The Logical Blog by IconLogic

TECHSMITH CAMTASIA: Keyboard Shortcuts A-Plenty

After receiving an email from a Camtasia developer looking for Camtasia shortcuts, I started creating a handy-dandy document that was going to list some of the more helpful keyboard shortcuts available in Camtasia. But then it occurred to me, why build a better mouse trap? Check out the Camtasia keyboard shortcut page TechSmith built (if you find a shortcut missing from the list, do tell).

 

TEACHING ONLINE: Get People Talking

by Jennie Ruby, COTP

People like to hear themselves talk. I don’t mean that in a bad way. What I mean is, people like to express themselves and feel heard. Feeling heard helps us feel connected to the others we encounter, the people we interact with, and—here’s my point—the people we learn with. Feeling connected with the instructor/facilitator and the other students/participants plays a huge role in our engagement with an online class. When you are the online instructor, make sure you are fostering this connection in your classes.

 

Your learners are not empty containers for you to fill with information. In adult learning, the learners are also teachers. Ask them to help you teach the class! Well, okay, maybe not literally like, 

 

“Fonzarelli! Would you like to get up here and teach the class?” 

 

But more like this: 

 

“Amy, can you think of a way you might use [what we just learned] in your work?”

 

Often in my online software classes, I stop and ask this:

 

“Have any of you used [this concept or technique] in your projects? Raise your hand or give me a green check.”

 

Then I call on one of the participants who signaled yes, and I ask them to come off mute and say hello. Once their mic is working, I repeat the question and invite them to tell how they have used the [concept] in their projects. They typically share one or more really good examples, express some degree of enthusiasm for it, and/or have additional comments or suggestions.

 

After that—and this part is really important—I invite the class to respond to what they shared.

 

“Does anyone else do something similar?”

 

“What do you think, Eliana, could you use this in your projects?”

 

The result? The class members are engaged with one another as well as with me. Those who share their experiences feel heard and appreciated. (Did I mention thanking them for the concepts they shared?) The class benefits from hearing a broader range of examples than I might think of alone. And voices other than mine are heard over the audio connection, adding variety and interest to that dimension of the class.

 

Bonus points: If you are discussing a later topic in the class, and it relates to what a class member shared earlier, make sure to recall what the participant shared, mention it again, and tie it to the new topic. Doing this makes the class feel more dynamic and alive, and less like a canned presentation. Once more the participant feels heard and appreciated, and everyone gets just a little bit more out of the entire class experience.

 

***

Join me in June when I team with Kevin Siegel and AJ Walther for ICCOTP's Online Training Professional certification course. 

 

***
Jennie Ruby, CTT, COTP, is a veteran eLearning developer, trainer, and author. Jennie has an M.A. from George Washington University and is a Certified Technical Trainer and Certified Online Training Professional. She teaches both classroom and online courses, and has authored courseware, published training books, and developed content for countless eLearning projects. She is also a publishing professional with more than 30 years of experience in writing, editing, print publishing, and eLearning.

 

ADOBE ROBOHELP: Stay Away Mighty Google

by Willam van Weelden, COTP

 

I recently received the following email from a concerned RoboHelp user:

 

Our [help system] documents are available on the internet if you search for them. Is there a way to keep them private so they don’t show up on Google?

 

The issue here is that the RoboHelp user created content in RoboHelp and then published the output files to their web server. Using IconLogic as an example, if IconLogic published their internal policies and procedures to the publicly-facing IconLogic website, it would certainly be easy for employees to access the content by typing something like the following example URL into any web browser: www.iconlogic.com/policies.htm. Of course, it would also be easy for non-IconLogic employees to access the content through the same URL. Additionally, over time Google will index the pages; and content found within the private Help System will appear in Google search results.

 

If you don't want your Help System content to appear via a Google search, there are a few options to consider:

• Use a robots.txt file to stop Google indexing your content.
• Protect your content on the server side.

 

The protection method is ideal. If you set up access controls on your server, only authorized users will be able to access the content. Search engines or anonymous users won't be able to view your content. Getting protection going will require access to be set up on your server because the RoboHelp output itself doesn't contain any option to secure access. The options available depend on the web server you are using. For Apache, you can find the options here. You will have to work with your web hosting company or IT team to discuss options and determine the best course of action.

 

An alternative is to use RoboHelp Server, which contains access control. The options are somewhat limited though.

 

A last, quick, alternative is to use robots.txt to tell Google to not index your content. This will help you to make the content harder to discover. Keep in mind that a robots.txt is a courtesy of search engines to prevent indexing. It does not secure your content in any way. And some crawlers may still choose to ignore the directive and still index your site.

