E-Learning Podcast: 10 Things Course Designers Should Know About AI #526
This week, your challenge is to record audio responses to the questions listed below. The questions highlight where AI is making an impact, where it still has some growing to do, and how e-learning designers are experimenting with it in their projects.Audio Interviews with E-Learning Challenge Heroes #461
Interviews with E-Learning Challengers #461: Challenge | Recap 🏆 Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to create an audio podcast or interview on the value of working out loud and showing your work in the E-Learning Challenges. You can share your examples using any app or platform. In the past, designers have used Rise 360, Storyline 360, SoundCloud, and Vimeo to host their examples. OPTIONAL: After sharing your example, summarize your answers on your blog, LinkedIn, or community forums. Podcast Interview Questions The following list of questions should be enough to help you get started. You can choose any number of questions to use in your demo. If you only have time for one question, great! If you want to do more, great! Advice for Others Community Aspect What advice would you give to someone just starting the challenges? How can new designers make the most of the experience? What are some best practices for giving constructive feedback? How can designers balance challenges and client work? Why would you recommend participating to other designers? What has the community support and interaction meant to you? Have you collaborated with other designers or made connections? How has being part of the community impacted your design work? What types of examples or topics would you like to see in the future? How could the challenge experience be improved or evolved? Favorite Challenge Example Design Process Which challenge example are you most proud of and why? What example did you find the most creative or innovative? Which example required the most effort or was the biggest challenge? Is there an example you wish you could redo or improve? What feedback on your favorite example helped you grow as a designer? How do you come up with ideas for the weekly challenges? What is your typical process for creating a challenge example? How do you decide which authoring tools or interactions to use? How much time do you usually spend on creating an example? Do you have a dedicated workspace or tools for e-learning design? Inspiration Learning Experience Which other designers' examples inspire you the most? Are there any examples that made you think, "I wish I had done that!"? How have the challenges exposed you to new techniques or authoring tools? Have you incorporated ideas from the challenges into real client projects? What tips would you give for overcoming creative blocks when working on challenges? What have been the biggest lessons or takeaways from participating? How have the challenges helped you improve as a designer? What skills have you developed further through the challenge process? How has feedback from the community benefited you? What keeps you motivated to participate week after week? Benefits of Showing Your Work Time Spent on Examples Why is it important for designers to share examples publicly? How has sharing your work benefited you professionally? What lessons have you learned from getting feedback on your examples? How do you decide what examples to share publicly or keep private? Have you ever collaborated after connecting over shared work? Which platforms or channels have been most effective for showcasing your work examples? How do you balance sharing enough work to benefit your career while protecting intellectual property? What is the breakdown of time (ideation, building, testing, etc.)? How do you estimate time required for different example types? What strategies do you use to work efficiently with limited time? How have regular challenges helped you get faster at development? Do you set aside dedicated time or fit it in around client work? What has been your most time-consuming example and why? How do you balance depth/quality vs. time invested for portfolio pieces? 🧰 Resources Check out the previous audio challenges to get an idea of ways to present your audio interview: Audio Interviews with E-Learning Designers #364: Challenge | Recap Podcast Interviews with E-Learning Designers #266: Challenge | Recap Instructional Design Podcasts #67: Challenge | Recap ✨ Share Your E-Learning Work Comments: Use the comments section below to link your published example and blog post. Forums: Start a new thread and share a link to your published example. Personal blog: If you have a blog, please consider writing about your challenges. We'll link to your posts so your great work gets even more exposure. Social media: If you share your demos on Twitter or LinkedIn, try using #ELHChallenge so your tweeps can follow your e-learning coolness. 🙌 Last Week’s Challenge: Before you click record on this week’s challenge, check out the creative toggle button examples your fellow challengers shared over the past week: Toggle Buttons in E-Learning RECAP #460: Challenge | Recap 👋 New to the E-Learning Challenges? The weekly e-learning challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challenges anytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos. Learn more about the weekly e-learning challenges in this Q&A post. 📆 Upcoming Challenges Challenge #462 (05.17): Click. Hover. Drag. See ELC144 for a general idea of what we're doing. 🚨2024 Articulate User Conference Call for Proposals We’re now accepting proposals for this year’s in-person user day conference co-hosted at DevLearn in Las Vegas. Learn more about the proposal process.How Can Designers Use Interactive Videos in E-Learning? #414
