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E-Learning Challenges
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Using Timed Activities in E-Learning #352

DavidAnderson's avatar
3 years ago

Using Timed Activities in E-Learning #352: Challenge | Recap

Using timers is a great way to create a sense of urgency or pressure in learning games and activities. And with Storyline 360's new elapsed time variables, it's never been easier to create engaging, time-based activities in e-learning. And that's what this week's challenge is all about.

Ideas for Timed Examples

  • Combine 360° images with countdown timers to create a gamified new hire orientation activity
  • Simulate real-world tasks that involve time constraints
  • Gamify decision-making activities
  • Create timed skill and drill exercises
  • Show hints or clues to quiz questions

Using the Elapsed Time Variables in Storyline 360

Check out this recent article from Amanda to learn more about the elapsed time variables and ways to use them in your projects.

View the article | Download the source

Accessibility and Timed Interactions

Timed activities aren't recommended for accessible courses or learners with limited language proficiencies. You can find more guidance on using time limits in the WCAG 2.0 guidelines and success criteria.

Challenge of the Week

This week, your challenge is to share an example that shows how time-based activities can be used in e-learning. You can use Storyline’s new elapsed time variables or any other approach that triggers events based on time.

Project Files

If you use Storyline’s elapsed time variables, please consider sharing your .story files this week. I know it’s not always possible to share project files, and that’s okay. The variable is new to everyone, so your project files will help other designers learn from your work. 

Resources

Share Your E-Learning Work

  • Comments: Use the comments section below to share a link to your published example and blog post.
  • Forums: Start  your own 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 back to your posts so the great work you’re sharing gets even more exposure.
  • Social Media: If you share your demos on Twitter or LinkedIn, try using #ELHChallenge so your tweeps can track your e-learning coolness.

Last Week’s Challenge:

Before you make some time for this week’s challenge, check out the light and dark templates your fellow challengers shared over the past week:

 

Light and Dark E-Learning Themes #351: 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.

Published 3 years ago
Version 1.0
    • YvonneHiman's avatar
      YvonneHiman
      Community Member
      These were all such incredible demos. I worked hard to score well on The Amen Break. It took me seven tries, I think? I was surprised that I aced Back in Time the first go, but apparently my knowledge of guitar rifts is quite lacking.

      The Countdown Conundrum does well to illustrate how timers can strangle learning by introducing stress to the environment. While timed activities do have their use in education (especially when gauging neural automaticity/fluency), I am one learner particularly stressed by timed activities because I enjoy a longer processing time. I greatly appreciate the presentation and discussion of this topic.
  • Bonjour Heroes.

    If David allows me, I want to show you a demo I made a few months ago. This fits perfectly with the theme of this challenge, although it is not a timed activity but an activity based on the time of day. Thanks to a JS code created by Zsolt Olah, I change the appearance of the course depending on the time a learner logs in. I find this to be a very engaging and unusual way to start training. It can be a light template for the morning, or a dark template for the evening (cf ELC 351). I chose the different meal times. To understand, log in to this demo at different times of the day. (and let me know if you have any bugs with your local time, please).


    https://360.articulate.com/review/content/9e42309d-901d-4ac1-8aa4-67a21a3269d0/review


    And ... can someone explain to me why I don't have the famous elapsed time variables in my perfectly up-to-date version of SL ??
    • YvonneHiman's avatar
      YvonneHiman
      Community Member
      That is a nice implementation of a clever idea. This made me think that it would be neat to use that JS also for a light/dark theme, like how screen programs adjust blue lights at night to reduce strain as well as negative impacts on sleep cycles. You could have a blue light filter code for night viewing! :D
    • JodiSansone's avatar
      JodiSansone
      Community Member
      I just accessed your demo during mid morning so I'll check again this afternoon!
    • YvonneHiman's avatar
      YvonneHiman
      Community Member
      I appreciate the toolbox idea representing each question and the consequence/reward for correct answering. That's a great visual and leads to an empowering quiz experience. The coding for the countdown timer is no joke. It took me quite a while to figure out how to create a hour : minute : second timer, but I am glad I have one now for future.
    • YvonneHiman's avatar
      YvonneHiman
      Community Member
      This was such a clever use of Slide.ElapsedTime, using the difference to "reset" between each repeat attempt. Great problem solving. I especially appreciated how you were inspired by Jonathan and that your work and discussion about it inspired Jonathan to make a change to his. This is exactly what community is about. Amazing.
    • ThierryEMMANUEL's avatar
      ThierryEMMANUEL
      Community Member
      I see some possibilities of use thanks to your smart demonstration, Jonathan.
    • Jonathan_Hill's avatar
      Jonathan_Hill
      Super Hero
      Nicely done Daniel. Did you use the Slide.ElapsedTime variable and, if so, how did you get it to reset each time?
      • DanielHolthouse's avatar
        DanielHolthouse
        Community Member
        Thanks, Jonathan. I'm using the Slide.ElapsedTime variable to effectively timestamp the starting point and ending point. When the airplane intersects with an invisible object at Point A, I set a variable called "takeOff" to the current Slide.ElapsedTime. Similarly, when the airplane intersects with an invisible object at Point B, I set a variable called "landing" to the current Slide.ElapsedTime, and then subtract one from the other to get the "flight time" or time between intersecting A and B. The Slide.ElapsedTime never resets, but since I'm just getting the difference between two times, the relative difference is all that matters, and just gives the illusion of resetting. Clicking the "reset" button simply jumps to the start of the slide again, but as you pointed out, the Slide.ElapsedTime takes no notice! So that keeps ticking on in the background. I added a little "Show Details" link in the top-left of the player that will reveal the variables in action. Hope to have some time this evening to post the .story file itself.
    • YvonneHiman's avatar
      YvonneHiman
      Community Member
      Truly directly applicable to most coursework - allowing the learner to access study material which allows them to engage more confidently with quiz material.
      • MarieSlim's avatar
        MarieSlim
        Community Member
        Thanks so much - I appreciate your feedback, Yvonne!
    • NickRussell's avatar
      NickRussell
      Community Member
      Nice activity Marie.

