Welcome to the New E-Learning Heroes
We’re super excited to introduce you to the all-new E-Learning Heroes community platform. Whether you’ve been a community member for years or you’re just looking to join us, there are plenty of new and improved features to love. For example, now you can earn badges for your contributions, connect with other members about specific topics in dedicated groups, and find answers to your questions more easily. Check out the video below for a walkthrough of our favorite new features, and let us know what you’re most excited about in the comments! 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 (formerly Twitter). And if you have questions, please share them in the comments.Upcoming E-Learning Heroes Events
E-Learning Heroes is the biggest and best e-learning community around. And there’s nothing better than bringing together a bunch of E-Learning Heroes in one place! We love spreading the Articulate love by organizing workshops and attending industry events all over the world. See where you can connect with the Articulate team: Chicago eLearning & Technology Showcase August 20, 2024 * Chicago, Illinois Using Articulate Storyline 360 to Create Interactive Learning Lessons August 29, 2024 * Free Webinar * Led by Tom Kuhlmann, Chief Learning Architect at Articulate and Ron Price, Chief Learning Officer at Yukon Learning HR + L&D Innovation and Tech Fest September 25-26, 2024 * Sydney, Australia * Visit our partner, MicroWay Articulate User Conference at DevLearn 2024 November 5, 2024 * Las Vegas, Nevada * The Articulate User Conference, co-located at DevLearn, is a day-long event featuring demos of Articulate 360, e-learning success stories, and tips for creating engaging, effective online courses. It’s perfect for e-learning newbies and experts alike. DevLearn 2024 November 6-8, 2024 * Las Vegas, Nevada * Articulate Experience Room Training Conference & Expo 2025 February 17-19, 2025 * Orlando, Florida * Booth #400 Learning Technologies London 2025 April 23-24, 2025 * London, UK * Booth #J20 ATD25 Annual Conference May 18 - 21, 2025 * Washington DC * Booth #1607 DevLearn 2025 November 4-5, 2025 * Las Vegas, Nevada Articulate Training Events Articulate 360 subscribers can build their e-learning skills in free live webinars and on-demand trainingon instructional design, e-learning development and Articulate 360 tools. If you're interested in comprehensive live training on Articulate software from our certified training partners, you can sign up for paid training here. Not a subscriber? Get afree trialto try out Articulate 360 Training today.New to E-Learning Heroes? Here’s How to Get Started
E-Learning Heroes is the world’s largest community of course creators, with more than one million members. Though it’s run by Articulate—creator of the industry-leading Articulate 360 platform—it’s a great place to get help, find inspiration, and grow your skills no matter what e-learning development tools you use. In fact, there are so many great resources that you might be wondering where to begin. No worries! We’ve got you covered. In this article, we’ll walk you through how to get started. 1. Review the Community Guidelines One thing our members appreciate about E-Learning Heroes is the supportive, respectful environment. To make sure the community stays a welcoming place for everyone, be sure to review and follow these simple guidelines. 2. Fill Out Your Profile To get the most out of the community and build your network, take a few minutes to complete your profile. To do that, simply hover over your initials in the top right corner and click on My Heroes Profile. From there, you can upload your picture and click on Edit Profile to add your title, company, location, and contact info. Once you’ve done that, you can even add a link to a course you’ve created to showcase your work. For tips on making good use of your profile, check out this article: How To Maximize Your E-Learning Heroes User Profile. 3. Browse the Home Page The home page is your one-stop shop for the latest E-Learning Heroes content. You’ll find articles with instructional design tips and tricks, roundups of inspiring course examples, announcements about upcoming webinars and industry events, details about new Articulate 360 features, popular downloads, and more. We update the home page on a regular basis, so it’s a good idea to check back often. 4. Check Out Course Examples and Downloads And if you’re still hungry for more examples and downloads after visiting the home page, you’re in luck! There’s plenty more where that came from on the dedicated Examples and Downloads hubs, created by community members and Articulate staff. You’re sure to find something that’ll help get your creative juices flowing. 5. Search for Resources If you have a question or are looking for something specific, head over to the search bar. Once you’ve entered your keywords, use the filters to further refine your search. This makes it much faster and easier to find what you’re looking for. For more pro tips on searching E-Learning Heroes, head over here: 2 Easy Ways To Find What You Need on E-Learning Heroes. 