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“TechSmith Camtasia 2021: The Essentials” Workbook Now Shipping

Learn to Use TechSmith Camtasia 2021 Skills in Just One Day!

"TechSmith Camtasia 2021: The Essentials" is a hands-on, step-by-step workbook that will introduce you to the essential TechSmith Camtasia skills you need to quickly get up and running with this fantastic eLearning development tool.

Using Camtasia, you can create software video demonstrations and soft skills eLearning videos. This book will teach you how!

During the real-world activities in this book, you will learn how to create eLearning projects from scratch.

You will learn how to create software video demonstrations using the Camtasia Recorder.

You will use the Camtasia Editor to add animations, record and edit voiceover audio, add graphics, music, annotations, closed captions, quizzes, and how to import slides from existing PowerPoint presentations into a Camtasia project.

Learn to export your finished Camtasia projects so they can be accessed by learners using desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. You will also set up published content to be hosted on a web server, LMS, YouTube, and Screencast.com.

This book features:

  • All of the Camtasia projects, images, audio files, videos, and other assets needed to get started (Just download and install the free Camtasia 30-day trial from the TechSmith website and jump in.)
  • Dozens of step-by-step, hands-on activities
  • Confidence Checks to challenge your new skills
  • Hundreds of supporting screenshots

Order from amazon.com here.

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Taking Legacy Flash eLearning to HTML5

Adobe threatened to sunset Flash for years but each year, the death sentence was commuted.

Just when we thought that Flash would go on, along came December 2020. Adobe followed through and ended support for Flash on December 31, 2020. Many eLearning developers didn't panic because the end of Flash simply meant that, while the Flash output would continue to work, it would likely be blocked on more and more systems.

Like the lyrics from that song by the Rolling Stones, "Well, time is on my side, yes it is… time is on my side, yes it is…"

Ummm, no it wasn't.

In early 2021, Adobe started blocking Flash content from playing through most browsers, computers, and devices. Given that development, Captivate developers began scrambling to ensure their legacy projects continued to work.

One way to know if your Captivate project has Flash content is to run the HTML5 Tracker (Project > HTML5 Tracker). If anything shows up in the HTML5 Tracker, it needs to be remediated (deleted or replaced with something non-Flash). That sounds easy but, in reality, remediation might be impossible or take a bunch of time.

Adobe's Allen Partridge wrote an awesome article back in April 2020 titled "Migrating Legacy Flash eLearning Content to HTML5." Partridge's article is as relevant today as the day he wrote it.

Some of the big takeaways from Allen's article:

Factors to consider when updating:

  • Is the content still relevant?
  • Is the content appearance dated? Does it look old?
  • Does the content contain a lot of audio, video, animation, or custom complex interactions?
  • How important is updating this content to your overall learning strategy?
  • How much budget (in time and resources) do you have to handle the update?
  • Would conversion of older content to video suffice?
  • Should you leverage the conversion as an opportunity to unify the content with your newest brand standards and learning design strategy?
  • Should you take advantage of the update to add support for mobile devices?

Should you remove some of the content?

According to Partridge. "If your content is more than 24 months old, it is highly likely that you should consider seriously either replacing the content with more recently created content, or should revise the content to ensure that it is timely and addresses the actual needs of learners in your organization today. Content grows stale very rapidly. Laws and regulations change frequently, and more than ever before, technologies related to the workplace are substantially altered at an alarming rate."

Steps to Conversion Success

The article includes step-by-step instructions for migrating legacy SWF content to HTML5 including using a stepped approach to upgrading legacy projects, using SVG icons available in the Assets area instead of dated images, and a clever suggestion to make a video out of the project and make it an interactive video in Captivate 2019.

Here's a link to the full article,

And if you've got a project loaded with Flash content that needs to be replaced, send me an email (ksiegel@iconlogic.com). I've got experienced developers who can help!

 

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TECHSMITH CAMTASIA: Sharing Projects with Fellow Developers

If you work with other Camtasia developers, it’s likely that you will be asked to share your project with team members so they can edit the project. Sharing projects among Camtasia developers is not the same as using the Export menu to create output for a learner. To share Camtasia production files with other Camtasia developers, follow these steps:

Mac to Windows: If you want to share a Mac-based Camtasia project with someone who is using Camtasia 2021 for the PC, choose File > Export > Project for Windows.

