7 Creative Ways to Use Images in Rise 360 Courses
Have you ever finished creating a course, looked at it, and thought to yourself, Wow … that’s a lot of text! If so, you’re not alone. It’s easy for courses to end up text-heavy, because written content is the easiest way for a lot of folks to communicate. But a text-heavy course can also make learners feel overwhelmed—and that’s not what anyone wants! So what’s the best way to make your course feel lighter and more approachable? Add in some relevant imagery to break up your text content. Now, I know what you’re thinking: What if I don’t have the images I need to illustrate my content? No worries! Rise 360 is integrated with Content Library 360, so you’re never more than a click away from millions of course assets. And there are so many different ways you can use them in your course. Let’s take a closer look at a few creative ideas for adding imagery to your Rise 360 courses. 1. Replace Bullet Points with Illustrated Flashcards Instead of inserting a bullet point block, why not use a flashcard block with images on the front side? In addition to making your course feel less text-heavy, it’ll encourage learners to actively engage with your content. 2. Add a Quote with a Background Image Quotes are a great way to drive home your key messages and inspire your learners. By adding a background image to your quote, you’ll draw attention to it and break up the monotony in a lesson with a lot of text. 3. Illustrate Your Knowledge Checks and Quiz Questions Quizzes don’t have to be text-only! Add some visual interest to your knowledge check or quiz question by adding an image or illustration. 4. Make Key Points Stand Out by Adding a Background Image If you want to make sure your learners don’t overlook a key point, why not add some emphasis by pulling the message out from a paragraph and adding a background image? It’s a surefire way to catch your learner’s attention. 5. Replace Bullet Points with a Labeled Graphic If you’re looking for a more creative way to present your bullet points, try searching Content Library 360 for an image that illustrates your content, like in the example above. You can then add markers to the appropriate spots on the image so learners can click for more information. 6. Break Up Content with Full-Width Images If you have a lesson with a bunch of text blocks in a row, why not break it up with some full-width images? These images will serve not only as dividers but will make your course look nicer and feel less dense. 7. Add Images to Your Interactive Blocks If you’re using interactive blocks like processes, timelines, accordions, or tabs, for example, think about adding an image to each section to round out your content. Wrap-Up These ideas are only the tip of the iceberg! There are many other ways to incorporate visuals into your Rise 360 courses. And to help you find the images you want in Content Library 360, check out this article. Want to try out what you learned here in Rise 360, but don’t have Articulate 360? Start a free 30-day trial. And subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest product updates, e-learning examples, and expert advice directly in your inbox.4 AI Basics Every E-Learning Creator Needs To Know in 2025
Artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t a new term. But the buzz around it has exploded lately, thanks in large part to the popularity of content generation tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E. With their ability to quickly generate custom answers, stories, illustrations, and more by simply typing out a short description, it’s no wonder they’ve enticed so many people to play with this new wave of AI technology. And while they may have caught people’s attention as a novelty, these tools have also inspired many to consider how they might fit into the world of work as well. For those of us in tech-driven fields like e-learning, the signs are clear—AI will increasingly intersect with our world over the next few years. What’s less clear, though, are the specifics of how. If you’re new to this technology and find that ambiguity confusing or stressful, this article is here to help! You’ll explore what AI is, how e-learning professionals are using it in their work right now, and how you can guide your organization on using this technology strategically. 1. What exactly is AI? The term “artificial intelligence” dates back to at least the 1950s, and its definition is broad—the ability for machines to perform tasks we typically associate with human intelligence, like problem-solving and decision-making. Does this mean AI tools are intelligent in the same way as people? No. But they can fake it reasonably well in very specific situations. For instance, an AI-powered chess system like Deep Blue can play that one game exceptionally well. But unlike humans, it can’t apply those same problem-solving skills in other contexts. 