Community Insights: What You Can Learn from David Tait’s Career Pivot
One of the best things about creative careers is how flexible they are—you can take them in so many directions. For DavidTait, that flexibility led from graphic design to learning design, and eventually to co-founding 4pt, a learning design studio. 4pt has been creating meaningful learning experiences for more than 16 years. In this Member Spotlight, you'll discover how adaptability, curiosity, and community shaped David's journey, and how to apply these lessons to your own career path. From Design to Learning “Before starting my career in e-learning, I was a student focused on design,” David says. “I spent four years studying design. Two in graphic design and two in newspaper, magazine, and infographic design. That background gave me a strong foundation in visual communication, which has been incredibly useful in my learning and development (L&D) work.” While still in college, he took on a freelance project as a graphical user interface designer for the Northern College Network. “It was my first real step into the world of digital learning design,” he recalls. “It helped me see how I could apply my design skills in a completely different context.” Soon after, a former lecturer offered him a role at an e-learning startup creating online CPD courses for healthcare professionals. “Working in a startup meant wearing many hats,” David says. “That experience really shaped my path and helped me see how my design skills could grow into a career in learning.” 💡Tip: Apply your existing creative skills to a small digital learning project (freelance, volunteer, or self-initiated). Hands-on experience helps bridge design and instructional work faster than theory alone. Turning Change into Opportunity A few years later, the company was acquired, and layoffs followed. “Rather than seeing it as a setback, my studio manager and I took it as an opportunity,” David says. “When we started 4pt, all of those responsibilities suddenly became our job. Being able to adapt to new challenges was essential, and it’s a big reason why we’ve been able to thrive.” 💡Tip: When your path shifts unexpectedly, use it to test new skills or partnerships. Career detours often reveal strengths you wouldn’t discover in a stable role. Finding Flexibility with Storyline “One project in 2013 really shaped our company,” David says. “A client asked us to build a course in Storyline 1. We’d never used it before, but rather than turn the work away, we invested in licenses and learned as we went.” “Before long, Storyline became the tool most of our clients wanted to use,” he explains. “Storyline gave us the ability to solve problems ourselves, experiment more freely, and move much faster. That agility has stayed with us ever since—it’s a core part of how we approach learning design.” 💡Tip: Don’t wait to feel like an expert. Pick a project, open the tool, and build. Use the community forums and shared files when you hit roadblocks. The Power of Community “I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve hit a dead end in Storyline and found the solution on the forums,” David says. “That support has saved me countless hours and kept projects moving. The community around Articulate is unlike anything else.” Over time, helping others became just as rewarding. “Being part of E-Learning Heroes isn’t just about getting help,” he adds. “It’s about giving back. I try to pay it forward when I can, and that sense of community has been such a valuable part of my journey.” 💡Tip: When you find an answer in ELH, take a minute to thank the poster—or add your own version of the solution. Small interactions build visibility and confidence. Lessons from the Journey “Figure out where your limitations are, and then build a trusted network of professionals who can help you overcome them,” David says. “Continuous learning is important, but you don’t have to master everything yourself.” He also believes in stepping outside your comfort zone: “Sometimes doing that sooner opens doors you didn’t even realize were there.” “I try to focus on projects where I can see real value and impact—and to work with people I genuinely like and respect. That combination has made the journey far more meaningful.” 💡Tip: Find one collaborator who complements your skills—a developer, writer, or media pro—and trade knowledge. Collaboration accelerates growth and keeps learning fun. Looking Ahead These days, David is focused on advancing localization in his projects and exploring how AI fits into e-learning. “We’re evaluating Storyline’s new localization features ahead of a major project,” David says. “I’m excited to see how these tools evolve and how we can integrate them to deliver even better multilingual learning experiences.” He’s also reading Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick. “It’s not written specifically for L&D, but it’s helped me think more critically about how AI can be used thoughtfully and effectively.” 💡Tip: Keep one “outside-the-industry” book on your reading list. Fresh perspectives often spark the most creative ideas. 💬 Your Turn David’s story is a reminder that creativity, curiosity, and community can take your career in directions you never planned, but might love most. What’s one skill—or moment—that’s shaped your own learning design journey? Share it in the comments below!Storyline's 100th Release
