In the spirit of giving back... What's your eLearning template wishlist for 2015?

Hi Rich!

Good for you for getting more involved. No need to punish yourself for not doing it earlier - we all get here in different ways and on our own schedules. :)

I'm simply terrible about making and using templates since I love to build from scratch - but my simple suggestion would be to leverage what you're already doing in the challenges and create a template out of whatever you create there each week.

And if someone suggests a particular type of template you'd like to create - just take that into consideration as you're designing your challenge and knock off both things at once!

Jackie,

I completely agree. I build all my projects from the ground up, but I know there are lots of occasions where (especially new) designers could spend their time on more productive development, learning the ins-and-outs of the software, etc. if they didn't have to plan and create a whole scheme first. That's really where I hope this helps out.

And I think several of them will probably grow out of the challenges, as you mentioned. I'm going to hit #50 next, and that seems like a natural template to distribute.

Thanks for weighing in!

Some popular templates include:

• Tabs interactions (Downloads, Challenge)
• Scenario templates (conversations, branching)
• Themed templates

Here's a recap of some of the more popular Storyline 2 examples: https://community.articulate.com/articles/best-of-2014-10-most-popular-storyline-2-examples

Personally, just about anything you share will be appreciated:-)

Great point, David!

I imagine most will fall within those areas, since they're used in practice most often. Hopefully there are some specific requests (I've received some through my site already) to narrow down what people are looking for.

I may also consider a walkthrough on them, aimed at explaining why/how the development process proceeded. I'll have to wait and see if that kind of time is possible between work,  teaching classes, and side projects!

I've received a good range of suggestions from my website, and hopefully I can post up a list here for feedback by the end of the week!

Great initiative Rich! I would suggest creating anything that is versatile and easily editable. From the many templates I've shared, the ones that are most popular are the ones that can be easily adapted to different colors, brands, etc. 

I can't wait to see what you create and share!

Great point, Tim.

Color flexibility is something I always try to keep in mind, and any good "template" should definitely have that trait.

I'd really like to see more scenario-based templates. Pre-made with characters and placeholders for chat boxes and decision points.

Paula,

I think that's a great area for templates as well. A bit tricky due to making the basic interaction paths as accommodating as possible (and making sure that resources such as character models being used are accessible to all who may d/l the template), but I agree that at least a few of those should be on my list to whip up... Thanks for the input!

So from the feedback I've received, I'm thinking of going in this direction:

4 Game Templates
2 Scenario Templates
2 Multi-application Tab Templates
4 Industry-Themed Templates (with multiple possible applications)

I'm still open to specific requests within this framework, however!

I'm still working through the list of what to create and how deep to go with the templates (I'd like them to be as robust as possible), but I decided I had to get the first one out there. Based on #ELHChallenge 6, I've got this one out for download:

Blog: http://bit.ly/1FZmgS1
Direct download link: http://bit.ly/1zfLo3m