Windows to Mac: If you want to share a PC-based project with someone who is using Camtasia 2021 for the Mac, choose File > Export > Project for Mac.

Share Projects Mac to Mac: Sharing a project with other Mac developers is simple. When saving the project, ensure that you select Create standalone project.

CreateStandalone_Mac

Send a team member the project file (the cmproj file), and you’re set. The cmproj file is a self-contained collection of all project assets. If team members have the same or newer version of Camtasia as you, they’ll be able to open and edit the project.

Share Projects PC to PC: When saving the Camtasia project, ensure that you select Create standalone project.

CreateStandalone_PC

Send the resulting folder to the other Camtasia developer. The folder will likely contain several assets so zipping the project is suggested. Those steps follow.

The steps below are for PC users only. Mac users can save and close the project and then skip ahead to the next module which begins on page 115.

  1. Choose File > Export > Zipped Project.
  2. Browse to an appropriate Save destination.
  3. Click the Save button

The resulting zip file contains the Camtasia project and all of the project’s assets. Assuming the recipient of the zip file has the same version of Camtasia as you, developers can extract the zipped contents, open, edit, and export the project as needed.

2021-05-21_09-30-43

Looking for Camtasia training, check out these live, online TechSmith Camtasia classes.

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HANDS-ON, LIVE ONLINE TRAINING: Creating eLearning Scripts for Software Simulations

We are proud to announce a new class: Creating eLearning Scripts for Software Simulations

If you create eLearning that includes software simulations and video demonstrations, you've likely heard about the need for a recording script. It's also likely you're not sure how to create an appropriate script.

Here's the only class you'll need: https://www.iconlogic.com/storyboarding-scripting-elearning.html

If you create software simulations or video demonstration eLearning in Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, or TechSmith Camtasia, this class is for you!

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iSPRING SUITE 10: No Faster Way to Go From PowerPoint to eLearning

I've recently wrapped up work on my iSpring Suite 10: The Essentials step-by-step book. And as I created eLearning in the iSpring tool, I was struck with just how easy it is to take existing PowerPoint presentations to eLearning.

For those of you who aren't familiar with iSpring Suite, let me fill you in.

It’s likely that you’ve used Microsoft PowerPoint at least a few times. As far as I’m concerned, PowerPoint is an awesome program, and you can easily create visually stunning presentations with the tool. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the presentations created with PowerPoint are not very good. I’m betting that you have seen your fair share of presentations containing too many slides packed with as much text and clipart as possible. There’s often an obnoxious use of colors and fonts. The layouts are predictable and boring. Most of the slides have a main headline, a subhead, a bulleted list, clipart images, and copious amounts of animation (the bullets fly here, there, everywhere. There’s a name for those kinds of presentations: Death by PowerPoint. 

When learners are threatened with Death by PowerPoint, most will either avoid the presentation or quickly click from one slide to the next to end the misery as soon as possible. There’s typically little interaction in those deadly presentations beyond clicking forward and back buttons. 

Given how PowerPoint gets most of the blame when someone presents a Death by PowerPoint, it’s easy to be a PowerPoint hater. However, I am not a hater. I happen to think that in the hands of a creative person, PowerPoint can be used to develop great presentations. While I love PowerPoint, it cannot be used to create compelling, engaging eLearning—asynchronous training content is available online, 24-hours per day, 7 days per week.

Why can’t you create awesome eLearning with PowerPoint? First, PowerPoint does not feature the kind of interactive tools necessary to engage learners. I know, you can animate anything and everything, and you can add interactive buttons to a PowerPoint slide. But animations and/or forward and back buttons do not constitute a high level of learner engagement. In most PowerPoint presentations, there’s little to no opportunity to gauge learner comprehension of the content because most versions of PowerPoint do not include scoreable quizzes. Recent updates to PowerPoint do finally allow you to add quizzes via Forms, but the feature is limited.

When the time comes to deliver content created in PowerPoint to learners across the globe, there’s no HTML5 output to allow for seamless viewing over a web browser. Learners either need to have PowerPoint installed on their computers or download the PowerPoint player from Microsoft. And although you can upload a PowerPoint presentation into a Learning Management System (LMS) as a course asset, there is no way to make the presentation SCORM or AICC-compliant so that learner progress can be tracked by the LMS or administrators.

So what do you do when the boss tells you to use PowerPoint to create the company’s flagship eLearning course? You get yourself an eLearning development tool, and that’s where the iSpring Suite comes in. The suite is a collection of awesome tools that work with PowerPoint to help you create killer eLearning courses. 