2. How does AI work? Have you ever typed a few characters into a website search window only to have it automatically fill out the rest of the product name you were looking for? Or have you ever started working on a text and had your phone suggest logical options for the next word in your sentence? Then congratulations! You’ve interacted with AI—even if you may not have realized it! These predictive AI approaches use information from large pools of data to make educated guesses about the future. They can’t create anything new, but they can be useful in situations where patterns from the past provide good clues about choices or behavior in the future. Today’s AI buzz, though, is more focused on a different category—generative AI. This approach also analyzes massive amounts of data to look for patterns and common responses. But then it uses the connections it finds to generate new content—such as text, images, video, or code. What does this difference mean in the real world? Predictive AI approaches can auto-complete the word ”cake” after you type “chocolate” or tell an online store that people who buy chocolate cake mix are also likely to buy eggs. But generative AI can create a new chocolate cake recipe for you based on all the recipes it’s seen before. People often find generative AI intriguing because it’s easy to use and creates content fast. But it has limitations too, since it relies so heavily on large data pools and averages. Want to go even deeper into how generative AI works? Try this short explainer video. Regardless of which type of AI you’re working with, it’s important to note that while these tools may appear to comprehend information the way humans do, they actually don’t. They simply look for data patterns to determine the most probable answer to requests. For instance, if you ask ChatGPT what to serve at your kid’s birthday party and it recommends pizza and ice cream, that’s not because it knows they’re delicious—or even understands what a birthday party is. It’s just noticed the words “pizza” and “ice cream” are often associated with the words “kid’s birthday party.” This pattern recognition can do a lot, but it can still make mistakes and unknowingly share incorrect information. So it’s a good practice to always double-check AI-generated content for inaccuracies. 3. Is AI going to steal my job? Now let’s address the elephant in the room. Is AI going to steal your job? For most people in e-learning, the answer is probably not. At first glance, the speed at which today’s AI tools can generate content seems like a possible threat. But the reality is that course creators like you do much more than just produce and then distribute content. Designing effective e-learning means ensuring raw content is transformed into engaging learning experiences. That’s the kind of creative work that can only be informed by your e-learning expertise and a deep understanding of the needs of your learners and organization. That said, business partners and clients aren’t always aware of the intricacies that go into designing meaningful e-learning. So even if they understand the limitations of today’s AI technology, they may not realize how many aspects of course creation these tools can’t take on independently. This is another area where you can add value. Because you're uniquely positioned to guide your partners on what AI truly means to the world of e-learning—from identifying where it has the best potential to shining a light on all the ways human creators like you ensure the final result makes a real impact. AI may be the current hot trend that’s impacting learning and development. But advocating for the value we bring to our organizations and learners has always been crucial to what we do. This is just another chance to put your advocacy skills to work. 4. How are e-learning professionals using AI right now? Lots of people in our field have been experimenting with these tools and sharing their results. Thanks to their work, we’ve got a wealth of ideas for how the current wave of AI tools can fit into e-learning workflows, including: Idea generation: Summarizing common thoughts on a topic, providing guidance on standard content outlines and formats, suggesting possible flows of information, and even helping you past writer’s block by giving you ideas on what not to write about. Administrative tasks: Taking meeting notes and summarizing them, integrating information from multiple tools to simplify booking meetings, drafting common email responses, providing suggestions for better scheduling your time, summarizing long documents or emails, and streamlining processes for moving content from one format to another. Research and writing: Summarizing large amounts of research or content dumps, aligning your writing to a brand voice or desired tone, suggesting edits to improve grammar and readability, and building basic first drafts of content. Media editing and generation: Generating media ideas and basic course layouts, automating simple media editing tasks like removing background noises or flubs, tweaking stock images, and generating talking head videos. Supporting advanced e-learning functionality: Providing personalized feedback on freeform answers from learners, playing basic roles in interactive digital roleplays, supporting chatbot functionality, and helping to write or troubleshoot simple code for enhancing courses. Wrap-Up You’ve now got the current AI basics down pat! But as with any rapidly growing technology, it’s also helpful to keep an eye on how AI will evolve over time—both to help you make strategic choices for yourself and so you can advise your organization on doing the same. Not sure where to look for AI updates? Free webinars from L&D professionals and AI tool vendors are a handy way to stay on top of what’s new. Following AI experts on social media can give you quick industry updates, as can following e-learning experts who are playing with these tools. Regularly reading tech blogs and magazines can provide a deeper dive into where AI is going next. And industry whitepapers and ebooks are also useful sources for more in-depth information. Want even more insights on the technologies and approaches that can help you create effective e-learning? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest e-learning inspiration and insights directly in your inbox. You can also find us on LinkedIn and X. And if you have questions, please share them in the comments.Coming Soon: Articulate AI (With Video!)
