How I Built This: I Developed an Award-Winning Ethics Course
Why I Built This: When I first learned about branching scenarios, something clicked for me that I hadn’t seen other eLearning developers execute: visually compelling, philosophically rich thought experiments. I studied Moral Philosophy in my undergrad and became obsessed with ethical dilemmas. Naturally, I decided to build an ethics course about technology. Think The Trolley Problem, only I wanted to pose questions about the growing reliance on AI and its implications by employing Instructional Design strategies. An opportunity came up through my Master’s program to attend DevLearn and compete in DemoFest, so it was time to start building my concept. I designed and developed a course in Storyline called The Agency Algorithm that confronts learners with issues regarding three main topics: algorithmic warfare (The Armory), AI assisted resource allocation (The Triage Garden), and surveillance (The Mask Archive). The Experience & Design Intent: A quick walkthrough of the multi-room experience. The Agency Algorithm is a multi-room interactive learning experience that blends instructional design, game-like mechanics, and philosophical inquiry. It immerses learners in ethically complex scenarios by leveraging branching logic, and integrating experiential aesthetics with conceptual depth. My primary goal with this project was to encourage critical reflection on the role of technology on human agency and autonomous choice. The concept itself was pretty clear to me, but I wanted to push the limits of Storyline visually, so I acquired a number of 3D assets from Adobe Stock, some of which I further modified in Adobe Dimension. I wanted the visuals to anchor the learner in a unique environment that did not feel reminiscent of traditional eLearning, and rather create space to explore and feel like a participant in something unfolding. There aren’t often black and white answers to ethical questions, and branching scenarios are an excellent way to illustrate this while offering learners a safe place to experiment and think through various outcomes based on their decision making. Visual Worldbuilding/Making It Not Feel Like eLearning: Initially, I intended to hand draw assets myself to really hone in on the human vs AI dynamic, but quickly realized the time I’d have to accomplish this was dwindling. While I drafted a few loose concepts in my journal, I ultimately decided to stick with digital assets. While I landed on 3D assets largely due to time constraints, the outcome is reminiscent of an old experimental video game or some sort of immersive idea gallery. As an artist, I often approach my work from a minimalist lens so this project was a fun way to really add some artistry that corporate training often doesn’t have room for. Variables, Multi-state objects, Cue points, and other mechanics: I relied heavily on multi-state objects to create hover states, “tip” cards, text labels, and more, for example in the circuits with definition reveals. I enjoyed building the “loading” effect in the Mask Archive, although it was a bit clunky and took a lot of trial and error! I learned a lot along the way and used a cue point on an orb with a glow effect beneath the mask and used triggers to cause the effect to work. The course overall has a few hundred triggers (slide, object, and variable triggers) and somewhere around 40 variables (mostly T/F variables). What I learned: I think it is important that we don’t hand-hold learners through every learning experience. I want users to think through complex challenges and autonomously choose and feel like a true agent in the process of acquiring knowledge. A lot of eLearning makes it too easy for the learner and we lose engagement when we undermine the intelligence of our audience. I learned SO much about how to leverage Storyline in new ways. I am still a relatively new user to the tool, so this project allowed me to freely explore and be guided by curiosity. Link to my portfolio: https://www.abigailvettese.com/RISE- Automatic Certificate Creation
I've been playing around with how to create a custom certificate in a Rise course and I've finally found a workaround using an embedded form that creates and delivers a PDF. Check it out: https://share.articulate.com/IcrVo3X-PV5k7x9CMMFkx I've been struggling with this for a long time and I know a handful of you have been too. Hope it helps! ps. I used the AI Assistant to create this mini course based off of the video I recorded outlining the steps, which I also included as content within the course to follow along.Comfortable with Studio 360 but Curious About Storyline 360? This Article Is for You
Note: We're ending support for Studio 360, Replay 360, and Peek 360 on December 31, 2026. Learn more. When I talk to Studio 360 users, they often tell me that they’ve been wanting to give Storyline 360 a try, but feel too intimidated. Sound familiar? I get it. Change can be scary. But thanks to the PowerPoint-like interface and the easy-import feature, the transition from Studio 360 to Storyline 360 is super-smooth. And since Storyline 360 is included in your Articulate 360 subscription, you can start using it right away—at no additional cost. Still on the fence? Take a peek at some of the things Studio 360 users appreciate most when they start using Storyline 360. 