After installing the iSpring Suite on your computer and then starting PowerPoint, you’ll find that there’s a new tab on the PowerPoint Ribbon: iSpring Suite. The image below shows the iSpring Suite 10 tab, along with its specific set of eLearning tools.

ISpring-Suite-10-2

At the far left of the iSpring Suite 10 tab, you’ll find recording tools for both audio and video. As you move right, you’ll see tools for adding interactions, characters, and more. You’ll learn to use most of the tools on the tab, along with some of the standard PowerPoint tools, as you move through the guided activities in my book.

Seriously, if you need to create eLearning and you've already got the PowerPoint content, iSpring Suite makes quick work out of the eLearning creation process. You've just got to check out this tool.

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ADOBE ROBOHELP: In Search of RoboHelp Use Cases

Adobe is looking for examples of RoboHelp projects out in the real world.

If you've used RoboHelp to create any of the following, Adobe would like to hear from you:

  • Knowledge Bases/Self-Service Portals
  • Online Help (including In-App Help)
  • Policies & Procedures
  • Micro Content for Chatbots/Virtual Assistants

Send your name, project details, and a link to the output on your public-facing website or portal to techcomm@adobe.com.

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Adobe Captivate: Free 2019 Update For Mac OS Big Sur

I love keeping my Mac up-to-date, but I rarely install major software updates when they are first released. And when OS 11, otherwise known as Big Sur, became available, I waited. After several months, my Mac began pestering me to get the update. When 11.1 became available, I finally upgraded.
 
Did I mention that I always caution people against upgrading their operating systems until ensuring that existing software continues to work? Yeah, about that… after upgrading my Mac, this is what I saw when choosing Apple > About This Mac.
 
 
Everything worked on my Mac wonderfully after the upgrade… except Captivate 2019. The program would start and then immediately close. Upon checking the Adobe website that supports Captivate, I learned that Captivate would not work with Big Sur. Yikes.
 
Fortunately, Adobe now has a free update for Captivate 2019 that allows Big Sur users to continue using the software. You can download the update here: https://assets.adobe.com/public/ff298ded-060f-4ee3-48f8-6599d7b9cc11.
 
Before installing the update, Adobe recommends that you uninstall Captivate first. From the Applications folder, open the Adobe Captivate 2019 folder and open Uninstall Adobe Captivate 2019.
 
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TechSmith Camtasia: A favorite new feature

 
While there's plenty to love about Camtasia 2020, the feature I'm highlighting this time is Favorites.
 
Camtasia is loaded with tools. If you think I'm exaggerating, here's a list of the tools available in Camtasia 2020, Mac:
 
There are so many tools, you might need to click "More" to see all of them (the "More" option automatically appears if your window size is too small to display all of the tools or your screen resolution is low).
 
And clicking a tool, such as Annotations, often leads to multiple categories leading to even more tools. In the image below you can see what I'm talking about when it comes to the Annotations tool. There are 6 related tools (Callouts) grouped with the main Annotations tool.
 
I am not suggesting that TechSmith should remove tools from Camtasia. I say bring on more tools, TechSmith (I look forward to seeing a dozen more tools in Camtasia 2021). However, if you're like me and you use several eLearning development tools, remembering where your "go-to" Camtasia tools are located can be a challenge.
 
Which brings me to Favorites.
 
Find a tool you use frequently (any tool). Right-click the tool and choose Add to Favorites.
 
Once a tool has been added as a Favorite, the tool gets a gold star. And from now on, the tool will be shown in the Favorites area of the toolbar.
 
 
Right-clicking a Favorite is going to be the easiest and fastest way to work with the tool. And should you no longer want a tool as a Favorite, a quick right-click allows you to delete the tool as a Favorite (but does not remove the tool from Camtasia).
 
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ADOBE CAPTIVATE 2019: The Fastest Way to Start a New Project with Content and ID

 
Ksiegel3Adobe Captivate makes it possible to rapidly create new eLearning projects. The process is as simple as File > New Project > Blank Project.
 
If you go that route, you'll get a new project with a single slide that looks like this:
 
It's a simple thing to add text to the slide (double-click the placeholder and type the new text). And adding slides to the project is simple too (Insert > New Slide from). However, if you're not an instructional designer, it's likely that you're not clear on the structure of the course or that the project should include standard slides such as an overview slide and a lesson review slide. If you're not a graphic designer, adding some cool visuals to your project may be out of your comfort zone as well.
 
