Scenario Block Image Compression
I'm on a very fast internet connection, but noticed when testing a clients Rise360 course that there was a flicker when new character images loaded. As an experiment I created a scenario in a Rise course and published it, just so I could check the image output for the characters. I gathered all of the character assets into a single folder, and it is 12.4mb for 12 characters. Just over 1mb each. This seems really large for a PNG asset, even with transparency. I experimented running the images through TinyPNG, just one pass, and the output reduced the size to a total of 2.91mb. An average of 0.24mb, which is 1/4 of the original size, without any visible loss in quality. I think this is significant to look at, as we would expect the assets that are bundled with courses to be optimised for our users. This should be JS, CSS and any other assets in the course so that it is as quick as possible to download, especially for mobile. If anybody is interested in seeing the difference, I am including the before and after images as an attachment on this post. Edit:Attachments don't appear to be working for posts. Files available via DB link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5rrxuj7vf937zntw71h17/Scenario-Images.zip?rlkey=j1y8xtwdn8nnnzukk6pyk3kfo&dl=0Storyline: Award-Winning Scenario Game
Games can be an amusing way to pass the time, but they can also encourage people to engage thoughtfully with complex and difficult topics. The Re-Entry Journey, winner of DemoFest’s Best Game-based Project award at DevLearn 2023, shows how much of an impact learning experiences like this can have on players. In this Storyline 360 game, learners take on the role of someone reentering society on probation. They start the game with what at the surface might appear to be a simple goal—make it to the end of their probation period without incurring additional playtime or added penalties. But that seemingly basic task is incredibly challenging in real life, with the deck stacked against people right from the beginning. To simulate that experience, this game is intentionally difficult and weaves in many of the complex real-world choices that people face in this situation. While the gameplay in The Re-Entry Journey may be challenging, the process used to create it was not! This game was developed almost entirely using Storyline 360’s built-in features, with JavaScript only stepping in to help with the timer. Built on a single slide with multiple layers, most of the magic happens thanks to one of Storyline 360’s core features—triggers. It just goes to show how far you can push Storyline 360 to create unexpected learning experiences. Explore this project. Want to try creating something similar in Storyline 360, but don’t have Articulate 360? Start a free 30-day trial. And subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest e-learning examples.Storyline: Comics-Style Communication Branching Scenario
If you’re looking for ideas on how to create a course that’s tailored to your learners, then look no further! This comics-style Storyline 360 example uses a combination of interactive storytelling, branching techniques, and decision-making scenarios, where learners get to make choices and learn from the results. Explore this project.Storyline: Customer Service Branching Scenario
Practice is one of the best ways to take what you’ve learned in training and figure out how to apply it in the real world. But when getting things wrong can have serious repercussions, doing that practice on the job isn’t always an option. That’s where a branched e-learning scenario can come in. This approach gives people a realistic but safe situation where they can test their new abilities and learn from their mistakes. In this example, you’ll see how learners can try out customer service skills they’ve learned elsewhere in one of the most stressful situations they’ll encounter—working with an angry customer. The decision points in this call center branched scenario don’t have obvious answers, which challenges people to stop and think critically before making a choice. Those choices change the story in meaningful ways, giving them subtle and realistic feedback. And while this branching technique may seem complex at first glance, it’s easy to set up using Storyline 360’s triggers. Explore this project. Want to take a closer look at how this project was built? This download will work for folks using Storyline 360, the continuously updated version of Storyline included in Articulate 360. Want to try it out? Get a free trial of Articulate 360 right here. And subscribe to our newsletter to find out about other helpful downloads.Storyline: Sensitive Employee Data Scenario
Including interactive, real-world scenarios in your online training can help learners put what they learn into practice. Want to see an example of what that could look like? Check out this project or download the file to take a closer look. Explore this project. This template will work for folks using Storyline 360, the continuously updated version of Storyline included in Articulate 360. Want to try it out? Get a free trial of Articulate 360 right here.How to Easily Create Branching Scenarios in Rise 360
