I've been interested in ID since my days as a college instructor and now I'm finally in my first year as an eLearning Manager. I love the Articulate training, articles, and the community and I've learned a lot in such a short time. However, I am terrified to tackle the eLearning challenges! I get so overwhelmed at the thought that I slowly back away from my computer whenever I think about trying one.
Has anyone dealt with and overcome this? What was your first challenge like?
I perfectly understand how you are feeling. I used to try to create my challenge entries as perfect as I could do. So, I used to spend a lot of time on them. I know, nothing is wrong about spending a lot of time on it (of, course, if you have plenty of time. I miss those days :)
Then, I realized that my example didn't have to look perfect. If it even shows a rough idea about the challenge, it is worth sharing.
In my option, these challenges are really good to see the ideas and approaches of the other designers. So, you shouldn't step back and hide your amazing ideas.
I can't join challenges as as often as I did in the past. When I have time, I check them one by one and try to give some feedback. One thing I love about this community is you can get a lot of help, support and feedback when you share your work or ask a for help.
I always ask some friends (mostly my wife :)) to give me some feedback before sharing an example here. It helps me a lot.
I would always be happy to give feedback or give a hand when you need for you submission.
P.S. To remember my first submission, I went on a little trip on my Articulate profile page and I saw that it was almost 8 years ago, I am getting old :((
Hi Kandice! I have been an active member of the Articulate community for a long, long time, but it took me a year of lurking on the site before I got up enough nerve to contribute anything. Looking back, I don't know why I was afraid. This is a very safe and welcoming place to show your work. Start with a challenge topic that appeals to you and just do it.
But if you go further back in the challenges, you can fly under the challenge radar while still sharing your work. I hear the guy who runs the challenges is also a little slow to update the older ones, making them an even safer place to begin.
I've been using Storyline since 2017 and I was a lurker in the Challenge boards until 2019.
Honestly, I wish I started taking part sooner. My first entry was something I already had built that happened to fit the brief, but as the weeks went on I made a point of making something new each time. This often took me outside my comfort zone, but in a good way. The Challenges are a friendly and supportive arena to experiment and develop new skills.
Each demo didn't need to be perfect, just good enough to meet the brief. That's an important lesson for designers, as perfect is often the enemy of good.
I decided early on that I would try to complete 52 Challenges in a row and I blogged about my experience as I went.
Like anything in life, it's always hardest the first time, whether its riding a bike, learning to swim, etc. You just finally decide to go for it. There's really nothing to lose in this environment. Everyone's in the same boat, so people tend to be supportive. It's always a good idea also to look at and comment on other people's work, not only because it is good in building relationships with your peers, but also because you'll get all kinds of ideas and learn a lot.
Hi Kandice! I lurked for at least a year before I had the nerve to start participating in the challenges. I really had to let go of perfectionism before I could start posting, and some of my early entries (and later entries!) were pretty mangy. But once I realized how welcoming everyone is in this community, I really got into it! Over the last six years, I've posted well over 100 challenges, and I still participate when I can.
I encourage you to just do it! Maybe start with an older challenge that sparks your interest, rather than feeling like you have to finish something "on time," before the next challenge starts. Time pressure doesn't help me at all. :)
From my perspective the challenges are not about trying to be the best, have the most creative result, or anything else that might may you or someone else feel like it’s a competition. It is not.
The Challenges are exactly what they are called - a challenge for you and you alone. They are there to give you the inspiration you might need to try something new, rework something you’ve done in the past, or maybe reframe something you’ve been challenged with. You don’t have to share your work, but if you do that is great. Why, because then others in the community can learn from you and see your approach to the problem.
I’m often surprised how someone else may have handled a trigger differently then me, or a tab interaction, or a number of other things. I’ve learned from so much that others have shared.
Start small and be gentle on yourself. Keep some on your own learning portfolio or share with us all. One day you might look back in the early ones to see just how far you have come.
I totally understand your feelings/worries about the E-learning challenges, but do you know what?....We’ve all been there!...Well at least I was.
