The Logical Blog by IconLogic

eLearning & Presentations: More Free Images. A MILLION more!

by AJ Walther  

Want more free images for your eLearning or PowerPoint presentations? How about over a MILLION more? In December of last year, the British Library released into the public domain a huge collection of scanned images from more than 65,000 books spanning the 16th to 19th centuries. Yes, that's right, I said public domain. That means these images are free to use, share, and modify in any way that you see fit. The library asks only that you help to populate the metadata for the images to help make them more easily searchable--and to help spread the knowledge.

 

The project is called the Mechanical Curator and is housed on a tumblr page that purports to post a randomly selected small illustration or ornamentation from these antiquated books. All of the images can be found on the British Library's flickr feed. 

  

Think these images are a little too old school for anything you'll be designing? Think again. Just for funsies I threw together a little eLearning layout by using the British Library's free images. Here's what I came up with:

The great thing about these images is that most all of them go together cohesively. And that "B" I used? I was able to find every letter I searched for, in a variety of styles. That could lead to endless designs... for free! Design on, friends.

See also:

• Recommended Free Image Sites
• Thousands and Thousands of Free Images
• Finding Google Images You Can Actually Use
• What Happened to Microsoft's Free Image Gallery?

Adobe Captivate: Bookmarking Without an LMS

by Kevin Siegel   

Bookmarking a lesson provides the learner an opportunity to continue viewing a lesson from the exact spot where they left off. If you've uploaded your eLearning lesson into a Learning Management System, bookmarking is enabled by default in every lesson that you publish. 

If you're not working with an LMS and you still want to enable bookmarking, you're out of luck, right? Not exactly. With a few simple clicks, you can enable bookmarking within any Captivate project. Once enabled, learners will see the following message should they close their web browser while your eLearning lesson and then return at a later time.

 

 

Enable Bookmarking (Self-Paced Learning)

1. Open or create a Captivate project and choose Project > Table of Contents. (The Skin Editor Window opens.)
2. From the left of the Skin Editor Window, select Show TOC.
     
3. From the bottom of the window, click the Settingsbutton. (The TOC Settings dialog box opens.)
     
4. From the Runtime Options area, select Self-Paced Learning.
      
5. Click the OK button.

By enabling Self-Paced Learning, you have basically activated Captivate's bookmarking feature. You can test the bookmarking by publishing the project and then opening the HTML file with any web browser.

Move through a few slides in the lesson and then close the browser window. Reopen the HTML file and instead of the lesson simply starting over from the beginning, you (and your learners) will see the "Continue from where you stopped last time?" message shown below. How cool is that?

If you'd like to see the Self-Paced Learning option in action, check out the video I created on the IconLogic YouTube channel.

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Looking for instructor-led training on the top eLearning tools? We offer live, online training on Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, Adobe Presenter, and TechSmith Camtasia Studio.We can also bring the same great training onsite to your facility. Interested? Contact us for details.

eLearning: Determining the Best Size for Today's Lessons

by Kevin Siegel   

When developing eLearning lessons using any of the top development tools (Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, or TechSmith Camtasia Studio), you need to take the size of your learner's device into account. If you make your eLearning lesson too large (I'm talking width and height, not how many megabytes the lesson might be), learners with small displays may have to scroll to see your content. If your published lesson has the ability to scale to fit the learners display, your content could scale down so small that your content will become unusable.

While you can create a project at one size and resize it smaller later, it's not an ideal workflow. Resizing a project once you've started will likely result in shifting of screen objects that require additional editing on your end. For that reason, it's best to pick a width and height that will work for the widest possible range of devices right from the start.

Several years ago, the typical desktop computer display resolution was 800x600 pixels. If you developed eLearning content for a screen resolution that low, a project size of 640x480 was recommended. A few years later, 1024x768 was the standard screen resolution, resulting in typical eLearning lessons sized to 800x600. According to w3schools.com, the standard desktop screen resolution today is 1366x768 and it's trending higher. (You'll find that available resolutions vary from system to system. For instance, I use an HP 22 inch display that doesn't support 1366x768. Instead, my closest options are 1360x768 and 1376x812.)