And that's where Captivate's Project Assets prove invaluable.
 
From the top right of the Captivate window, click Assets.
 
 
From the list at the left, click Projects. From here, you can add single slides to your existing project or create a whole project, complete with instructional design ideas.
 
In my example, I selected Projects. Then I selected the Earth project and clicked the Open as a New Project button.
 
 
The resulting project is as complete (45 slides containing images and placeholder objects) as it is visually stunning. There are instructional design suggestions, navigation slides, interactive slides… everything you need to get your new project out of the starting gate and moving at a full gallop.
 
In the image below I edited the text and replaced the placeholder image in about 10 seconds.
 
 
Give the free Captivate assets a try and I'm betting that you'll agree that there's no faster way to get new eLearning projects up and running.
 
***
Plant1If you're looking to learn Adobe Captivate, we've got a nice collection of live, online Captivate classes (all of the classes are taught by certified trainers who are also experienced eLearning developers).

 
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ELEARNING DEVELOPMENT: How Many Levels of eLearning Are There?
When it comes to determining the level of effort (LOE) needed to develop eLearning content, I'm seeing a lack of clarity.
 
Generally speaking, you should budget approximately 4 hours to develop each minute of finished eLearning if you use Adobe Captivate or Articulate Storyline as your development tool. If you use TechSmith Camtasia or a PowerPoint plug-in (such as Presenter or iSpring Suite), you should budget approximately 2-hours to develop a single minute of eLearning.
 
Why the large gap in development time between Captivate/Storyline and Camtasia/PowerPonit plug-ins? Captivate and Storyline can create more interactive eLearning than the other popular tools. That enhanced interaction is great for your eLearning students but comes at a cost at twice the development time (if not more).
 
In my experience, the eLearning development LOE is dependent upon several factors including, but not limited to:
 
  1. The total amount of eLearning content needed (measured in minutes)
  2. The amount of usable, original content there is (will you need to develop a voiceover script, the level of support (subject matter experts, writers, designers, developers)
  3. As mentioned above, the tool to be used for the eLearning development
  4. The level of eLearning
 
I'm going to focus this article on the last item in the list above: eLearning levels. It's widely accepted that there are three eLearning levels and they're named, appropriately enough: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. And while you can google "eLearning levels" and find plenty of articles on the subject, finding two articles that agree on what the levels mean can be difficult, especially when it comes to level 3 eLearning.
 
Level 1: Video-based eLearning with little to no learner interaction
 
Level 1 eLearning would include the videos you'll see on streaming servers such as YouTube or Vimeo, and the eLearning content offered on Lynda.com. This type of eLearning allows learners to play the lesson, mute the audio, pause, and rewind, but that's about it for interactivity.
 
Level 1 eLearning can be created with PowerPoint or any of the eLearning development tools on the market today. This level of eLearning could include self-recorded voiceover audio and a quiz. It can also be enabled for tracking via SCORM and/or AICC LMSs.
 
Level 2: Interactive eLearning with higher-end visuals
 
Level 2 eLearning is significantly more interactive than level 1 eLearning. Content at this level often includes custom graphics (such as iconography to minimize screen clutter) and professional voiceover audio.
 
If created in Adobe Captivate or Articulate Storyline, this kind of eLearning likely includes interactive buttons, hotspots/click boxes, text entry areas, branching scenarios, multiple scenes, layers, rollover effects, learner interactions (such as dials, sliders, and drag and drop interactions), and random quizzes.
 
Level 3: Gamification or virtual reality, worlds, or fantasy games
 
Level 3 eLearning is beyond the scope of the vast majority of eLearning developers. This level of eLearning involves the creation of virtual settings where learners can interact with virtual characters, pick up items, and use those items throughout the course.
 
If not virtual worlds or scenarios, this level of eLearning often includes intense gaming scenarios that require complex advanced actions (Adobe Captivate) or triggers (Articulate Storyline).
 
While tools such as Storyline and Captivate cannot easily create the virtual worlds as I've described above, they could be used to create complex games, etc. Nevertheless, the time to create those games would make them cost-prohibitive.
 
Fellow eLearning developers, I need your help. What are your thoughts on the levels of eLearning as I've described them above? How would you describe the eLearning levels? Would you add more levels than the three I've mentioned here?