Technical Communications – Page 18

July 9, 2013

Adobe Captivate 7: Support for the Tin Can API

by Kevin Siegel

Today's learners are consuming eLearning content using a vast array of devices (PCs, Macs, and mobile devices such as the iPad). And learners are working outside of traditional LMSs. In spite of these challenges, educators still need to capture reliable data about the learner experience.

The problem with data collection is that you need an expensive LMS to store the data. And your learners need live access to the LMS so that they can send the data.

The most widely-used LMS standard for capturing data is the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM). SCORM allows educators to track such things as learner completion of a course, pass/fail rates, and how long a learner took to complete a lesson or course. But what if a trainer needs to get scores from learners who are collaborating with other students using social media? What if the learners don't have access to the Internet?

The new Tin Can API allows training professionals to gather detailed data about the learner experience as the learner moves through an eLearning course (either online or offline). According to the Tin Can API website, "The Tin Can API (sometimes known as the Experience API) captures data in a consistent format about a person or group's activities from many technologies. Very different systems are able to securely communicate by capturing and sharing this stream of activities using Tin Can's simple vocabulary."

Officials at the Tin Can API website went on to say, "Mobile learning, simulations, virtual worlds, serious games, real-world activities, experiential learning, social learning, offline learning, and collaborative learning are just some of the things that can now be recognized and communicated well with the Tin Can API."

If the Tin Can API is supported by your Learning Management System (LMS), you'll be happy to learn that it's also fully supported in Adobe Captivate 7. All you need to do is choose Quiz > Quiz Preferences. From the Reporting group, select Enable reporting for this project.

From the LMS drop down menu, choose Other Standard LMSs. Lastly, from the Standard drop-down menu, choose TinCan.

Adobe Captivate: Tin Can API as the Standard.

When publishing the lesson, ensure that you select the Zip option, and then upload the lesson to an LMS that supports the Tin Can API.

Note: Tin Can support is also available in Articulate Storyline. All you need to do is publish the lesson and, from the LMS group, Output Options, select Tin Can API from the LMS drop-down menu. If you'd like to read more about the Tin Can API, check out the Tin Can API overview on the Tin Cap API website. You'll also find useful information on Wikipedia.

If you would like to see a demonstration of enabling Tin Can within Captivate 7, check out this video on the IconLogic YouTube channel.

Adobe RoboHelp: Working with Twisties

by Willam Van Weelden

Twisties are images you include with DHTML drop-downs and DHTML expanding texts. The twisties indicate whether a drop-down is opened or closed. This gives a visual indication to readers that they can get more information. For example:

Adobe RoboHelp: Example of Twisties

Setting up Twisties

Open or create a RoboHelp project.
Go to the Project Manager pod (View > Pods > Project Manager).
Double-click the project's style sheet to open it for editing.
In the Styles dialog box, choose Hyperlink > Drop-down hotspot.
Click the Set Twisties button.
In the Select Twisties Images dialog box, browse and open the images you want to use as twisties.
Click OK to close the Select Twisties Images dialog box.
Click OK to close the Styles dialog box and save the edited style sheet.

And that's it. Once you have set up the twisties, they will automatically be applied to all of your project drop-downs.

Note: If you want to apply twisties to your project's expanding text and the drop-down hotspots, simply Set Twisties for the style Expanding text in your style sheet as you were shown above for the Drop-down hotspots.

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Looking to learn RoboHelp? We offer a live, two-day online RoboHelp class once each month. Feel free to contact us to learn other ways to meet your RoboHelp training requirements.

July 3, 2013

Localization & eLearning: What Languages Should You Use?

by Jen Weaver

Congratulations! Your English eLearning course has achieved such tremendous success that your company is ready to produce the materials in additional languages. Often this request flows from a grand vision–your products and services spanning the globe with clients and students in every continent and every country.

As inspiring as your vision may be, getting there requires careful planning, time, money and strategic execution. Step one for expanding your global market means answering the following question: what language should we translate into?