Scenarios are one of my favorite ways to immerse learners and give them a safe space to practice applying a new process, or to explore the nuances of performing their jobs. You’ll see two types of scenarios: linear or branched. I use linear scenarios when I need to help learners explore a series of sequential steps or practice applying a simple process. But when I really want my learners to practice decision-making and fine-tune their performance, I lean on branching scenarios. Creating scenarios, particularly branching scenarios, used to require a lot of time. But now, whether I need a linear or a branched scenario, creating one is quicker and easier than ever with the new scenario block in Rise 360. Using the scenario block, I was able to create the following interactive branching scenario in just a few minutes’ time! In this scenario, I give restaurant servers an engrossing way to practice upselling their customers to more expensive menu items. Check it out! View my scenario block in action Want to see how easy it is to create a branched scenario like mine with the scenario block? Keep reading. I’ll give you a quick walk-through of the process I followed. Spoiler alert: it’s super-simple—and fun! Overview of the Process Creating a branched scenario boils down to just four steps: Add a scenario block to your lesson. Add a scene or scenes to your scenario block (I’ll explain more about those below). Customize your scenes with Content Library 360 characters and background images. Add content text and branching. Let’s do a quick walk-through of each step. Add a Scenario Block to Your Lesson Scenario block is an interactive block type, so you’ll find it under the interactive blocks menu. Here’s how to navigate to it. Select All Blocks from the blocks shortcut bar. Or, click the insert block icon (+) that appears when you mouse-over a boundary between blocks. Scroll down and choose the interactive category in the block library, and select Scenario. This animated .GIF should point you in the right direction: Add a Scene or Scenes to Your Scenario Block Scenarios are made up of scenes that are, in turn, made up of content. If you’re planning to build a linear scenario, you might find you only need one scene for your project. But if you want to build a branching scenario, you’ll want to add more scenes to your project so you can change characters and backgrounds and branch to other content based on the learner’s choices. For example, in my project, I used three scenes to align with the three skills I needed my learners to practice. To add a scene, just mouse-over your scenario block and click the Edit button that appears. Here’s an animated .GIF to demonstrate how to add a scene to your scenario block: Customize Your Scene(s) Now you’re ready to customize your scenes with Content Library 360 characters and a background image. To customize your scene, click either Edit Background or Edit Character. I found the perfect backdrop for my scene right in Content Library 360, but you can upload an image of your own if you’d like. I also found the perfect character for my scene, Ammon, right in Content Library 360. Here are two more animated .GIFs of these steps. Add Content, Text, and Branching With your scenario block inserted and your scenes customized with the perfect characters and background, you’re ready to add content, pop in text, and add some branching. 1. Start by clicking the Add Content button. From there, you can choose between dialogues and informative text content. Whichever option you choose, you can still offer learners multiple paths to take through the scenario. In my example I used a mix of both types; dialogues to simulate a conversation and informative text content to reinforce feedback. To add dialogue to a scene, just choose dialogue from the content type drop-down menu in the upper right of the title bar. Here’s a .GIF showing you where to find that drop-down menu: 2. Now you can type or copy in text content for your dialogues or informative text. You can also type or copy in text for answer options and feedback. 3. With all of your content in place, you’re ready to add branching by using the Go to menu to specify where you’d like the learner to go next. By default, learners are taken to the next piece of content in the scene. To change that, just link to a different piece of content or to another scene. This gives you loads of flexibility, so you can do things like loop learners through a scene until they select the correct answer option, as I did. Or, you could gradually lead them down a path until they reach the end of the scenario. The choice is yours and the creative options are endless. Pro Tip: I like to preview my scenario from the beginning just to make sure everything is flowing the way I want it to. Here’s how you can do that, right in the scenario block: And when my scenario block is perfect, I like to save it as a block template so I can quickly reuse it in my current course or in future courses. I feel like I’m doing my future self a big favor and saving even more design time! I’m convinced that creating branched scenarios just doesn’t get much faster or easier than with scenario block. Ready to learn more about scenario block? Don’t miss Tom Kuhlmann’s awesome, step-by-step video tutorial on working with scenario blocks in Rise 360. Want to see more scenario blocks in action? Check out my full course example, 3 Techniques for Successful Upselling. And if you haven’t already, jump on over to Rise 360 and take a few minutes to play around and explore all the exciting new possibilities with scenario block. Then swing back by and let me know: what will you create with the new scenario block? Share your ideas in the comments, below. Want to try something you learned here, 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.Storyline: Employee Conversation Branching Scenario