Interactive Video in E-Learning #414: Challenge | Recap Using videos in e-learning is an excellent way to grab learners' attention and develop engaging and relevant e-learning content. Incorporating interactive elements such as cue points, hotspots, buttons, and markers into videos allows you to elevate typical e-learning quizzes or scenarios into more engaging interactions for learners. And that's what this week's challenge is all about! Here are a few examples to give you an idea of what’s possible. Video Interview with Branching Quiz Questions This is one of my favorites. Amar first shared this example in the video interview challenge. I really like how this project alternates between presentation and quizzing modes. View the interactive video quiz Video as Answer Choices I like how Nick uses looping video clips as answer choices in the video quiz example. This approach is great for moving from static, text, and image quizzes to video-based assessments. View the video choices example Video Interviews Here's an older video interview I recorded with my daughter. I used an iPhone 5 to capture the audio and video and some background paper from Savage. The original idea was to make the pink paper fill the entire background, but my kid moved around so much that I had to cover part of the background. View the video interview example Videos to Show Progress in Quizzes Here’s a different take on using video in quizzes. In this example, Jonathan uses background video to show learner progress. Answer the question correctly, and you’ll see an upward-moving video taking you to the next floor. Conversely, answer the question incorrectly, and the video shows you moving down to the bottom, where you can try again. Brilliant. View the video background quiz example Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to share examples that show how interactive video can be used in e-learning. You can reshare a previous example or build something new this week. Related Challenges We’ve hosted several interactive video challenges over the years. Below you’ll find some recent challenges and recaps to help you get started. Cloning Yourself in E-Learning Video #289: Challenge | Recap Interactive Video Quizzes in E-Learning #258: Challenge | Recap Interactive Video Quizzes in E-Learning #157: Challenge | Recap Video Interviews in E-Learning #94: Challenge | Recap Resources Webinar: Create Interactive Video Quizzes with Storyline 360 How to Create Interactive Video Quizzes in E-Learning Interactive Video Made Easy Convert Your Bullet Points to Interactive E-Learning with Video Create Interactive Videos with These Storyline 360 Features Share Your E-Learning Work Comments: Use the comments section below to link your published example and blog post. Forums: Start a new thread and share a link to your published example. Personal blog: If you have a blog, please consider writing about your challenges. We'll link to your posts so your great work gets even more exposure. Social media: If you share your demos on Twitter or LinkedIn, try using #ELHChallenge so your tweeps can follow your e-learning coolness. Last Week’s Challenge: Before you interact with this week’s challenge, check out the enlightening ways course designers use lightbox slides to provide performance support to learners: Using Lightbox Slides in E-Learning #413: Challenge | Recap New to the E-Learning Challenges? The weekly e-learning challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challenges anytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos. Learn more about the challenges in this Q&A post and why and how to participate in this helpful article. Got an idea for a challenge? Are you interested in doing a webinar showcasing how you made one or more challenge demos? Or do you have some comments for your humble challenge host? Use this anonymous form to share your feedback: https://bit.ly/ElearningChallengeForm.Using Background Audio & Music in E-Learning #442
