How Do You Show Dialogue and Conversations in E-Learning? #105

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Conversations and Dialogue #105: Challenge | Recap

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Challenge of the Week

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This week your challenge is to show how dialogue can be shown in e-learning courses. You can focus on talking, texting, instant messaging, video chats, or any other form of communication.

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Your projects can be static or interactive and you can build your demos with any authoring tool. We just want to see your creative solutions for showing dialogue in e-learning.

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To get help you get started, I’ve rounded up a few community examples that feature creative ways to show dialogue.

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Grammar Guide to Speech Balloons

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There’s no better guide to understanding speech balloons than Comic Book Grammar & Tradition by Nate Piekos. You’ll find a list of every type of speech balloons and when you should use them. If you’re building e-learning scenarios, you’ll want to bookmark this article.

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Comic Book Grammar & Tradition by Nate Piekos

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Comic Style Speech Bubbles in E-Learning

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Speech balloons don’t have to be used with comic or illustrated characters. I like the way this example combines comic style panels and speech balloons with photographic characters.

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View Fighting Harassment Comic Book Style

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Interactive Conversations in E-Learning

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In this example, users control the pacing of the conversation by clicking characters to advance from question to answer. The overlapping speech balloons help learners focus on each character’s words.

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Free PowerPoint Template: Conversation Interaction

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Using Pull Quotes to Depict Speech

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Typically used in journalism, pull quotes are graphic elements that are used to highlight an excerpt or key phrase from an article. This type of approach also works well for showing on-slide speech.

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View the interactive pull quote example

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Instant Message Experience

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Simulating instant messages on mobile phones is another way to show digital communication.

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Text message template

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Showing Text Messages in Film

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If you’ve ever watched BBC's Sherlock or House of Cards, you’ve likely noticed the innovative ways filmmakers are depicting on-screen text messages.

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House of Cards uses animated chat boxes layered over live action footage. This enables viewers to remain in the scene with the actor while the text messages are displayed.

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Sherlock takes a more simplistic approach by using floating words without the bubbles around the text. This prevents the graphic elements from appearing outdated as text messaging styles change.

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You can learn more about the ways filmmakers are experimenting with text messaging styles in A Brief Look at Texting and the Internet in Film.

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Resources

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Previous challenges:

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Forum discussions:

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Articles and blog posts:

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Downloads and templates:

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Last Week’s Challenge:

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Before you sweet talk your way through this week’s challenge, check out the audio portfolio examples shared over the past week:

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E-Learning Voice Over Portfolios #104: Challenge | Recap

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Wishing you a chat-tastic week, E-Learning Heroes!

\n

New to E-Learning Challenges?

\n

The weekly 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.

\n

Conversations and Dialogue #105: Challenge | Recap

\n

Challenge of the Week

\n

This week your challenge is to show how dialogue can be shown in e-learning courses. You can focus on talking, texting, instant messaging, video chats, or any other form of communication.

\n

Your projects can be static or interactive and you can build your demos with any authoring tool. We just want to see your creative solutions for showing dialogue in e-learning.

\n

To get help you get started, I’ve rounded up a few community examples that feature creative ways to show dialogue.

\n

Grammar Guide to Speech Balloons

\n

There’s no better guide to understanding speech balloons than Comic Book Grammar & Tradition by Nate Piekos. You’ll find a list of every type of speech balloons and when you should use them. If you’re building e-learning scenarios, you’ll want to bookmark this article.

\n

Comic Book Grammar & Tradition by Nate Piekos

\n

Comic Style Speech Bubbles in E-Learning

\n

Speech balloons don’t have to be used with comic or illustrated characters. I like the way this example combines comic style panels and speech balloons with photographic characters.

\n

View Fighting Harassment Comic Book Style

\n

Interactive Conversations in E-Learning

\n

In this example, users control the pacing of the conversation by clicking characters to advance from question to answer. The overlapping speech balloons help learners focus on each character’s words.

\n

Free PowerPoint Template: Conversation Interaction

\n

Using Pull Quotes to Depict Speech

\n

Typically used in journalism, pull quotes are graphic elements that are used to highlight an excerpt or key phrase from an article. This type of approach also works well for showing on-slide speech.

\n

View the interactive pull quote example

\n

Instant Message Experience

\n

Simulating instant messages on mobile phones is another way to show digital communication.

