Using Interactive Calculators in E-Learning #430
Financial Calculators in E-Learning#430: Challenge | Recap Using variables to capture and display a learner’s name is one of the most common ways to practice working with text variables. When you’re learning number variables, there’s no better way to work with basic operations than to build a simple calculator. With Storyline variables, you can easily build simple or complex equations right into your project. And that’s what this week’s challenge is all about! Calculator Example Check out David Charney’s calculator, which lets learners perform math and calculations right in your project. View the example | Download Square Root Calculator Check out three ways to calculate square roots in Storyline in this dynamic example by Alphonso Hendricks. View the example | Download Simple Calculator Go old school with a classic example by Dave Mozealous. It’s the first fully-functional calculator created in Storyline, and shows you that the sky’s the limit with variables! View the example | Download Resources Storyline 360: Working with Variables Storyline 360: Adding Variable References Storyline: What "Object Loses Focus" Means E-Learning Challenges Use Learner's Name in E-Learning Course #222: Challenge | Recap Using True/False Variables in E-Learning #271: Challenge | Recap Using Variables to Compare Learner's Answers #292: Challenge | Recap Random Number Variables in E-Learning #278: Challenge | Recap On-Demand Training Getting Started with Variables in Storyline 360 Using Number Variables in Storyline 360 Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to build a simple calculator that can be used in e-learning. New to variables? Try starting with one of the free calculator templates below. Depending on your comfort level, you can redesign one of the calculator templates or use it as a guide for creating your example. Comfortable working with variables? Try adding multiple variables, sliders, and interactive elements to create a more advanced calculator. 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 budget time for this week’s challenge, check out the alt text examples your fellow community members shared over the past week: Using Alt Text in E-Learning RECAP #429: 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 challengesanytime 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 Next week's challenge (9/8/23): Bullet Point Makeovers or Making Bullet Points More Engaging. 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.Show How You're Using AI to Create E-Learning Courses #452
Using AI in E-Learning Design #452: Challenge | Recap When it comes to e-learning,today's authoring appsmake it easier than ever to build interactive training. But here's the thing, even with today's modern apps and rich feature sets, building great learning experiences still takes time and expertise. You've got to juggle mastering new content, nailing the visual design, and doing it all under tight or unrealistic deadlines. Sounds familiar, right? Now, this is where AI apps can be game changers by helping you do more with less. So, whether you'regenerating quiz questions and feedback,animating characters, or transformingtext into captivating images,there's likely an AI-based app that can help speed up production. 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 AI can be used to create e-learning. When you post your example, please briefly describe the app(s) you used to create your demo. ✨ 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 add your new AI demo to your e-learning resume, check out the creative portfolio ideas your fellow challengers shared over the past week: E-Learning Portfolios for 2024 RECAP #451: 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 challengesanytime 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 Challenge #453(03.08): Using dials in e-learning. If you're new to dials, you should check out next week'sdials webinarto get an overview of dials and how they work. Challenge #454(03.15): Using variables in e-learning. This variables challenge will be different because you'll be asked to share a demo that uses all three variables. 🚨 Contact Information Just a quick heads up – if you want your blog, website, or LinkedIn included in our recap posts, could you do me a favor and add or update those links onto your ELH profile sometime this week? I found some broken links last week when I pulled the recap together. You spend a lot of time building creative examples, and your work deserves all the attention it can get. If you make changes, please let me know in the comments below. Thanks!Mix and Match Your Own E-Learning Challenges #457
