converted to Fade animations. Similarly, some PowerPoint slide transitions are supported in Storyline, while others get converted to Fade transitions. Emphasis animations and motion paths aren't supported and won't be imported into Storyline.
  • SmartArt Graphics will be imported as images.
  • Tables will be imported as images.
  • Equations will be imported as images.
  • Slide numbers won't be imported into Storyline.
  • 3-D rotation: Objects with 3-D rotation will be imported as images without 3-D rotation.
  • GIF images: Animated GIFs will be imported as static images.
  • Line thicknesses: Border and line widths may appear slightly different in Storyline.
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Looking for instructor-led training on Articulate Storyline? Check out our live, online, instructor-led Storyline classes.
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Writing & Grammar: Answers to Confusing Words for 200… And a Challenge for 300

by Jennie Ruby View our profile on LinkedIn
 
Answers to the Confusing Words for 200 challenge are brought to you by Donna Knoell.
  1. The Washington Monument is taller than/then the Capitol dome.
  2. Lunch was later than/then we thought.
  3. The paddleboard is much longer than/then most surf boards.
  4. First we paddled up the creek, than/then we paddled down.
  5. The mouth of the Magothy River is much wider than/then the mouth of the Severn.
  6. The instructors were much more adept/adapt/adopt at maneuvering than/then the beginners were.
  7. We wanted to adept/adapt/adopt the puppy, but first it needed some shots.
  8. How adept/adapt/adopt are you at balancing on a floating board?
  9. You have to adept/adapt/adopt your stance to the circumstances.
  10. Is there some way we can adept/adapt/adopt this oar, which is much too long, for use with a canoe?
Other correct answers came from Eric Nilsson, Chris Zimmel,Stacey Edwards, Melanie Elick, Tara Allen, Ginny Supranowitz, Karyn R Smith, Michael Stein, Stacie Oste,Patrick Brown, Toni Wills, James Dorman, Kim Bullman, Jim Dages, Mindy Clark, Karyn Highet, Kay Honaker, Lynn Walpole, Rocky Willett, Denise Miller, and Krista Allen [roughly in order of receipt].
 
Although many of you missed the fact that number 6 had two confusing words in it, I did not count that against you if you got all the rest correct.
 
Number 2 was the hardest one, with many hapless souls choosing then, when it should be than. I think the tricky part was that a time was mentioned, and then is used to indicate time. However, the time was being compared to another time, so the sense of comparison was needed, giving us the word than.
 
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Confusing Words for 300
 
The world principle is always some kind of rule. Notice that rule and principle both end in -le. Principal is not only the head of a school, but also the most important aspect or the main part of anything–the main part of a mortgage loan, for example.
  • The most important principle in plumbing is that water runs downhill.
  • You can pay off a little extra principal each month to shorten the length of your loan.
 
Farther is a distance (remember–farther). Further is an extension, a deeper discussion, or a verb meaning to extend or pursue.
  • She bicycled farther than he did.
  • We need to examine this question further.
  • To further this discussion, we will need more data.
 
Let's take a look at these confusing words in action. (Watch out for sentences that contain two problems!)
 
  1. What is the main principle/principal involved in this physics problem?
  2. Do you remember the principle/principal of your elementary school?
  3. The principle/principal mathematical principle/principal involved in calculating a tip is moving the decimal point.
  4. How much principle/principal will we pay off in the first year of the loan?
  5. What are the principle/principal parts of speech in Latin?
  6. How much further/farther can we drive before needing gas?
  7. Mars is further/farther from Earth than the moon is.
  8. How much further/farther can we pursue this discussion before we get into a fight?
  9. Can we farther/further our goals by raising the interest rate a little farther/further?
  10. The lake is a little farther/further away from the road than/then the playground.

Feel free to post your answers below as comments.

***
If you love Jennie's articles, you'll love her classes. Check out some of Jennie's mini courses.
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Microsoft PowerPoint: Character Challenge

by AJ Walther Follow us on Twitter View our profile on LinkedIn
 
A few weeks ago I presented a Character Challenge and asked readers to send in their PowerPoint-created eLearning characters. A round of applause for Tracey Stokely's awesome customized character!
 
Tracey Stokely character
 
Last time I submitted a before and after of IconLogic's Kevin Siegel. This time I decided to go ahead and play my own game and create my own eLearning character self-portrait. Ta-da!
 
eLearning: AJ as a character.
 
If you were feeling shy, but Tracey has inspired you, feel free to keep sending along those character submissions! 

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If you love AJ's articles, you'll love her Optimizing PowerPoint Design for eLearning & Presentations mini course.
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Localization: Training and Development in Ireland

by Jen Weaver Follow us on Twitter View our profile on LinkedIn
 
Most of us have limited awareness of Irish culture beyond Saint Patrick's Day and leprechauns. Never fear! Today's article explores some common cultural facts about the Irish and their expectations when it comes to training and development.

Test Your Knowledge of Irish Culture

  1. True or False. Ireland has one official language: Irish.
  2. True or False. The Irish are known as a cold harsh people, aka "the Fighting Irish".