\n

Text message template

\n

Showing Text Messages in Film

\n

If you’ve ever watched BBC's Sherlock or House of Cards, you’ve likely noticed the innovative ways filmmakers are depicting on-screen text messages.

\n

House of Cards uses animated chat boxes layered over live action footage. This enables viewers to remain in the scene with the actor while the text messages are displayed.

\n

Sherlock takes a more simplistic approach by using floating words without the bubbles around the text. This prevents the graphic elements from appearing outdated as text messaging styles change.

\n

You can learn more about the ways filmmakers are experimenting with text messaging styles in A Brief Look at Texting and the Internet in Film.

\n

Resources

\n

Previous challenges:

\n

Forum discussions:

\n

Articles and blog posts:

\n

Downloads and templates:

\n

Last Week’s Challenge:

\n

Before you sweet talk your way through this week’s challenge, check out the audio portfolio examples shared over the past week:

\n

E-Learning Voice Over Portfolios #104: Challenge | Recap

\n

Wishing you a chat-tastic week, E-Learning Heroes!

\n

New to E-Learning Challenges?

\n

The weekly 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.

I haven't really been actively following the site for a while, but this is a course I made on a really tight deadline (so it's not really that great because I had to rush it). The audio quality is really poor because we just used a simple Olympus recorder and very little post-production.

I slightly modified the start and end for this showcase:

http://cdn.smchealth.org/smmc/absshowcase/story.html

Cool solution, Abu! I specifically liked the way you incorporated off-screen characters to ask clarification questions with the chat box. Nicely done!

I just updated the recap to include your entry: https://community.articulate.com/articles/showing-conversations-and-dialogue-in-elearning#AbuMaryam

Hey guys, here is yet another submission by me, this is an e-Learning inside an e-learning on a few possible ways of conversation

Here goes the link: http://stratbeans.com/samples/articulate/Conversation-105/

Very inspiring examples...

Here's the entry for this week's challenge.

http://pixentia.com/e-learning/interactive-learning

Using Text Entry controller and Motion path Animation in Articulate Storyline, we have developed a completely engaging texting quiz. As one can focus on talking, texting, instant messaging, video chats, or any other form of communication, we took texting as a method of delivery of communication.

This technique addresses the challenge of learner engagement and transforms the learners’ experience from being static into totally interactive.

Appreciate your feedback.

Here is a small simple history assessment I tried to create. I have tried to imagine history as if it was happening in front of our eyes . Have a look and mail your comments.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/tempshare-stage.storyline.articulate.com/stp1a3fh7ki61ifj1b9118dtn6n1mn04/story.html

Thanks for your time.

Vidya,

I loved that you used Social media and Web elements in a story from the 1600s.

Welcome to the E-Learning Challenges, Vidya!

I noticed you used Tempshare for your demo. Tempshare's a great solution only it deletes the files after 10 days.

If you'd like to send me your published files, I'd be more than happy to upload your example to our servers.

You can get my email address from my profile page: https://community.articulate.com/users/DavidAnderson

Hello all, this is my first submission to a challenge. So, this fictional conversation happens in a doctor’s office, but I wanted to display it to the audience as an instant message conversation. I changed some of the backgrounds to the message windows to match the subjects of the text. I wanted to polish it more but I was dragged off to another project.

Here is the link: https://googledrive.com/host/0B6gHqJ1HlF-fSGxXcFA1VTZCRUk

I like the visuals and layout, and your scenario is well written. The animation felt a little slow though, especially after the first few times. I felt like I was waiting for it because I was already done reading. It's all very smooth though. Nicely done!

Welcome to the E-Learning Challenges, Michael!

Cool use of cards for your scenario conversations. I just updated the recap to include your entry: https://community.articulate.com/articles/showing-conversations-and-dialogue-in-elearning#MichaelLacy

Hey David,

I know I disappeared for a while . . . about a month ago, my wife and I completed the process of selling our house in Memphis and moving back east.

When I saw this post, I thought of my young nieces who told me one time they were \"arguing about arguing.\" So I thought it might be nice to have \"A Conversation about Conversations.\" Enjoy.

On the web: http://learningonions.net/portfolio/conversation.html

My website: www.learningonions.net

Best,

CHUCK

Congratulations on your move, Chuck! We've moved a couple times so I know what a time tiger those are. Glad you're settled and finding time for the challenges.

