Build an Articulate course with SAP Transaction content

Mar 20, 2012

Our team is responsible for all SAP training in our organization, we focus on SAP implmentation and refresh training. 

We have been evaluating the Articulate tool and have not viewed a course that contains very detailed transactional type content (step by step transactions with simulations of the processes).  We currently use Dreamweaver to create our CBT and include in those, InfoPak simulations. 

Has anyone used this tool to develop the type of training we build.  If so, what are the best practices when creating this training in Articulate?  Any help would be appreciated. 

Thanks, Gina

7 Replies
Jeanette Brooks

Hi Gina! One way you could go about this would be to create screenshots with hyperlinks to simulate the behavior of the application your teaching. Here's an example and here's another.

Another approach would be to use Quizmaker for exercises which require the user to complete specific items in data-entry fields. You could use screenshots in your quiz slides and place the data entry fields in the appropriate locations to simulate your application. Here's an example of something along those lines.

If you have interactive swfs that you've created in another application, you can use these in your Articulate software, too - you can insert them by going to the Articulate menu and choosing Flash Movie. (Any swf you insert this way, though, needs to be ActionScript 2. If you have ActionScript 3 content, you can insert that via another method called a web object.)

Lastly, another way to present your content would be to create videos of your step-by-step processes, save them as FLV, SWF, or MP4, and insert those in your course. You could even use our free screencasting tool, Screenr, to create the videos if you don't already have a tool for that.

Salesforce.com has some interesting courses they've built with Articulate software. Here are some of them.

That said, you might also be interested to know that we're about to release a new tool called Articulate Storyline, which has some amazingly powerful screen-recording/simulation features that provide all sorts of flexibility for creating videos, try-it exercises, and test simulations. We're currently wrapping up the beta for Storyline and when we launch, you'll be able to download a free 30-day trial and check it out.

Natalia Mueller

Hi Lynton. Welcome to Heroes!

I'm sorry but I'm no longer at the company that holds that SAP content. At the time I was using Articulate Studio but I sure wish I had Storyline when I was developing that. 

I work with Storyline now for system training but it's no longer SAP. I've been really happy with it. You can record a standard screencast and then have the option to keep it as a video or switch it to View mode, Try Mode or Test mode all from the original recording. I would say that the thing I like best about that part of Storyline is how much I can do with the video, or one of the other modes, after it's been recorded. What makes me love working with SL as a whole is all of the options I have beyond the screencast and simulation options. 

Here is a high level overview of all of the features. Screen Recording is about halfway down.

Here is a link to the showcase but I don't think it has a great technical training example yet. 

Is there anything specific you want to know about before I bombard you with links?  

Lynton Howes

Hi Natalia

Thanks so much for your email.  

Your commendation is very positive and I'm keen to give it a try but....I can see it's really powerful and will take a little while to learn so I don't want to invest that time if I'm not going to get great content out of it.  I want to know - is it as good as or better than Captivate?  And if so, why do I still read about people recording in Captivate and then embedding that in SL rather than recording in SL from the get-go?

I reviewed the Showcase link previously but the glaring omission seemed to be anything systems/technical....which made me think that it's not great for that.  I can't seem to find any SAP demos or example in SL anywhere on the web!

If you have any other links that would be great.

Thanks again

Lynton

Natalia Mueller

The only reason I can think that someone would record with Captivate and embed it in Storyline is if they have been working with Captivate and are more comfortable with it. Because otherwise there is no reason that I can think of to do that. Storyline has full screencasting functionality. I am wondering if whatever you saw was actually talking about the other Articulate product, Studio. Studio does not have screencasting ability and before Storyline came out I was one of those people recording in Captivate and then using Studio (a powerpoint plugin) to "wrap" it.

The only thing I don't have in Storyline that I am hoping to see in future versions is some more video editing tools. You can trim and fine tune by frame, but that's pretty much it if you're using the video mode. I have found that I use that less and less since I've gotten away from just recording mouse motion though so I haven't missed it nearly as much as I thought I would. 

I can tell you that one of the things I absolutely loved about SL is that for being such a powerful tool, the learning curve was nothing compared to Adobe products. They really made an effort to build and intuitive tool and I was able to hit the ground running and learn as I go. There is a free trial if you want to just see for yourself. You'll be surprised at how much you can do after watching one or two "getting started" tutorials.

I agree that the showcase needs to include some technical examples. That's a huge piece of the eLearning pie, no doubt. I know they have one that demos a meeting planning software but I can't seem to find it. Maybe someone else will chime in with the link.

One last thing, since you brought up Captivate, I created a business case to replace Captivate for my team using a trial version of Storyline. If you would like to see it I posted a short screenr video here. It's not the point of the video but it also shows how to find, use and customize the pre-built interactions. I was able to create fully interactive courses before I knew how to build them by scratch. Deconstructing and customize the pre-built options was a great way to learn actually.

Anyway, I hope this is helpful to you. In the meantime, I'll keep looking for that demo. It's not SAP but you can at least see the tool in action.

Lynton Howes

Hi Natalia

Thanks a million for your reply and the links.  It certainly seems like SL is a great product and easy to use.  I might just have to take the plunge and start the trial and see how it goes.

Thank you, and if you do come across that demo (or if anyone else has one to share) I would love to see it.  It's sure to give me some ideas of what is possible once you really know what you are doing....whereas with me playing I won't be producing the most awesome content at first.

Thanks again

Lynton

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