6. Ask and Answer Questions If you can’t find an answer to your question, no problem! Simply start a new discussion in our forums. If it’s an Articulate-specific question, head over to our product forums. And if it’s a more general e-learning or instructional design question, pop it in our course-building forum. Our forums are incredibly active, so you’ll receive an answer from another community member or someone from the Articulate team in no time. And while you’re waiting for a response, why not poke around and see if there are any questions you can answer? It’s a great way to pay it forward, keep your skills sharp by coming up with solutions to other peoples’ design challenges, and get to know members of the community. It’s a win-win! 7. Share Tips and Resources Another great thing about E-Learning Heroes is the generosity of our members. They not only share tips and tricks, they share examples—and even templates—to save other community members time. So next time you create something cool, why not share it with the community? Simply create a new discussion and pop in your tip, trick, example, or download. It’s a great way to help fellow community members and showcase your skills and expertise. 8. Participate in the E-Learning Challenges And if you’re looking for more ways to get involved with the community, look no further than the E-Learning Challenges. Run by our very own David Anderson, they’re an opportunity to grow your skills and build your portfolio on a weekly basis by creating a mini-project around a different theme. The challenges are for all skill levels, so whether you’re new to e-learning or more experienced, it’s a great place to get feedback from others and get inspired by other members’ work. Sound interesting? Learn more here: Why & How To Participate in the Weekly Challenges on E-Learning Heroes. Wrap-Up So what are you waiting for? Go forth and read the guidelines, set up your profile, and dive into the community. You’ll gain tons of knowledge and connect with many friendly people along the way! And if you want to learn more insider tips about the community, check out this helpful series of articles: Getting the Most Out of the Awesome E-Learning Heroes Community. Before you go, don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to get the latest e-learning inspiration and insights directly in your inbox. You can also find us on LinkedIn and Twitter. And if you have questions, please share them in the comments.Sign Up for the E-Learning Heroes Newsletter
Do you love all the helpful content here on E-Learning Heroes? If so, you should subscribe to our newsletter, E-Learning Epiphanies, to stay up-to-date on all the inspiring examples, insightful articles, and valuable tips shared in the community. You'll even get information about upcoming webinars and industry events so you never miss out on an opportunity to grow your skills or connect with the Articulate team. Sound like something you’d like to see in your inbox on a weekly or monthly basis? Sign up here. We hope you’ll love it as much as we do!The Scoop on Community Member Labels and Badges
As you’ve explored the E-Learning Heroes community, you might have encountered labels and badges on other members’ accounts and wondered what they meant. Or perhaps you’re wondering how to unlock specific labels and badges on your own account. In this article, we’ve got all your questions covered! Let’s dig in! Member Labels Any time a community member posts a comment, article, or example, you’ll see a small blue label next to their name, like the one in the screenshot below. These labels tell you more about their role in the community. Plus, labels like Staff or Super Hero are handy ways to quickly find ELH members who can give you some extra help. You’ll find all the labels and their meanings in the table below. Member Type What does it look like? What does it mean? New to the Community Someone who joined the E-Learning Heroes in the past month. Community Member Anyone who has had an E-Learning Heroes membership for over a month. Super Hero Someone who is part of the Articulate Super Heroes program. The Super Heroes are an elite group of community members with deep e-learning expertise and a passion for helping others. Learn more about how they can help you in this article. Super Hero Alumni A retired Super Hero. Partner Staff at an official Articulate partner organization (e.g., Yukon Learning, our training partner) with deep product expertise. Staff Current Articulate staff. Former Staff Articulate staff who have left the company. Badges The new badge feature gives us all a chance to celebrate member achievements and milestones. It’s also a small way for us at Articulate to say thanks for all the ways people like you help nurture the E-Learning Heroes community and its members. If you’re new to E-Learning Heroes, our Getting Started badges provide ideas for exploring the site and engaging with the community. And if you’re a long-term member, we’ve created badges that recognize the fantastic ways experts like you share ideas, solve problems, and support the growth of others. You’ll find all the badges currently available in the tables below. Getting Started Badge Name What does it look like? What does it mean? Getting to Know You You took the first steps in building out your user profile and added your location and bio. Raising Your Hand You tapped into the community for help by posting your first question on the discussion boards. Adding to the Conversation You shared your thoughts with others by posting your first discussion board comment. Talking With the Author You engaged with a content creator by posting your first comment on an article. Exploring the Neighborhood You logged into E-Learning Heroes 5 times or more. Best Answers Badge Name What does it look like? What does it mean? First Best Answer You’ve had your first discussion comment recognized by the Articulate staff as the Best Answer in a thread. Comments can be marked as the Best Answer if they solve the original post’s problem or go above and beyond to provide useful guidance. Best Answer: # You’ve had multiple discussion board comments recognized as the Best Answer. This category has several badges, each representing a major number