Here are some tips for getting started:

Start with the present need. Do you have a client or potential client that is already requesting materials be provided in another language? This is the ideal place to start because the ROI on your translation investment is guaranteed.
Start with the pending need. This is the next best option when you don't have a client already requesting translation. This is where research and development play a critical role in your company's growth. Knowing which countries and cultures you want to target with your eLearning courses will help narrow and focus your translation goals.
Consider marketing materials. Selling translated eLearning programs is much simpler when the sales and marketing approaches are united. Many clients start with the translation of their marketing materials (including website) and then proceed to translate the eLearning program once the sale is finalized.
Roll out languages in phases. The transition into multi-lingual production is quite an undertaking and is best accomplished when rolled out in phases. Begin with the language of most pressing need or benefit, and then roll out additional languages once the first phase has completed. Attempting to roll out too many languages at once can slow down your production times and increase the risk of errors. If this is your first foray in translation, you can evaluate the successes of the project and implement improvements for future languages when the first phase is complete.
Choose a translation approach. Will you handle written translations with internal resources or will you utilize an outside language provider? While it may be less expensive to handle translation needs internally, a language vendor will possess the experience and expertise necessary to help you foresee and overcome potential translation obstacles.

With some deliberate planning, you can see your vision for global reach realized.

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If you would like to learn best practices for managing translation projects, contact Jen at Carmazzi Global Solutions.

July 2, 2013

Adobe Captivate: Now You See Me, Now You Don’t… Hide a Slide Object

by Kevin Siegel

A client wanted an image to appear on most of the Filmstrip slides, but not all. Controlling the appearance of slide objects can be set in multiple ways. You can use Master Slides or Object Timing (you can set the Display time for an object to Rest of the Project). However, the client wanted to control the appearance of a slide object (it was an image) based on a simple action performed by the learner.

The client had set an image to display for the Rest of the Project. When applying a Theme, the image displayed on some slides when it wasn't wanted.

The easiest way to temporarily suspend the Rest of the Project option is to apply the Hide action to a slide. When the learner advances from one slide to the next, the image will be hidden from view. As the learner leaves the slide, the image can be forced to automatically reappear using the Show action. (While the learner is the one making the image disappear and then reappear, they don't realize it since the action is occurring behind the scenes.)

To use the Hide action, select the slide object and, at the top of the Properties panel, give it a name. In the image below, I've named an image Watermark Logo. Notice that I've left Visible in output (the default condition) selected. When the learner watches the lesson, I want the learner to see the slide object.

Adobe Captivate: Name a Slide Object

Using the Filmstrip, select a slide. On the Properties panel, Action group, select Hide from the On Enter drop-down menu. From the Hide drop-down menu, select the object that you named a moment ago. In the image below, I've selected the Watermark Logo.

Adobe Captivate: Hide a Slide Object

Preview the project. If you left the object set to Visible in output like I did, the object that you named will still be visible on the slide. However, when you get to the slide where you applied the Hide Action, the object (in my case, the Watermark logo), will magically disappear from view. You could force the image to automatically reappear by using the Show Action on a slide lower down the Filmstrip.

If you would like to see a demonstration of naming and then hiding slide objects, 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.

June 26, 2013

Adobe Captivate: Learner Notes

by Kevin Siegel

Thanks to a really slick interaction found in the new Adobe Captivate 7, you can allow learners to add notes throughout an eLearning lesson. The notes added by the learner will be available even after the learner closes and then returns to the lesson down the road.

To add learner notes, open or create a project in Adobe Captivate 7. Select the first slide and choose Insert > Interactions.

Select the Notes Interaction and click the Insert button to open the Configuration interaction screen.

Adobe Captivate 7: Notes Interaction.

I went with the Default Notes Icon. If you're not a fan of the default image (shown in the screen capture below), you can elect to use a Transparent Icon and simply position the interaction over your own image on the slide.

Adobe Captivate 7: Configure the Notes interaction.

After clicking OK to dismiss the Configure interaction screen, position the interaction on the slide. On the Timeline, ensure that the Notes interaction is the top-most object.

Adobe Captivate 7: Ensure that the Notes Interaction is the top-most object on the Timeline.

On the Timing group, set the Display For time to Rest of Project.

Adobe Captivate 7: Set the Timing for the Notes Interaction to Show for the Rest of the Project.

And that's it. Once the lesson is published, learners will be able to click the Note icon on any slide and add their notes. And as I mentioned earlier, they'll be able to review the notes later (even after closing and re-opening the lesson).

