how to build an e-learning mini-course

People love to see complete examples of e-learning courses, and at Articulate we aim to please! On that note, here’s an example of a fully developed mini-course created with Articulate Studio ’13.

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Let me walk you through the high-level process that went into building this:

Inserted Colorful Shapes and Imagery

Most of this course was created using colorful rectangle shapes and beautiful, crisp imagery. The colorful stripes that drop down from the top on the title slide and the chunky, colorful blocks on subsequent slides are rectangle shapes.

Using characters also gives the course a personal touch and draws in your learner.

Used Fun Animations and Sound Effects

You’ll notice some animation and sound effects throughout this mini-course. The title slide has a short little introduction tune and the title and objects on screen fly in with an animation. I used animations and transitions throughout the course to give it a polished and professional flair. I also used sound effects at the end of the course on the feedback slides for the quiz questions: cheering for a correct answer, booing for an incorrect answer. These are a fun and easy way to add a bit of pizzazz to your courses.

Built Some Engage Interactions

To make the course content more interactive, I used a few Articulate Engage interaction templates. By simply popping in the text and imagery, and then updating the color scheme of the interaction, I created some basic interactivity for my course.

Here’s a tip: make your interaction color scheme completely neutral using just black and white, like the one in my example below.

Created a Quizmaker Quiz

Finally, I want to test my learners on what’s been covered in the course. To accomplish this, I used a multiple choice Articulate Quizmaker question slide. I customized the slide by adding a background, graphics, and a character.

As previously noted, when you make a selection and receive the feedback, a sound effect plays to indicate whether your answer was correct or incorrect.

That’s a quick overview of how I created this fun identity theft e-learning mini-course. What do you like best about this course? Is there anything you would change? I’d love to hear your feedback, so leave me a comment below.

Want to try something you learned here, but don’t have Articulate software? Download a free 30-day trial, and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.