milestone. Sharing Expertise Badge Name What does it look like? What does it mean? Hero: Past or Present You’re an active or retired member of the Articulate Super Heroes program. User Conference Speaker You’ve presented a session at one or more Articulate User Conferences. Featured Example You’ve had one or more projects included in our featured examples and downloads. Article Author You’ve written or collaborated on one or more E-Learning Heroes articles. Our badge sets will continue to evolve over time, so be sure to check back to learn about new badges and how to earn them. Wrap-Up Member labels and badges are a quick way to get to know a bit more about your fellow community members. Plus, they’re a fun way to mark your own E-Learning Heroes achievements and milestones. Want to know even more about the E-Learning Heroes community? Check out these articles: E-Learning Heroes Community Guidelines Everything You Need To Know about Articulate Super Heroes Want to keep up on the highlights of what’s happening on E-Learning Heroes? 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 (formerly Twitter). And if you have questions, please share them in the comments.E-Learning Heroes (ELH) FAQs
Index Community-Specific Questions Articulate-Specific Questions General E-Learning Questions Community-Specific Questions How do I change my user name? Log in to E-Learning Heroes, click your avatar image, and select My Settings from the dropdown menu. On the next screen, click the Edit button next to your user name and you’ll be able to change it there. NOTE: User names are limited to 15 characters. They can include letters, numbers, dashes, and underscores. How do I change my profile picture? Your E-Learning Heroes profile picture from from your Articulate account. To change your picture, go to your Articulate account, click on your picture, and upload a new one. The change will be applied everywhere, including on E-Learning Heroes. How do I stay up to date on the latest E-Learning Heroes content? There are a few ways to do this. For example, you can: Subscribe to our newsletter. We send out a newsletter every week with the latest E-Learning Heroes content. Subscribing is an easy way to get access to everything directly from your inbox. Browse the home page. There, you’ll find the latest articles, examples, discussions, and e-learning challenge. Subscribe to the pages you’re interested in. At the top of each hub, you’ll see a bell with an icon of a bell with a plus sign. If you select that icon, you’ll receive a notification whenever we add new content to that page. Follow us on social media. Another easy way to stay up-to-date on everything we’re doing is by following us onLinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter). What are the rules about posting content on ELH? Read our community guidelines for the details. What roles exist in the ELH community? The community is made up of a few different roles: General members: Most community members belong to this category. It’s anyone who doesn’t hold another, more specific role. Super Heroes: These are community members who go above and beyond by sharing their expertise and helping other community members. Find out more here: Everything You Need to Know About Articulate Super Heroes. Staff: Articulate employees. The staff members you’ll see most often in the community are those whose job it is to help customers in the forums or create helpful content—our community moderators and managers. How can I become a Super Hero? Find out Everything You Need to Know About Articulate Super Heroes. How can I get more involved with the community? There are tons of fun ways to get more involved with the community! Here are some ideas: Help your fellow community members by answering questions or sharing tips in our discussion forum. Dig deep into specific topics—like Accessibility or JavaScript—with other members by joining a group. Push yourself out of your comfort zone by participating in the weekly design challenge. Inspire other community members by sharing examples or downloads you’ve created. Meet Articulate staff and other e-learning pros by attending industry events. How can I participate in the weekly challenges? It’s easy! Just follow the steps outlined here: Why & How To Participate in the Weekly Challenges on E-Learning Heroes. Should I start a new discussion or add a comment to an existing one? If you read a recent post that describes an issue that sounds exactly like yours, feel free to add a comment. If the discussion is months or years old or if the topic is similar but not exactly the same, it’s best to start a new discussion. You can always link to the older or similar post if you think it’d be helpful. Can I use ELH downloads for my project? Yes! You can use any of the downloads shared on E-Learning Heroes for your personal or commercial e-learning projects. However, please don’t distribute these assets. Instead, refer people back to the community. For more details, review our Terms of Use. How can I edit a discussion or example I posted? Open the discussion or example, click on the gear icon at the upper right-hand side of the post, select Edit, make changes, and hit Publish. How can I edit a comment I left on a post? Simply click on the ellipsis, select Edit, make the desired changes, and hit Reply. Articulate-Specific Questions When should I submit a support case instead of starting a discussion? If you run into an issue you think might be a bug or you want our Support Engineers to help troubleshoot a file, it’s best to open a support case rather than start a discussion. How do I submit a support case? You can connect with our Support Team in a support case or via live chat. Remember