By Mary Word Part 2: Where do you take the first bite? The first thing that came clear was that the entire project was complex, not just the programming within pages. The highest level of that was handled by our Instructional Designer, Linda, as she designed and wrote the storyboards. Fortunately, we had worked together long enough that she brought technical questions to me as she wrote, so I[…]
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The Lectora Users Conference and My First Big Presentation – Part 1: Context
By Mary Word Last fall there was a call for presentation proposals for the annual national Lectora User’s Conference. Lectora is the authoring program (aka rapid development tool, eLearning development tool, etc.) that I use for the majority of the eLearning content I develop at Microassist. We create custom eLearning for a wide range of clients, using Lectora, Articulate Storyline, Captivate, and other programs as needed. I have found Lectora the best choice for more complex courses,[…]
READ MORE about The Lectora Users Conference and My First Big Presentation – Part 1: ContextCreating a Simple Video in Windows Movie Maker
There are plenty of ways to create a video using a free solution. Windows Movie Maker comes prepackaged with Windows operating systems and is more than capable of producing a decent video. In this blog post, we’ll experiment with a few of its most essential features and also go through the final production process. What you’ll need: Windows Movie Maker (download here) A video file (here is a list of supported video[…]
READ MORE about Creating a Simple Video in Windows Movie MakerHow Companies do Collaboration: Part 1
This is the first post in what will become a series of entries on the sorts of collaborative technologies that companies use for their employees to keep each other in the loop. Every company approaches this decision with a unique level of comfort and desired openness. For example, some organizations are fine with public solutions like Facebook; others prefer restricted, enterprise-grade services like Yammer or Jive; and still others are[…]
READ MORE about How Companies do Collaboration: Part 1Why Using Social Media in Training is Effective
I recently had the chance to read the first chapter of one of Jane Bozarth’s books, Social Media for Trainers. I found it to be a great primer on today’s most popular social media tools. The first chapter contains a section called “Why Social Media in Training?” In this section, Bozarth contends that social media tools break things down in such a simple way that they actually empower users. They[…]
READ MORE about Why Using Social Media in Training is EffectiveEditing Audio with Audacity
Editing audio is a fairly straightforward process, especially when you have excellent (not to mention free!) tools like Audacity at your disposal. There are a host of different ways to use this program to your advantage; but in this post, we’ll just cover some of the more essential functions that will probably be most useful to you in your training or course development work. What you will need: A supported[…]
READ MORE about Editing Audio with AudacityMedium.com: A New Medium for Discussing Elearning?
I recently heard about Medium.com, a kind of communal blog publishing platform where anyone can write about anything. This service could pose an interesting prospect for e-Learning discussions. These days, it seems like most of the online e-Learning discussions are taking place on niche websites and specialized groups on social media (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn). Twitter has helped shape the discussion into a single stream of content with topical hashtags like #elearning, but that[…]
READ MORE about Medium.com: A New Medium for Discussing Elearning?Interactive Graphics
People learn more about the world through their sense of vision than through any other channel. That’s one reason images serve an important role in training. The evolution of web-based technology has allowed us to move beyond static and motion visuals to online interactive graphics with the potential to deepen understanding of the topics we care about. This blog post demonstrates how effective the new generation of visuals can be.[…]
READ MORE about Interactive GraphicsFresh from DevLearn 2012: Tin Can API
DevLearn attracts many leaders in the online learning industry for its annual conference. This year 2,000 learning and development practitioners gathered in Las Vegas for the October 31 – November 2 event. There were numerous sessions hosted by the best minds in the industry on the latest innovations and issues. One of the hottest topics was the new Tin Can API (Application Programming Interface). Estimated reading time: 2 minutes […]
READ MORE about Fresh from DevLearn 2012: Tin Can APISlick Graphics on the Cheap!
Scenario: You have a client that wants cutting edge training, but they don’t have a budget for multimedia – a macaroni and cheese budget with caviar dreams! You’ve overused the same graphic images in your arsenal already and you don’t have the time to scour through the many “free” stock image sites online for the perfect representations. What are your options? Don’t despair! When using graphic images in your training,[…]
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