Background Audio in E-Learning #442: Challenge | Recap Ask a group of course designers how to make e-learning more engaging, and you'll get plenty of suggestions for using images, videos, and animations more effectively. The visuals and interactive elements are good places to start. But when you want to establish an atmosphere or sense of location that immerses your learners in the topic, you'll need to layer in some ambient music. And that's what this week's challenge is all about! 🏆 Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to share an example that shows how background audio and music can be used in e-learning. 🧰 Resources Storyline 360: Background Audio Storyline 360: Controlling Background Audio With Triggers Background audio is now supported in published video output ✨ Share Your E-Learning Work Comments: Use the comments section below to link your published example and blog post. Forums: Start a new thread and share a link to your published example. Personal blog: If you have a blog, please consider writing about your challenges. We'll link to your posts so your great work gets even more exposure. Social media: If you share your demos on Twitter or LinkedIn, try using #ELHChallenge so your tweeps can follow your e-learning coolness. 🙌 Last Week’s Challenge: Before you jam out to this week’s challenge, check out the creative ways your fellow challengers personalize e-learning: Personalizing E-Learning #441: Challenge | Recap 👋 New to the E-Learning Challenges? The weekly e-learning challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challenges anytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos. Learn more about the challenges in this Q&A post and why and how to participate in this helpful article.Using Cinemagraphs and Video Backgrounds in E-Learning #428
Cinemagraph & Looping Videos in E-Learning #428: Challenge | Recap Using subtle, looping motion in your course can effectively add an extra layer of visual interest to the typical slide background. The key is finding the right balance in motion, pacing, and composition. And that's what this week's e-learning challenge is all about. Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to show how cinemagraphs or looping background videos can be used in e-learning. To help you get started, check out some ways motion backgrounds can be used in e-learning. Cinemagraphs Cinemagraphs are a creative way to animate isolated parts of an image. Unlike videos, cinemagraphs are more like static photos that include a small area of the looping animation. This approach works well for e-learning because it reduces the amount of on-slide animation that helps create depth and richness. Amazing Cinemagraphs from Around the Web Video Backgrounds in E-Learning Slide backgrounds are one of the easiest ways to create a sense of place and location in your course designs. Because backgrounds are the most significant on-slide element, they help set the context for your learning content more than any other object. So how can you improve on the perfect background? Try using full-screen videos as slide backgrounds. Companies like Wistia creatively use video backgrounds to engage their visitors the moment the page loads. View Wistia’s video backgrounds Natural environments, like offices, factories, classrooms, and other workspaces, help create a sense of authenticity. Like still photographs, videos can also add a sense of location and context to your slides. View an example of a video background in e-learning Resources 6 Types of Video You Can Include in E-Learning 4 Ways to Use Videos in E-Learning 3 Steps to Using Cue Points to Pause a Video and Display Layers Share Your E-Learning Work Comments: Use the comments section below to link your published example and blog post. Forums: Start a new thread and share a link to your published example. Personal blog: If you have a blog, please consider writing about your challenges. We'll link to your posts so your great work gets even more exposure. Social media: If you share your demos on Twitter or LinkedIn, try using #ELHChallenge so your tweeps can follow your e-learning coolness. Last Week’s Challenge: Before you get started on this week’s challenge, check out the practical ways plain language can make complex information easier to read: Plain Language Examples RECAP #427: Challenge | Recap New to the E-Learning Challenges? The weekly e-learning challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challenges anytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos. Learn more about the challenges in this Q&A post and why and how to participate in this helpful article. Got an idea for a challenge? Are you interested in doing a webinar showcasing how you made one or more challenge demos? Or do you have some comments for your humble challenge host? Use this anonymous form to share your feedback: https://bit.ly/ElearningChallengeForm.How are Course Designers Using Text-to-Speech in E-Learning? #223
Text-to-Speech in E-Learning #223: Challenge | Recap I feel like I’m seeing a lot more text-to-speech examples lately. In part, Storyline 360’s integrated text-to-speech feature is likely a big reason for the increased use. But the examples I’m seeing aren’t only in e-learning courses. Industries outside of e-learning, like online marketing, are using text-to-speech in their projects. The adoption of text-to-speech makes sense to me: as the quality of synthetic voices has improved, it’s created an irresistible opportunity for cost savings versus using professional voice talent. Whatever the reasons, text-to-speech is a great way for course designers to quickly and easily create narration for their courses. Some common-use cases for text-to-speech in e-learning: Placeholder audio - Use text-to-speech to sync your audio with object animations while