Help with Integrating Ancile uPerform sims into Storyline?

Aug 14, 2013

Hello Everyone, I would like to know if anyone has experience with integrating simulations created with Ancile uPerform (also known as SAP Productivity Pack or SPP) into Storyline?

I see on their website ( http://www.ancile.com/products/ancile-uperform-learning-management-learning-simulation-software/ ) that you can publish content in HTML, and I was wondering if this would make it easier to work with in Storyline, possibly as a Web Object?

Any feedback or suggestions are welcome - thank you in advance

21 Replies
Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi David,

I haven't heard of Ancile uPerform before, but did see on the link you shared that you can "Publish content in multiple formats, including HTML, PDF, PPT, and Word."  If you're able to load to a web server you could use the HTML version to insert it as a web object within Storyline. Additionally you could link to the PDF, PPT, or Word files. Also, depending on what is included in the PPT file, you can import PPT into Storyline, although it's not an exact one to one converstion. 

Chris Wall

I used to work with uPerform quite a bit, but haven't in at least three years. I think Ashley's solution is probably your best option.

The one thing I might find myself wondering about is whether you can pass data from the uPerform simulation that's in your web object to your Storyline course.

Having created simulations in both tools, I would recommend that you simplify your world and see if you can't convince your management to simply go to doing everything in Storyline. It's much easier to author simulations in Storyline than uPerform, and you can also connect your main course to your simulations much more easily.

Chris Wall

Thanks Ashley. I stumbled across this because we use Ancile's LMS, and when we upgraded to Storyline 2, we encountered problems with courses developed in Storyline 2 not reporting results properly to our LMS. I haven't entirely ruled out operator error as the root cause, but I'm still trying to do my due diligence homework. 

I found one article here about IE9 issues, so I'm setting up a test for that, and I have a variety of other variables in my research I want to test as well (primarily in the publishing settings area of Storyline - back to that operator error issue).

If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears.

Thanks.

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi Chris,

A great way to test out the reporting and tracking behavior is to look at testing in SCORM Cloud, as it's an industry standard for LMS content. If the same reporting/tracking issues persist there than it's something in the file or how it's set up - wheras if it all reports/tracks correctly then you'll want to look at working with your LMS team.  Here is an article to assist you in the testing steps. 

Michael Hinze
Eric Weisberg

Chris, how would you go about authoring a simulation in Storyline? My employer uses UPerform to capture every screen in a workflow process. I suppose I can capture each one manually in Storyline, but what UPerform does well is automate that process.

See here for some info on the various options for using screen recordings in SL.

Chris Wall

Alternatively, if your UPerform content is already published, would you be able to insert a link to it as a web object in Storyline?

Having used both UPerform and Storyline to capture application processes, I would still lean toward the pure Storyline solution. I haven't used UPerform in almost four years, but the last time I used it (when Version 4.0 was rolled out), I recall that I had to use HTML to format text in callouts and other onscreen items. In fact, I remember having developed a course in version 3.X, and when someone else, at a customer's location, opened the file in version 4.0, it stripped all the content out of my callouts and other text boxes if they included HTML.

I imagine the folks at UPerform addressed that, but I still think Storyline's screen capture tool is much easier than UPerform's, especially since you can tweak the video start and end points for each step in the process.

 

Capturing the processes takes about the same amount of effort, but I definitely give the nod to Storyline when it comes to editing the screen captures.

Chris Wall

Ancile says uPerform "seamlessly integrates with learning management systems, including SCORM- and AICC-conformant LMSs" (http://www.ancile.com/products/uperform-software/features).

Moodle discusses both SCORM and AICC on its web site, implying that it supports both(https://docs.moodle.org/30/en/SCORM_FAQ#Should_I_make_my_Moodle_courses_as_SCORM_or_use_Moodle.27s_features.3F).

Seems like they should be compatible. But that's just an educated (just enough to be dangerous) guess.

Sjoerd de Vries

I am very familiar with uPerform and Storyline and they can be combined. Do not use the LMS output of uPerform. The scorm integration only is useful if you have an LMS or VLE like Moodle where you can link to SCORM files from any authoring tool (uPerform is just an authoring tool like Storyline). However, if you use Storyline, you want to create a scorm file with storyline and not with uPerform.

Publish your uPerform simulation to HTML5. This is the default format for a simulation. In the output you will find a HTML folder:

 

In Storyline add a web object:

Point the webobject to the HTML folder for that SIM, for example "C:\My Data\Articulate\Projects\AWS\CI0455XEIO - AWS 1.1 - Client Configuration\Assets\5.2_AWS11_Rule_Configuration\sim\html"

In above example this will start the index page with a logo, description and links to the simulations in different modes:

- Show me how (demo)

- Let me try (interactive exercise)

- Self Test (not in the image above, but it's an interactive exercise with less help)

- Assessment (same as previous but scored. However, the score will not be passed back to Storyline)

You can also link directly to a simulation in a specific mode by selecting the links sim_standard.htm, sim_auto_playback.htm etc instead od index.htm. Best practice is to use the index page.

When you publish, the folder will be published within Storyline and linked correctly. The only thing you must be sure about is that if you move the folder to another location you have to re-select all the links.

Alternatively use the eCourse builder in uPerform to embed simulations. The eCourse builder creates powerpoint like presentations combined with questions and simulations.

 

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