How Are E-Learning Designers Using AI to Build Online Training? #416

David Anderson
By David Anderson

How Are E-Learning Designers Using AI to Build Online Training? #416

Using AI in E-Learning #416: Challenge | Recap

When it comes to e-learning, today’s authoring apps make it easier than ever to build interactive training. In addition, today’s course designers don’t need to know how to write code to design engaging courses. 

But even with the advancements in e-learning tools, course creators still face common challenges such as content expertise, graphic design, time constraints, and insufficient resources. This is where the power of artificial intelligence (AI) can help.

So, whether you're generating quiz questions and feedback, animating characters, or transforming text into captivating images, there's likely an AI-based app that can help speed up production. And that's what this week's challenge is all about.

Challenge of the Week

This week, your challenge is to show how AI can be used in e-learning or instructional design. Please briefly describe the app(s) you used to create your demo.

Share Your E-Learning Work

  • Comments: Use the comments section below to link your published example and blog post.
  • Forums: Start a new thread and share a link to your published example.
  • Personal blog: If you have a blog, please consider writing about your challenges. We'll link to your posts so your great work gets even more exposure.
  • Social media: If you share your demos on Twitter or LinkedIn, try using #ELHChallenge so your tweeps can follow your e-learning coolness.

Last Week’s Challenge:

Before you join the AI revolution, check out the creative ways course designers chunk and organize content with scrolling panels:

25 Ways to Chunk Content with Scrolling Panels #415

Scrolling Panels in E-Learning RECAP #415: Challenge | Recap

New to the E-Learning Challenges?

The weekly e-learning challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challenges anytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos.

Learn more about the challenges in this Q&A post and why and how to participate in this helpful article. 

Next Week’s Challenge & Webinar

  • Next week's challenge #417 (May 19): Give your E-Learning an Accessibility Makeover. See challenge #353 to get a feel for what we’re doing in this challenge.
  • Upcoming webinar (May 23): Unlock the Secrets of Accessible E-Learning. I’m teaching a class on accessibility this week and plan to showcase the current challenge and your examples. See ya’ll in the session!

Got an idea for a challenge? Are you interested in doing a webinar showcasing how you made one or more challenge demos? Or do you have some comments for your humble challenge host? Use this anonymous form to share your feedback:  https://bit.ly/ElearningChallengeForm.