share your file, a screen recording or screenshot, browser details, and a link to view your published course so our team can better assist you. Can I call and talk to someone on the phone? We don’t offer phone support, but we do offer chat support. How do I submit a feature request? There are two ways to do this: Share an idea in our dedicated hub. Fill out the feature request form on our website. Remember to include as much detail as possible so we understand what the feature is and how you’ll use it. For example, if it would solve a problem you’re having currently, what is it that you’re currently unable to do and how will this feature solve it? What impact does it have on your daily productivity? How do I get in touch with the sales team? If you’re based in the US or Canada, you can reach out to the sales team via email at this address: sales@articulate.com If you’re based in another country, you can find the contact information for your country on this page. Where can I see information on upcoming Articulate 360 features? You’ll find upcoming feature information on our roadmap. General E-Learning Questions How do I create an e-learning course? Follow the steps in this article: 8 Simple Steps for Creating Online Training. How do I make sure my course is accessible? We have tons of resources that’ll help you create accessible courses. Check them out below: All About Accessibility Accessibility Index How do I decide whether to use Storyline or Rise for my course? Our customers say that Rise is their go-to for most of their courses. But if you need something more custom and immersive, Storyline might be a better fit. Here are some articles that can help you decide: Rise 360 or Storyline 360: Which One Should You Use for Your Project? Why You Need the Apps in Articulate 360 and When to Use Them How do I share my course with learners? There are several different ways to do that, outlined in this article: How to Share E-Learning Courses with Learners. Have a question that’s not listed here? Feel free to add a comment below or post a new discussion.E-Learning Heroes Community Guidelines
Did you know that Articulate, creator of the industry-leading Articulate 360 platform, is also the founder of E-Learning Heroes, the world’s largest community for course creators? We built E-Learning Heroes to be a friendly, welcoming space for all e-learning professionals—customers and non-customers—because everyone deserves opportunities to learn and grow. One of the things e-learning professionals appreciate most about E-Learning Heroes is the supportive, respectful environment. To maintain this environment, we ask that you follow these simple guidelines along with our Terms of Use to make sure the community stays a safe place for everyone. Be transparent E-Learning Heroes is your go-to spot for developing your professional network. Follow these guidelines to participate in the community: Set up your community profile with your real name (not a pseudonym) Don't use any company logo, name, or product name in your profile name or photo (including Articulate's). Use one of the default avatars, a real photo of yourself, or another image that belongs to you as your profile photo. Avoid creating multiple profiles. Don’t share someone else’s work or content as your own. That’s plagiarism—and it’s not okay. Don’t use AI (Artificial Intelligence) to generate discussions or replies. Be respectful The E-Learning Heroes community welcomes people from all walks of life and we want everyone to feel safe sharing their perspectives. To do your part in creating this sense of safety, express your opinions and ideas in a way that’s kind, considerate, and professional: Never use explicit, offensive, or rude language. Avoid making accusations or insults directed at other community members or Articulate employees. Don’t repeatedly send messages to community members or Articulate employees about the same topic or continue to reach out after they’ve asked you to stop. Don’t use the community to hack or encourage others to disrupt or disable Articulate products or services. Before you post or send anything, think about how others could perceive it. With the real-time web, there is no “Undo” button. If something makes you even slightly uncomfortable, figure out what needs to be changed, fix it, then post. Remember: you’re legally responsible for any content you post and may be liable if your posts are found defamatory, harassing, or in violation of any applicable law or our Terms of Use. Be helpful The best communities are full of genuine people giving advice, support, and inspiration to one another out of the kindness of their hearts. Help us keep E-Learning Heroes the friendly, helpful space it’s always been. To do that, please don’t post or send messages that are: Duplicative. Unrelated to the discussion topic. Blatantly promotional or spammy. Keep it safe We want E-Learning Heroes to remain a trustworthy space for sharing. E-Learning Heroes members must be at least 18 years old and should never link to inappropriate, discriminatory, violent, or illegal content, viruses, or malware. Don’t share confidential or proprietary information The community is open to the public, so anyone with internet access can view anything you share. With this in mind: Don’t share contact information—whether yours or someone else’s—such as your phone number or address. Don’t share courses or files containing proprietary content you don’t have permission to share publicly. Articulate isn’t responsible for the security, confidentiality, or use of content you share on E-Learning Heroes. The Bottom Line To ensure our community continues to thrive, we reserve the right to delete content or close the E-Learning Heroes account of any member who doesn’t respect these guidelines. If you notice anything inappropriate, please click on the Ellipsis button next to the reply or the Gear icon in the upper right-hand corner of the post and choose “Report” from the drop-down list to flag it for review by Articulate staff. Here’s what those areas look like: If you have questions or notice anything inappropriate,reach out to support@articulate.com.Why & How To Participate in the Weekly Challenges on E-Learning Heroes