Mix-and-Match E-Learning Challenge Examples#457: Challenge | Recap Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to combine three or more e-learning challenge topics in a single entry. When you post your examples, please mention the challenges you combined to create your demo. Here's the list of allprevious challenge topics. Here are a few ideas to get you started: Using plain language placed over video backgrounds to help learners escape the room. Create a learning journal of fashion dos and don'ts with background audio. Simulate real-world activities by integrating 3D objects into virtual tours. ✨ Share Your E-Learning Work Comments: Use the comments section below to link your published example and blog post. Forums: Start a newthreadand 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#ELHChallengeso your tweeps can follow your e-learning coolness. 🙌 Last Week’s Challenge: Before you share your challenge trifecta, check out the big and bold font examples your fellow community members shared over the past week: Using Bold Typography in E-LearningRECAP#456:Challenge|Recap 👋 New to the E-Learning Challenges? Theweekly e-learning challengesare ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of theprevious challenges anytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos. Learn more about the challenges in thisQ&A postand why and how to participate in thishelpful article. 📅 Next Week’s Challenge Challenge #458(04.19): Roulette games. Inspired by arecent community discussion, this would be an excellent challenge topic to practice working with dials and random number variables. 🚨 Contact Information Just a quick heads up – if you want your blog, website, or LinkedIn included in our recap posts, could you do me a favor and add or update those links onto your ELH profile sometime this week? I found some broken links last week when I pulled the recap together. You spend a lot of time building creative examples, and your work deserves all the attention it can get. If you make changes, please let me know in the comments below. Thanks!Share Your Favorite E-Learning Challenge Examples for 2023
Best of 2023 E-Learning Challenges: Challenge | Recap Undoubtedly, the weekly E-Learning Challenges are one of the best ways to try new skills, find inspiration, and build your portfolio. But practice takes time. Building examples takes time. Coming up with design concepts takes time. I’ve heard from hundreds of challengers over the past 10+ years that their average time on a demo is around four hours. Whether that tracks with your experience, creating e-learning examples requires a small investment of time, creativity, and problem-solving. And to help celebrate your Herculean achievements, I want to showcase your favorite examples from 2023. And that's what this week's (unofficial) challenge is all about! 🏆 Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to share your favorite e-learning challenge example from 2023. You can choose any example from the 2023 challenges. When you share your examples, please briefly describe your project. Here are some prompts to help you get started: Why was this your favorite project? What were your specific goals or objectives for this project, and how did you meet them? Tell me about the software features, design elements, or concepts you incorporated into this project. Was your project designed for a specific industry? Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently in this project? How much time did you spend on this project? 💡 Writing Examples Looking for inspiration? Here are some writing examples from our team that should help give you an idea of what I’m looking for: Rise 360: Retail Microlearning Example Storyline: Spooky Escape Room Example Storyline: Self-Motivation Scrolling Experience And remember, you’re always welcome to include a link to a long-form blog post or discussion in the community. ✨ 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: While you’re reflecting on your 2023 challenge examples, check out the ways your fellow challengers are using Pantone’s 2024 color of the year in e-learning: Pantone Color of the Year 2024RECAP#444: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.Show Us Your Custom Navigation Menus for E-Learning #79
E-Learning Menus and Navigation#79:Challenge|Recap Intuitive navigation is an important element in e-learning design. Course designers who stick with default player menus usually don’t have to worry about user interface (UI) design since player manages the navigation. One reason rapid e-learning became so popular with instructional designers is because the tools generated the course menu, freeing IDs to design content rather than program course menus. If there’s a downside to prebuilt menus, it’s that they encourage linear, click-and-read courses. Custom navigation menus, like those often used in nonlinear courses, can permit learners to jump around the course as they choose. But moving beyond traditional menu navigation means course designers need to think more like UI designers. To jumpstart this week's challenge, I’ve rounded up some creative navigation examples your fellow community members have shared. Game Navigation Video game consoles, traditional board games, and tablet-inspired menus are excellent ways to seek