I still remember the time when I spent days working out all the possibilities of Articulate Storyline.
For hours I searched our community for new ideas / insights from other users and used them in my own samples. At first I kept these snippets for myself, not knowing if they were 'good' or what I could have done better / differently.
Taking part in the e-learning challenges has not only taught me that there is no right or wrong, but also that it is great to hear the opinions of other members or to give your own opinion to others.
And that is what e-learning challenges are all about ... sharing ideas and insights with each other, so that all participants can increase their knowledge.
Thank you so much. I do think that I'm getting in my head a bit too much. I appreciate your offer to review my work. I'm making a goal to really try to start my first one next month.
I definitely think my perfectionism is getting in the way of my doing this! I've got to jump in and take a chance and be prepared to make mistakes. However, it's good to know that I'm not the only one that has been lurking around.
Oh, I needed to hear that I should take my time. I get myself in knots trying to figure out how to approach this and all my other things without missing deadlines.
I also mentioned to someone else that I need to turn my back on my perfectionism and go for it!
Thank you, Paul! I'm really glad that I put this out here and for the advice you and so many others have given me. I'm feeling so much better about getting started on a challenge.
You are not the only and I understand you. I do not dare either. But I never miss a post or tutorial from David Anderson. If I know David or Tom are going to see what I do.... I walk away
Me too, Astrid. Thanks to the awesome training and articles, I got up to speed really quickly. I'm still a novice and I think that's why I get a bit intimidated!
30 Replies
Hi Kandice,
I perfectly understand how you are feeling. I used to try to create my challenge entries as perfect as I could do. So, I used to spend a lot of time on them. I know, nothing is wrong about spending a lot of time on it (of, course, if you have plenty of time. I miss those days :)
Then, I realized that my example didn't have to look perfect. If it even shows a rough idea about the challenge, it is worth sharing.
In my option, these challenges are really good to see the ideas and approaches of the other designers. So, you shouldn't step back and hide your amazing ideas.
I can't join challenges as as often as I did in the past. When I have time, I check them one by one and try to give some feedback. One thing I love about this community is you can get a lot of help, support and feedback when you share your work or ask a for help.
I always ask some friends (mostly my wife :)) to give me some feedback before sharing an example here. It helps me a lot.
I would always be happy to give feedback or give a hand when you need for you submission.
P.S. To remember my first submission, I went on a little trip on my Articulate profile page and I saw that it was almost 8 years ago, I am getting old :((
Hi Kandice! I have been an active member of the Articulate community for a long, long time, but it took me a year of lurking on the site before I got up enough nerve to contribute anything. Looking back, I don't know why I was afraid. This is a very safe and welcoming place to show your work. Start with a challenge topic that appeals to you and just do it.
Hi Kandice - One way to dip your toes in the challenges is to start with an older challenge. The challenges on the home page (https://community.articulate.com/hubs/e-learning-challenges) always get the most visibility.
But if you go further back in the challenges, you can fly under the challenge radar while still sharing your work. I hear the guy who runs the challenges is also a little slow to update the older ones, making them an even safer place to begin.
Prediction:
Kandice tops the 2022 challenge leaderboard.
Hi Kandice,
I've been using Storyline since 2017 and I was a lurker in the Challenge boards until 2019.
Honestly, I wish I started taking part sooner. My first entry was something I already had built that happened to fit the brief, but as the weeks went on I made a point of making something new each time. This often took me outside my comfort zone, but in a good way. The Challenges are a friendly and supportive arena to experiment and develop new skills.
Each demo didn't need to be perfect, just good enough to meet the brief. That's an important lesson for designers, as perfect is often the enemy of good.
I decided early on that I would try to complete 52 Challenges in a row and I blogged about my experience as I went.
52 Things I Learned During a Year of E-Learning Heroes Challenges (Part 1/4)
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/52-things-i-learned-during-year-e-learning-heroes-14-jonathan
I cringe at some of my early demos, but each one taught me an important lesson and has made me the designer I am today.