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101 Comments
Jonathan Hill
5 months ago05/12/23 at 5:23 pm (UTC)
Hello! Here's a quick demo that lets you see the world through the eyes of Dali - well, the eyes of Dall•E to be more precise. https://bit.ly/elhc416 The transition effect is based on Chris Hodgson's template, which I adapted for use with a slider rather than buttons. You can download Chris's template here: https://discoverelearninguk.com/store/black-and-white-to-colour-interactive-transition-slider-for-articulate-storyline-360/ Original images from Unsplash, manipulated using the edit feature in Dall•E.
Tom Kuhlmann
5 months ago05/12/23 at 7:20 pm (UTC)
Here are two simple demos from previous challenges. I used AI to quickly create media assets. Video avatars using Pippio. https://articulate-heroes-authoring.s3.amazonaws.com/Examples/Storyline/SL360/WashingtonDC/story.html Pixar-like images using Midjourney https://articulate-heroes-authoring.s3.amazonaws.com/Examples/Storyline/SL360/Accordion-Pocket-tk/story.html
Jodi M. Sansone
5 months ago05/12/23 at 7:39 pm (UTC)
This demo was inspired by a photo montage I saw of Toulouse-Lautrec from 1890. The photo showed the artist painting himself. It was taken by Maurice Guibert, who is one of the people featured in Lautrec's "Au Moulin Rouge". It led me to think it would be fun to interview Lautrec. For the demo I started with ChatGPT to create the interview and responses. I took the script and translated it into French via Google Translate (Thierry, can you tell me if the translation worked?) Then I dropped the script into D-ID and it created Lautrec responding to the questions. I'm sure within a year it will look even more realistic. I used the Articulate closed captions as a translation device, like subtitles at the movies.
Thierry EMMANUEL
5 months ago05/14/23 at 3:19 pm (UTC)
As you ask me, Jodi, don't worry. The French translation is very good, except for a few tiny details. Ironically, the biggest mistake the AI translator made was on the last words. In French, you can say "avec plaisir (with pleasure)", not "c'est mon plaisir (it's my pleasure)" as I suppose you would say in English). It's a veryvery well done demo that the little "Toulouse-Lautrec" museum in Albi could envy you. I would like to point out that it was not an AI that gave you the brilliant idea of using the photo as a self-interview. Only you. Any AI is not yet capable of this kind of creative tour de force.
Chris Hodgson
5 months ago05/13/23 at 12:23 am (UTC)
Hi everyone, I've been very much looking forward to this ELH Challenge since I heard that it was coming up next! My project demonstrates what is possible when we start to integrate the latest Generative-AI API solutions, that are available for developers to work with right now, into Articulate Storyline 360. It's called Generate Your Own Text-Based Storyline Adventure. The entire story is dynamically generated by AI, and no two adventures will ever be the same! (Though some may be more exciting than others!…) https://discoverelearninguk.com/projects/generate-your-own-text-based-storyline-adventure/
Chris Hodgson
5 months ago05/13/23 at 12:33 am (UTC)
Description of apps used: gpt-3.5-turbo API from OpenAI, which generates the dynamic story and option variable values in Storyline360. At the same time an illustration prompt is generated about each scene, which is passed to the Dall-E 2 API from OpenAI. This creates an image URL passed back to SL360 which completes the slide content. (This process can take a few seconds so I'm sorry if there's a bit of lag...)
Jodi M. Sansone
5 months ago05/13/23 at 12:57 am (UTC)
Hi Chris, I enjoyed my adventure. Just to make sure I understand, when I make a choice (e.g. fight vs escape) your demo pulls in a visual and adventure script based on my choice, and then it continues to generate an original story based on my choices. Did I get that right? And it will be different every time, even if I make the same choices? Thank you for posting it!
Thierry EMMANUEL
5 months ago05/14/23 at 5:24 pm (UTC)
A far cry from what I can do and understand, Chris. I am in awe. When I first tried it on my smartphone (where the ELC page is automatically translated into French, I don't know why and how), I started my adventure with comments and suggestions in French. I thought "Wow!" When I tried on my PC, even if I translate the ELC page, or your demo, it's stuck on the "Please wait..." screen. I didn't try more to give everyone time. But it's very cool. High level.
Ange CM
5 months ago05/15/23 at 12:29 am (UTC)
Interesting. I arrived at a ravine and decided to leap across, AI promptly declared me a mess of shattered bones and ended my adventure. It made me wonder if AI has built in disclaimers (don't try this at home), and is censored from imagining me as a parkour maestro (as I had imagined myself) who easily made it to the other side should anyone who doesn't live in this world of dragons and trolls try to leap Cheddar Gorge or an equally inviting ravine. Definitely food for thought. Aesop's fables and medieval morality plays came to mind.
Ron Katz
5 months ago05/15/23 at 3:39 am (UTC)
This was interesting, Chris. I admit I played several times. The delays are somewhat daunting but I imagine this will get better over time. The stories were all different but none of them appeared to be "winable". Also, since it is new everytime there is not really an opportunity to learn from your experience like one would in a true text based game. Fun experiment and opens our eyes to some of the possibilities. The amount of work you put in to get to this point is fantastic.
Daniel Holthouse
5 months ago05/16/23 at 2:06 am (UTC)
Chris, this is absolutely fantastic. Perhaps a nonsensical question, but given that each prompt is AI-generated, is there a way to capture the user's selection via xAPI? It'd be interesting to see the variety of selections made. Does everyone start off with the same two options, and then AI from there? Thanks so much for pushing the envelope on this stuff and letting us learn!
Tracy Carroll
5 months ago05/13/23 at 1:13 am (UTC)
This is a series of 3 blog posts about creating a course by scratch, using AI tools instead of a SME. (Don't do it!) 1) Blog post & video - ChatGPT as SME, Part 1. I created the promo video script with ChatGPT, and the video with Canva: https://tracycarroll.net/using-chatgpt-as-a-sme/ 2) Blog post & Storyline Course Outline with commentary - ChatGPT as SME, Part 2: https://tracycarroll.net/chatgpt-as-sme-part-2/ 3) Blog post, Working with Microsoft Designer & Adobe Firefly: https://tracycarroll.net/chatgpt-as-sme-part-3/ Rise Micro-lesson Homicide Investigation with video: https://tracycarroll.net/homicide-investigation_4.15.23/content/index.html#/
Daniel Turner-Gallastegui
5 months ago05/13/23 at 6:18 pm (UTC)
https://animatedigitalearning.com/portfolio-course?course=infinite_course https://360.articulate.com/review/content/d3d8edcd-2920-43fc-84c8-c921447cfb6b/review Hi all, This is a course demonstrating several uses of generative AI. It's a bit silly but the premise is an "oracle" that will generate a short course for you, on absolutely anything you ask it for. The course is generated by OpenAI's ChatGPT API (called from javascript within storyline). Images are made with Stable Diffusion (a free open source image generator) Voices are made with ElevenLabs Written content is generated with ChatGPT Background music is made with beatoven.ai I will be releasing a some blog posts soon explaining the techniques used.
Thierry EMMANUEL
5 months ago05/14/23 at 2:59 pm (UTC)