Because screen resolutions are higher than ever, developers are seeking an optimal viewing experience for learners. But what's the ideal size for an eLearning lesson? Unfortunately, there isn't a cookie-cutter answer. The size of the lesson you create depends largely on your customer. What is the typical device you expect your learner to be using? How big is its screen? Is the device typically used vertically (portrait) or horizontally (landscape)? What is its typical resolution?

If you are creating content for learners using standard desktop computers (Windows or Mac), a project size of 800x600 still works well. However, if you plan to post your content to YouTube, stay away from 800x600. At that size, your lesson won't look quite right when viewed on YouTube (you will likely see black bars on one or both sides of the video, and the video might look distorted during playback).

What's the Relationship Between Project Size and Screen Resolution?

Let's say that you create a project that is sized to 800x600. I view your lesson on a 17-inch monitor with a resolution of 1024x768. In this scenario, your lesson is going to look fine on my monitor. But what if I have a large screen (a 27-inch monitor for instance), and I'm using a high resolution? Your lesson is going to have a lot of white space to the left and right. Will that white space make the lesson look silly? Who's to say?

It's a delicate balancing act between the size of the capture area and an ideal screen resolution. When I create YouTube videos, I set my eLearning tool's capture size to 1024x568 and my screen resolution to 1440x900. While I could go higher with my screen resolution and capture more of the screen, the captured screen text at a higher screen resolution is small and hard to read. When I upload videos to YouTube, the already small text gets worse because YouTube makes my videos smaller.

More information on sizing eLearning projects:  

• If you'd like to learn more about project dimensions, this article on the TechSmith website is very helpful. While it's written specifically for Camtasia Studio projects, the information is also relevant for Storyline and Captivate developers.
• If you're a Captivate developer, Rod Ward of Infosemantics.com suggests a project size of 995x627.
• If you're a Storyline user, check out the Choosing a Story Size article on the E-Learning Heroes website. 
• Check out my YouTube video on project size and screen resolution.

I'd love to hear from you. What is the best project size you've come up with? (Please post your comments below. Let me know who your target end-user is and the eLearning development tool you use.)

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Looking for instructor-led training on the top eLearning tools? We offer live, online training on Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, Adobe Presenter, and TechSmith Camtasia Studio. We can also bring the same great training onsite to your facility. Interested? Contact us for details.

eLearning: Playbar or No Playbar? Let the Debate Begin

by Kevin Siegel   

I was teaching Adobe Captivate recently when a student asked a few questions about the value of a playbar that fueled an interesting and heated, discussion (some folks love playbars, others hate them). Here are the questions that got the debate rolling:

• Is the playbar necessary? 
• If a playbar is included, how can you encourage learners to interact with screen objects instead of skipping them using the playbar navigation controls?
• Where is the best place to position the playbar (top, bottom, left, or right of the lesson)?

All of the top eLearning development tools (Articulate Storyline, Articulate Presenter, Adobe Captivate, Adobe Presenter, and TechSmith Camtasia Studio) allow you to control the appearance of the playbar. In addition, each of the tools can accomplish the suggestions outlined below. In some instances, the option I discuss isn't easy to find in a particular tool. If you have trouble locating the playbar options, feel free to contact me.

Is the Playbar Necessary?

Should you include a playbar in your eLearning lessons? In my opinion, absolutely! If you've created a video like those commonly posted on YouTube or Lynda.com, there isn't any interactivity. The only way learners can navigate through a video is via the Play, Rewind, and Pause tools found on a typical playbar. While a video's playbar doesn't offer much in the way of learner engagement, at least it's something. In my experience, videos without playbars are ineffective. The lack of a playbar can be disconcerting if not flat-out annoying. 

How Can You Encourage Interaction With Screen Objects?

If your eLearning lesson is interactive (perhaps it's a software simulation with a quiz, or a soft skills lesson with buttons for navigation), the learner who navigates via the playbar instead of the interactive slide objects can derail the lesson. For example, you've created a button on a slide that, when clicked, reports a score to your Learning Management System (LMS). If the learner clicks the forward button on the playbar, not the interactive button on the slide, no score is reported to the LMS. As far as the LMS is concerned, the learner skipped the slide.

How can you encourage the learner to interact with the slide objects and not simply race through the lesson by clicking the forward button on the playbar? 

