Using Variables to Personalize E-Learning Courses #441
Personalizing E-Learning #441: Challenge | Recap Why Should I Learn to Use Variables? Great question. Articulate Storyline's core authoring features (states, layers, and triggers) are the building blocks that make it easy for virtually anyone to create interactive e-learning. But when you want to create more personalized learning experiences, you’ll need to know how to use variables. Using Storyline’s variables, you can present dynamic content based on your learner’s activity and other defined conditions. Variables can store learner input and use the information to present personalized content based on specific criteria. 3 Ways to Personalize E-Learning To get an idea of common ways designers personalize the e-learning experience, check out the following challenges. You're welcome to cross-post your entries this week if your demo fits in a previous challenge. Use Learner's Name in E-Learning Course #222: Challenge | Recap Choose Your Own E-Learning Characters #195: Challenge | Recap Adaptive Path Branching in E-Learning #196: Challenge | Recap 🏆 Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to share an example that shows how learners can personalize their learning experience. If you’re new to e-learning or working with variables, don’t sweat this one. We’re here to help. If you get stuck or want us to look at your project, post a question in the forums, and we’ll be happy to take a look. 🧰 Resources Webinar: 5 Ways to Personalize E-Learning Courses Storyline 360: Working with Variables Storyline 360: Adding Variable References ✨ 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 personalizing this week’s challenge, check out the interactive fashion advice your fellow challengers shared over the past week: Interactive Fashion Tips and How Tos RECAP 440: 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 & Webinar Next week's challenge #441 (Nov 24, 2023): Using background audio to establish a scene or location, set the mood, and add context to your course. Upcoming webinar (Nov 21, 2023): Introduction to Variables in 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 Learning Journals to Keep Learners Focused & Engaged #425
Using Learning Journals in E-Learning #425: Challenge | Recap Looking for a way to practice working with variables and keep your learners focused and engaged? Try adding a learning journal option to your next project. Learning journals can be a great tool to help learners record their thoughts, insights, and questions about the course. They’re also a fantastic way to learn to work with text variables and references in Storyline 360. Check out the following examples to get an idea of how learning journals can work in e-learning. Watch. Explore. Reflect. I like this example because it features YouTube videos that give learners a big-picture overview of the topic, followed by a drag-and-explore activity, all before asking the student to jot down their ideas about life from outer space. Example | Ron Katz | Website Just-In-Time Journals This example features a learning journal icon that’s available on every slide in the course. Giving learners a persistent means to track their thoughts and enhance their learning experience. Example | Thierry EMMANUEL Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to share an interactive example that shows how learning journals and note-taking can be used to encourage learners to reflect on the material. If you’re new to variables or need assistance with your example, let us know in either the comments section or in the Build Better Courses forums so we can help. Resources Here are some resources for Storyline users. If you’re using another authoring tool or even a tool that doesn’t support variables (like PowerPoint) you can still share your ideas. User Guide: Storyline 360: Working with Variables. Use variables to remember information—such as a learner's name or a numeric value Storyline 360: Adding Variable References. Variable references let you display that information anywhere in your course. Storyline 360: Print Slide Trigger. Let learners print individual slides, such as certificates, with a single trigger—no coding required. More resources: Learning Journal Examples in E-Learning #344: Challenge | Recap Use Learner's Name in E-Learning Course #222: Challenge | Recap Storyline: Printable Goal-Setting Journal Template 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 reflect on this weeks challenge, check out the practical ways course designers transform static content into interactive e-learning: Converting Static Slides Into Interactive E-Learning #424: 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.Let the Knuffle Bunny Help You Combine Photos and Illustrations in E-Learning #312
