Seeking Advice

Hi Tara and welcome to the community.

I make my living out of it - so suits me very well!

What features - exactly - are you wanting to see?

Once again - welcome, and ask as many questions as you want, that's what we are here for.

Bruce

Thanks Bruce!

We train new users on how to use our customized state financial system software. In order to receive access to the system to perform job duties, new users must have training in whatever modules are appropriate for their user role in the system. I always say -- we train people to push buttons. At the most basic level, that is all we do. We have done all of this in the classroom for many years with hands-on instructor-led learning.

I use Camtasia to produce and post video tutorials for short, single-task items that don't need user interaction. These are used to address mostly "view-only" type roles and offer "refresher" tips to support the items that remain in the classroom. I have several courses that are complicated, but not difficult that would be ideal for online learning and they they fall into that learning category "too long for a video tutorial, but really not worth the drive all the way into the metro from the boonies".

So -- in a nutshell -- I need something more robust than just video. I need an actual e-learning module with interactive testing, practice, etc., for learners, as well as testing capabilities that can be posted as a package to my webserver and play flawlessly on all mobile devices and platforms.

That's not much -- right?

Articulate Storyline or Articulate Studio Pro. 

Both have trials and both should be considered. Studio pro with replay may suit your needs better if you want to create a more simple yet effective learning piece. 

I'll let Bruce guide you through the key features based on your usage, but I would consider both packages in this scenario.

Good luck with everything and make sure you stick around to let us know how it's going.

I was with you until this part " play flawlessly on all mobile devices "

Unfortunately, there aren't any tools out there that provide flawless playback on mobile devices. Video files get close to ubiquitous support but interactive media assemblies fall short of flawless. Some are better than others. Captivate and Storyline are in the same class for production of software sims. Each has benefits and drawbacks. Some of these are in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I think Storyline offers more flexibility for outputs that aren't software sims, but I never could get into Captivate. To each his / her own:)

The proof is in the pudding. I'd test Captivate, Storyline, Camtasia, and a couple of Cloud-based solutions like uPerform and Firefly to see which best meets your business needs and production team situation. I wouldn't make price the leading indicator. Your teams are going to have to be able to produce (and want to produce) using the tool. Some folks love Captivate, others really like Storyline. If one or the other seems to be a drag to use, the price difference will pale in comparison to the volume problems you'll have when trying to ramp up and use the tool. Testing for "time to market" as well as compatibility with target platforms should eliminate some of the tool acquisition uncertainty:)

I really, really appreciate all of you taking time to reply. I have downloaded the trial to Storyline and am working through the tutorials that seem to address my needs. I completely agree that to each his own on which is better. Captivate is a wonderful tool -- it lots of bells and whistles that is for sure -- but this seems to do the same thing. Maybe I don't NEED all those bells and whistles to do what I need to do.

When we do requirements gathering for new agencies using our systems here -- we always ask "what do you HAVE to have to do your job and what would be NICE to have?"

I look forward to seeing what other items Bruce may have to offer!

My new favourite Hero - Tara, uttered this year's words of wisdom:

"...Maybe I don't NEED all those bells and whistles to do what I need to do....".

Tara - what I would do is set your self a mini-course to build, and try to create the same one in each tool that you trial. In terms of Storyline, you need:

http://community.articulate.com/tutorials/products/adding-screen-recordings.aspx

and then

http://community.articulate.com/tutorials/products/inserting-or-deleting-screen-recordings.aspx

Ask us whatever, whenever.

Me? Quotable? HA!

Thanks for the advice Bruce, that is exactly what I am doing -- building a mini-course to test all the way through -- upload to FTP, playing on various devices, and attempting a score report.

That last one is the only thing that bugs me -- according to my research, neither product -- Captivate nor Articulate -- seems to be able to successfully offer score reporting via e-mail. I read all the various reasons why this is not reliable, but I am going to test it anyway to see what happens.

(I know, I know -- I can buy access to a site for tracking or I can use an LMS -- but those are not realistic options for me at this time.)

I appreciate your time and I will not hesitate to ask!

Hi Tara, one addition to your research about email reporting: there is a third-party widget available for Captivate that provides email reporting, see some info here.

Hi Tara - 

The widget Michael mentions works. You could use an email form service to "catch" completions from both Captivate and Storyline. You could also integrate a submit to Google Spreadsheet (using a custom JavaScript action in Captivate or JavaScript trigger in Storyline) if you wanted to capture completions and scores that way. The neat thing about the Google Spreadsheet is you could have the spreadsheet email you (or email the user as well with some script-ninja action) whenever a completion is submitted. Pretty neat stuff.

Steve