1. Creating Interactions That Reduce Cognitive Load When you’re building a course in PowerPoint, it can be hard to find ways to cut down on the amount of on-screen text—and reduce the cognitive load—so learners can focus. In Storyline 360, slide layers make it easy to create click-and-reveal interactions that let learners view content in smaller, more digestible, chunks. For example, instead of a slide like this: You can create an interaction like this: Click here to compare the two versions Not only does this second version feel less overwhelming, but presenting each point one at a time invites learners to interact, increasing the likelihood that they’ll remember the content. 2. Converting Static Slides into Engaging Interactions With PowerPoint, it can be hard to find ways to get learners to interact with your course beyond clicking the Next button. With Storyline 360, you can put learners in the driver’s seat by converting static slides into engaging interactions in just a few clicks, thanks to the Convert to Freeform feature. For example, let’s say you’re creating a course on sun safety. You might have a slide that looks something like this: It’s informative, but not interactive. Now let’s see how you could use that same content to create a lean-forward interaction that’s sure to captivate your audience: Click here to compare the two versions Put yourself in your learner’s shoes. Which version would you find more interesting and engaging? My money’s on the drag-and-drop interaction. 3. Designing Nonlinear Courses Building a single course for a target audience with varying knowledge and skill levels can be a real challenge. One way to ensure you meet everyone’s needs is by building a nonlinear, or branched, course. You can do this by creating a menu that allows learners to navigate the course content freely or by designing a choose-your-own-adventure-style course where the learner’s path through the course changes depending on their actions. Building nonlinear courses in PowerPoint can be extremely challenging. But with Storyline 360, it’s a snap. You can easily see and make changes to the flow of your courses by simply dragging your slides in Story View, as shown in the GIF below. The ability to create nonlinear courses is just one example of how building your courses in Storyline 360 allows you to quickly and easily deliver a more personalized experience to your learners. And the more personalized the experience, the more relevant the course will feel to your learners—making them more likely to remember and apply the concepts to their jobs. Want more tips on personalizing your courses? Check out this article: 3 Ways to Personalize Your E-Learning Courses. 4. Building Custom Navigation That’s Intuitive With Storyline 360, you have total control over the learner experience. You can turn virtually any object into a custom button that behaves the way learners expect it to—making navigation intuitive. Let me explain. When you’re navigating the web, how do you know that an object is clickable? If you pay close attention, you’ll notice a couple of visual cues. For example, when you hover your mouse over a clickable object, the cursor changes from an arrow to a hand. There’s also usually a slight change to the formatting of the object itself—the fill color might change to a slightly lighter or darker hue. These visual cues help you navigate the website and find what you’re looking for. You can do the same thing in your e-learning courses to ensure your learners never feel lost. Check out the GIF below to get a better idea of what that experience can feel like: Click here to explore the interactive version With easy-to-use features like states and triggers in Storyline 360, you can make any object clickable in just a few seconds. And because these objects will behave just like learners expect them to, they’ll be able to focus on the course content—instead of trying to figure out where to click. The Bottom Line Importing your Studio 360 courses into Storyline 360 is fast and easy. And with Storyline 360’s PowerPoint-like interface, the learning curve is almost nonexistent. What do you have to lose? Give it a try today! Here are some resources to help get you up and running: Tips for Importing Microsoft PowerPoint and Articulate Presenter Content into Storyline 360 Storyline 360 tutorial videos Storyline 360 training webinars Storyline 360 user guide Want to try Storyline 360, but don’t have Articulate 360? Start a free 30-day trial, 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.Accessibility - Buttons/Icons/Shapes
Hello, all! Just curious what some of you do to create accessible "buttons" in Storyline. If you use icons as buttons, how do you make sure they are keyboard and screen reader-friendly? For example, do you use a shape or a button and embed an icon? Do you just use an icon but use alt text to describe the "button's" purpose? Do you ever group items and use the group as a "button"? For example, making the individual elements not visible to accessibility tools but making the group visible and creating alt text that matches any text in the group to make the entire area selectable? Or if you were visually grouping elements, would you avoid using an actual group and only make the clickable shape with a trigger visible to accessibility tools while leaving any other elements, such as text, not visible to accessibility tools? Then creating alt text for the shape to replace any "invisible" (to accessibility tools) text? Or maybe you use a shape as an overlay and create appropriate alternative text? Or do you stick with actual buttons for all selectable elements? When exploring and auditing some courses, especially for keyboard and screen reader use, I'm seeing a variety of accessibility issues in this area, and I'm curious what you all tend to do to make "button" elements, or any selectable elements, more accessible. I definitely have my own thoughts, and it can be situational, but I would love to hear from the group about your practices with accessibility and "buttons." Feel free to share any examples you have as well! Not here to judge any answers, just really to gather information and understand why people may use different techniques for this. And if there are any native screen reader users in the group, please feel free to tell us what you've found is best! If you don't have experience with this and have any questions about why this is so important, please feel free to reach out - I am happy to help explain!Audio-Button functions and states within selfbuild WBT menue and options