inspiration. Game Center Template by Tom Washam Tabs Navigation Tabs are the most popular type of menu navigation we see in courses. They’re highly customizable and can be created using a variety of shapes and styles. If you go with a tabs menu, please cross-post in the tabs challenge. View the interaction|Download (SL2) |Download (SL360) More tabs interactions: Web Style Tabbed Interaction by Phil Mayor Storyline 2: Power Teal E-Learning Template by Tom Kuhlmann Web Inspired Tabbed Interaction by Trina Rimmer Tabz by Przemysław Hubisz Simple, Clean Design: Tabs Template by Nicole Legault 4-Step Tabs Interaction by Anand Timothy Interactive Steps Tabs by Matthew Guyan Menu Template by Nancy Woinoski 5-Step Action Interaction by Kevin Thorn Folder Tabs Interaction by David Anderson Six Tabs Interaction Layouts by Montse Anderson Icon Navigation Icons and graphics are another popular approach to course menus. When used consistently, visual buttonscan remove the need for on-screen button labels. If you’re looking for tips on building your own icons, check out last week’s icon e-learning challenge. Flat Design Portfolio by Paul Alders More icon-based examples: Icon-Based Navigation by Tom Kuhlmann iPhone Tabs Timeline Interaction by Montse Anderson Tabs Interaction: Meet the Team by Montse Anderson Animated Menus This mobile-inspired menu includes bookmarking features to indicate completed lessons and a collapsible menu to free up slide space. Storyline 2: Animated Menu by Jeff Kortenbosch More examples of mobile-inspired menus: Inviting Navigation DesignbyJackie Van Nice Appetizing Digital MagazinebyKristin Anthony Map Navigation Similar to the icon-based navigation, map themes are a creative alternative to text-based menus. Nicola shared a branching example based on a village illustration. Learning Village Branching Navigation More examples of map navigation: Create Your Own QuestbyJackie Van Nice Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to: create a custom menu example for an e-learning course share your favorite UI design tip for building custom navigation menus You can design any kind of menu navigation you like. The focus this week is more on navigation ideas and concepts. Don’t worry about putting together a highly polished menu or interaction. Resources Here are some tutorials and articles that will help you create your challenge demo. The Ultimate Guide to Buttons in Storyline 2 6 Creative Navigation Examples More Than a Dozen Ways to Navigate an E-Learning Course Last Week’s Challenge: E-Learning ChallengeRecap#78:Challenge|Recap Wishing you an easy-to-navigate week, E-Learning Heroes! New to E-Learning Challenges? The weekly 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 Interactive Job Aids and Cheat Sheets in E-Learning #343
E-Learning and Instructional Design Job Aids #343: Challenge|Recap One of the best ways to support your learners—before, during, and after training—is witheffective job aids. Job aids come in many forms: checklists, summaries, reference material, student and teacher guides, worksheets, glossaries, FAQs, and more. The challenge for many designers is knowing when and how to include job aids. And that's what this week's challenge is all about! Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to design an interactive job aid or cheat sheet for e-learning, instructional design, interaction design, or related topic. Last Week’s Challenge: Check out the interactive org charts and meet the team examples your fellow challengers shared in last week's challenge. If you're looking to cover two challenges at once, you could design an interactive job aid that helps your learners meet the key players in your organization. Interactive Org Charts in E-Learning#342:Challenge|Recap New to the E-Learning Challenges? Theweekly e-learning challengesare ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build youre-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of theprevious challengesanytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos.Rapid Response Training: What You Need to Know About COVID-19 #274
COVID-19 Training Examples #274:Challenge |Recap Seven years ago, we started the e-learning challenges to help course designers practice and develop their skills while also building an e-learning portfolio. Thoughthe challenges are always practical and basedoncore e-learning skills(even this one), they aren’t usually tied to specific causes or real-world topics. I think the last topic-specific challenge we did was during the Ebola virus outbreak. The examples you shared were amazing and helped educate all of us on a difficult topic. With COVID-19, we have another opportunity to help others learn about this virus, how it spreads, and how to stay safe. COVID-19 E-Learning Examples We’re already seeing some timely and well-designed COVID-19 examples shared in the community. Below is a list of interactions and mini-courses that Allison curated. Free Course Template About Coronavirus by Karlis