eLearning – Page 2 – The Logical Blog

January 31, 2024

Articulate Storyline 360: Emphasis Animations

Articulate updated Storyline 360 to include interactive emphasis animation effects like pulsing, shaking, and teetering.

To get the latest build, start Articulate 360 and install the update. Once installed, you'll be working with Storyline build 3.84.31647.0.

Create or open a Storyline project and insert an image onto a slide. In the example below, I inserted a cute puppy from the Content Library.

Select the image and, on the Animations tab, click Add Emphasis Animation.

There are currently five emphasis animations: Pulse, Grow, Shrink, Shake, and Teeter. I selected Shake.

Once the emphasis animation has been applied, you'll have some options. For instance, I've set the Shake amount to Medium.

Then I set the animation's Duration.

A trigger is added to the Triggers window. Double-clicking the trigger offers the ability to edit the trigger as appropriate.

I published the sample emphasis project and uploaded it to my web server. The interaction is very subtle, which I like. You can see it here.

If you're looking for Storyline help, we offer virtual training, mentoring, and development support. Send me an email and let's discuss your needs.

November 14, 2023

Articulate Storyline 360: Instant placeholder text

You've been asked to create a Storyline slide. The images are ready, but the text is not. Instead of typing fake placeholder text, Storyline can do the heavy lifting for you.

Select the object and type =lorem() to add placeholder text to a slide object.

Press [enter], and Storyline will fill the object with lorem ipsum text.

Type =rand(), and Storyline will add actual words to the object.

Adding text between the parenthesis tells Storyline to add a specific number of paragraphs and lines. For instance, Type =rand(4,3), and Storyline will insert four paragraphs and three lines.

If you'd like to see this feature in action, check out this YouTube video.

If you are looking for Storyline training, we've got you covered with these vILT courses. We've got you covered if you need eLearning mentoring or development services.

November 8, 2023

TechSmith Camtasia: Audiate = Awesomeness!

I always include voiceover audio when I record my software video demonstrations with Camtasia. That audio always needs editing. Typical editing tasks include removing fillers such as "um," silencing breath sounds, removing background noise, and removing long pauses. I also create closed captions manually or import them via closed caption files I've created through transcription services. Of course, all of this effort takes time. Creating the closed captions is particularly labor intensive if I haven't first created a voiceover script.

Along comes TechSmith Audiate, which integrates wonderfully with TechSmith Camtasia, and I have to say, I'm impressed.

After recording the software simulation in the recorder and adding it to the Timeline, I would typically use the Camtasia audio tools to edit the audio. However, because I have a subscription to Audiate, I can right-click the audio media on the timeline and choose Edit in Audiate. Alternatively, I can click the Edit in Audiate button on the Properties panel.

The media is sent to Audiate, where a transcript is automatically created.

On the transcript, I can see that I said "um" several times. I could edit the transcript myself or, even better, ask Audiate to lend a hand.

In the upper left of the Audiate window, there is an icon with some editing suggestions.

Clicking the drop-down menu displays several suggested edits.

I accepted all of the suggested edits with a click, and, poof, my transcript and the audio file are both edited.

Next, I located the effects icon in the lower right of the Audiate window and clicked the add effect icon.

Specifically, I removed background noise and breath sounds (plosives) from my audio.

I clicked the Sync drop-down menu in the upper right of the Audiate window.

I selected Edit Media Only and Default Captions from the Captions drop-down menu.

Then I clicked Sync.

Back in Camtasia, my audio media has been cleaned up, and the closed captions have been automatically added!

I'm unsure what to do with all the time Audiate saved me. Perhaps a new project? Maybe golf. Time to ponder my options.

If you'd like Camtasia training, here are some fantastic options. I also offer one-on-one Camtasia mentoring. Otherwise, perhaps I'll see you on the course.

October 31, 2023

Articulate Storyline 360: Cloud Backup for Source Files

Articulate updated Storyline 360 earlier this month to include the ability to upload your project source files to the cloud. This feature allows members of your team to download your project files easily.

To upload your project to the cloud, choose File > Publish.

From the list of options at the left, choose Review 360.

From the Cloud Backup area, select Upload project file to Review 360.

Publish the project.

On the Publish Successful screen, click View Project.

At the left of the window, select the version you'd like to download from the Current Version drop-down menu.

Click the three dots and choose Download project file.

The project's source file is downloaded to the Downloads folder on your computer.

If you need turn-key eLearning development in Storyline, Camtasia, or Captivate, consider IconLogic. If you need training, we've got you covered with our virtual instructor-led classes.

October 29, 2023

TechSmith Camtasia 2023: New Integrated Assets

TechSmith has integrated some fantastic assets with Camtasia update 23.3.2.