Hi everyone, currently I am working on a selfbuild WBT menue with own options on buttons (like refresh, fullscreen, turn on/off subtitles, etc.). This also includes a button for un/muting audio. (Screenshot "Menue 1") Until now I tried a lot; made my way through own ideas, tutorials in various forum posts or videos, asked colleagues, tried prompts in Copilot and so on. The thing is, I always get stuck evertime at the same point. Therefore, I am reaching out to you in hope that you can help me out. My setup is the following - first slide in master slide view: I have a button that consists of these elements grouped together: a circular “Ellipse” element, and above it a vector graphic of an ear. This vector graphic has the normal state (regular ear Icon) and the state selected (ear Icon crossed out). (Screenshot Icon states) The Ellipse has also a second state for hovering with a slight shadow around the circle. Then, to make things even a little bit more complicated, when the user can either click this button directly from the side menue. But if they navigate to the "Menue"-Button, the side menue will expand, laid out on another layer (Screenshot "Menue 2 Expanded"). Next to each button is a section reading the function of the button and thanks to a hotspot over each section, it is also clickable. So the button must be functioning and changing it's states in both ways: regular menue and expanded menue - and from the expanded menue as well. Goal; what should be the effects by clicking the Audio button? As soon as the user clicks on the button group, the audio on the slide should be muted and the state of the vector graphic should change: an ear crossed out. When the user clicks this button again, the audio should be unmuted, and the vector graphic should return to its original state (the normal ear). So, the audio should not be stopped and resumed: The audio should be "playing" without sound in the background with continuous timeline. A slide can also contain multiple consecutive audio files that play one after the other. The audio button un/mutes all of them when the user clicks the button. And when the user moves to the next slide, the WBT should remember that the selected function (audio is turned off/on) and show the ear icon accordingly (as crossed out/normal). Point 3 and 4 shall also apply for the audios of videos: So the video-part is still going on while the audio can be muted/unmuted. --> To make it trickier: This should also work for the case when there are audios and videos on one slide. Hay anyone an idea how to solve this riddle and incorporate all the required speficiations? I would be beyond grateful. Thanks in advance Best regardsIt may be April Fools’ Day… but we aren’t joking.
We aren’t joking when we say this community is full of thoughtful, creative, generous practitioners. Every week we see members: • Share clever builds • Offer practical feedback • Ask smart questions • Help someone get unstuck So in that spirit… If we were to crowdsource the “unofficial rules” of great e-learning from this group, what would make the list? 💬 What’s one “rule” you try to follow in your work — or something you’ve learned from another member here that’s made your projects stronger?8 Business Use Cases for Microlearning
Are you excited to try out microlearning, but unsure when to use it? Below, we outline eight common workplace situations that benefit from a short-form course. Each situation includes a sample microlearning. At the end, learn how you can customize these templates for your own company and training needs. 1. Create Organizational Alignment To hit a business target, everyone needs to be moving in the same direction. Creating that alignment starts with clear, frequent communication of the shared mission, vision, and values. Microlearning can help. The following editable template shows how you can align employees through regular executive “micro” updates: Executive Update 2. Highlight HR Information, Notices, or Reminders Educating employees about annual events like open enrollment, tax season, and compliance training is a critical function of HR teams. The problem? Important announcements often get missed when they’re embedded in long paragraphs or endless emails. Grab the following templates to see how microlearning makes HR communications more digestible and engaging: A Quick Guide To Open Enrollment Internal Company Newsletter 3. Strengthen Company Culture and DEI Initiatives Fostering an inclusive company culture is a continuous process—not a one-time effort. A series of microlearnings can support your larger culture-building and DEI efforts. Check out the following examples for ideas on how to get started: Are You an Ally? Try Taking on These 5 Roles How To Identify and Stop Using Ableist Language Gossip-Proof Your Workplace 4. Streamline Business Processes You can also use