eLearning – Page 19 – The Logical Blog

December 20, 2013

eLearning and PowerPoint: The Right to Bare Slides

by AJ Walther

I saw a guy the other day wearing a t-shirt that read, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." Often the same holds true for PowerPoint presentations. "PowerPoint doesn't kill presentations, people kill presentations."

It's easy to point the finger at PowerPoint for making office meetings unsuccessful and eLearning lessons a snore, but the truth is that poor design is really to blame.

The good news is that you don't have to be a seasoned designer to produce beautiful and effective presentations. Here are a couple of tips to get you started.

Steer Clear of Bullets, Old-School Clip Art, and Backgrounds and Animation Effects

There are certainly occasions when maybe a bullet really is the most successful way to convey an idea. However, just because PowerPoint defaults to using a bulleted format doesn't mean that you should go with the flow and present all your information with a bullet in front of it.

Try splitting the bullets up into separate slides with a single image to illustrate each point or forego the text altogether and replace it with a chart, diagram, or other informative image.

It is not necessary to have every bit of information you cover on the slide. Encourage your audience to listen; and, if necessary, take notes based on what you say, not what is on the slide.

If the bullets were more for you than for your audience, put the bullets in the PowerPoint notes section so that only you can see them.

Nothing says "High School Presentation Circa 1997" quite like a dancing animated image clumsily plopped on a rainbow gradient background with a big, garish WordArt title (complete with myriad animation effects).

Keep in mind that PowerPoint presentations are plentiful–particularly bad ones. Trust me, your audience will not be impressed with how many moving, colorful parts each slide contains.

Consider taking more of a photographic approach to the images you use. PowerPoint comes pre-loaded with photograph clip art images you can use. If you find the selection isn't enough to suit your needs, try looking online for stock photos. There are many free sites, but keep in mind that to save time and frustration (and improve on the selection and quality) you might want to set aside a budget to pay for images. A useful list of stock photo sites can be found here.

Before

eLearning and PowerPoint: Before a redesign

After:

eLearning and PowerPoint: Redesigned slide 1

eLearning and PowerPoint: Redesigned slide 2

eLearning and PowerPoint: Redesigned slide 3

Use Full Bleed Pictures

If you want to really make a statement with your image, resist the temptation to slap it on a slide alongside your text. Instead simplify it by using one pertinent full-bleed image on the slide in conjunction with a very small blurb of text (or no text at all).

Be sure the image you use is high enough resolution so as not to pixelate (blur) and consider using text with enough contrast to be visible on your image.

Before:

eLearning and PowerPoint: Another slide before a redesign.

After:

eLearning and PowerPoint: Redesigned slide 4

December 4, 2013

Adobe Captivate 7.01: A True Star

by Kevin Siegel

Smart Shapes were introduced with Adobe Captivate 6. At that time, one of the most often-requested shapes that needed to be added was a Star shape.

When Adobe Captivate 7 was introduced, many developers were disappointed that there still wasn't a Star Smart Shape. Oh the heart-ache… oh the drama. Well, you'll be happy to learn that the drama and the heart-ache are over… and you didn't have to wait for Captivate 8.

Adobe recently released a service patch for Captivate 7 (to 7.01). Last week I wrote about the enhanced lock feature found in the patch. This week, let's explore the Star Smart Shape.

To add a Star, choose Insert > Standard Objects > Smart Shape. The Smart Shapes window will open and you'll find the Star grouped with the Basic shapes (shown in the image below).

Once you've drawn the Star, you can use the Properties panel to change the look of the Star, just like any other slide object. In particular, you'll find a Spikes area on the Fill & Stroke group (shown in the image below) allowing you to change the number of points contained within the Star.

And as with all Smart Shapes, always look for the yellow box (shown at the top of the Star in the image below). Dragging the yellow box further modifies the look and feel of the shape.

If you'd like to see a demonstration of how the new Star Smart Shape works in Adobe Captivate 7.01, check out this video on the IconLogic YouTube channel.

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Looking for training on Adobe Captivate? IconLogic offers multiple live, online Adobe Captivate classes each month including Introduction to Adobe Captivate and Advanced Adobe Captivate.

November 27, 2013

eLearning and Design: Another Typography Game and Perhaps Some Inspiration

by AJ Walther

Tantalized by typography? Gaga for good design? Head over heels for history? Gung-ho for a bit of gamification in your free time? Then you must try Type:Rider, available for iOS and Android. Right off the bat I'll tell you it isn't a free app, but the educational value as well as the simple and visually stunning design will make it worth the $3 (or $3.64 for Android–sorry folks!).