You will need to ensure that you are running the latest Camtasia update. To find that update, choose Help > Check for Updates. To check your version, choose Help > About Camtasia. (If you’re on a Mac, choose Camtasia 2023 > About Camtasia.)

Using the assets is simple. Visit the Media tool at the left and click the Camtasia Assets icon.

Scroll through the list or, even better, use the Search feature to find what you're looking for. (There are videos, images, and sound assets… millions of them.)

Right-click the asset you'd like and choose Add to Timeline at Playhead.

Alternatively, drag the asset directly onto the Canvas. Either way, the asset will be downloaded from the TechSmith website and added to your project.

Note that if you are using a virtual machine such as Parallels, the download process does not work. Instead, visit the https://library.techsmith.com/en and download the assets manually.

Here's a quick video demonstrating the integrated assets (some are free, and some require a subscription to the assets at https://library.techsmith.com/en).

For Camtasia training, check out our certificate program at https://www.iconlogic.com/techsmith-camtasia-certificate-live-online-course.html. For Camtasia development support, visit https://www.iconlogic.com/basic-development-services.html.

October 26, 2023

Integrate Adobe Captivate eLearning Output with Adobe RoboHelp Projects

Integrating interactive eLearning with your use assistance or help documentation is super easy if you use the Adobe Technical Communication Suite.

Check out this full training session that I taught for Adobe at DitaWorld: https://youtu.be/FdM148qDjTQ?si=-5Dq7o-QYAh_tzi6

You'll learn to use Adobe Captivate Classic (Captivate 2019) to create an interactive software simulation and publish the lesson as HTML5. Then, you will learn how to incorporate the training into an Adobe RoboHelp project.

October 8, 2023

Copyright Law: Using music or other audio in training and presentations

Over the past few weeks, you learned about copyright law related to images and content created with AI, specifically when used in training and presentations.

But what about copyright concerns regarding the use of music or other types of audio?

Several years ago, I was told that you could add 30 seconds of copyrighted music to your training or 10% of the total audio playtime without obtaining permission from the content owner. It turns out that that was bad information.

Copyright expert Linda Wolff Rohrbaugh states, "That myth arose from an education working group that tried to create safe harbor standards for face-to-face education. No court has adopted the standards, though apparently, the group had an excellent public relations effort because the myth spread far and wide and continues to persist."

Rohrbaugh went on to say, "Audio is not free to use. Whether with or without music, recordings are copyrightable and have the most complex maze of protection possible. Why? There are two copyrights in a sound recording … one for the author and another for the recording artist/producer. Both need to be cleared if using a recorded song or other audio piece. Plus, each copyright has different protection periods. If the author’s rights have expired, you may still need clearance for the sound recording if it is still under copyright. Failing to obtain proper permission can result in a lawsuit for up to $150,000 per song or audio clip used, even if you didn’t make any money."

Audio performance rights are held by the audio's author (also known in music as the composer or songwriter) and apply to any performance of the notes, melodies, and/or words for people other than just close friends and family. It applies whether you are making a cover song to post on social media for fun or using someone’s recorded version in your online course.

Authors may independently handle copyright release requests or may have given these rights to an agent such as a music publisher. There may be multiple copyright owners and agents, and you’ll want consent from ALL of them to be safe.

Music rights owners can be researched online using a database called SongFile.

Use Strategies

If you want to use audio in your training legally, stick to audio from the public domain—from 1922 or earlier. The variety, especially of sound recordings, is a bit limited since sound recordings didn’t exist for too long prior to 1927. Music in the public domain can be freely reused BUT (and this is a big caveat!), if you grab a recorded version of that public domain music, you must check the date the recording was made. If it was after 1927, you will still need consent from the recording artist/label.

You could license the clip from the owner or their agent. Music libraries such as MusicBed are a great source for original music clips in various genres and lengths. Pricing is determined by how you plan to use the music. A popular source of publicly released music is Easy Song Licensing. They have pre-negotiated the rates for some music or can negotiate on your behalf to get the rights to use clips that require independent licenses.

If you have time and talent, you can create and use your own music as you see fit. Remember to put your copyright notice on the presentation because everything you record will be copyright-protected from the moment you save the file, but the notice entitles you to more money if someone borrows your work without permission.

To learn more about copyright law as it relates to training and training support materials, check out this vILT course led by Linda and Kevin Siegel.

September 26, 2023

Copyright Law: Can content created with the help of Artificial Intelligence be protected?

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is all the rage these days, and for good reason. It is the next disruptive tool on the scale of the World Wide Web itself, so the sooner online educators learn and embrace it, the more likely they will be to keep pace with the advancing technology.