Articulate hit an important milestone recently that we wanted to share with you—we've hit our 100th month of Storyline releases 🎉 That means that for 100 months running, we’ve shipped updates to our products, from small UI enhancements and bug fixes to big, net-new features like text-to-speech and 360 degree images. (You can check out our entire release history, including the features in our 100th release, here). This community is an absolutely crucial part of how we got here, and we wanted to celebrate with you. Our team put together this video we wanted to share celebrating this shared achievement: You’ve generously shared your kind words about Articulate, and how it supports your work in the E-Learning industry, for us to include in this video. But, we wanted to make sure to also tell you how much we love you. Here’s what our product team had to say about how working with this community supported these releases: "It has been a true pleasure collaborating with our customers through the private beta program over the past seven years. I am continually impressed by the innovative ways they leverage Storyline! Assisting them in overcoming project challenges has significantly enhanced my own understanding of the product, and I am thankful for the opportunity to partner with them in improving our features for all users. I would especially like to acknowledge AndreasNeuberg, PhilMayor, GaryBaldock1, TracyParish, and many others for their active participation in our Beta program." - Vanessa Fage, Staff QA Engineer & Quality Lead “For years, our customers have been instrumental in shaping accessibility, from helping refine the Accessible Player to influencing new features like the Accessibility Checker in Storyline 360. Through user research, early access testing, beta testing, and feedback, you've helped ensure a smoother experience for creating accessible content. A heartfelt thank you to all our customers who shared their insights, with special recognition to DianeElkins, MelanieSobie-14, DonnaWestwood, MartinBrown-1ab, RayeShilen, LoicBENARD, MadalinaMano183, AndreasNeuberg, and many others!” - Ronnie Pilman, CPACC, Senior QA Engineer II & Accessibility Lead “Recently we’ve been inviting customers to get early access to new features, and it’s been incredibly valuable to hear your feedback earlier and more often throughout the development process. Your input has directly shaped how these features look and function, helping us build features that truly meet your needs. A big thank you to all who participated—especially GregoryFauchill, jeff-batt, MathNotermans-9, PhilMayor, rachelatkaiser, and HarriS for their active participation & feedback on the new JavaScript API & corner radius feature.” - Annie Kim, Storyline Product Manager Is there a time when you remember participating with us to improve Storyline? Did you take part in a beta program, suggest a feature that got turned into a real part of our product, or take part in a user interview? Let us know in the comments. Psst—we know we've come a long way, and we still have a long way to go! We wanted to share that this year, we're investing in making our product feedback cycles in this community even better. Look out for improvements to our product ideation boards and beta programs in the coming quarters.Sign Up for the E-Learning Heroes Newsletter
E-Learning Epiphanies is now E-Learning Heroes Weekly! Do you love all the helpful content here on E-Learning Heroes? If so, you should subscribe to our newsletter, E-Learning Heroes Weekly, 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, industry, and Articulate 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 basis? Sign up here. We hope you’ll love it as much as we do!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 comes 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 on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter). How do I change my notification preferences? Log in to E-Learning Heroes, select your avatar image, and then My Settings from the dropdown menu. On the next screen, select the Follows & Notifications tab. Scroll down to the section on Email Notifications to modify the frequency or disable notifications completely. 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. How do I close my account? Log in to E-Learning Heroes, select your avatar image, and then My Settings from the dropdown menu. On the next screen, select the Security & Account tab. Select Close Account. NOTE: Closing your account will remove your personally identifiable information, such as your name, email address, and other profile details. Your content, such as posts and replies, will remain in the community as authored by “Deleted User.” You cannot reopen your account after you close it. To rejoin, you must re-register and start from scratch. 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. Please visit our E-Learning Heroes (ELH) FAQs page for more community-specific information.Share Your E-Learning Expertise in Articuland
Had success with an e-learning project? Got a trick that saves you hours in Storyline? Found a creative way to use Rise 360 for your training needs? Your fellow e-learning developers want to learn from you! We're looking for speakers at our upcoming Articuland events who can share practical, real-world knowledge about: How you solved specific training challenges with Articulate tools Time-saving techniques you've discovered Ways you've made your e-learning more engaging Tips for working more efficiently with Articulate 360 Success stories from your actual projects You don't need to be a professional speaker or have years of presenting experience. If you're using Articulate tools and have discovered helpful approaches worth sharing, that's what matters. What's in it for you? Free admission to your speaking event Opportunity to connect with other e-learning professionals Direct interaction with Articulate's product team Recognition as an industry contributor Chance to help others succeed with their training projects Articuland Tour (Single-Day Events): Thursday, May 8th - Austin, Texas - CLOSED Wednesday, June 11th - Atlanta, Georgia Wednesday, August 13th - Seattle, Washington - CLOSED Wednesday, October 22nd - Toronto, Canada - CLOSED Articuland Summit (Two-Day Event): September 11th & 12th - Boston, Massachusetts Ready to Share Your Knowledge? Your insights could be exactly what another developer needs to hear. Submit your speaking proposal! Have questions about speaking? Feel free to reach out to our team at training@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.