Did you know that every week here on E-Learning Heroes our very own David Anderson challenges community members to build mini-projects around a different theme? Well, if you didn’t—now you do! Keep reading to find out why and how to participate. Why participate? There are so many great reasons to participate in the E-Learning Challenges. Here are a few: Grow your skills. Whether you’re new to e-learning or a seasoned professional, it’s important to continuously grow your skills to stay up-to-date with current practices and trends. Participating in the weekly challenges not only allows you to build projects that might be outside your comfort zone and get feedback from others, but it also gives you a chance to see their work and glean inspiration from it. Build your portfolio. Even if you’re not currently looking for work, it’s important to create and maintain a portfolio. After all, you never know when an exciting opportunity might pop up! One challenge with e-learning portfolios is that often the e-learning courses you create for work are confidential and therefore can’t be included. The challenges give you an opportunity to create a variety of projects you can show prospective clients and employers to showcase your skill set. Expand your network. While some people participate in the challenges more sporadically, many of the participants are the same from week to week. Joining in the challenges is a great way to get to know other e-learning professionals and build relationships with people who can help you grow your skills and advance your career. Boost your visibility. When organizations are searching for e-learning designers, the internet is the first place they’ll look, so establishing an online presence is key. Participating in the challenges regularly is one way to boost your visibility and increase the chances that your name will come up in search results. Have fun. When you’re building courses for clients, you can’t always do things exactly the way you’d like to. The challenges are a great place to let your creativity run wild and have a little fun. How to participate Now that you know why you should participate, you might be wondering how to join in. It’s supereasy! Just follow the steps below: 1. Check out the challenge article Hover over the Learn tab in the navigation bar and scroll down to E-Learning Challenges. This will take you to the E-Learning Challenges hub, where you can click on the current week’s challenge—which is always featured at the top of the page: And if you’d like to participate in a previous week’s challenge, you can do that too! Just open the full list of challenges and click on one that interests you. 2. Read the challenge description Take a minute to read through the challenge and get a feel for what it’s about. Often there are a couple of examples to get your creative juices flowing. 3. Create your project Once you’ve got a handle on the challenge, it’s time to start working on your project. You can spend as much or as little time as you want on it—so no need to create a full-fledged course or stay up all hours of the night getting it done. Just sit down and see what you can bang out in the time you have—whether that’s 30 minutes, an hour, or half a day! 4. Add a comment When you’re done, simply add a link to your project in the comments section of the challenge article. Easy-peasy! Not sure how to generate a link to your project? If you’re using Articulate 360, simply publish your course to Review 360 and paste the share link in the comments box. Otherwise, you can also publish your course for the web, upload it to a web server, and share that link. It’s up to you! Here are some resources to help you generate a link to your project: Rise 360: Publishing a Course to Review 360 Storyline 360: Publishing a Course to Review 360 How to Get an E-Learning Course Online That’s all there is to it! From there, you can check out other people’s challenge entries and leave feedback if you’d like. But once again—there’s no obligation! And if you want to increase the visibility of your entry, you can start a new thread in the discussion forums, write about it on your blog, or share a post on social media with the dedicated hashtag: #ELHChallenge. 5. Check out the recap (optional) About a week after David posts a challenge, he rounds up all the entries in a separate article to highlight all the projects people have shared—to give them maximum visibility. If you didn’t have time to check out the other entries, the recap is a fast and easy way to do that. To access the recap, you have two options: Go back to the challenge article and click on the recap link he’s added below the article illustration. Go to the E-Learning Challenges hub and click on the recap article directly. It’ll appear below the featured article with the same illustration as the challenge, but with a restart icon instead of a trophy icon: Challenge Recap Wrap-Up So what are you waiting for? Head over to the E-Learning Challenges hub and join in on this week’s challenge. You’ll be glad you did! And remember to follow us on Twitter 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. This article is part of our E-Learning 101 e-mail course, a series of expertly curated articles that’ll help you get started with e-learning—delivered right to your inbox. You’re only a click away from becoming an e-learning pro!Sign up here to enroll.Everything You Need to Know About Articulate Super Heroes