Quick Tips for Training & Development in Ireland1:

  • Strains of pessimism run deep in the Irish due to hard times throughout history. You may struggle to communicate optimistic outlooks when training learners in this country.
  • Surprisingly, Irish is a second language to those who are fluent in it. Irish is a required subject to study in school and is necessary for careers in academia and civil service, but the native language for Irish inhabitants is English.
  • The Irish tend to be fairly open to risk and make decisions based on a combination of facts and emotion.
  • Irish culture does not place significant value on wealth, and many people believe the poor should receive the same respect as those who are rich and successful.
  • Irish expect punctuality but tend to be slightly more relaxed than the English when it comes to time. Deadlines may be interpreted as approximations or suggestions, so be clear on your expectations or include a buffer in your timeline.
  • While Northern Ireland is part of the UK, never use English or British symbols in your training materials. Some helpful examples include; the British flag, Royal Guardsmen, double-decker buses, or red post boxes.
  • In training, sports analogies will go over well, especially if you reference popular Irish teams.
  • Avoid controversial, political, or religious topics in casual conversation. If someone else broaches the subject, refrain from commenting unless voicing areas you agree with. Many older generations are especially conservative, and you risk alienating your audience if you disagree.
  • In general, the Irish refrain from exaggerated gestures. Be mindful of this cultural trait, as emphatic gesturing may not translate well to this audience.

Culture Answers:

  1. False. Ireland actually has two official languages: Irish and English.
  2. False. Many Irish people are extremely welcoming of strangers and are known to strike up conversations on the street. Irish friendliness and hospitality are easily recognized characteristics of this culture. The "Fighting Irish" is actually Notre Dame's athletic nickname.
References:
 
1Morrison, Terri, & Conaway, Wayne A. (2006). Kiss, bow, or shake hands (2nd ed.). Avon: Adams Media.
 
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Developing international training and development materials? Contact Jen at Carmazzi Global Solutions.
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eLearning: Adobe Captivate and Microsoft PowerPoint

by Kevin Siegel Follow us on Twitter View our profile on LinkedIn View our videos on YouTube

What came first, the chicken or the egg? Wait… before answering that, let's rework that classic question with this: what comes first, the eLearning or the PowerPoint presentation?

When developing eLearning, the content is often created in Microsoft PowerPoint first. I'm not going to get into what it takes to create visually compelling PowerPoint presentations (we have a mini course for that). Instead, I'm going to show you how to take existing PowerPoint content and quickly re-purpose it for eLearning.

Earlier this year I wrote an article teaching you how to take PowerPoint content and create eLearning using either TechSmith Camtasia Studio or Adobe Presenter. Over the next two weeks, I'm going to show you how to use your PowerPoint content in Adobe Captivate and Articulate Storyline.

Adobe Captivate and PowerPoint

You can import PowerPoint slides into an existing Captivate project or create a new project that uses the PowerPoint slides. During the import process, Captivate includes the ability to create a link between a Captivate project and PowerPoint presentation. Using this workflow, any changes made to the original PowerPoint presentation can be reflected in the Captivate project.
 
Note: Microsoft PowerPoint must be installed on your computer before you can import PowerPoint presentations into Captivate. Also, the ability to import PowerPoint presentations isn't new. In fact, Captivate has supported PowerPoint imports for years. If you're using a legacy version of Captivate (even version 4 and 5), the steps below will work for you just fine.

To create a new project from a PowerPoint presentation, choose File > New Project > Project From MS PowerPoint and open the PowerPoint presentation. 

The Convert PowerPoint Presentations dialog box opens, offering a few controls over how the presentation is imported.

Adobe Captivate: Advanced Slide Options. 

The On mouse click option adds a click box to each Captivate slide. The other available option, Automatically, results in Captivate slides that, when viewed by a learner, automatically move from slide to slide every three seconds. At the lower right of the dialog box, there are options for High Fidelity and Linked.

Adobe Captivate: High Fidelity and Linked options. 

During a standard import process, PowerPoint pptx presentations are first converted to the ppt format and then converted to SWF. If you select High Fidelity, the import process takes native pptx files directly to Captivate SWF (the ppt conversion is skipped). This option, which is available only in Captivate for Windows, results in the best-looking content in Captivate, but it takes much longer to complete the import process. 

 
The Linked option creates a link between the PowerPoint presentation and the new Captivate project. The link allows you to open the PowerPoint presentation from within Captivate. Additionally, any changes made externally to the PowerPoint presentation can be reflected in the Captivate project with a few mouse clicks. 
 
After the PowerPoint slides are imported into Captivate, you can add Captivate objects such as captions, highlight boxes, or animations. 
 
Adobe Captivate: Imported PowerPoint Presentation
 
If you need to edit the PowerPoint slides, choose Edit > Edit with Microsoft PowerPoint > Edit Presentation. The Presentation will open in a window that can best be described as a union between Captivate and PowerPoint. If you've used PowerPoint before, you will recognize the familiar PowerPoint interface. 

There are two buttons you wouldn't normally see if you opened the presentation directly in PowerPoint: the Save and Cancel buttons at the upper left of the window. Once you have edited the PowerPoint slides, click the Save button and the changes will appear in the Captivate project.

Adobe Captivate: Save and Cancel

If the PowerPoint presentation has been edited outside of Captivate, (perhaps your subject matter expert is adding or removing content from the presentation) you can still get the changes. Choose Window > Library. On the Library, notice that there is a Status column.

A red button will indicate that the PowerPoint slides within the Captivate project are no longer synchronized with the PowerPoint presentation. A simple click on the red button will update the Captivate slides.

Adobe Captivate: Not in synch with source.  

Next week: Articulate Storyline and PowerPoint.

 

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Looking for instructor-led training on Adobe Captivate? Check out our live, online, instructor-led Captivate classes.