• Add an animation in combination with an interactive slide object.

In one of my projects, I inserted an arrow animation that pointed to the buttons on the first several slides (not all of them, since I was worried about the animation being a distraction). While short and sweet, the animation was enough of a visual cue that very few people missed the opportunity to click the buttons.

• Hide the playbar for the entire lesson by default, but have it automatically appear when the learner mouses over the screen.
• Hide the playbar on any slides where clicking an interactive object is critical.

Playbars and Quizzes...

If you've included a quiz in your lesson, most of the eLearning development tools require the learner to answer the question and submit before it is recorded and graded. If the learner answers a question correctly but clicks the forward button on the playbar instead of a Submit button on the slide, the LMS will likely treat the question as unanswered. In this instance, the learner will not get credit, even though the question was answered correctly. 

In this scenario, you can set up your lesson so that the playbar will disappear when the learner is taking the quiz but reappear on non-quiz slides. Most eLearning development tools offer a "hide playbar during the quiz" feature. (For example, in Adobe Captivate, it's a simple check box found on the Quiz Preferences dialog box.)

What Is The Best Screen Position for the Playbar?

If you elect to include the playbar, where is the best place to position it? The most common location for the playbar is below the video or simulation. In my experience, this position works the best since the majority of your learners are conditioned to look there first. The biggest problem with the bottom-position occurs when the video is very tall. In this case, many of your learners won't know there's a playbar at all since they'd need to scroll down. In this scenario, positioning the playbar at the top of the lesson would be ideal.

I'd love to hear if you think playbars belong in eLearning or not. I'd also like to know where you place them and how you encourage users to avoid the playbar when screen interactivity is critical. Please post your comments below.

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Looking for instructor-led training on the top eLearning tools? We offer live, online training on Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, Adobe Presenter, and TechSmith Camtasia Studio. We can also bring the same great training onsite to your facility. Interested? Contact us for details.

Adobe Captivate: Swapping Speech Agents

by Kevin Siegel   

During every Captivate beginner class, time is spent on the second day teaching everyone how to use Captivate's Text-to-Speech feature to convert slide notes into speech.

Recently, one of my students asked an excellent question: "I'd love it if there was a pain-free way to quickly change the agent from Kate, to Paul to Chloe, and then maybe back to Kate. As it stands, I need to select each slide note in the Speech Management dialog box, one at a time and then change the agent. It would help I, at the very least, I can select all of a slide's notes at once and change the agent. Is this possible?" 

The answer is yes, you can select multiple slide notes and change agents on the fly (not multiple slides, but multiple notes). The solution, while easy, isn't obvious. Here's how:

First, go through your project and convert the slide notes to speech. If you're not sure how, review this article.

After you've committed to an agent, changing your mind is just as easy as selecting the original agent. Choose Audio > Speech Management to open the Speech Management dialog box.

In the image below, notice that different agents have been used between the two slides.

 

Next, select all of the notes for the slide. While this sounds simple, you'll need to carefully click in the space just above each note to successfully select the note.

From the Speech Agent drop-down menu, select an agent. In the images below, both slide notes are selected for Slide 2 and Chloe is being selected from the Speech Agent drop-down menu. (Note: While you can select multiple slide notes, you can only select the notes for one slide at a time; you'll need to repeat this process for each slide.)

 

The final step is to simply click the Generate Audio button at the bottom of the dialog box and you're all set.

If you'd like to see a demonstration of swapping one Speech Agent with another, check out the video I created on the IconLogic YouTube channel.

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Looking for training on Adobe Captivate? We offer multiple live, online Adobe Captivate classes each month including Introduction to Adobe Captivate and Advanced Adobe Captivate. Need the training in-person? We can also bring the same great training onsite to your facility. Interested? Contact us for details.

eLearning: What Happened to Microsoft's Free Image Gallery?

by AJ Walther  

In my Optimizing PowerPoint Design for eLearning & Presentations class I like to sing the praises of Microsoft's free online image gallery. But then, a few weeks ago, the unthinkable happened. I went to pull an image from said image gallery, and was met instead with this: 

Do you know what this is? I'll tell you what this is. Useless. It looks like maybe you can search here, but believe you me-you cannot. Where once I found easily searchable free images, I am now met with a screen telling me how to use the newest Office to search for Images (which doesn't work for me as I have Office 2010), how to use Office Web Apps to find images (does anyone use that?),  or how to use Bing to find these images (which I tried with zero success). The bottom of the page gives me links to images for Office 2010 or 2007, which I thought would be just the ticket. But no. Those links instead navigate to a page outlining how to insert clip art. Thanks for nothing.