Exciting news: We’re working on some AI features that’ll help amplify your creativity and accelerate course creation. Check out this short video for a quick preview of what’s in store: We hope you’re as excited as we are about these upcoming features! Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest product updates directly in your inbox. If you have questions, please share them in the comments.Get to Know The 4 Levels of E-Learning
If you work in e-learning or training, you’ve probably heard people refer to the levels of e-learning before. But what does that mean? In the e-learning industry, there are four generally accepted levels of e-learning that will, in turn, affect the learning experience, cost, and development time of your project. Today, you’ll get a high-level look at all four levels. Once you understand the key components of each level, you’ll be better equipped to estimate the time—and also cost—of future projects. Level 1: Passive Interactivity Level 1 e-learning is a passive experience, where the learner just consumes information. There’s little to no interactivity with the course and the learner mostly reads and moves forward by clicking Next. In fact, some refer to level 1 as the “click next” style of e-learning because of its low level of interactivity. These courses include static text and images, and little to no multimedia. Quizzes in level 1 courses are usually straightforward multiple choice and true-or-false questions. Level 1 e-learning, while simple, does have its place: it can be a quick way to cover simple rules or procedures. Check out these examples to get a better understanding of what level 1 courses look like: View Example View Example Level 2: Limited Interactivity At level 2, e-learning courses start to incorporate some multimedia. Courses at this level can contain audio, some video, basic animations, and a few simple transitions. This level of content is often accompanied by narration and click-and-reveal interactions. Level 2 quizzes start to incorporate drag-and-drop interactions and matching activities. If you’re looking for a nice middle ground with a richer learning experience without too much development time, level 2 e-learning is probably a good fit. Here are some examples of level 2 courses: View Example View Example Level 3: Complex Interactivity With level 3 e-learning courses, the interactions become even more sophisticated. In this level, you can expect to include extensive audio, video, transitions, animations, and more. Quizzing can involve branched, scenario-based questions that allow learners to explore multiple paths and feedback levels. Level 3 e-learning is usually a good fit if you’re looking to teach learners more complex skills, for example, if you’re creating a course for new nurses on patient care. Here are some examples of level 3 e-learning: View Example View Example Level 4: Full Immersion Level 4 e-learning uses all of the components in levels 1, 2, and 3, plus gamification or simulation. These courses may incorporate 360° images, games or complex gamification, scenarios, avatars, or interactive videos. These courses are more immersive than other levels of e-learning. As learners interact with the course, they receive feedback on their choices. And in some cases, their choices might even impact the content they’re presented with next. This makes level 4 e-learning excellent for learners who need to practice real-time decision-making skills. Although these courses take the longest to develop, the learner experience makes it well worth the effort. Take a look at a few examples: View Example View Example Wrap-Up Now that you know about the four levels of e-learning, you’re ready to identify which one a new project falls under! This will help you appropriately estimate the time and assets needed to create the course. Are you looking to learn more about e-learning development? Check out these helpful resources. What You Need to Know to Create Amazing E-Learning 6 Easy Ways to Make More Compelling Interactions for Your Online Courses Here’s How I Transformed This Static E-Learning Content What level of e-learning is your favorite to create? Let me know in the comments below. Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Tabs Interaction in Storyline
Creating a tabs interaction (also known as a click-and-reveal) is one of the most basic and most commonly used interaction types in e-learning. Not sure exactly what I mean by a tabs interaction? Usually it’s a slide that has clickable items the learner can select to reveal additional content. Here are a few examples of a tabs interaction. View Example | Download File View Example | Download File Tabs are a great way to present a lot of content on one slide without overwhelming the learner with too much material at once. Plus, they can be used in a multitude of project types. For newbies working with layers or triggers, rest assured they’re intuitive and easy to use. And if this is your first time building a tabs interaction, simply follow the steps indicated below to learn how to do it yourself. Create a New Slide Start by inserting a new blank slide in your project and adding a simple title across the top of your slide. Add Tabs The next step is to add tabs onto your slide. Your tabs can be any shape or object, but to keep it simple for this example, let’s add three rectangles, placed horizontally under the slide title. You can insert a rectangle shape, then select it and start typing directly in it to add text. Add a title to each tab: “Tab 1,” “Tab 2,” and “Tab 3.” Your slide should look something like this: Create Layers Your next step is to create layers, which hold the additional content or information you want to share with your learners. The slide layers panel is located on the right-hand bottom side of your slide. That’s where