you wait for the professionally recorded audio. You’ll have to tweak the timings of the animations, but this approach can be a huge timesaver in the long run. Character scenarios - If you need some quick voices for short scenarios or interactions, text-to-speech is a go-to resource for many designers. It’s easier than rounding up co-workers to record. And text-to-speech gets it right in one take! Language and vocabulary training - A lot of learners prefer when text-to-speech is used sparingly. In those cases, courses that focus on language training and vocabulary are good candidates for text-to-speech narration. Character Soundboard Using Text-to-Speech Here’s a simple demo that showcases a handful of voices from Storyline 360’s text-to-speech features. The project was originally created for a recent workshop to show ways to control multiple audio files and avoid overlapping audio in a single slide. View the project | Download the source Text-to-Speech Voice Demo Here’s an example of a demo Tom built for his article on using text-to-speech narration in e-learning courses. View the project | Learn more Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to share an example that uses text-to-speech voices in e-learning. Your example can be anything from an actual course you built to a quick mockup of an idea to show how text-to-speech can be used. Resources Here are some examples and ideas for using text-to-speech in your courses: Storyline 360: Converting Text to Speech Add Polished Narration to Your Courses with the Text-to-Speech Feature in Storyline 3 Examples That Showcase Text-to-Speech in E-Learning Top Tips for Using Text-to-Speech (TTS) in Storyline 360 When to Use Text-to-Speech in E-Learning Not using Articulate 360? You can still join this week’s challenge. Here’s where you can find some text-to-speech resources: Let Amazon S3 Do Your Text-to-Speech for Free Here’s a Free Text-to-Speech Application for E-Learning Share Your E-Learning Work Comments: Use the comments section below to share a link to your published example and blog post. Forums: Start your own thread and share a link to your published example.. Personal blog: If you have a blog, please consider writing about your challenges. We’ll link back to your posts so the great work you’re sharing gets even more exposure. Twitter: If you share your demos on Twitter, try using #ELHChallenge so your tweeps can track your e-learning coolness. Last Week’s Challenge: Before you share your text-to-speech examples, check out the creative ways course designers use text variables to capture and display learners’ names in e-learning: Use Learner's Name in E-Learning Course #222: Challenge | Recap Wishing you a speech-tastic week, E-Learning Heroes! New to the E-Learning Challenges? The weekly e-learning challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challenges anytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos.Using Webcam Video with Picture-in-Picture to Connect with Learners #410
Webcam & AI Avatars in E-Learning #410: Challenge | Recap Using webcam videos is a great way to humanize online courses. By appearing on camera, presenters can speak more directly to their learners and create a stronger personal connection, making the learning experience feel more human. The good news is you don’t need expensive cameras or audio gear to create engaging webcam videos. And that’s what this week’s challenge is all about. Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to share a webcam or video presentation to show how video can be used to personalize the learning experience. You can use any software you like to create your demo this week. The focus is on using video to personalize the lesson while showing different formats for using video to personalize the experience. Below are a couple of examples that should give you some ideas for recording your own demos. Rise Microlearning Example Here's a fantastic example from Kate. I like how she begins with a medium shot to introduce the lesson before transitioning to a picture-in-picture shot for the demonstration. I like this format because the intro shot doesn't show the software UI or the final product. Instead, it personalizes the lesson by focusing on the presenter. Once it's time to dive into the software, the video transitions to a picture-in-picture format to emphasize the content. View on YouTube Effortlessly Perform Complex Math in Storyline with JavaScript Here’s another example of how webcam video can be used in product training. I like the way Jeff bounces between medium shots and full-screen software demonstrations. This is a great way to vary the pacing of the lesson while creating a personal connection with the presenter. View on YouTube Call for Presenters: 2023 Articulate User Conference We’re looking for speakers to present at this year’s Articulate User Conference hosted by The Learning Guild. The user conference is a one-day event separate from the official DevLearn conference. The work you share each week in the challenges is ideal for this event. For example, you can share how you built something or highlight a technique or design approach you used. Check out last year’s