I guess I shouldn't have been upset that a free service had disappeared. But, ya know what, I was upset. (Spoiler alert: I was upset enough that I kept digging until I found a solution. Read on for more!)

If you've used the free image gallery you probably know how great it is. But if you haven't, here's why it's such a valuable tool for eLearning designers:

You Can search by Style numbers

Let's say you found this image:

  

If you found the image in Microsoft's free image gallery, then it came complete with a linked style number.

 

Clicking the style number pulls up other images from the same style that can all be used together for a cohesive design. That's awesome.

 

Unless you already know the Style number, you cannot search by style number from the Office Clip Art pane. Nor does the clip art mention anywhere in its keywords what the style number is.

Search by General Style 

 Maybe a particular style doesn't have quite enough images for you. That's okay, the image gallery has a feature allowing you to search by general style--pulling up other images that look similar, even if they aren't technically part of the same style group.

 

The Search feature within Office's Clip Art pane does not have this feature.

Note: This feature did not work for me in Chrome or Internet Explorer without first downloading Microsoft's Silverlight. I'm running Parallels, however, so I used Safari on the mac side without having to do any additional downloading.

More Selections

When I search within PowerPoint's Clip Art pane using the keyword "construction" for illustrations, including content from office.com, I get back 106 images to choose from. The same search online in the MS Image gallery brings back 156 images.

When I found I could no longer access my beloved Images section of MS Office's site I spent two hours being bounced around between Microsoft's live online chat and multiple tech support hotlines. I tried explaining what was missing every way I knew how and no one seemed to know what I was talking about. If I couldn't access the site anymore I was hopeful that someone could at least tell me how to identify a clip art image's style number from within MS Office for easy searching. This was not the case.

Luckily (and I know it is cruel to make you wait this long for the solution, but at least you weren't on the phone for two hours), I found the solution on my own. By bypassing the image search page of the Microsoft Office page and instead searching the Office site as a whole, I was able to find the hidden images! For your convenience, here is a direct link.

You're welcome.

(Note: When you click the direct link above, the resulting page will say "found no results” because you haven't searched for anything yet. Go ahead and type your search keyword into the search bar above the text to look for images. After you search you can adjust the Media Types at the left to filter your results.)

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.

Online Training: Best Practices for Attending a Live, Online Course

by AJ Walther

Online classes are here to stay. They're easy, they're environmentally friendly, they're economical, and they're extremely effective. But, if you've never taken one, they can also be kind of scary and intimidating. The best way to eliminate your pre-class jitters is to know what you're getting yourself into and be prepared.

Don't Be Afraid To Ask Questions Ahead of Time

Whether your point of contact for training is a registrar, an office assistant, or the actual instructor, you probably have access to someone who can answer all of your questions, so don't be afraid to ask! Also, make sure to check the training company's website for an FAQ page.

Ensure You're Familiar With The Organization's Cancellation and Rescheduling Policies

Speaking of FAQs and asking questions...before you purchase your training, make sure you have read and agreed to the company's cancellation and rescheduling policies. If you can't find them on the company's website, call or email to find out. Things come up. It's always a good idea to make sure you know your options when they do.

Test Your Connection Ahead of Time

Is there anything worse than logging into your online training two minutes before it starts only to find out that your corporate firewall won't let you in at all? Well, probably, but this is pretty high up there on the list of things that are the opposite of fun. While you probably can't predict the future, you CAN prepare for it. Request to do a test of the online meeting space software with the course registrar at least a week prior to the class and then, if necessary, have your IT department look into getting you access. Worst case scenario? Test the connection from your home office and stay home that day (which actually sounds like sort of a best case scenario).

