Please review my first Storyline project

Hi Judith

Just to say it is always brave to ask for peoples comments, but this should always help you when producing elearning.

Just had a quick look, some things that I would change.

Set the player to scale in the browser, I am using a widescreen display and it is truncated and I have to scroll.

I would probably recreate the buttons instead of using an image and add a hover and visited state so you know what you have viewed.

I would also look at the images you are using the hand and woman are both cut off, it may be better to get a hand that strches offscreen so it doesnt look like something out of the munsters.  The same with the woman place her so she doesnt look odd.  I also dont like combining clipart and images in the same project.

The introduction tab is set at the top and the next and subsequent tabs are formatted to the middle, so there is a jump. I would change this to be consistent.

I would try to differentiate the heading from the text, maybe use a shape or banner

Finally and this is personal to me, I would always change the player from the default.

Not being too critical, it is a good start

Phil

Hi Judith

Nice start. Just adding to Phil's comment I prefer to have consistent animations. They don't have to be consistent across all slides, but its good to have all animations on one slide the same, then I know where information is going to appear from rather than it flying all over the screen. Also on some of your slides consider having the text enter from the right rather than the left and flying over the menu, and if possible have it fly in the same time as the shape (just for a tidier look but thats being picky)

Blair

Thanks, Phil and Blair,

I have some questions on your comments.

Phil, you said:

Set the player to scale in the browser, I am using a widescreen display and it is truncated and I have to scroll.
Please tell me how to do this.

I would probably recreate the buttons instead of using an image.

I don't know how to "recreate ,, instead of using an image".  How do you get buttons without using an image?

The introduction tab is set at the top and the next and subsequent tabs are formatted to the middle, so there is a jump. I would change this to be consistent.
Not sure what you are referring to when you say "Introduction tab"  and "next and subsequent tabs". Do you mean the button images that jut out from the navigation "remote"?

Finally and this is personal to me, I would always change the player from the default.

How do I do that and what should I change it to?

Blair:

They don't have to be consistent across all slides, but its good to have all animations on one slide the same, then I know where information is going to appear from rather than it flying all over the screen.

Good point, thanks. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should!

To change the player

click Story view and choose player off the toolbar the colours are under color and effects, the Other tab will allow you to scale the browser window.

You can add buttons from the insert menu

The text on the right after pressing the buttons for introduction is at the top of the page, for subsequent buttons it is in the middle

Hope this helps

Phil

Thanks so much, Phil. I'll work on those right away.

Was also hoping for some Instructional Design feedback -- language, information flow, etc.

Anyone have advice for me on those?

Always grateful,

Judith

Hi Judith

Here's my tuppence:

1. Not sure why the title needs those hands and forms moving around?  What message are they conveying?
2. Move away from using 'click the animation button' to bring in animations.  instead, create triggers for each animation so the learner has a more personal experience.  Some slides don't even need the 'animation' button at all, e.g. About the Course.
3. Cut back on your flying text and settle for something more consistent/uniform.
4.  Do you really need that menu on the left?  I.e. if you're going to do something funky/valuable with the buttons (e.g show what has been visited/completed) then keep it - otherwise revert to the player's menu. 
5. Feedback popups could do with some colouring/tweaking to make them fit/align to the existing style.

All IMHO of course  

HTH

Thanks, Simon. Your opinion is much appreciated!

I had a little trouble with the triggers. What I wanted was to let the user control the pace of the animation. If something was on the screen that the user needed more time to look at, I didn't want a new animation to interfere.

You said:

instead, create triggers for each animation so the learner has a more personal experience

but what would the trigger be?

Couldn't figure out anyway to control the timing except to create something that could be clicked on to launch each animation.

Can you expand a bit on how to do that?

Thanks,

Judith

In my opinion.. too much text.. You need to examine what you are trying to tell the audience and then see if you can do that through visual and audio means. It's a proven fact that audio narration when added in addition to the text knowledge transfer is increased. Hope that helps.

Thank you, James.

Yes, I had a hard time figuring out how to communicate the details. I'll look into audio, as some of the material doesn't really lend itself to graphical interpretation.

Much appreciated!

Hi, Judith:

Nice work.

1. I would removed the hands animation, unless you feel you really need it. They sort of take a long time.

2. The title font looks a little too "organic/earthy" for the subject matter, I think.

Thanks, Daniel.

Well, I could speed them up -- it was just something my boss liked, but doesn't actually add any value.

Hmm, used Verdana for the title font just cause I like it.

Do you have another font in mind?

Hey, if your boss likes it, that's a different story. Keep the animation then.

I don't have another particular font in mind, just something a bit more formal. It's good if your title font contrasts from your body text font. They should contrast in a pleasing way. Take a look at the fonts on your machine. Yeah, it takes a while, but it's worth it in the long run.

OK, thanks for the feedback!

I think, especially if you use audio, you could add more graphics to this and remove some of the overwhelming text.  You could use alarm clocks and calendars for the due dates.  Find images of business people (maybe cartoons or the actual people!), and have them represent Ed, Ray, the teams involved, and the learner.  Use arrows to show the flow of work (you send it to Ed, Ed reviews it and sends it to Ray, or whatever the steps are).  Maybe for the Friday report....have a spreadsheet icon in the middle; show other papers around it labeled MONDAY'S REPORT, WEDNESDAY'S REPORT, and TEAM MEETING NOTES and have them all pointing to the Friday report.  I really think a lot of this could be illustrated.

Hi Kristen,

I'd like to do this, but am having a hard time finding graphics that are in the same style for all the people, things, etc.

And, believe it or not, I left out the most wordy slides! Lots of detail work in this process.

It will look much better if you get images that are the same style.  Tom wrote a blog post a while back about using clipart styles to to find similar images

The less words the better TBH, make it interesting move away from bullet points.  ensure that you know what the key messages for learners to take away are.  As Bruce Graham would say dont throw in the kitchen sink just in case. Focus on what they need to learn.  Anything else can be added as a pdf if reqiured

Style 1268 in Microsoft clip art is my favorite for business people and accessories.  You can ungroup them to separate out the elements (assuming you are allowed to use Microsoft clip art).

Hi Kristen, I looked at Style 1268, but don't really like cartoon characters -- these look a bit goofy.

I like Style 1280, but it has limited relevance for my stuff. -- I'll keep looking!

Thanks for sending me there!

Judith