Maybe you’ve noticed it next to the name of the author of a particularly inspiring example on E-Learning Heroes. Or perhaps when someone gave you a helpful answer in the discussion boards. The red Hero label definitely stands out. But what does it mean when a member of the E-Learning Heroes community has this label next to their name? That’s what you’ll find out in this article. Meet the Super Heroes When you’re on the E-Learning Heroes site, that red label is the quickest way to know someone is a part of the Articulate Super Heroes program. This elite group is made up of community members who go above and beyond in two key areas. E-Learning Expertise: Super Heroes have lots of valuable insights about Articulate apps and e-learning in general—and they’re happy to share them. A Passion for Helping Others: When tricky e-learning questions arise, Super Heroes come running to the rescue. They’re delighted to lend a hand. And they do so in an empathetic, kind, and supportive way. Each of those areas is helpful on its own. But it’s that power boost from combining them together that gives the Super Heroes the ability to make a huge difference in the E-Learning Heroes community. How Do Members Become Super Heroes? We handpick Super Heroes based on their extraordinary contributions to the community—and we’re always scouting for new members. We keep an eye out for people who: Have earned the respect of the E-Learning Heroes community through a long history of high-quality contributions. Share technical know-how, career tips, and helpful examples. Stand out by setting the positive, empowering tone that people love about our community. Already embody the spirit of the Super Heroes values and guidelines. As you can see, the program doesn’t turn people into Super Heroes. Instead, it’s a recognition of the valued work they’re already doing. The Hero Code of Honor When Super Heroes join the program, they agree to follow a few simple guidelines: Help others in the E-Learning Heroes forums. Super Heroes regularly jump into the discussion forums to answer questions, point people to the resources they need, and provide feedback to community members who ask for it. Be kind and supportive. Super Heroes interact with others in a constructive, gentle, and kind way. Their positive contributions inspire others to be helpful and generous in turn. Stay in the know. We constantly release new e-learning features. Super Heroes stay on top of the latest and greatest updates so they can help other community members. Share and demonstrate. Super Heroes share their knowledge freely, with no hidden agenda. They empower others and nurture the community by sharing feedback, examples, and expertise. Don’t disparage Articulate software or staff. Of course, explaining what our apps can and can’t do is fine! But Super Heroes avoid making negative comments if they’re not helpful or constructive. And they’re always empathetic and respectful when they communicate with Articulate staff and other community members. Avoid activities conflicting with their Super Heroes role. Super Heroes don’t develop business relationships with Articulate competitors. We want E-Learning Heroes to remain a friendly, welcoming space for e-learning professionals to learn and grow, so it’s important that our Super Heroes embody those values. Wrap-Up When looking for help on the E-Learning Heroes site, that red Hero label is a sign of someone knowledgeable and willing to lend a hand. But you don’t have to be a Super Hero to act like one. You can always follow their lead and look for ways you can assist others in the community too. Have additional questions about the Super Heroes program? Reach out to the community team for more information at community@articulate.com. Looking for tips on crafting great e-learning? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest inspiration and insights directly in your inbox. You can also find us on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter). And if you have questions, please share them in the comments.What to Include in an E-Learning Portfolio
On the hunt for a new e-learning job? You’re not alone. The recent economic downturn brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has led many companies—particularly in the service, travel, and retail sectors—to downsize their training teams. Though there are more e-learning professionals looking for work right now, the good news is there are loads of amazing e-learning jobs out there. All you need to do is find the right fit for your skills and background, and make sure you stand out from the crowd. Making sure you and your work stand out is one of the many things an e-learning portfolio can do! Agreat portfolio gives potential employers a better sense of who you are and your skills as a designer/developer, and demonstrates your personality and creativity in ways that don’t come through in a résumé (though you will for sure want an awesome résumé as well). Creating an e-learning portfolio is also super easy these days. In fact, your E-Learning Heroes Member Profile page showcases everything you’ve shared in the community, which also means it’s a convenient and free e-learning portfolio! Everything you share in the community includes downloads, examples, discussions you’ve started, and even articles you’ve posted. You can also upload your own course examples and downloads to your member profile page without sharing