 

Which method works best depends on your goal. If your goal is to keep the content private for authorized users only, your only recourse is to limit access on the server side.

 

***

If you're looking to learn Adobe RoboHelp, consider my highly-interactive live, online beginner class or my advanced content reuse class.

 

***

Willam van Weelden is a Certified Online Training Professional (COTP), veteran Help Author, RoboHelp consultant, co-author of IconLogic's "Adobe RoboHelp": The Essentials workbook, and technical writer based in the Netherlands. He is an Adobe Community Professional, ranking him among the world's leading experts on RoboHelp. Willam’s specialties are HTML5 and RoboHelp automation. Apart from RoboHelp, Willam also has experience with other technical communications applications such as Adobe Captivate and Adobe FrameMaker.

 

 

TechSmith Camtasia: Tips for Trimming Content

If you're curious about the kinds of things we cover during our live, hands-on online classes, check out this snippet from a recent TechSmith Camtasia class. During this portion of the class, I taught attendees how to ensure they won't mistakenly trim more from a project than expected.

eLEARNING CLASS: Whiteboard Animation with VideoScribe

In the battle for online attention, video is KING. By 2019, 80% of ALL web traffic will be video. 64% of customers say they are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video. 59% of decision makers would rather watch a video than read a blog or article. On top of that, they are FUN and easy to create with VideoScribe!

 

Leave with the ability to fully create entertaining and engaging whiteboard animations with VideoScribe.

 

IMPORTANT: A free trial to VideoScribe is required to actively participate in this course. The free trial lasts for 7 days, so please time your free subscription to coincide with this class.

 

Learn more about this class (and sign up) here.

 

eLearning: Compare Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, and TechSmith Camtasia

Welcome to the eLearning tool slug-fest. In this corner, it's Adobe Captivate. Over there? It's Articulate Storyline. And because this isn't a two-tool fight, look over there and you'll see TechSmith Camtasia. Attend this power hour and see demonstrations of all three tools. If you'd like to follow-along with your instructor, install trial versions of Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, and TechSmith Camtasia (Mac or PC). Watch as your instructor, a seasoned eLearning developer and certified online training professional, puts each of these tools through its paces, compares their strengths and weaknesses, and helps you pick the tool that is right for you!

If you'd like to attend this live, online class, you can sign up here: http://www.iconlogic.com/compare-elearning-tools.html

The video below is a sample from a recent class.

 

ADOBE PRESENTER: Sidebar Video

by Kevin Siegel, COTP

Inserting and editing video in Adobe Presenter is as easy as accessing the Adobe Presenter tab on the Ribbon and then clicking the Video tool. Once videos have been added to a PowerPoint slide, they can be manipulated just like any other PowerPoint object.

 

I received an email recently from a new Presenter developer. He wanted to insert a video, but instead of adding the video to the slide, he wanted it to appear to the left of the slide, above the Table of Contents. He had heard such a thing was possible but had been unable to find the feature.

 

The feature he was looking for is called Sidebar video and it’s shown in the image below. Adding Sidebar video to a project is simple and I was able to talk him through it with a quick email. If you’d like to learn how, follow these steps.

 

 

To begin, select a PowerPoint slide and then, on the Adobe Presenter tab, Insert group, click the Video tool and choose Import. (This will open the Adobe Presenter - Import Video dialog box.)

 

 

 

Select the video you’d like to use in the Sidebar and, from the lower right of the dialog box, select Sidebar video.

 

 

By default, the Sidebar video will appear at the left of the Presenter playback window (as shown in the first image above). You can hide the Sidebar or change its location by clicking the Theme tool and deselecting Show Sidebar (to hide it) or selecting Right or Left from the Location drop-down menu.

 

 

 

If you'd like to see the Sidebar video feature in action, check out this sample Adobe Presenter eLearning project. And if you'd like to learn how to use Adobe Presenter, check out our skills and drills workbook.

 

***

 

Kevin Siegel, CTT, COTP, is the founder and president of IconLogic. Following a career in Public Affairs with the U.S. Coast Guard and in private industry, Kevin has spent decades as a technical communicator, classroom and online trainer, public speaker, and has written hundreds of computer training books for adult learners. He has been recognized by Adobe as one of the top trainers world-wide.

 

 

TEACHING LIVE, ONLINE CLASSES: Engagement Is Not Enough

by Jennie Ruby, COTP

We hear it all the time: engage your learners, create e-learning that is engaging, make sure the students are engaged.

 

And so we create interactive eLearning. In our classrooms we call students by name and discuss things with them face to face. We ask them to raise their hands. In our online classrooms we have them click something, drag something, or move something every few moments. But does all this engagement automatically create learning? No.

