10 Things You Can Create with Rise 360 Instead of an E-Learning Course

When an employee is missing a behavioral or performance mark, it’s not uncommon for orgs to assume that an e-learning course is a surefire way to address the problem. And if you’re not in a position to push back against these kinds of assumptions, odds are good that you’ve got a substantial backlog of courses on your plate.

If that sounds all too familiar, here’s some good news: creating a full-blown e-learning course with custom interactivity from scratch can be overkill, especially if the risk of a learner failing to perform a task doesn’t put the organization in substantial jeopardy. That means you’re probably better off designing something that’s faster, cheaper, and easier to create than a course—at least for some of those backlogged projects.

That’s where Rise 360, the web-based authoring app in Articulate 360, can really come in handy. With loads of prebuilt and customizable ways to present content, Rise 360 is a great option for making creative projects that aren’t just your typical e-learning course. The best part: your boss will think you’ve been working on it for days, when Rise 360 projects take only minutes to make!

But don’t take my word for it. Check out these 10 course alternatives your fellow e-learning pros have cooked up with Rise 360 ...

1. Ever been asked to create a course for a topic you’ve already covered elsewhere? It happens all the time. We create lengthy e-learning courses on a topic using rich supporting content that somehow gets lost in the mix. Want to pull that content out and make it the star of the show? Do what Anastasia Laur did and create a collection of Self-Study Resources. I love how Anastasia combined the list block, the tabs block, and the statement text block to create a sleek, totally custom lesson that sets learners up for testing success.
   
   
2. Folks love to read and learn from great content in all its many forms. With an interactive e-book created in Rise 360, you don’t need your learners to tote a novel around to learn from you. Rise 360 content is inherently responsive, which means they can read and learn on the go from every device.
   
   
3. While we’re talking about the joy of reading, here’s a surprisingly immersive option for engaging folks: create a text-based adventure game like this one from David Fair. By interspersing the story with reflection points (created with the quiz lesson type in Rise 360), David broke up a lot of content and made an engrossing and personal experience.
4. Want to bring folks in your organization up to speed on the outcome of a big initiative or some vital research? It can be a challenge to present data in a way that’s compelling and easy to understand. But with Rise 360, you’ve got loads of creative options for bringing information to life. Check out this brilliant (and award-winning!) idea for summarizing information from Laura Lowden. Laura’s example features a cool custom interaction integrated right into her Rise 360 project using a Storyline block. So clever!
5. Worried your learners will greet the prospect of training with some skepticism? One of my favorite strategies is to use a stand-alone quiz or pre-test to help build buy-in for learning. Creating a myth-busting quiz or a thought-provoking pre-test in Rise 360 is super quick and easy—and a great way to challenge a skeptical training audience.
6. Time to ditch the old paper-based quick reference guide that’s way too bulky to be very “quick” to use! Check out this online quick reference tool which uses the accordion block in Rise 360. The accordion block is great for chunking lots of information so it’s easier for folks to absorb.
7. Need to create some scenario-based activities? In this interactive scenario, Tom Kuhlmann uses visual assets he created in PowerPoint along with the flash card interaction in Rise 360 to create an engaging exercise that gets you thinking. Learn more about how Tom created this cool example in his blog post “How I Built This Interactive Scenario.”
8. Looking for a fresh way to show off your work? Don’t miss this example of an online portfolio created by Stephanie Hartnett. Whether you’re imagining a portfolio to spotlight your own work, or highlighting the work of others, assembling an online portfolio in Rise 360 is easy and the results are beautiful.
   
   (I might steal this idea and put my own spin on it by creating a portfolio of example courses I can use when working with Subject Matter Experts.)
9. Online portfolios are smart and on-trend for creatives—and so are interactive resumes. Take this interactive resume designed by Nicole Legault. Instead of a static document, Nicole used Rise 360 to create a memorable experience that highlights all of the key areas covered in a typical resume: goals, work history, education, and general background. I really love how she incorporated a labeled graphic lesson as a sophisticated portfolio. Something like this could be a great way to highlight your team’s work—or a way of tooting your own horn just before your next performance review!
10. Have a lot of video content but not sure what to do with it? Why not organize it and provide some context? For an example of what that might look like, here’s some curated learning content on the topic of leadership, pulled together by embedding videos from YouTube. By combining video with additional learning resources and self-reflection prompts in Rise 360, you can quickly create a great independent study resource or a powerful component in a blended training program using content you may already have.    

Discovering loads of creative inspiration is such a time-saver when you’re stuck for an idea, isn’t it? And with a tool like Rise 360 in your back pocket, bringing your creative ideas to life is easier than ever.

Already getting creative with Rise 360? How are you using it to lighten your project backlog or transform training in your organization? Please share your experiences with us by leaving a comment below.

Want to try something you learned here, but don’t have Articulate 360? Start a free 30-day trial, and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.