Bonjour Heroes. I asked several AIs how to use AI in e-learning. They replied: -I can design a complete course on any topic -I can identify the needs of the learners -I can define course objectives -I can design step-by-step learning as precisely as an expert -I can imagine a storytelling based on any reference -I can write every part of every screen - I can translate it into any language -I can design all the quizzes, with different levels of difficulty. - I can adjust the feedbacks according to the learners' answers -I can draw the illustrations and infographics -I can make the videos -I can animate the avatars -I can compose and play the music -I can do the voice-overs -I can calculate the effectiveness of the training - I can suggest that you take some time for yoursel... Expand

Ange CM
5 months ago05/15/23 at 1:30 am (UTC)

Thierry, Judging from the AI's answers that you quoted, it certainly doesn't lack confidence, and it is gifted with extrasensory perception too! "I can identify the needs of the learners." I'm on the fence about it too. I seriously doubt it will ever better a creative mind and talent, but it may well homogenize creativity and make fast, cheap, low quality an acceptable norm across the board. Cost. Not for the first time. I do see some positive in it for learning. But like all tech it depends on the demographic of the people who do the programming, and importantly how a user uses it, and that is always a wild card. I think, like many inventions it will be a benefit and a liability. Which side will eventually get the upper hand and at what cost? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzlG28B... Expand

Jodi M. Sansone
5 months ago05/15/23 at 6:38 pm (UTC)
Please let us know how your garden table project went, which is a much more impressive use of time! I have been using AI tools as a brainstorming partner to get me started when I need to save time, especially in scripting scenarios for my learning projects. But the AI tools do not have a sense of humor--unlike a real person. I asked ChatGPT to help me develop a funny scenario of a boss giving confusing feedback to a direct report--and ChatGPT told me I was being mean and shouldn't joke about such a serious topic. :)
Tracy Carroll
5 months ago05/15/23 at 1:30 am (UTC)
Rise Microlearning demo - Gossip-Proof Your Workplace: https://tracycarroll.net/416_gossip_proof_workplace_ai/content/index.html#/ Blog post: https://tracycarroll.net/canva-ai-text-to-image/ Today I was playing around with Canva’s AI text-to-image app for the first time. I created the images for this demo; the text is largely straight out of the example demo provided by Articulate. One awkward thing about using Canva was that is suddenly cut me off, saying I’d created enough images for today! I didn’t know there was a limit. It did that before I had really decided what kind of a demo I was going to put together! :)
Lisa Listama
5 months ago05/15/23 at 5:28 am (UTC)

Hey all, Here is my AI work. I use Chat GPT like an assistant who has more creative ideas than I do. I wanted to make an insurance course built in Rise by making it gamified.....in Rise....yes you read that right. I asked Chat GPT to create scripts for a Michael HIll (jewellery company that I work for) game show, a game show host character, and come up with game ideas based on the content I needed to test the learners on. I was also low on imagination so I asked it to create module titles that were content-specific but fun. Here is the whole course. Jump to Challenge One, Two, Three and Four to see the scripts and ideas in action. https://rise.articulate.com/share/Bhp2COFEeD3g8W369swUhgZrOeZgfKQS Overall, it was a super fun way to turn Rise quizzes into a game and outsour... Expand