Prompting learners to practice navigating difficult conversations through e-learning is an excellent way to help boost their confidence—and get it right in real life. In this inspiring example featuring a Storyline 360 branching scenario, learners take on the role of a manager and try to uncover why an employee is showing up to work late. Based on their choices, they’re presented with custom feedback to see how different decisions lead to new outcomes. Creating custom, immersive scenarios like this one is easy in Storyline 360. Combining features like layers, triggers, conditions, and variables lets you create a scenario that feels tailored to your learners’ needs. Explore this projectStoryline: Interactive 360° Storytelling Experience
Good podcasts have a way of fully immersing you in a story with nothing but audio. Using clever narrative pacing, engaging voiceovers, and sometimes even atmospheric background music, you’re drawn into the story and almost compelled to keep listening. There’s lots we can borrow from that format to make our own e-learning courses more gripping—which is where this example comes in! This mini-course plays with the style of a popular true crime podcast to sift through the evidence of an admittedly silly mystery. Using the storytelling techniques from that medium, you get pulled into the different motives of three suspects. And an interactive 360° image of the crime scene puts you in the shoes of the investigators, searching for potential clues. It’s incredibly easy to incorporate audio into your Storyline 360 courses, whether it was edited in another program or recorded directly in the app. Then, once you’ve added audio to your project, it takes no time at all to also include closed captioning—so it’s accessible to all your learners. And while this particular example focused on solving a mystery, you can use this same combination of podcasting techniques and interactive 360° images to enhance any kind of story-based content. Explore this projectHelp Learners Practice Their Skills with Scenarios in Rise 360
Scenarios are a great way to bring your training to life. They add authenticity and personality to your courses through the use of characters and dialogue. Topics that are often challenging to train on, such as soft skills, are the perfect type of material for scenarios. Creating scenarios is faster and easier than ever with the scenario block in Rise 360. To add a scenario block to your course, pop into any existing lesson and expand the All Blocks library. You’ll find the scenario block under the interactive blocks. Here’s an animated .GIF to show you what I mean: Click to add a scenario block to your lesson and then click the Edit button on the scenario block to start customizing it with a character, background image, and dialogue and feedback text. Once you get the gist of customizing scenario blocks, you’ll probably start thinking of brand new ways to add branching and linear scenarios to your courses. To kick-start your creativity, here are a few ideas for the types of content you can bring to life with scenarios. Soft Skills Training topics like communication skills, problem-solving abilities, and other soft skills are notoriously difficult because they're nuanced and contextual. Scenarios, particularly branching scenarios, are a great fit for training these types of topics because you can presentrealistic situations that are more nuanced and give people a chance to experience the consequences of their choices. Practice your interviewing skills in this scenario. Customer Service Training Providing customers with a consistent, high-quality experience is vital to your business. That means your customer service reps need a space to practice their customer interactions and learn from their mistakes. The scenario block in Rise 360 is a great way to simulate a customer conversation since you can use the characters’ facial expressions and feedback to let learners know how they’re doing in the scenario—and whether their customer service skills are up to par. Practice four essential customer serviceskills in this scenario. Sales Conversations Sales conversations can be difficult, but practicing them has never been easier thanks to the scenario block in Rise 360. Use the characters to bring sales conversations to life and practice selling techniques without any pressure or risk, as you can see in the example below. Have a sales conversation in this scenario. I think these ideas and examples show how easy it is to bring training materials to life with the scenario block. What do you think? How are you using scenario blocks to upskill your learners? Share your experiences with us in a comment. Want to try something you learned here, 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.
