Software Simulation Templates

Nov 12, 2015

Margaret Kunz
By Margaret Kunz

Hi Everyone,

I am very new to Storyline and have two questions:

1.  I am looking for a template I can use for a software simulation (versus all the templates I am seeing that involve games, interactive tabs, etc).  I'd like to be able to teach the process/steps involved in using a program and showcase it in an attractive way that makes it simple for the user. 

Any places I should be looking or ideas for what to use as my starting point? 

2.  I've read that we aren't supposed to use a totally interactive process in software simulations (clicking boxes, typing in text, etc.) because it only gets a "drone-like" response from users and they don't learn much.  Do you agree?  What would be the preferred way to do it? 

Thanks for your help!

8 Replies
Christie Pollick
over 8 years ago11/13/15 at 5:53 pm (UTC)

Hi, Margaret -- I am not totally sure if this is what you have in mind, but you may want to check out this article on Creating Screencasts and Software Simulations.  You may also want to review this thread, as it appears to be on a similar topic, with many comments and suggestions from our Heroes in the community! :)

Jerson Campos
over 8 years ago11/13/15 at 7:46 pm (UTC)

I recently built a software simulation course on some software that still ran (and looked) like DOS.  I did a mixture of videos and interactions to create the course. I used Camtasia to create the videos and added visuals and animations to demonstrate concepts. Then when I could replicate a step in Storyline, I would cut the video and provide on screen instructions to the user so that they can follow the steps and use the software like it would be used.  This helped out because I allowed me to skip many of the mundane steps for the user and focus on the content. 

To make it more interesting, I placed each lesson as a clickable marker on a map. I presented each lesson as a scenario that they may run into to explain why then need to perform this process.

 

Margaret Kunz
over 8 years ago11/16/15 at 7:50 pm (UTC)

Thanks so much for your help.  I finally got it started and was making progress until I realized I can't insert Mouse movements in layers.  Is there any way around that?  I am using an interactive tabbed template and have each tab directed toward a layer....but I can't find any other way to show the screen movements - other than using a mouse. 

All Suggestions are welcome!

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