Adobe Captivate 7: Add a Slide Note.

Note: Don't resize or add Effects to a Notes interaction. Doing so may diminish the appearance of the interaction and/or cause it to not work at all.

If you would like to see a demonstration of the Notes interaction, check out this video on the IconLogic YouTube channel.

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

June 19, 2013

Adobe Captivate 7: Tab Order

by Kevin Siegel

Learners have always been able to select screen objects on published Captivate lessons by either clicking the mouse or using the [tab] key on the keyboard. However, your ability to control which screen objects came into focus when the learner pressed the [tab] key was non-existent… until now.

What about controlling how a screen reader reads the text to a visually impaired learner? Perhaps you'd like the text on a specific button to be read before another?

With the recent introduction of Adobe Captivate 7, you can now control the order of screen objects that come into focus when the learner presses the [tab] key, and when the text on those objects is read aloud by a screen reader.

To begin, add objects to a slide. In the image below, I've added three simple buttons to a Captivate slide.

Adobe Captivate 7: Three buttons on a slide.

Upon previewing the project and pressing the [tab] key on my keyboard, the navigation worked as expected. I moved from Button 1, to Button 2 and then to Button 3.

However, when my learners pressed the [tab] key, I wanted Button 2 to be selected first, then Button 3 and finally Button 1. Plus I wanted the text on those selected buttons to be read aloud by a screen reader in that specific order.

First, I made sure that none of the slide objects were selected. Then, on the Properties panel, I clicked the Tab Order button.

Adobe Captivate 7: The Tab Order button.

Within the Tab Order dialog box, I selected the button I wanted to be accessible first, and then I clicked the Move Selected Row Up arrow to move it into the first position.

In the image below, you can see that I've set it up so that Button 2 will be the first accessible button, followed by Button 3.

Adobe Captivate 7: Setting the Tab Order.

After clicking the OK button, testing the Tab Order was a simple matter of previewing the project and pressing the [tab] key on my keyboard.

Changing the Tab Order is simple. And keep in mind that the Tab Order dialog box determines the order that a screen reader will read the accessibility text aloud. This is a huge deal for anyone required to deliver eLearning content that meets (or exceeds) compliance standards.

If you'd like to see a demonstration of the Tab Order feature, check out the demonstration I created on IconLogic's YouTube channel.

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Looking to learn Captivate quickly? IconLogic offers multiple live, online Adobe Captivate classes each month including Introduction to Adobe Captivate and Advanced Adobe Captivate.

June 18, 2013

Adobe Captivate 7 Bug Workaround For the Spell-Check Crash

If you're using Adobe Captivate 7 for the Macintosh, it's possible you've been bitten by the spell-check bug… Captivate 7 crashes when you choose Project > Check Spelling.

I've learned that the crash does not occur if you already have Captivate 6 installed on your Macintosh (or you own another CS6 application). Of course, if you don't have the older version of Captivate, and find that your Captivate 7 software is crashing, follow this workaround. (I'm hoping that Adobe will release a patch sooner rather than later… until then, these steps will do the trick.)

Note: The spell check crash/bug only affects Mac users. Windows users… see ya.

Part 1

Close Captivate.
Choose Go > Go to Folder.
Type/Library/Application Support/Adobe
Click the Go button
Create a new folder and name it Linguistics.
Inside the Linguistics folder, create another folder and name it 6.0. (Open the 6.0 folder and leave it open until the end of Part 2.)

Part 2

Open new finder window (File > New Finder Window)
Choose Go > Go to Folder.
Type /Applications/Adobe Captivate 7/required/Plug-Ins/mac/Linguistics
Click the Go button.
Select the folders LanguageNames2 and Providers and copy them to your clipboard.
Go back to the 6.0 folder you created earlier and paste the folders within the 6.0 folder.
Restart Captivate and run the Spell Check command. (The spell check feature should work as expected this time… goodbye crash!)

June 11, 2013

eLearning: What’s the Best Microphone for Voiceover Audio?

by Kevin Siegel

I received an email asking the following:

What specific advice can you give about the kind of microphone to purchase for making good quality audio narrations to accompany my Captivate training sessions, minimizing echo and other audio problems? It needs to connect to my Dell laptop PC.