Download or Ensure You've Received All Necessary Training Materials

Some online courses come with materials that will be shipped to your home or office. Find out what, if any, materials are being shipped to you when you sign up for the course. Before confirming your order, ensure you use a shipping address that will accurately route materials to your attention in time for your course. If you're reliant on a corporate mail room, commercial delivery service, or the neighbor's front porch, schedule training to allow time to track down any wayward packages. On receipt of materials, don't just make sure you got something, make sure you got the right thing. It's always possible a mistake was made, but with enough notice almost any mistake can be corrected. Online courses will also often come with digital materials. Make sure you've downloaded or opened all digital materials well in advance to ensure you don't have any issues accessing them.

For Software Classes: Check Your Version

If you're attending an online software and you're hoping to follow-along with the class, it will be impossible if you don't have the correct software. The software on your computer should match the version being taught. And if you're downloading the trial version of a program for class, be aware that most trials expire after 30 days. Since a trial cannot be installed a second time, you'd need to switch to a different computer to use the trial for an additional 30 days.

Login Early

You don't necessarily need to sit glued to your computer screen for an hour before your class starts, but find out how early the instructor will be opening up the meeting space and try to log-in as close to that time as possible. This will give you time to test your audio and get familiar with the training space's features. After you're set-up and ready, you can mute your system and walk away, grab some coffee, or check email until class starts.

Use Dual Monitors

Generally speaking, this isn't an online class requirement. But, if you have access to a second monitor, particularly if you're taking a course that involves interactivity in a new software or operating system, it will certainly make following along much easier. You'll be able to see the application you're learning on one screen and follow what the instructor is doing on the other.

Use a Hands-Free Headset

Free up your hands and improve your audio quality at the same time! Although you can get away with using a microphone and speakers (or your computer's built-in mic and speakers), to get the best online class experience, beg, borrow, or steal a headset. Or, just cough up the dough and buy your own. You can get a decent headset for around $20. That way you will be able to hear the audio and you are most likely to be heard clearly by others. Which brings me to my next point...

Login From a Quiet Place

While a headset with a microphone will help eliminate background noise, nothing will totally block out all noises. Be reasonable about your location while attending your online training. Background noises could distract not only you, but the entire class. Places that should be considered off limits: dog kennels, day cares, cafeterias, and circuses. And if you are in a cubical, be aware that you will be talking to the instructor and other students during the class. Will that disturb those working around you? Another good reason to consider working from home that day.

Close All Personal Desktop Items (For Classes With Screen Sharing)

Some online courses allow for (and benefit from) student screen sharing (showing their screens). The ability to screen share is awesome, but it can quickly turn embarrassing if you have an inappropriate desktop wallpaper image. It can become a security risk if you leave your email or personal information visible. This is easily amendable, of course. Simply close anything you don't want other people to see. And, remember, screen sharing is never a requirement. If you don't want the instructor or other students to see your screen, just say so.

Sign Up Far Enough Ahead of Time So You Have Time to Make Sure All of the Above Can Happen

Be realistic about how much time you'll need to get ready for the course. Ensure that you sign up for your class early enough to allow you to prepare.

Do these steps, and I can just about guarantee you will get the most from your online class experience. And if you have other questions, don't forget the first suggestion above: just ask.

Note: Are you a traditional classroom trainer tasked with taking your act online? Looking for some expert advice on effectively teaching or facilitating an online class (and engaging the online student)? Check out Kevin's upcoming Train the Online Trainer class.

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.

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.

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).

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.

Adobe Presenter 9: Beginning Training

Have you created a PowerPoint presentation and need to convert it into an eLearning course? Perhaps you need to add a quiz to the presentation and be able to track learner success?

Adobe Presenter 9 allows you to transform your existing PowerPoint deck into eLearning complete with voiceover recordings, interactive objects, screen characters and videos.

During this full-day, online instructor-led class, you will learn how to create an eLearning lesson from scratch using both Microsoft PowerPoint and Adobe Presenter. Among other things, you will add characters and scenes to add personality to your presentation.

You will learn how to set up PowerPoint with slide notes that double as your voiceover script. Then you will learn how to record and edit voiceover audio.

As you move through this totally interactive class, you will learn how to add a quiz to the presentation and how to set up the lesson so that it will work with SCORM and AICC-compliant LMSs.

Finally, you will also learn how to publish the finished eLearning content as both SWF and PDF.

More information.