AI is certainly innovative. However, with innovation comes caution. While using AI may be fine for back-office purposes, such as creating marketing plans or figuring out the course titles that are most likely to grab attention, using AI to create substantive works may not be optimal and could even cause trouble for you down the road.

First, AI-generated content is not copyrightable. Only content created by humans can be protected. If your training course contains substantial artificial content, that content must be excluded when you register the copyright. Once the content has been excluded, the human-created remainder must be substantial enough to allow the registration to proceed.

Second, you cannot stop people from copying the AI-generated content you include in your course. Such content is considered to be within the public domain. You did not create it, so you don't own it. Thinking of the prompt that caused the AI to generate your desired content does not give you any claim to the content. Even if clever, the prompt itself is also unlikely to be considered original enough to be copyrightable.

Finally, how do you know the AI-generated content is accurate? AI gets its input from multiple sources, some of which may be solid and others dubious. If you republish incorrect information generated by AI, you could be liable for misleading the public, depending on the type of wrong information involved.

To learn more about copyright law, training, and training support materials, check out our upcoming training event led by Linda Wolff Rohrbaugh and Kevin Siegel.

September 21, 2023

Articulate Storyline 360: Integrated Comments

I updated my Articulate Storyline 360 a few days ago to version 3.79.3092.0 and was pleasantly surprised to see an improvement to the review workflow…review comments that appear directly within the Storyline project.

Publish your project to review 360.

Return to the Storyline project and notice that there's now a Comments window.

Click the Review Request button.

Add your reviewers and click the Send request button.

Your reviewers will receive a review invitation email, as shown below.

Reviewers click the Go to Review 360 button and add comments as shown below. When done, reviewers click the I'm done reviewing button.

The review comments appear in the Comments window within Storyline.

If you're looking for Storyline training, support, or mentoring, we've got you covered with our vILT classes, books, and development services.

September 17, 2023

Copyright Law: Using Images for Training

You've created training with Microsoft PowerPoint or an eLearning development tool such as Articulate Storyline, iSpring Suite, Articulate Rise, TechSmith Camtasia, or Adobe Captivate. Your training includes one or more copyrighted images.

If you are the copyright owner, you can reproduce or make copies of your images, distribute them to the public, and create derivative works based on the initial image. (Derivative works, also known as “adaptation rights,” include some or all of the original image and add new material to create something different from the original piece. For example, when you revise or update a website, you create a derivative work based on the old website. Other typical derivative works include translations, musical arrangements, dramatizations, fictionalizations, motion picture versions, sound recordings, art reproductions, abridgments, condensations, or any other form in which an image or video may be recast, transformed, or adapted.)

Copyright owners also have the right to publicly display the image at a place open to the public or to a substantial number of persons outside the usual circle of a family and its social acquaintances. Examples include using a photo in an eLearning project that will be marketed to the public, posting a picture on a website, or posting an NFT (a “non-fungible token,” which is a one-of-a-kind digital artwork, image, sound, motion picture, or anything else that can be downloaded and turned into an artificial intelligence algorithm) of a photo on an online marketplace.

But what are your rights to use the copyrighted image for training if you are not the copyright owner? Well, usually, you have no rights and should get permission. The fair use right to free speech is available to those who must use an image for criticism, commentary, parody, research, scholarship, or educational (face-to-face nonprofit) purposes. But even then, fair use is a defense that needs to be raised and proven to prevail.

The court will first consider the purpose of the use—whether commercial, promotional, or more about community benefit or criticism. Why would claiming fair use not work so well for you? A typical training course is a work made for commercial purposes, whether you sell the course or give it away to promote a platform or provider.

If there is a commercial purpose for the training, fair use is rarely found. Having a commercial purpose overrides the rest of the analysis in most cases. So, if your training is intended for an asynchronous audience or profit, getting permission is the wisest decision you can make because a fair use claim will likely go against you.

From a financial standpoint, if you decide to fight and claim fair use, the attorneys’ fees you have to pay to defend you are likely to come close to or even exceed the damage claim raised by the copyright owner, making it a poor business decision to pursue your “right.” Even if you have advertising injury insurance, your insurer may press you to settle rather than pursue your “rights” in court because it will typically hold their costs down.

If the copyright owner discovers your use and sends you a cease and desist letter along with a demand for payment of damages, take it seriously. You can certainly try to negotiate with the owner to reduce the amount to pay in settlement of the claim, but if you ignore it, you may find yourself on the receiving end of a lawsuit that will likely go against you. The best, least expensive way to avoid unwanted litigation and a sizeable monetary penalty is getting permission in advance.

To learn more about copyright law as it relates to training and training support materials, check out our upcoming training event led by Linda Wolff Rohrbaugh and Kevin Siegel.