I would prefer the versatility of a standalone microphone on a stand that could sit on my desk rather than a microphone built into a headset. I had in mind trying to limit the cost to around $100, but if that isn't reasonable please tell me.

***

It doesn't matter if you use Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline or TechSmith Camtasia Studio as your eLearning tool of choice… each can produce awesome eLearning content that will be enhanced if you include voiceover audio.

When it comes to selecting a headset or microphone, it will often come down to personal preference. Personally, I prefer boom microphones built into the headset since I think the boom keeps your mouth a consistent distance from the microphone. As for brands, I've had good luck using a $50 microphone readily available at Staples and Best Buy. The manufacturer is Micro Innovations. You can see reviews of their headsets here.

If you have some extra cash in your piggy bank, the Sennheiser PC 350 is simply awesome. It's got a built-in sound card (built right into the cord) that does a great job of cancelling out internal computer noises. My main complaints with the Sennheiser are (now don't laugh)… it makes your head sweaty. No foolin! Also, I noticed when I moved my head, the microphone sometimes picked up a sound that reminded me of crumpling paper.

I've discussed two sides of the price spectrum ($50 and over $200). Looking for free? I've had wonderful luck using the microphone built into my MacBook Pro. I was surprised by how good the audio was considering the poor experiences I've had with most built-in microphones in the past. While I'm not saying that the resulting audio is world-class, when it comes to creating "just in time eLearning," it works great. You can hear samples of audio created using the Mac's built-in headset by viewing any of the videos I've created within the past 6 months on our YouTube channel.

I wanted to get some opinions on good microphones from other eLearning developers. I originally asked skills & drills readers their opinion on the best microphones a few years ago. Last week I posed the question again. Here is some of the feedback I received, then and now:

From Alveno Smith, eLearning & Development, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Information Technology Services

Do you use a microphone or a headset? I use a Microphone.

Do you record your audio in a studio or in the office? I record in my office. It is a small 10×10 and the sound is consistent. What manufacturer do you prefer? Audio-Technica. What model microphone/headset… and why? I use the Audio-Technica USB microphone. It adds great sound to the finished product.

From Bob Cunningham, Training Specialist and Adobe Certified Instructor, Captivate, U.S. Courts

We have a couple of mics we use for our Captivate recordings. We use either the Sennheiser PC 163D headset USB mic or the Rode Podcaster USB mic. My personal preference is the Sennheiser headset. It has great noise cancellation and produces a very nice sound. And the mic placement doesn't vary as I move my head. Others in our group prefer the Rode Podcaster. In both cases, we record our audio narration in one of five recording/editing rooms, with acoustic foam padding on the walls. On occasion I record voiceovers at home on my laptop. I use the Sennheiser headset, and I record in my walk-in closet. The clothes (mostly my wife's ;-)) do a great job of absorbing the sound and reducing the noise.

From Toni Wills, eLearning Developer, The University of Kansas Hospital

We use the Snowball by Blue. It was recommended to us by our vendor, Epic. I got it at Amazon for about $100. It plugs right into my laptop with a USB connector. It has a swivel mount and a tripod, so it's really easy to use just about anywhere. It's probably more than we need but the good news is that if we decide to pursue a singing career, at least we will already have the mic for it. I have a radio background so I do the voice overs. We have no place to record at work because we work in a cube farm; and even if we could reserve a conference room, the air handlers here are so loud that it sounds like you're recording next to a waterfall. I record in my guest room at home and use pillows behind the mic to prevent any reverberation. Not ideal, but it works surprisingly well.

The other nice thing about the Snowball is how cool it looks… check it out at bluemic.com.

From Mike Baker, Information Resource Consultant II

Staff Development & Training

I use an Edirol UA25 to connect my Audio-Technica 3035 cardioid condenser mic to my PC via a USB port. That gives me awesome, studio quality sound. I am also using a sound filter to prevent any echoes, hollow sound, etc. This setup was a little pricey (all items can be found on Amazon). If you are looking for something around $100, we have one laptop setup with a BlueMic Snowball microphone. It is a straight USB microphone and gives us great sound.

