We recently gathered in Boston for our first-ever two-day Articuland Summit. It was packed with inspiring sessions, fresh ideas, and the chance to connect with peers from across the community.
As one attendee, Rob_Auchenpaugh, put it: “I left the Summit actually feeling like I was ON the summit… I came out of the experience more excited for the work I get to do than I have been in a while.”
Since not everyone could join us in person, here are five standout themes, with insights straight from the members who were there.
🤖 AI is your new creative sidekick
AI was a major theme throughout the Summit. Rather than replacing instructional designers, sessions showed how AI can free up time, scale global reach, and support more effective learning.
- Keynote (Articulate COO, Brian Gill): Previewed innovations like AI Course Drafts, Localization, and Storyline AI animations, all designed to help creators work smarter. His key message: AI is an opportunity, not a threat. Articulate’s goal is to empower creators like you to shape the future of learning, together.
- Building Rise Courses with AI Assistant Jeff Batt): Demonstrated how uploading source documents can generate instant lesson text and interactive blocks, saving hours of manual work.
💡 Practical Takeaway: Let AI handle the heavy lift of drafting content so you can focus your expertise on refining, humanizing, and making it meaningful.
💬 From Our Members:
“I was impressed by the AI features. Looking forward to trying those!” — AndrewTeasda876
👉 Put it in Action: Join our upcoming webinar, Overview of AI Assistant in Rise (October 21), and explore the AI Assistant Hub for tutorials, discussions, and real-world examples. Plus, check out additional documentation around AI Assistant.
🎨 Having a clear design direction upfront can save you hours later
Good design isn’t just about adding flair; it’s about making learning purposeful, aligned, and engaging.
- Design Mapping (David Anderson): Introduced a repeatable process to move from a blank page to a clear creative direction:
- Map: Jot down objects, fonts, colors, textures, and associations tied to your topic.
- Assemble: Gather visual options and explore styles.
- Present: Create quick layouts or a style guide to align stakeholders early.
- Morph and Mindy (Elizabeth Kuhlmann): Showed how morph transitions can guide learner focus, not just add visual polish.
- Animating With Impact (Ron Price): Shared practical animation techniques and, more importantly, why animations matter when used intentionally.
💡 Practical Takeaway: Invest time upfront to align on design direction. Use transitions and animations with purpose to guide attention and improve learning, not just to decorate.
💬 From Our Members:
“I had seen the Morph feature but saw it as more of a parlor trick… Elizabeth showed us how to use it for visual enhancement that keeps learners focused on the content.” — Rob_Auchenpaugh
“A complete game changer—inspiring creations, smooth animation, and seeing innovative projects come to life reminded me that impactful learning designs are equal parts strategy and storytelling.” — sholden
“Ron’s information was full of tangible, usable technique ideas… and valuable insights on WHY we use those tools and how they actually do provide impact.” — Rob_Auchenpaugh
👉 Put it in action: Explore our Introduction to E-Learning Course Design resources, and check out Morph transition examples from community members for inspiration. Plus, download David's Design Mapping Template at the bottom of this post!
🎮 Interactivity isn’t extra — it’s essential
Learners engage more deeply when they’re immersed in real-world choices and scenarios.
- Immersive Learning (Tory Hord): Showed how 360° images can transport learners into real environments, from leadership scenarios to onboarding.
- Branching 101 (Garima Gupta): Covered simple branching strategies for scenario-based learning, plus how AI can support more adaptive experiences.
- Making E-Learning More Interactive (Tom Kuhlmann): Shared models for moving beyond “click-to-click” by designing interactions with purpose using building blocks like feedback, challenges, and exploration.
💡 Practical Takeaway: Interactivity isn’t about adding clicks; it’s about creating meaningful decisions, feedback, and exploration so learners practice skills in context.
💬 From Our Members:
“Some of my favorite sessions explored were 360° images, interactive video, and branching scenarios, all of which highlighted the power of designing training that is not only informative but truly immersive.” — VictoriaHantz
“Tom provided mental and visual design models for interaction that will help me be more intentional about how I use interactive elements in my courses… not just giving the learner something to do, but something to do with purpose” — Rob_Auchenpaugh
👉 Put it in Action: Explore our Using 360° Images in Storyline guide, try a Branching Scenario Template in Storyline, and check out member examples in Creating Immersive Learning Experiences with 360° Images.
🌍 Accessibility and localization aren’t just “nice to have.”
Accessibility and localization aren’t extras; they’re essential to reaching all learners, everywhere.
- Accessibility Essentials (Tory Hord): Shared 10 practical ways to make Storyline projects meet WCAG and Section 508 standards.
- Planning for Localization (Magalí Verrengia & Nadia Mandrino): Showed how to plan ahead to avoid costly rework and demoed Rise’s new Localization feature for translation and validation in 70+ languages.
💡 Practical Takeaway: Build inclusivity into your design from the start, whether it’s accessibility standards or planning for multilingual learners; it’s far harder (and less effective) to retrofit later.
💬 From Our Members:
“I needed to explore translation of our content… The model shared was really the key for me: Translation → Adaptation → Localization completes the circle. This makes the translation something that makes sense to the native speaker, not just converting the words.” — MikeWarner-a6d6
“The Summit wasn’t just about tools — it was about imagination and vision. I left Boston motivated to rethink how I design learning experiences, with a renewed commitment to creating meaningful, engaging, interactive, accessible solutions for ALL learners.” — sholden
“How to Plan for Content Localization was the lesson I really needed but didn’t really want. The session pointed out ways I’d fallen short in past projects — but now I have the tools and understanding to plan better from the start and do a much better job going forward.” — Rob_Auchenpaugh
👉 Put it in Action: Explore the Accessible E-Learning Hub and Localization Hub, and join the accessibility and localization discussion group to learn how peers are applying these practices in their own projects. Plus, utilize the accessibility checker built into Storyline to help you create more inclusive e-learning.
🤝 The people you meet matter as much as the sessions
The Summit wasn’t just about content; it was also about connection. Networking opportunities, member-led sessions, and the Reach 360 Leaders Panel gave space for peer-to-peer learning and inspiration.
💡 Practical Takeaway: Professional growth isn’t just about what you learn, it’s also about who you learn with.
💬 From Our Members:
“Equally impactful was the networking experience. I was able to build meaningful connections with other professionals who share the same passion for innovative learning design. Those conversations were as inspiring as the sessions themselves — leaving me with new relationships and a strong sense of community to grow alongside.” — VictoriaHantz
“The production level of the Summit was top-tier. The design of the event itself — from small seating nooks to buffet-style meals — encouraged meaningful conversations and time to recharge. Large conferences can feel overwhelming, but this one made space for genuine connections.” — Yvonne
👉 Put it in Action: Keep the momentum going by joining ongoing discussion groups in the community or sharing your own examples to spark more inspiration.
A huge thank-you and shout-out to all of our speakers; our in-person attendees loved learning from you. If you couldn’t join us live, we hope these quick takeaways gave you a taste of the energy from Boston.
As one attendee summed it up:
“The Summit reminded me that the future of instructional design is collaborative, innovative, and deeply pedagogical.” — sholden
We can't wait to see anyone attending Articuland Tour: Toronto on Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025. And if you missed Articuland this year, don’t worry. We’ll be back in 2026! Stay tuned for more details.
And for our community members connecting with us virtually for now, we’d love to hear from you:
💬 What’s your biggest takeaway from these themes?
💬 Which of these ideas would you try in your next course?