resource page to learn more about the types of sessions available. If you’re interested in presenting, please let me know in the comments when you post your demo. I’ll share your names with the folks at the Learning Guild. You can learn more about last year’s user conference on the DevLearn website. Share Your E-Learning Work Comments: Use the comments section below to link your published example and blog post. Forums: Start a new thread and share a link to your published example. Personal blog: If you have a blog, please consider writing about your challenges. We'll link to your posts so your great work gets even more exposure. Social media: If you share your demos on Twitter or LinkedIn, try using #ELHChallenge so your tweeps can follow your e-learning coolness. Last Week’s Challenge: Before you go live in this week’s challenge, check out the creative ways course designers use progress indicators to keep learners on track: Showing Progress in E-Learning RECAP #409: Challenge | Recap New to the E-Learning Challenges? The weekly e-learning challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challenges anytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos. Learn more about the challenges in this Q&A post and why and how to participate in this helpful article. Next Week’s Challenge & Webinar I'm hosting a webinar next week on using audio in Storyline 360. I'll reference this week's challenge in the session and share your examples in the session. Next week's challenge #411 (March 31, 2024) Using Sliders in E-Learning #411. Upcoming webinar (March 12): Using Sliders in Articulate Storyline 360 Got an idea for a challenge? Are you interested in doing a webinar showcasing how you made one or more challenge demos? Or do you have some comments for your humble challenge host? Use this anonymous form to share your feedback: https://bit.ly/ElearningChallengeForm.Using Interactive Audio to Enhance Learning & Engagement #405
Interactive Audio in E-Learning #405: Challenge | Recap Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to create an example that shows how interactive audio can be used in e-learning. You're welcome to reshare an example, rework an example, or create something new this week. To help you get started, I've highlighted some examples from previous audio challenges. Audio Interviews The voices of experts, specialists, and employees performing tasks can lend credibility and authenticity to your course. For example, audio interviews or interactive podcasts can be used to provide learners with a first-hand account of a topic or to hear from an expert in a particular field. Common formats include case studies, best practices, expert advice, FAQs, and more. View the example from Jonathan Hill Audio Quizzes Interactive audio quizzes ask learners to listen to audio clips and answer questions related to the content. Designers can use audio quizzes to teach vocabulary, music, language, listening comprehension, and more. View the example from Jackie Van Nice Natural Sound Effects Sounds from the location or place where the real-world performance takes place can complement ambient sounds and draw learners' focus and attention. Natural sounds can be used to enhance and reinforce what learners see on the screen. View the example from Richard Hill Interactive Soundboards Audio soundboards are a fun way to engage learners and provide an interactive experience. Soundboards can be used to teach vocabulary, listening comprehension, FAQs, language learning, and more. View the example | Download the source Share Your E-Learning Work Comments: Use the comments section below to link your published example and blog post. Forums: Start a new thread and share a link to your published example. Personal blog: If you have a blog, please consider writing about your challenges. We'll link to your posts so your great work gets even more exposure. Social media: If you share your demos on Twitter or LinkedIn, try using #ELHChallenge so your tweeps can follow your e-learning coolness. Last Week’s Challenge: Before you sound off on this week’s challenge, check out the creative ways Google Doodles can inspire your e-learning activities: Google Doodle E-Learning Examples RECAP #404: Challenge | Recap New to the E-Learning Challenges? The weekly e-learning challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challenges anytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos. Learn more about the challenges in this Q&A post and why and how to participate in this helpful article. Next Week’s Challenge & Webinar I'm hosting a webinar next week on using audio in Storyline 360. I'll reference this week's challenge in the session and share your examples in the session. Next week's challenge (2/24/23): Circular Menu Navigation #406. See challenge #189 to learn more about this challenge topic. Upcoming webinar (2/21/23): Deconstruct an Animated Menu with Motion Paths. Got an idea for a challenge? Are you interested in doing a webinar showcasing how you made one or more challenge demos? Or do you have some comments for your humble challenge host? Use this anonymous form to share your feedback: https://bit.ly/ElearningChallengeForm.
