📱 Mobile Learning that Actually Works – What are Your Best Practices?
Hello everyone, I’m currently preparing a project involving several Web-Based Trainings (WBTs) that will primarily be used on mobile devices. Based on the nature of the content, I will have to use Storyline most of the time. While researching, I came across a “definitive guide to multi-device e-learning”—it already offers a bunch of practical insights. However, I’d love to hear perspectives from the community as well. So I’m curious: What are your go-to principles for designing effective mobile learning? What are your biggest takeaways or lessons learned? Do you have any examples of successful mobile learning activities or formats? I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, ideas, or even challenges you’ve encountered along the way. Looking forward to your insights!Looking for Gamification ideas/templates/resources
Hi, I've an old assessment in Storyline where there is branching and learners have 3 avatars from which they can select, selecting each avatar takes them to an individual set of drag and drop questions which they can answer using the resources provided. Looking for some ideas to redesign this assessment using Gamification, can you also provide links to resources here I can use?AI Voices in eLearning
Hi all! I'd like to hear your thoughts about AI voices in training and educational material. As a neurodivergent, I personally find them distracting and less supportive of learning, despite increasing popularity. I've read that human voices improve learner outcomes/retention etc, yet many folks in our industry seem to love AI narration features. As someone who has both recorded voiceovers and generated them, I don't see an obvious reason to rely so heavily on the latter other than time constraints. Sure, it may save a couple hours of production time, but if learner outcomes aren't improving, shouldn't we reconsider this approach and put the audience experience first? Please share your thoughts! I'm really curious to hear more about this. Maybe I'm missing a key point here! Maybe I'm in a minority of disliking AI voices? And just to be clear, I’m not referring to screen readers or assistive text-to-speech. Those serve a completely different purpose and are essential for accessibility! I’m talking specifically about replacing full-course narration with synthetic voices.Security declaration separate to course?
My security team have asked if it is possible to have a deceleration process created that is separate to our security course. This has something to do with reporting and legislation. Has anybody created a 'declaration' activity where an employee has sign or write their full name in a section after reading a blurb of information to declare that they understand their requirements etc? Maybe something in Storyline? I would then add it as another task within the LMS under the full course that they need to complete to be deemed as completed. Any ideas welcome please.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.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?