Ron Katz
5 months ago05/15/23 at 9:40 pm (UTC)
Jump into a comic book adventure first as our protaganist and then as an unwhiting assistant. New Bing Chat created the original graphics with my prompts to do things in comic book style. The eLearning community downloads section created to cool frames. Music was from ZapSplat.com and was streamed using Storyline's new background music feature. Demo: https://360.articulate.com/review/content/7e729664-3d17-4bbf-9840-63d89df5925d/review
Amaly Gillig
5 months ago05/16/23 at 5:49 pm (UTC)
Here's a Rise microlearning that I set up as if it were a recap of a live event about leading effective meetings. I used Canva's text-to-image feature for the images and Bing chat for inspiration on the content. https://360.articulate.com/review/content/4ad1491f-ed70-447a-be24-d69c79d24b18/review Not entirely sold on AI image generation yet - with Canva text-to-image and other image generating AI I've explored. It took some time to find images I'm happy with and that don't have some warped creepy component; I actually used Snag It to sometimes hide some demonic eyes or sixth warped finger, etc. for the images in this microlearning. Anyone else finding that or know a hack?
Ralf Hartmann
5 months ago05/16/23 at 8:41 pm (UTC)

I tried another way to be supported by AI. ChatGPT should give me an e-learning draft in terms of text and content. I wrote an instruction for ChatGPT to create this text, quiz and give proposals for graphics to be used within e-learning. My instruction is very general and can be used for many topics. In my instruction the word TOPIC need to be replaced by the "real topic" of the e-Learning. Example: Replace "TOPIC" with "CAR INSURANCE" or "ASTRONOMY" or "PAPERMAKING", if this should be the focus of your e-learning. The ChatGPT outcome should be used as draft only and need to be finalised by "a human". It might make sense to delete some aspects in the instructions text, depending on the focused topic. Give the instruction text (see below) to ChatGPT. ChatGPT might stop all of... Expand

Ilona Winnemore
5 months ago05/16/23 at 9:25 pm (UTC)
Hello everyone, I would like to share an example I created for the interactive eLearning challenge, which is also relevant to this category. I hope it's alright to repost it here. I used the Synthesia video generation tool to produce the video and audio, and for the script and question writing, I used ChatGPT. The video serves as a training demo for pharmaceutical sales representatives and features scenario-based content with accompanying questions. I aimed to create a seamless flow and optimal learning experience for the learners. https://360.articulate.com/review/content/de8f2092-83fd-41b7-8b56-2cbb434501e3/review
Julie BIGOT
5 months ago05/18/23 at 4:19 pm (UTC)
Merci Thierry ! Good point, I hadn’t thought about the focal point in space, that’s too bad, it would look awesome. I think blockade labs is great to generate fantasy worlds, I would love to be able to build a world with different 360 images that still keep a similar look and feel. Tom tried it with a « modern business office » that keeps a consistent look but it might be harder to get with more original locations.
Jackie Matuza
5 months ago05/17/23 at 5:58 pm (UTC)

Hi Heroes! I have heard from friends that they like using ChatGPT to facilitate brainstorming and thought this was a great use for elearning design as well as I think getting started can be the hardest part. I liked the linked YT video above which used ChatGPT to generate quiz questions so I started there but then also had ChatGPT generate learning objectives, scenarios, drag-and-drop options, and character names. Some of the content I used, but most were helpful to get me moving in a direction and I then generated my own items - great for breaking writer's block! Below is a link to a spreadsheet with all my ChatGPT prompts and responses so you can see what I tried and also how I adjusted my requests as I went to improve my responses for what I was looking for. I plan to keep building this... Expand

Cyd Walker
5 months ago05/18/23 at 12:06 am (UTC)
Mystery at Bletchley Park...I've been entranced with the role women had at Bletchley Park I read about in a novel called the Rose Code. I asked ChatGPT to write a short mystery about women at Bletchley Park. Then I composed a short film using this story, and MURF AI for the narration, in addition to a few images generated by Bing Chat. Find out what happened... https://360.articulate.com/review/content/f7b1a804-056f-4f8d-aa55-13ff14778e81/review
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