From M. Kristin Westrum, Metafile Information Systems, Inc., User Assistance Development

I've had experience with two microphones:

A simple Altec headset that plugs into my laptop. This produces poor quality sound; it's almost impossible to get enough volume, every "s" sounds like a lisp, and it picks up both breathing and background noises. And if the microphone component moves half an inch further from your mouth, there's an audible difference. For online demos the quality is bad to borderline.
We recently switched to a handheld JVC microphone; the difference is amazing. While you have to hold it manually, there's no variation in voice. The sound is sharp and clear. What amazed me the most was when my phone rang in the middle of a recording session and the microphone didn't pick it up! This is a hand-held dynamic microphone designed to plug into a computer; cost about $50 5-10 years ago.

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Looking to learn Captivate quickly? IconLogic offers multiple live, online Adobe Captivate classes each month including Introduction to Adobe Captivate and Advanced Adobe Captivate. Is Articulate Storyline your tool of choice? We've got your training needs covered there too. How about TechSmith Camtasia Studio? We've teamed with ASTD and offer a one-day class on that tool as well.

June 6, 2013

Adobe RoboHelp: SharePoint Shared Review

by Willam Van Weelden

A few weeks ago I wrote about Shared Reviews using Adobe RoboHelp. The Shared Review works by creating a PDF and importing the reviewed PDF into RoboHelp. This method works if only one or two others need to review your content. If you want multiple people to review your content, it is easier to use a server to collect reviews centrally.

Many companies use SharePoint for team collaboration. And with Adobe's Technical Communication Suite, you can use SharePoint to centrally store all reviews. The advantage of using a server is that everyone has his or her own copy of the document and all comments and changes are synchronized.

Note: As the person starting the review, you will need Adobe Acrobat on your computer (Acrobat is part of the Technical Communication Suite). Reviewers can use the free Adobe Reader 9 or newer.

Prepare SharePoint

Before you can use SharePoint for Shared Review, you have to create a workspace with at least one document library to store the reviews. All reviewers must have edit permissions for this library. Your SharePoint administrator can help you with this.

Creating a review using SharePoint

Open or create a RoboHelp project.
Choose Review > Create PDF for Review.
In the Create PDF for review dialog box, select any (or all) of the topics, snippets and master pages you want to include in the review.
From the PDF Settings area, select Send for shared review.
Click OK to create the PDF.
In the Send for Shared Review dialog box, choose Automatically collect comments on my own internal server.
Click Next to continue.
In the Send for Shared Review dialog box, select SharePoint workspace for your review.
Add the URL for the site that contains the workspace in the URL field. Note: You must add the URL of the parent site of the workspace, not the URL of the workspace or document library.
Click Get Workspaces to select the workspace and document library for the review.
In the Get Workspaces dialog box, select the workspace and document library you want to use and then click OK.
In the Send for Shared Review dialog box, click Next to continue.
In the Send for Shared Review dialog box, select the method for distributing the review. For this example I am saving the document locally so I can send it to reviewers manually. Note: This only determines how you send the PDF for review. It has no impact on the SharePoint workspace or where the comments will be stored.
Click Next to continue.
Set a name for the review settings. This allows you to use the same settings for other reviews.
Click Next to continue and then click Finish.

Important: Once you have created the review PDF from RoboHelp, don't edit the RoboHelp topics, snippets and master pages that are included in the PDF. The only way you can reliably import comments back into the RoboHelp project is when the content remains unchanged.

Document Review

You can now send the PDF to your reviewers. The reviewers add their comments to their version of the PDF. When they are done, they publish their comments to the server.

Adobe RoboHelp: Publish Comments.

Import Review Comments

Once all reviewers have published their comments to the server, you can import the review into RoboHelp.

Open your copy of the review PDF.
Click Check for New Comments to get all comments from the server.
Save the PDF and close it.
Open the reviewed RoboHelp project.
Choose Review > Import Comments from PDF.
Click Yes from within the Import comments from PDF dialog box and then open the PDF.

Once the import is complete, RoboHelp displays the comments, inserts and deletions similar to the Track Changes feature in Microsoft Word. At this point, you can use a Review toolbar to accept or reject suggested changes within your project.