Hope your new year's off to a great start!

I used this format for a branching scenario on helping doctors learn how to motivate their patients to make better health choices. The patient, a reluctant college student, is on the left. The choices for the conversation are on the right. At the top, a coach provides feedback on the previous choice and tips to recover from errors.

http://www.syniadlearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/conversation_example.png

I wrote a blog post about how I used this format to provide multiple levels of feedback during the branching scenario.

https://christytucker.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/intrinsic-and-instructional-feedback-in-learning-scenarios/

Welcome to the E-Learning Challenges, Christy!

I like your scenario layout for your medical scenario. Nice touch adding the coach character to provide feedback on selected choices.

I updated the recap to link to your scenario image and related blog post: https://community.articulate.com/articles/showing-conversations-and-dialogue-in-elearning#ChristyTucker

A Conversation about Conversations. Enjoy!

http://www.learningonions.net/portfolio/conversation.html

Chuck. I enjoyed your demo. Could you explain what feature you used to create the glowing border while the characters were talking?

Hi Coniqua,

Let's begin by saying that the audio file for each slide is ONE file. I recorded each speaker's parts in Audacity, and then merged them together into one file there. I then split that file into the file I would need for each screen.

Having said that, I created a second state for each character image I used. I called that state the \"Highlight\" state. To achieve the glow, I selected the character, and then in the Character Tools > Format option, I selected the little down arrow icon just below and to the right of \"Picture Effect.\" Don't select Picture Effects! Instead, select the little down arrow icon just beneath it. That opens up the Format Picture box. Here are the settings I used. Select Shadow. In Color, select the primary green color - 0/176/80. Transparency = 25%. Size = 100%. Blur = 28px. Angle = 0 degrees. Distance = 0px.

To enact the change, I set a cue point in the timeline whenever the character who is speaking changed from one to the other. Begin the slide with each character in the default \"Normal\" state. Let's say the slide has a male and a female character and opens with the woman speaking. When she begins to speak, I called that Cue Point 1. Then the man speaks. That's cue point 2. Then the woman speaks again. That's cue point 3. And so on.

Now, it's just a matter of adding some triggers.
Change state of female character to Highlight when the timeline reaches cue point 1. Change state of female character to Normal when the timeline reaches cue point 2. (That takes away the highlight, because now you're going to shift the highlight to the other character.
Change state of male character to Highlight when the timeline reaches cue point 2.
Change state of female character to Highlight when the timeline reaches cue point 3.
Change state of male character to Normal when the timeline reaches cue point 3.

I simply repeat that for each slide. Those cue points come in real handy when doing something like this.

I hope that helps.

CHUCK

I've been working with SL about a month, and have been trying to master States. This is my first challenge submission! It's a conversation I put together using States for an actual project. I deleted some buttons and functionality from this short piece because they were irrelevant to this challenge, so the only interaction that works is the slider.

http://tinyurl.com/ov87ldh

I have been playing with sliders with this challenge. It's a short course but I had fun with making this.

http://googledrive.com/host/0B4ugouIbz_TVTExSTGU2TlhkQlk

Schweet slider effect, Brandon!

I just updated the recap to include your example: https://community.articulate.com/articles/showing-conversations-and-dialogue-in-elearning#BrandonBaillies

Blog Post

How Do You Show Dialogue and Conversations in E-Learning? #105

Challenge of the Week

Grammar Guide to Speech Balloons

Comic Style Speech Bubbles in E-Learning

Interactive Conversations in E-Learning

Using Pull Quotes to Depict Speech

Instant Message Experience

Showing Text Messages in Film

Resources

Last Week’s Challenge:

New to E-Learning Challenges?

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Trust Center

Challenge of the Week

Grammar Guide to Speech Balloons

Comic Style Speech Bubbles in E-Learning

Interactive Conversations in E-Learning

Using Pull Quotes to Depict Speech

Instant Message Experience

Showing Text Messages in Film

Resources

Last Week’s Challenge:

New to E-Learning Challenges?

Challenge of the Week

Grammar Guide to Speech Balloons

Comic Style Speech Bubbles in E-Learning

Interactive Conversations in E-Learning

Using Pull Quotes to Depict Speech

Instant Message Experience

Showing Text Messages in Film

Resources

Last Week’s Challenge:

New to E-Learning Challenges?