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E-Learning Challenges
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How Can You Use This Motion Path Tip in Your E-Learning Projects? #445

DavidAnderson's avatar
9 months ago

Using the 0px Motion Path Trick #445: Challenge | Recap

Happy New Year, E-Learning Heroes

This week's challenge is a bit off the beaten path compared to what we usually do. Instead of diving into a popular feature (slidersdialsvariables) or a common interaction (tabstimelineaccordion), we're zooming in on a more unique, lesser-known use of a feature. Think of this as a sandbox challenge.

Check out this example and see what I mean.

Sugary Drinks by Annabelle Grew

Why is this interesting?

Aside from the creative concept and visual design, what really grabbed my attention here is the approach Annabelle took to put this whole project together. 

Typically, drag-and-drops are set up with just a fixed number of draggable objects, right?

That's perfectly fine if you're dealing with, say, under ten items. But here's where it gets juicy: imagine you've got dozens of objects, and you want them all to be draggable.

Now, the standard move would be to create individual objects for each drag item. But let's face it, this method works, but it can make editing and managing the slide a real challenge. 

That's why knowing your tools can really help save you time and work quicker. 

How does it work?

There's only one drag object in the project. The drag cube has a motion path with a length of 0 px and a duration of .10 seconds. Each time the sugar cube is dropped on the target, the trigger tells the sugar cube to move its motion path. Because the motion path is set to 0 px, it resets the sugar cube to its default starting position of the sugar cube.

Brilliant, right?

It's not just about what you create but how you create it that can make all the difference. And that's what this week's e-learning challenge is all about!

🏆 Challenge of the Week

This week, your challenge is to share an example that uses the 0px length motion path trick. You can recreate an existing example or play with ideas that show potential uses for this technique.

Two More Examples

Reset an Object's Position

In this example, Ron used the 0 px motion path in a way that's not just about duplicating objects. Instead, it's used to play multiple audio clips from multiple objects. The 0 px motion path resets the object's position after the learner drops the object on a single target. Ron's got a detailed forum post where he breaks down how he built his project.

Casualty Incident Response by Ron Katz

Drag-and-Drop RAID Storage Calculator

I put together this example nearly five years back, right around the time we kicked off our online webinars. I've always been a fan of Drobo and especially liked their interactive capacity calculator. The project file is available for download and if you want to see how it works.

Drag-and-Drop RAID Storage Calculator

Video Tutorial of the 0 px Motion Path Technique

✨ 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 Year's Challenge:

Before you tackle this week’s challenge, check out the colorful examples your fellow challengers shared in last year’s Pantone Color challenge:

Pantone Color of the Year 2024 RECAP #444: 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.

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.

Published 9 months ago
Version 1.0
    • JodiSansone's avatar
      JodiSansone
      Community Member
      I never knew that device was called "Newton's Cradle". Boy, I learn a lot in this community! I like your interpretation of the challenge.
      • Ange's avatar
        Ange
        Community Member
        Thank you. Ah! The random stuff I remember from school. Physics was always fun. I think it may have other names too.
    • Ange's avatar
      Ange
      Community Member
      Happy New Year to you too! Great idea, nicely done.
  • Happy New Year!

    This is a great hack which I mostly use to reset the position of incorrectly dropped items.

    If you're working with irregularly sized items it's also a useful way to ensuring each item stacks exactly where you want it.

    STONE STACK
    https://bit.ly/elhc445
  • Here's a very quick and silly demo to illustrate one of the uses of the O pixel trajectory.
    I use it very often to set up a "Reset" or "Clean sheet" button, for a complex Drag and Drop activity for example : you don't want to go back to the beginning of your slide (because there's a voice-over and an animation), you just want to remove the elements in their original place, by clicking on the reset/ouaf! button.
    https://360.articulate.com/review/content/3817a354-94cd-42c2-aa80-a74c691e4ebd/review
    Attached file in the comment of the Review.
    • JulieBIGOT-2793's avatar
      JulieBIGOT-2793
      Community Member
      That was really fun! Looks like a never-ending job for that poor dog though.
    • CourtneyMRobert's avatar
      CourtneyMRobert
      Community Member
      Thierry this is super fun! I don't know why but I giggle every time the sheep go back to their spot. 😄
  • My entry to this challenge is inspired by Aesop's Fable "The Crow and the Pitcher". In the first scene, you act as the crow and add pebbles to the pitcher until the water overflows. In the second scene, I used the 0px motion path when you are asked to place the pebbles into the pitcher yourself. I added random variables so that the number of pebbles added each time in each scene changes, so you never know when the pitcher will be full enough! This was fun to create and I learned a lot creating it! This interaction works best on a computer. It does some odd things if you use a phone.

    https://360.articulate.com/review/content/4f7514bd-e229-40f7-9d2a-1f37a7dd02c0/review
    • JoanneChen's avatar
      JoanneChen
      Super Hero
      I like the way you organized the crow to pick up the pebble and drop it into the pitcher. Am I correct that you used intersect triggers in it?
      • ThaddaeusSmith's avatar
        ThaddaeusSmith
        Community Member
        Thank you. That's correct. I put a hotspot just to the right of the pebble as an intersection point with the crow. That way, the crow's beak is near the pebble when it is picked up. Then, it is triggered to change the state of the crow to flying and holding the pebble.
    • ThaddaeusSmith's avatar
      ThaddaeusSmith
      Community Member
      After seeing Jonathan's entry, I updated my sample to include a non drag-and-drop option. Thanks for the reminder Jonathan!
  • JodiSansone's avatar
    JodiSansone
    Community Member
    Arrange Your Sunflowers
    Demo and Download: https://jodisdemos.s3.amazonaws.com/445+Sunflowers/story.html

    I don't even want to post this after watching Thierry's 2024 demo. Still crying... Anyway, I think this demo achieves the technical challenge David outlined. I used one object/flower with a 0px motion path that triggers a number variable every time you drag it onto the vase. When the variable changes, the vase and flower change states. I'm not sure how I would use this in the future, but it was fun to contemplate how it works.
  • Bonjour Heroes.
    If David lets me, I'd like to send you my best wishes for the New Year... in the form of a just-completed 100% Storyline animated card. I make one every year for my family and friends, and also especially for this community. Turn it up!
    https://360.articulate.com/review/content/9abf67df-a507-4e14-ba2c-3fb7f620f1e8/review
    I hope this little bit of light will accompany you throughout the New Year.

    Now, let's dive into this new challenge. Actually, I am just cooking something about it.
  • When we first talked about the challenges, this was the type of sandbox activity we were going for. Let us know if you get stuck or need help this week.