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Looking to learn RoboHelp? We offer a live, two-day online RoboHelp class once each month. Feel free to contact us to learn other ways to meet your RoboHelp training requirements.

June 3, 2013

Adobe Captivate: Say Hello to Version 7

by Kevin Siegel

In the good old days, software companies released major upgrades to their products every 2-3 years. Like it or not, the upgrade cycles have gotten shorter and shorter. How long was it between Adobe Captivate 5 and 6? 14 months? 18?

Adobe has promised a more aggressive upgrade cycle for its programs that will make even the recent upgrade cycles look almost snail-like. Case in point: version 7 of the Captivate software was released today.

Top features to be found in Adobe Captivate 7:

Drag-and-drop Components
Make eLearning fun with drag-and-drop games, quizzes, and lessons that can run on desktops and mobile devices (such as the iPad). Provide audio feedback in response to the learner's drag-and-drop actions.

HTML5 Support for Microsoft PowerPoint
Import your PowerPoint project, including text, shapes, audio, and animations, into Adobe Captivate 7 and publish them directly to HTML5.

Enhanced Accessibility Support
Expand your outreach to defense, government, and educational organizations. Easily create simulations and demonstrations that address accessibility standards such as Section 508 and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0). Define text equivalents, insert clickable areas that allow keyboard access and more, to help ensure that everyone can access your content.

Enhanced Interactions Library
Insert aesthetically designed interactive elements to eLearning content with just a click. Select from a wide range of out-of-the-box interactions, like Hangman, Jigsaw, Process Cycle, Glossary, Accordion and Pyramid, customize the content and appearance, and you're done.

In-course YouTube Videos For greater impact and retention, stream YouTube videos directly into your courses. To make the YouTube video contextually relevant, you can even which section of the video you want the learner to view.

In-course Web Browsing
Enable more effective learning by embedding a browser interface within your courses. Allow your learners to access additional web-based reference material that complements course content.

Learning Notes
Enable learners to add and edit personal notes within a lesson, allowing learners to place cues within the course for future reference.

System Audio Recording and Editing
Record your system's audio along with your audio narration. Simultaneously record narration, capture screen motion, and synchronize audio with slides and timed objects. Edit audio to correct mistakes and pauses, add an external track, or attach sound effects or narration to individual objects.

Enhanced Quizzing with HTML5
Leverage HTML5 support in your quizzes to include more question types like matching, short answer, and fill-in-the-blank.

Support for GIFT Format
Easily convert offline questions into a GIFT format question bank that you can draw on to create quizzes. Import GIFT format questions quickly and conveniently into Adobe Captivate projects to create assessment modules. Maximize instructor time by using the same questions in multiple quizzes.

Integration with Tin Can-compliant LMSs
Your scoring data will integrate smoothly within a TinCan enabled Learning Management System (LMS).

Adobe Captivate App Packager
Embed a range of HTML5 animations and synchronize them with your Adobe Captivate course. Publish the course as an app to multiple mobile platforms including Windows RT (Metro apps).

Equation Editor
Easily add complex mathematical equations, with operators and scientific symbols, to courses using the multi-purpose equation editor from [Math+Magic].

Improved Social Media Engagement
Instantly enable social conversations within Adobe Captivate courses with the enhanced Twitter widget. Help learners collaborate with you and other learners in real time by selecting a specific area within a course and tweeting a question. Track all conversations using the Learning Analytics dashboard.

Shared Advanced Action
Use Advanced Actions to configure and modify the learning experience by enabling conditional or multiple actions in an interaction. Now create Shared Action templates which can be reused across projects.

Over the coming weeks, we'll touch on all of these new features… so stay tuned.

Notes: If you have created content using older versions of Captivate, rest assured that your projects will upgrade to Captivate 7 without issue (at least that has been our experience). Also, if you rely on our Captivate books for your classes, we are hard at work on our Captivate 7 books. We expect those books to be available for purchase on our website and through our re-sellers within the next 30 days.

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Looking to learn Captivate quickly? IconLogic offers multiple live, online Adobe Captivate classes each month including Introduction to Adobe Captivate and Advanced Adobe Captivate. While the posted classes are for Captivate version 6, anyone using version 7 is welcome to attend (the interface for version 7 is very similar to the interface found in version 6).