The game starts with a six-step tutorial level where you travel through a world of cave paintings (aka the origin of typography) as the gallant [horizontal] colon; rolling, jumping, dodging, and moving objects in your pursuit of collecting typographic symbols and unlocking content for further reading.

In this first tutorial level, the content is cave painting, cuneiform writing, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Chinese characters, the Greek alphabet, and the Latin alphabet.

Type:Rider Tutorial

To advance to the next level, you must find a third "dot" and move it along with your colon character into three designated slots, forming an ellipsis.

Type:Rider Third Dot

The "Origins" tutorial moves on to the Gothic era, where game play takes place in a land of cathedral ruins consisting of books, ink bottles, and misplaced type.

Type:Rider Gothic Era

Type:Rider Gothic Era II

The content you're working to unlock is visually appealing, relevant, and interesting. But if you find yourself caught up in game play, you can always skip the reading and circle back to it after you've finished the level.

Type:Rider

To date, I have only gotten as far as the Gothic level. Eight additional levels adorned with mysterious question marks still await me (each decorated in the style of the times so I could probably guess what each has in store).

Aside from the obvious fun and visual interest I've found in this game (that I think fellow designers will find as well), I've also found inspiration for future eLearning courses. Thoughts of creating a game-based course for the medical field with a scalpel as the main character, cutting through to each new level, dance in my head. Or maybe a hard hat in the construction industry-protecting the head of a new character for each level. Have I gotten your creative juices flowing too? Don't be shy (or greedy)–share those ideas with your ol' pal AJ by posting comments below!

And if you've gotten past the Gothic level in Type:Rider, don't give me any spoilers. 😉

November 26, 2013

Adobe Captivate 7.01: Twice the Locking Power

by Kevin Siegel

Adobe recently announced a patch for Adobe Captivate 7. The patch offers support for the new Macintosh and Windows operating systems and fixes several bugs. As patches go, bug fixes and expanded support for operating systems is typical fare. However, if you've spent the few minutes that it takes to install the free upgrade, you might have missed some enhancements that are a pleasant surprise (and above and beyond what one might expect to find in a simple patch).

For instance, the ability to lock slide objects has been around for years. All you needed to do was select a slide object and, on the Timeline, click the white dot in the lock column. In the image below, I've added a Text Caption to a slide. The white dot indicates that the object is not locked. I can drag the unlocked object around the slide, resize it, and use any of the groups on the Properties panel.

Adobe Captivate: Object Lock Tool

Prior to the patch for Captivate 7, clicking the white dot simply locked the object and the white dot changed into a lock icon (shown in the image below). While locked, you couldn't move or resize the object nor change any of the object's Properties without first unlocking the object.

Adobe Captivate: Object locked

After installing the Captivate 7.01 patch, there are now two lock modes: fully locked and semi-locked. After an initial click on the white dot, the lock icon is noticeably different from what was seen in older versions of Captivate. In the image below, notice that instead of the standard lock icon that was shown in the image above, the lock icon now includes arrows.

Adobe Captivate: Object semi locked.

The arrows not only appear on the lock icon on the Timeline; the locked object on the slide also displays the semi-locked icon (shown below).

When an object is semi-locked, you cannot change its size or slide position. However, you can make other changes to the object. For instance, in the image below, notice that while the Transform group options aren't available, the options in the General group (Caption and Callout) are both available. In addition to the General group, all of the remaining groups remain available with a semi-locked object.

Adobe Captivate: Properties panel showing semi-locked options.

If you'd like to fully lock an object (just like in the old days), it's a simple matter of clicking the white dot on the Timeline a second time (the first click semi-locks the object; a second click fully locks the object).

If you'd like to see a demonstration of how the new lock feature works in Adobe Captivate 7.01, check out this video on the IconLogic YouTube channel.

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Looking for training on Adobe Captivate? IconLogic offers multiple live, online Adobe Captivate classes each month including Introduction to Adobe Captivate and Advanced Adobe Captivate.

November 12, 2013

Adobe Captivate: Copying Library Assets from One Library to Another

by Kevin Siegel

I was recently working on a new Captivate project and needed to grab several assets that had been used in an older project. Some of the assets were audio files; others were images. I could have inserted each of the assets into the new project manually (I knew where the original assets were located on my server). I could have also opened the project containing the assets and copied/pasted assets from one project to another. While both of these techniques are fine, I found it easier and faster to utilize the Libraries of both projects. Simply put, I copied the assets I needed from the original project's library into my new project's Library. Here's how:

With the new project open, display the Library (Window menu). Then click the Open Library tool (located near the top of the Library).