      The fast appearance of the lightbox was a bit disconcerting. I thought I had failed the test already and didn't immediately recognize that is was a lightbox. Once I realized that I was able to close the lightbox and enjoy your quiz.
      • MarieSlim's avatar
        MarieSlim
        Community Member
        Thank you, yes! I am just too impatient to wait to see if it triggers after a longer time. I appreciate you checking it out!
  • Hello!

    Testing this feature, I was quite taken with the effect created by the variable changing every thousandth of a second, so I incorporated it into this week's demo.

    HOW IT WORKS: SONAR

    Demo: https://bit.ly/elhc352
    Download: https://bit.ly/elhc352dl

    (If anyone has any tips on how to reset these variables without completely exiting and reopening the course, I'd love to hear your suggestions. As above, the Slide.ElapsedTime variable seems to survive 'Restart Course' and can't be manually overridden.)

    UPDATE: Using Daniel's elegant method (below) of passing the Slide.ElapsedTime variable to a custom variable - which can be reset - you can now replay my demo within the same window and reset the clock each time.
    • YvonneHiman's avatar
      YvonneHiman
      Community Member
      Brilliant use of the ElapsedTime built-in variables, and wonderful backend discussion which lead to your solution. Your work is certainly inspiring, and I strive to step closer to having your grasp of Storyline and troubleshooting!
    • NickRussell's avatar
      NickRussell
      Community Member
      Very ingenious. Still trying to figure out how this works. Many thanks for the sl file Jonathon.
    • MarieSlim's avatar
      MarieSlim
      Community Member
      Very very cool - love the math involved!
  • Is it possible to reset these variables on repeated plays within the same session/window? As 'restart course' doesn't appear to restart the clock. Asking for a friend.
    • Jonathan_Hill's avatar
      Jonathan_Hill
      Super Hero
      Hmm. I guess as it's the 𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 time spent on a slide/scene/project they can't be overwritten and 'reset to initial state' will have no effect either? Unless the session is ended the timer continues?
    • YvonneHiman's avatar
      YvonneHiman
      Community Member
      The design of this is lovely and I am impressed by the scripting that must have gone into this game. I'm really not sure what went on behind the scenes to make all those calculations, or the arrow control of the character, either. It's exciting to know there's so much more to explore. Thank you for sharing.
    • NickRussell's avatar
      NickRussell
      Community Member
      I liked the subtle animations and the way they looped. I'm curious how you did those. As for the game, I managed OK but like Thierry this kind of activity stresses me a bit. I much preferred watching Toby wag his tail and blink as the birds flitted around the garden and the grass swayed gently in the breeze.
    • ThierryEMMANUEL's avatar
      ThierryEMMANUEL
      Community Member
      I like everything about your demo, Joanna (as often). The drawings, the sound, the soft animations, and the movements of the dog, except the game: it stresses me. So, I just walk the dog in the garden to please him. Am I right ?
  • JodiSansone's avatar
    JodiSansone
    Community Member
    Catch a Snowflake
    Demo: https://jodisdemos.s3.amazonaws.com/Snowflake+2021/story.html

    Lucky me...I started working on this timed demo last weekend. At the end of every year I do a holiday demo for my friends and colleagues at Notion Consulting. This year I made a quick game featuring FanFlakes by Elise Walker and music from the Nutcracker. My timer is a video. I'll have to spend some time with that new timed variable to get my head around how it works. Enjoy!
    • YvonneHiman's avatar
      YvonneHiman
      Community Member
      What a lovely way to incorporate the artwork of another creator into your own fun creation. :D It's something like 80 degrees where I live in Texas this week, so snow seems very far away, although the thought of snow helps prepare me for Christmas, fast approaching!
    • JanetCC's avatar
      JanetCC
      Community Member
      That was so fun! What a great idea and well executed!
    • NickRussell's avatar
      NickRussell
      Community Member
      Great idea and beautifully executed. I'm not one for games but this one captivated me
    • YvonneHiman's avatar
      YvonneHiman
      Community Member
      This was fun, although my first trial said I was 20 years older than I am. lol. I enjoy a good brain teaser and a jab at my age. I suppose I'm an old soul and an old brain.
    • ThierryEMMANUEL's avatar
      ThierryEMMANUEL
      Community Member
      Interesting subject that I didn't know. I marked 10 years older than my age the first time around. Hope this is because English is not my mother tongue. I hope.
      • NickRussell's avatar
        NickRussell
        Community Member
        Thanks Thierry. The test is purely for demonstration purposes; the results are arbitrary there is no science behind it.