Sprogis COVID-19 Rise Course by Sarah Bezanson Free Tabs Template download - Coronavirus info by Tracy Carroll The Coronavirus Awareness Course by Syed Amjad ali Basic COVID-19 Storyline Course by Lauren Cauley Washing hands instruction by Paul Alders COVID-19 - Saudi Aramco Training & Development and John Hopkins Aramco Healthcare by Nitin Puri If you shared one of the examples, please re-post in this post’s comments so others can offer feedback. Understanding COVID-19 Last week, Articulate shared a carefully-researched Rise course on the novel coronavirus. If you’re looking for ideas on how to approach this week’s challenge, you’ll find a lot of great inspiration—and information—in this educational resource. View the Rise course Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to build a short demo orinteraction around the coronavirus disease. You don’t have to create a full course. Instead, focus on something short and quick to address one area of the virus. Here are a few topic ideas to get you started: General information about COVID-19 and the outbreak How does COVID-19 compare with other infectious diseases? Safety tips for healthcare and aid workers Facts vs. myths about COVID-19 What are some typical signs and symptoms of infection? How do people become infected with COVID-19? What do Americans (or citizens of your country) need to know? 5 tips for talking to your kids about COVID-19 How does COVID-19 affect the human body? COVID-19: Frequently Asked Questions What can I do? Can it be prevented? Is there a vaccine? Last Week’s Challenge: Before you build your rapid response demos, check out the scrolling panel examples your fellow challengers shared over the past week: Scrolling Panels in E-Learning #273: Challenge | Recap Wishing you a safe and healthy 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.Share Your Go-To E-Learning Interactions #340
PopularE-Learning Interactions#340:Challenge|Recap The easiest way to get started with e-learning is to learn how to build the most common interactions. These are the interactions you'll use most frequently in your e-learning courses. And that's what this week's challenge is all about! Common E-Learning Interaction Challenges Here are my top 10 common e-learning interactions and corresponding challenges. For this week’s challenge, you’re welcome to cross-post your new example in this challenge as well as the original challenge. Tabs Navigation (2018) #199:Challenge|Recap Accordions (2019) #227:Challenge|Recap Labeled Graphics (2020) #283:Challenge|Recap Drag-and-Drop (2018) #202:Challenge|Recap Flashcards #270:Challenge|Recap Timelines (2019) #246:Challenge|Recap Checklists and To-Do List #291:Challenge|Recap Notecards #149:Challenge|Recap Sorting Drag-and-Drop #178:Challenge|Recap Process and Step Graphics #238:Challenge|Recap Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to share one or more examples of a common e-learning interaction. New Entries Only! To keep things fresh, we’re asking you share a new entry or rework a previous example for this week’s challenge. 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 ownthreadand 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. Social Media: If you share your demos on Twitter or LinkedIn, try using#ELHChallengeso your tweeps can track your e-learning coolness. Last Week’s Challenge: Before you build and share your favorite e-learning interactions, check out theinteractive bingo games your fellow challengers shared over the past week: E-Learning Bingo GamesRECAP#339:Challenge|Recap New to the E-Learning Challenges? Theweekly e-learning challengesare ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build youre-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of theprevious challengesanytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos.E-Learning Podcasts: Audio Interviews with Course Designers #266
PodcastInterviews with E-Learning Designers#266:Challenge|Recap Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to record your answers to the following 10 interview questions: Podcast Interview Questions: Tell us a little about yourself and the types of e-learning projects you most enjoy. How did you become an e-learning or instructional designer? What are the essentials of good e-learning design? Tell me about your most successful e-learning project. What are the most important criteria in evaluating e-learning? What are some common mistakes new course designers make and how can they avoid them? How is designing mobile learning different than designing for the desktop? How do you evaluate whether your course was effective? How do you keep up your skills and stay current in the industry? What is the future of e-learning? Recording and Sharing Your Podcasts Formats: Save each audio clip as its own file. Use a naming convention that makes it easy to identify each audio file with the corresponding question. You can use numbers or any format that works best for you. Recommendation: Rise 360 is a