When the Open dialog box appears, open the project that contains the Library you need. In the image below, I've positioned the two Libraries side-by-side. The Library at the left contains the assets I needed. The Library at the right is the empty Library in my new project.

Grabbing assets from one Library for use in another project at this point is as simple as selecting, dragging, and dropping. In the image below, I grabbed two files from the Audio folder of the original project and dragged them into the Library in my new project. And… done.

If you'd like to see a demonstration of how to copy assets from one project library into another, check out this video on the IconLogic YouTube channel.

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Looking for training on Adobe Captivate? IconLogic offers multiple live, online Adobe Captivate classes each month including Introduction to Adobe Captivate and Advanced Adobe Captivate.

November 5, 2013

Adobe Captivate: Master Slide Placeholder Objects

by Kevin Siegel

When you insert a Standard Object onto a master slide and then apply the master slide to a Filmstrip slide, the Standard Object on the master slide appears on the Filmstrip slide(s). You can see the Standard Object, but you can't select it or edit it. In my Captivate classes, I describe the relationship between objects placed on a master slide and a Filmstrip slide this way: it's as if a piece of plexiglass has been dropped on top of the Filmstrip slide that protects the master slide objects. You can click on the object on the Filmstrip slide, but you can't pass through the plexiglass and select the object.

If you want to move, delete, or otherwise edit an object that has been placed on a master slide, you have to edit the master slide. Once you have edited an object that is on a master slide, the change instantly affects every Filmstrip slide that is using the edited master slide.

The problem with adding objects to a master slide is that pesky plexiglass effect. What if you need to design a master slide for a fellow developer that includes a placeholder for an image? If developers use your master slide, they'll be able to see the placeholder, but they won't be able to select it and replace it with an actual image. Without the ability to select placeholder objects, there's really no value in the placeholder.

But wait… there is actually a placeholder feature in Captivate that you've likely missed. If you're working on a master slide and visit the Insert menu, you'll see a Placeholder Objects menu item. (Many folks miss the Placeholder Objects menu item because it is only visible when you're actively working on a master slide.)

Adobe Captivate: Adding Placeholder Objects

Insert a Placeholder Object on the master slide as you would any Standard Object. Then, on the Filmstrip, apply the master slide to the Filmstrip slide via the Master Slide drop-down menu on the Properties panel.

Adobe Captivate: Applying a Master Slide.

Once you have applied the master slide to the Filmstrip slide, you'll be able to select and edit the Placeholder Object directly on the Filmstrip slide. For instance, I inserted an Image Placeholder Object on my master slide. Then, from the Filmstrip slide, I was able to select the Image Placeholder Object, insert an image, move the object around my slide and re-size it.

Best of all, I was able to reset the slide. After inserting an image into the Placeholder Object, I accidentally re-sized and moved the object from its original master slide position. Instead of re-resizing and dragging the object back to its original position (or using the Undo command multiple times), I simply clicked the Reset Master Slide button (shown in the image above), and the object instantly returned to its master slide size and position–on its own. This is an awesome, often overlooked, feature!

If you'd like to see a demonstration of how to create and use a master slide (and how to use a Placeholder Object), check out this video on the IconLogic YouTube channel.

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Looking for training on Adobe Captivate? IconLogic offers multiple live, online Adobe Captivate classes each month including Introduction to Adobe Captivate and Advanced Adobe Captivate.

October 30, 2013

Adobe Captivate: Text Entry Boxes Gain More Options

by Lori Smith

Text Entry Boxes are great. I find them particularly handy when creating an eLearning lesson and you need to simulate the process of typing text within a form field. Text Entry Boxes allow learners to type text just as they would in the actual software.

When setting up a Text Entry Box, you can set the Correct entries by selecting Validate User Input from the General group on the Properties panel and then specifying the terms in the Correct Entries dialog box.

Adobe Captivate: Validate User Input

Adobe Captivate: Correct Entries

Like I said at the outset, Text Entry Boxes (TEB) are great, but they're not new (they've been around since day 1). If you've used TEB's over the years, you know that they've changed very little even as Captivate has evolved and grown in both features and power.