microlearning to document and streamline business processes or workflows—such as employee onboarding or performance management. Notice how the following examples make it easy for employees to work through the steps of a process independently: New Hire Pre-Hire Checklist Performance Review and Feedback 5. Increase Security Awareness Most successful data breaches, phishing attacks, and other cybersecurity incidents are caused by human error. Adding refresher microlearnings throughout the year can fortify your defenses. See an example for safeguarding against phishing attacks below: Spot the Phish 6. Enhance Employee Wellness A successful business needs thriving employees. But employee wellness training often ends up buried under competing priorities. Microlearning makes it easy for employees to fit in short breaks for self-care throughout the workday. Check out these two wellness-related microlearning examples: 3 Desk Stretches to Instantly Improve Your Day 5 Tips for Better Naps 7. Provide Quick-Reference Guides Microlearning is the perfect resource for one-off training questions: Employees can quickly find the answers they need—when they need them. Below, we’ve created templates for product and software training. But you could easily create quick-reference guides for sales, customer service, and other teams. Get To Know [Name of Product] Software Training 8. Reinforce and Assess Key Takeaways Finally, who says you have to choose between a more sizable course and microlearning? Repetition aids retention. Consider following up longer training sessions with a microlearning quiz, scenario, or summary. The examples listed below demonstrate how you might do this: Can You Recover From a Workplace Mistake? Training Refresher Wrap-Up There’s no shortage of creative ways you can use microlearning to achieve your business training objectives. The examples above are just a starter list. You might also check out submissions to one of our weekly community challenges, 40+ Microlearning Examples Created in Rise 360 #407. Interested in customizing one of these examples for your team? If you’re an Articulate 360 subscriber or trialer, you can edit all of the examples linked throughout this post by choosing the course from our Rise 360 microlearning content templates. Here’s a short video showing how to do that: What’s the latest microlearning course you’ve created? Tell us about it in the comments—and feel free to ask any questions you might have! 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 Twitter.How to set up spaced learning for e-learning
Hi there! I've read a lot about spaced learning, and I'm all in - but I'm at a loss on how to actually do it. I typically use Rise with some Storyline blocks embedded. I'm hoping to make multiple scenarios and space them out, but I don't know how to actually do this. I'm thinking the learner would be able to do a max of 2-3 per day, then it would be "locked" for 24 hours until they can do more. I don't know how that would be feasible, so I'm open to creating multiple microlearnings where they automatically get assigned the next one 24 hours after completing the previous one. Is this possible with Storyline? Or is this something that needs to be set up using the LMS? (We use Absorb). Thank you!Redesigning Under Constraints: Condensing 8 Hours of Training into a 1-Hour eLearning Module
In most projects, SMEs provide slides, facilitator guides, or at least some documentation. In this case, I received none. The request was to convert a full-day (7–8 hour) onboarding workshop into a 1-hour e-learning course. Instead of materials, I was invited to attend the live session as if I were a new hire. The onboarding itself was highly activity-based (discussions, reflections, group exercises...). As a training workshop, it worked well, but that's exactly what made the conversion harder. The real challenge was this: How do you compress a full day of experiential learning into one interactive hour without simply digitizing the activities? That alone would have been enough to deal with. But then another constraint surfaced. The original workshop had been designed by an external consulting firm. Leadership later raised concerns about copyright and ownership. I was instructed not to replicate or closely resemble any of the original activities, even the ones that had consistently received the best feedback. That meant redesigning everything from first principles. How I decided what to keep from the 8-hour workshop Rather than starting with the activities themselves, I focused on understanding what the workshop was really trying to achieve. Observing the learning intent behind each activity While attending the workshop, I paid close attention to several things: * What the company expected learners to gain from each activity * What learning goals those activities were meant to support * How participants reacted during the session and what feedback they shared After the workshop, I asked the HR what they had observed from employees who previously completed the onboarding? Which behaviors seemed to reflect the intended outcomes, and where they still noticed gaps? One question I specifically asked was: What behaviors or thinking patterns do you expect a new hire to demonstrate after this training? Once I understood what the training was really trying to do, it became much easier to decide what to keep and what to cut. Have you ever had to redesign training under similar constraints? I'd love to hear how you handled it. And if there's interest in the design side of this project, drop a comment. I'm happy to share more.