fantastic way to embed your audio recordings and add some additional media or information to support your podcast. SoundCloud was the tool of choice in our last challenge. You can set up a free account where you can post your clips. YouTube is another good option for uploading audio files that can be combined into a playlist. Extra credit: After recording your audio clips, post a summary of your answers on your own blog or in the forums. Bonus Feeling ambitious this week? Try doing a video podcast. You can cross-post in the webcam video challenge (#256) and knock out two challenges this week. If you record a video podcast, please post the audio-only version for this week’s challenge. New Entries Only We hosted our first audio podcast several years agoand thatone is still one of my favorites. If you shared in challenge #39, please re-record your answers for this week’s challenge. 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 sound off in this week’s podcast challenge, check out the fantastic collection of tooltip examples your fellow challengers shared over the past week: Tooltips as Microinteractions in E-Learning #265: Challenge | Recap Wishing you a great 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.Share Your Interactive Budgeting Tools, Games, and Financial Calculators #162
Financial Calculators in E-Learning #162: Challenge|Recap Regardless of whether you’re building finance or business courses, knowing how to build a basic calculator interaction will give you a solid foundation for working with variables. And once you’re comfortable working with variables, your e-learning world of possibilities grows exponentially. With variables, you can design personalized learning experiences, dynamically present content based on your learner’s choices, and move beyond linear “click next” courses. And that’s the sum of this week’s challenge! Learn How to Build Your Own Calculator Learning to build complex interactions is always easier when you have prebuilt source files to deconstruct. Below you’ll find a handful of free calculator templates and downloads to help you get started with this week’s challenge. Feel free to rework the examples and/or use as a starting point for your own project. Click to view the calculator downloads Already know how to build a calculator? Wondering how or why you’d even use one in a real course? Check out the following examples for some practical ways calculators can be added to your projects. Using Calculators in the Real (E-Learning) World I like Nicole’s Training ROI calculator because it’s a practical example of how calculators can be used in typical courses. Sure, it doesn’t look like a regular calculator, but under the hood it’s doing exactly what a calculator does best: calculating. Click here to view and download the calculator Working on a health-related course? Try dropping in a BMI calculator to let learners assess the overall state of a patient’s health. Click here to view and download the BMI calculator Before we move into the challenge, I’d like to share some calculator examples from different industries. The examples weren’t created with e-learning tools like Storyline, but that doesn’t mean you can’t build something similar after mastering variables, sliders, dials, and other core concepts. Is It Better to Rent or Buy? Use this interactive calculator to determine whether you should rent or buy your next place. The calculator features data entry fields and sliders to help you compare the costs of buying and renting. Click here to view the interactive financial calculator Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to share an example of a financial calculator that can be used in e-learning. If you're new to variables, try starting with one of the free calculator templates below. Depending on your comfort level, you can simply redesign one of the calculator templates or use as a guide for creating your own example. Already comfortable working with variables? Try adding multiple variables, sliders, and interactive elements to create a more advanced calculator. Storyline: Free Calculator Templates and Downloads Storyline 2: JavaScript Date Calculator By Steve Gannon Storyline 2: Square Root Calculator By alphonso hendricks Storyline 2: Equation Calculator By Preston Ruddell Storyline 2: Calculator By David Charney Storyline 2: BMI Calculator By David Lindenberg Storyline 2: Better Calculator By Dave Mozealous Storyline 2: Training Return on Investment Calculator By Nicole Legault Tutorials and Resources Share Your Tips for Getting Started with Storyline's Variables #2 Understanding Variables Introduction to Variables The Case for Variables in E-Learning Last Week’s Challenge: Before you budget time for this week’s challenge, check out the fantastic mockup templates your fellow community members shared over the past week: Mockup Templates for E-Learning #161: Challenge | Recap Wishing you an exponentially rewarding 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.