If you're a long-time TEB fan like me, you'll be delighted to see that with Captivate 7, TEB's have finally been improved a bit. With a TEB selected on a slide, check out the More Options button in the General group of the Properties panel. The options that appear, thanks to this simple button, solve one of the issues that has frustrated me in the past. There is now a check box where you can specify some general restrictions on what a 'correct' entry may be.

Adobe Captivate: TEB More Options

For instance, if you choose Numbers, your learner will only be permitted to type numbers within the TEB. Select Lowercase and any characters typed will always appear in lowercase letters. Select Uppercase and any typed text will automatically be put into uppercase letters.

If you have specified either Lowercase or Uppercase and your learner tries to type in a number, the box will not accept it. If you specify a Maximum Length, when the learner tries to enter more than the specified number of characters, an error message appears. And even cooler? You can force the text to automatically be submitted after the specified number of characters by choosing Auto Submit (the learner won't need to press any additional keys on the keyboard or click a Submit button).

Adobe Captivate: Max Length

I encourage you to play around with the new TEB options. I'm sure you'll find the perfect settings that will allow you to simulate your computer software like never before.

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Looking for training on Adobe Captivate? IconLogic offers multiple live, online Adobe Captivate classes each month including Introduction to Adobe Captivate and Advanced Adobe Captivate.

October 28, 2013

Warning Mac Adobe Captivate 7 Developers… Don’t Upgrade to Mavericks Yet

Apple recently announced the availability of Mavericks, its latest and greatest operating system for the Mac computers.

As much as I love new toys, I tend to hold off when it comes to installing software updates. In my experience, you never know what the software update will break; waiting a bit tends to work out when the updates prove problematic.

It turns out that the Mavericks software and Adobe Captivate 7 aren't getting along. Before installing Mavericks, you might want to read this upgrade warning issued recently by Adobe.

October 22, 2013

Adobe Captivate: Emailing Quiz Results

by Lori Smith

Have some of you long-time Captivate developers been wondering what happened to the ability to put a "Send Email" link on your quiz results page? If you were using Captivate 5.5 or earlier, this used to be an option. With Captivate 6 & 7, the Quizzing capability has been enhanced and some things have been changed. Emailing from the results page is one of them. You no longer set this from the Quiz Preferences > Reporting category.

While at first glance it appears that the ability to email quiz results data has been removed, you actually have more options. In fact, I am going to teach you two ways that you can email the quiz results.

The first and simplest way to email quiz results is to choose Quiz > Quiz Preferences > Quiz > Pass or Fail.

Adobe Captivate: Quiz Pass or Fail

From the two Action drop-down menus, select Send email to.

Once the quiz is completed by the learner and they click the Continue button on the Quiz Results slide, their email client will open just as it did in earlier versions of Captivate. If the Quiz Results slide is not used, the email client will open after submission of the last answer.

Note: Although an email opens and is addressed as specified in the Quiz Settings, the subject field is blank and the content is now blank. The learner will have to fill in both areas as necessary.

A second way to send quiz results via email is by using an email widget. While this method provides a little more information in the resulting email, it's a bit more complicated to set up than the first method.

Go to the Quiz Results slide (or the slide you would like the learner to initiate the email). Open the Widget panel (Window menu) and Insert the emailIcon widget.

Fill in the options for the widget. Something like this would make sense:

Adobe Captivate: Email Widget Properties

Name the widget PassEmailWidget by selecting it on the slide and using the Name field on the Properties panel. Also deselect Visible in output so that the widget will initially beinvisible in the output.

Insert the widget again, this time naming it FailedEmailIcon (deselect Visible in output).

Adobe Captivate: Another named widget

All you need to do now is create a little Advanced Action namedShowEmailIcon that looks like this (Project > Advanced Actions):

Adobe Captivate: Advanced Action 1

Adobe Captivate: Advanced Action 2

Adobe Captivate: Advanced Action 3

Lastly, invoke the ShowEmailIcon action on entry to the Quiz Results slide (or whatever slide you have chosen). Select the slide on the Filmstrip and, on the properties panel, set the Action group like this:

Bam! Now the email client will open when the learner clicks the eMail icon, and at least the subject line will be filled in as you like it. Seem like a lot of work? Only the first time around. After that, save this action and these widgets in a template and reuse them on future projects.

Do you have other quizzing conundrums or wishes? Send them to me! We are also thinking about creating a one-day online class dedicated to quizzing with Adobe Captivate. I'd love to hear if there's interest out there.

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Looking for training on Adobe Captivate? IconLogic offers multiple live, online Adobe Captivate classes each month including Introduction to Adobe Captivate and Advanced Adobe Captivate.