you can insert a new layer. In this example, we have three tabs, so we will create three layers. In this example, each layer has some simple text on it. Remember, by the time you’re done, you should have three layers. Add Triggers The last step is to add a trigger to each tab that displays the corresponding layer. The trigger panel is located right above the slide layers panel. Select the first tab and add a new trigger on it that displays the corresponding layer. Your trigger wizard should look like this: You’ll also want to add that same trigger to your other two tabs, but that show Layer 2 and Layer 3, respectively. After this you can preview your final product to make sure the tabs are working as they should. Ready for more? To take your tabs interactions to the next level, consider learning how to use button sets. Find out more in these articles: A Great Storyline Timesaver: Button Sets The Most Straightforward Way to Build a Tabs Interaction for Storyline (with Download!) Did you think it was pretty easy to build your first tabs interaction? Let me know how it went by leaving me a comment below. Want to try something you learned here, but don’t have Storyline? Start a free 30-day trial of Articulate 360, which includes Storyline 360 — the latest version of Storyline with continuously updated new features. And come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.Brandon Hall Technology Awards Gives Articulate 360 Two Gold Medals
We’re superexcited to share that Articulate 360 earned not one but TWO gold medals in the 2022 Brandon Hall Excellence in Technology Awards: one for Best Advance in Content Authoring Technology and another for Best Advance in Technology Innovation for the Remote Workforce. But we couldn’t have done it without you—our amazing community! Thank you for all your support. It’s an honor to build apps and resources you love. 🎉 Not a subscriber yet? If you’re interested, you can try Articulate 360 free for 30 days. You’ll get access to authoring apps Storyline 360 and Rise 360, 22+ million course assets, an easy-to-use review app, and live online training with industry experts.3 Ways to Track & Display Learner Progress with Storyline 360
You’ve been asking for a simple way to track and display learner progress in your Storyline 360 courses, and we heard you! With the new slide numbers feature, you can easily insert progress indicators so that learners know exactly where they are in your course. One thing I love about this feature is that there are so many different options for displaying learner progress. Let’s take a closer look at a few of my favorites. Slide Numbers The most common way to let learners know where they are in your course is by showing them how many of the total number of slides they’ve completed, as shown in the screenshot below. The best part about it is that Storyline 360 calculates the slide numbers automatically, whether your course is linear or not. See for yourself in this example. Percent Complete Another way to let learners know how they’re progressing through your course is by showing them the percent of the course they’ve completed, like you see in the screenshot below. And just like the slide numbers, Storyline 360 calculates this percentage automatically. All you have to do is decide where you want it to appear in your course. It’s so easy! Check out this example to see how it works. Visual Progress Meters You don’t have to display the actual slide numbers or percent complete to make good use of this feature. You can also use it to create a custom visual progress meter, as pictured below. Thanks to the prebuilt variables available in this feature, it’s easier than ever to create a personalized progress meter. Take a peek at this example to see one way to do that. Learn More Ready to take this new feature for a spin? Here’s a tutorial that’ll teach you how to set it up, step by step. If you don’t have an Articulate 360 subscription, you’ll want to snag a free 30-day trial first. And of course, be sure to come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. Questions? Comments? Let me know in the comments section below.Introducing the Articulate Beta Program
We’re committed to delivering you more value, more often—which is why we’re excited to introduce Articulate’s new beta program! Here’s what you need to know. What Is It? The beta program gives you—our customers—the chance to explore and offer feedback on experimental features across Articulate 360 apps. That way, you can help shape and enhance these features to truly fit your needs. How Do I Participate? If you have an Articulate 360 account, you’re automatically included in this new program! We’ll add beta features to our apps during updates and mark them with a Beta badge. From there, simply try them out and give us feedback via in-app surveys or in our E-Learning Heroes community. If you’ve been paying close attention, you might have noticed that we already have a few beta features: Team Folders in Review 360—lets multiple authors publish a course to the same Review 360 link, so you never lose track of your comments. Request Review—allows users to request and track reviews all within Review 360. Integrated comments—lets reviewers browse, reply, and resolve feedback directly in Storyline 360 and Rise 360. Note that since features in beta are still evolving, they’re subject to changes in scope, pricing, and packaging, or discontinuation. Wrap-Up With incremental value, delivered more frequently—and with your helpful feedback—we hope to build products that meet your needs. Want to see how your voice can make a difference? Check out this update we’re releasing based on customer feedback: 11 New Articulate 360 Features To Celebrate. And if you’re not an Articulate 360 subscriber, you can start a free 30-day trial for access to the beta program.