Mixing Photos and Illustrations in E-Learning #312: Challenge | Recap “Aggle flaggle klabble!” If you're familiar with the Knuffle Bunny series, you'll know the anxiety Trixie felt when she realized she'd lost her favorite stuffed animal. For course designers, coming up with a new design style for an important client can be equally frustrating. The good news for Trixie is she gets her favorite toy back. But the even better news for e-learning designers is they can pull a page from this creative children's series to design a custom look and feel for their course. The Knuffle Bunny Visual Design Style The book's visual style answers age-old questions in e-learning, such as: "Can I mix different types of images in my course?" and "Should my character styles match my background graphics?" Short answer: When designed with intentionality, this mixed medium approach works well. Consider how the book's visual theme uses real-life scenery with hand-drawn illustrated characters. This is a fantastic example of how bitmap and vector graphics can be combined to tell a story. The author uses photos he took around New York City. Great idea for shooting your custom e-learning graphics. The images are then digitally modified to reduce their color and contrast to create dull, monochromatic images with varying shades of brown. The characters are drawn in bright colors and make an interesting focal point when layered above the photos. We may be too old for the Knuffle Bunny, but the unique mix of black-and-white photos and custom illustrations create a timeless design style. 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 mixes photographs and illustrations. You don’t have to follow the Knuffle Bunny design style strictly. Just be intentional about your design choices and show how your theme carries across multiple content slides. Knuffle Bunny Book Series You don’t need to buy a book for this week’s challenge. If you search for phrases like “knuffle bunny images” you’ll find enough inspiration to kickstart your design ideas. For those of you who are interested in the series, you can find the books below. Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale (original) Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion Related Challenges We’ve hosted a few challenges that tie in nicely with this week’s topic. Feel free to cross-post your entry if you incorporate one or more of the following challenge elements into this week’s demos. Shoot Your Own E-Learning Background Graphics #10 E-Learning Noir: Using Only Black and White in Course Design #172 Using the Paper Cutout Effect to Design E-Learning Graphics #235 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. Social Media: If you share your demos on Twitter or LinkedIn, try using #ELHChallenge so your tweeps can track your e-learning coolness. Last Week’s Challenge: Before you dive into this week's challenge, check out the creative ways interactive sliders can be used to let learners choose their e-learning characters: Using Sliders with E-Learning Characters #311: 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.Using Dials and Sliders to Select E-Learning Characters #311
Using Sliders with E-Learning Characters #311: Challenge | Recap Using characters in e-learning courses is one of the easiest ways designers can personalize the learning experience. In a previous challenge, we looked at different ways learners can choose their avatars. Character selection techniques shared include text entry, drag-and-drop, click-to-select, surveys, dials, and sliders. Regardless of the technique, you’ll need to work with variables to track the learner’s choice and display the correct character throughout the course. Selecting Characters Using Sliders in Storyline 360 If you haven't worked with variables, dials and sliders make the process a little easier to get started. When you insert a dial or slider, Storyline automatically creates a number variable for you. Thanks, Storyline! As you drag the slider, the variable's value is adjusted based on the range you define. Based on the number variable's value, you can perform any number of actions such as jumping to slides, personalizing feedback, and identifying which character to use throughout the course. I put together a simple demo and source file to help you get started. View example | Download Challenge of the Week This week, your challenge is to share an example that lets learners choose their avatar using either a dial or slider. You don't have to create two examples. Choose either a dial or slider to use in your demo. If you have time, you're welcome to create two versions of your example using one of each. Please consider sharing your source file this week. Resources Webinars: Getting Started with Variables in Storyline 360 Using Number Variables in Storyline 360 Using Text Variables in Storyline 360 Using True/False Variables in Storyline 360 5 Ways to Personalize E-Learning Courses User Guide: Storyline 360: Working with Variables Storyline 360: Adding Variable References 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 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. Social Media: If you share your demos on Twitter or LinkedIn, try using #ELHChallenge so your tweeps can track your e-learning coolness. Last Week’s Challenge: Before you dial into this week’s challenge, check out the creative ways the glassmorphism design style can be used in e-learning: Glassmorphism Design in E-Learning #310: 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.