 

Don’t get me wrong, engagement is very important. In fact, it is a prerequisite to learning. If the student is not paying attention, not attending, then learning is impossible. But engagement alone is not enough.

 

In computer training—training that teaches people how to use software, websites, apps, or online forms—we have known since the 1980s that hands-on training is essential. The experiment was run: merely demonstrate how the software works? The viewers learn nearly nothing. Have the learners try it with their own hands controlling the computer? Learning is greatly increased.

 

The key to learning is that the learner has to apply effort. And as instructors, we have to act as learning facilitators. We have to create opportunities for our learners to apply effort, and then we have to supervise and guide their efforts.

 

How can we do that in our online classes? Here are some methods to try:

 

• Have the students work along with you as you complete a software activity—they are applying hands-on effort.
• Ask them to show you how they did it—you are assessing their efforts.
• If you are using Adobe Connect, upload an interactive eLearning software simulation. Each student works through the simulation and gets a grade—again, the learners apply effort, and you assess their efforts.
• In GoToTraining, you can give a student control over the mouse and keyboard of your computer. Use that technique to allow a student to try out a software technique, even if they don’t have the software on their own computer. They are applying effort, and you are either guiding, or supplying feedback, on their efforts.
• Adobe Connect and GoToTraining allow you to set up a scorable quiz for your participants right in your online classroom. The learners apply effort in trying to answer the quiz questions. Then you can review the answers and reinforce their efforts.

 

We would love to hear from you about what methods you use to go beyond engaging your students. 

 

***

Join me early next month when I join Kevin Siegel and AJ Walther for the May edition of ICCOTP's Online Training Professional certification course. There are only a few seats left so don't delay.

 

***

 

Jennie Ruby, CTT, COTP, is a veteran eLearning developer, trainer, and author. Jennie has an M.A. from George Washington University and is a Certified Technical Trainer and Certified Online Training Professional. She teaches both classroom and online courses, and has authored courseware, published training books, and developed content for countless eLearning projects. She is also a publishing professional with more than 30 years of experience in writing, editing, print publishing, and eLearning.

 

 

ADOBE CAPTIVATE: Continue Playing Project Option

by Lori Smith, COTP

I’ve been teaching and developing projects in Adobe Captivate for years. My particular area of strength is advanced actions. Just when I think I know everything about Captivate, a seemingly teeny, tiny option gets added by the Adobe engineers and I end up looking silly. 

 

Standard Actions, such as Show can be used to easily show a hidden object. The problem is that the project will continue playing after the action occurs (after the shape appears). If you wanted something else to happen while the learner is still on the slide (perhaps another object appearing), it’s too late because the learner has automatically been taken to the next slide after the hidden object appeared. 

 

To get around the problem in the past, you needed to create an advanced action that showed the hidden object instead of using a standard action. Why would you need an advanced action for something so simple? Because the Continue Playing Project behavior does not automatically occur with advanced actions like it did with standard actions.

 

That was so yesterday! There is now one of those teeny, tiny deals I mentioned earlier on the Properties inspector: a simple checkbox on the Actions tab labeled Continue Playing the Project. It is checked by default so if you use a standard action to show an object, you’ll still end up on the next slide. However, if you want to keep the learner on the current slide, all you have to do is deselect Continue Playing the Project. (In the simple scenario I mentioned above, there’s no longer a need to create the advanced action.)

 

 

The Continue Playing the Project checkbox originally appeared in Captivate 9. I missed it. In prior versions, it wasn’t possible to stop a project from continuing to play if you used a standard action. Because Continue Playing the Project is selected by default in both Captivate 9 and 2017, it’s an easy option to overlook, especially if you’ve been developing in Captivate for years like me. 

 

Though the Continue Playing the Project option means that you no longer need to create an advanced action for the behavior I’ve described above, you will still need to create advanced actions if you want an interactive object to perform multiple actions once clicked. If advanced actions have you a bit intimidated, join me for my Captivate Variable and Action Deep Dive series. The 101 class starts with the basics. As we move through 201, 301, and 401, we will continue to build your skills and practice with Captivate Variables and Advanced Actions.

 

***

 

Lori Smith, COTP, is IconLogic's lead programmer and Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) in Captivate. Lori has a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from MIT as well as a Master’s in electrical engineering from George Mason University. She has been working in the field of software engineering for more than 20 years.  During that time she worked as an embedded software engineer at Raytheon (E-Systems) and ARINC.

 

 

Online Training: Learn to teach live, online classes on just about any subject!