Taking part in the Challenges on a regular basis has improved my skills, increased my confidence and opened new doors for me. I highly recommend it.
Jon
Like anything in life, it's always hardest the first time, whether its riding a bike, learning to swim, etc. You just finally decide to go for it. There's really nothing to lose in this environment. Everyone's in the same boat, so people tend to be supportive. It's always a good idea also to look at and comment on other people's work, not only because it is good in building relationships with your peers, but also because you'll get all kinds of ideas and learn a lot.
I relate very, very much. I have only started sharing again, and I've been a pro for years now, too.
Don't let fear rob the lot of us of your voice and talents.
You have a fan in me!
Hi Kandice! I lurked for at least a year before I had the nerve to start participating in the challenges. I really had to let go of perfectionism before I could start posting, and some of my early entries (and later entries!) were pretty mangy. But once I realized how welcoming everyone is in this community, I really got into it! Over the last six years, I've posted well over 100 challenges, and I still participate when I can.
I encourage you to just do it! Maybe start with an older challenge that sparks your interest, rather than feeling like you have to finish something "on time," before the next challenge starts. Time pressure doesn't help me at all. :)
Hi Kandice:
From my perspective the challenges are not about trying to be the best, have the most creative result, or anything else that might may you or someone else feel like it’s a competition. It is not.
The Challenges are exactly what they are called - a challenge for you and you alone. They are there to give you the inspiration you might need to try something new, rework something you’ve done in the past, or maybe reframe something you’ve been challenged with. You don’t have to share your work, but if you do that is great. Why, because then others in the community can learn from you and see your approach to the problem.
I’m often surprised how someone else may have handled a trigger differently then me, or a tab interaction, or a number of other things. I’ve learned from so much that others have shared.
Start small and be gentle on yourself. Keep some on your own learning portfolio or share with us all. One day you might look back in the early ones to see just how far you have come.
Hi Kandice,
I totally understand your feelings/worries about the E-learning challenges, but do you know what?....We’ve all been there!...Well at least I was.
I still remember the time when I spent days working out all the possibilities of Articulate Storyline.
For hours I searched our community for new ideas / insights from other users and used them in my own samples. At first I kept these snippets for myself, not knowing if they were 'good' or what I could have done better / differently.
Taking part in the e-learning challenges has not only taught me that there is no right or wrong, but also that it is great to hear the opinions of other members or to give your own opinion to others.
And that is what e-learning challenges are all about ... sharing ideas and insights with each other, so that all participants can increase their knowledge.
Hi Ridvan!
Thank you so much. I do think that I'm getting in my head a bit too much. I appreciate your offer to review my work. I'm making a goal to really try to start my first one next month.
Kandice
Thank you! I like the idea of working on something that appeals to me.
KK
Hi,
LOL! Thank you so much for the vote of confidence and support. Everyone here is so wonderful!
KK
Hi Jon,
I definitely think my perfectionism is getting in the way of my doing this! I've got to jump in and take a chance and be prepared to make mistakes. However, it's good to know that I'm not the only one that has been lurking around.
Thank you for the great advice!
KK
Thank you!
KK
Thank you so much, EJ! I need the fan club!
Best,
KK
Tracy,
Oh, I needed to hear that I should take my time. I get myself in knots trying to figure out how to approach this and all my other things without missing deadlines.
I also mentioned to someone else that I need to turn my back on my perfectionism and go for it!
Thank you,
KK
Thank you, Paul! I'm really glad that I put this out here and for the advice you and so many others have given me. I'm feeling so much better about getting started on a challenge.
I appreciate it!
Kandice
You are not the only and I understand you. I do not dare either. But I never miss a post or tutorial from David Anderson. If I know David or Tom are going to see what I do.... I walk away
Would you review my work?
ROFL!
That is all you MrAnderson :)--
Astrid Case
Me too, Astrid. Thanks to the awesome training and articles, I got up to speed really quickly. I'm still a novice and I think that's why I get a bit intimidated!
Sure as long as you'll review mine!
KK
Well I have been here forever and I am still a novice hahaha seriously