them in the community. Learn more about using your E-Learning Heroes Member Profile page as your e-learning portfolio in this article: Showcase Your E-Learning Work with New and Improved Member Profiles. We’ve talked about why you need an e-learning portfolio and how to use your e-learning heroes profile page as a free portfolio, but you might be wondering: how do you know what to actually include in your portfolio? That’s the question we’re going to tackle in the rest of this article. I’ve pulled together loads of tips and ideas to help you beef up your e-learning portfolio for maximum impact. Use live links to published projects instead of static screenshots. There’s nothing more disappointing than clicking on someone’s e-learning portfolio link only to find that their site is full of static screenshots of projects you can’t interact with. Using screenshots just doesn’t give prospective employers a sense of your design capabilities like linking to a published project does. Add more variety to your portfolio with weekly E-Learning Challenges. There are many good reasons to build up a portfolio of work samples full of diverse styles, interactivity, and covering a broad array of topics. I find the weekly E-Learning Challenges on E-Learning Heroes are a great way to do this since they prompt you to explore innovative ways of tackling problems while you learn new skills—and stretch your creative muscles. The weekly challenges are also an easy way to create a free portfolio of cool, creative projects that represent your design perspective without the constraints imposed by corporate branding guidelines. If you only have work from employers or clients right now, be sure to ask permission before uploading those projects to your portfolio so you don’t break any confidentiality or nondisclosure agreements. If sharing proprietary information is of concern, you can always offer to use only a portion of a project in your portfolio or to create a copy of the project, strip out any branding, and replace proprietary copy with lorem ipsum text. In my experience, most employers and clients are willing to work with you to arrive at a good compromise. Focus on quality over quantity. A great e-learning portfolio should spotlight your skills and experience. That means your goal is to curate a small collection of high-quality work samples that demonstrate a range of skills. Don’t get too hung up on having dozens of projects in your portfolio. It’s better to showcase three or four beautiful, unique projects than a dozen mediocre ones with a similar look and feel. Provide a brief description of each project. Don’t simply post a bunch of links to your portfolio website and call it done. A great portfolio should look nice AND give prospective clients and employers context for each project. Write a brief description explaining why you chose to include each project in your portfolio. You can also highlight the challenges the project presented, the solutions you found, and any goals you achieved for yourself, the client, or the learners. Even just a few sentences will give visitors to your e-learning portfolio a better idea of who you are and how you work. Feature your technical skills. E-learning professionals are often masters of multiple apps—both for authoring e-learning courses and creating custom media to enhance their projects. If you’re proficient in multiple apps, be sure to name them and provide links to relevant samples in your portfolio. For example, if you’re a whiz in Storyline 360, call that out and link to a published Storyline project. If you’re a pro at editing video in Adobe Premiere or podcasts in Pro Tools, call those apps out too. Showcase your professional background and achievements or endorsements. To underline your professionalism, make sure your digital portfolio includes a page that highlights some key information about your professional background. You don’t want to make this into a copy of your résumé (although linking to your resume from this page can be handy), but you do want to give potential employers or clients a sense of your background. To strike the right balance, consider including things like: Where and what you’ve studied Companies you’ve worked with or for Any areas of e-learning specialization, such as creating K-12 education or training for the pharmaceutical industry Any professional certifications Any awards or honors for your work Another thing to include is any professional endorsements or reviews of your work. If you don’t have any yet, ask a trusted colleague or happy client to write a short recommendation of you and your work. Include links to published articles, blogs, and conference presentations. While your e-learning portfolio should primarily focus on your e-learning work, it’s also a good way to share how you and your work are seen by the broader industry. For instance, if you’ve published articles in industry trade publications on e-learning–related topics or had one of your projects featured in a widely distributed newsletter, including links to those publications showsthat you’re a thoughtful, well-respected leader and contributor. The same goes for speaking opportunities:provide the name of your session, where and when you spoke, a brief overview of the topic, and link to any published slides or video of your presentation. Is there anything missing from this list? I’d love to hear your tips and ideas for what to include in an e-learning portfolio, so please leave them in a comment, below. Want to share your e-learning portfolio? Post a reply with a link to your portfolio inthis E-Learning Challenge. Like this article? 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 (Formerly Twitter).
