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.5 Different Ways to Create Scenarios in Rise 360
If you’ve ever used the scenario block in Rise 360, you know how quick and easy it is to build an engaging interaction fast. But did you know there’s more than one way to create a scenario in Rise 360? With so many block options, it’s simple to customize your course design to fit your learners’ needs. Using the same scenario script, I created 5 versions of the same scenario using different lesson and block types. Let’s look at each of them and talk about when it makes sense to choose one option over the other. 1. Scenario Block Like I mentioned earlier, the Scenario Block in Rise 360 makes it super fast and easy to make your course more interactive. This is the most commonly used block for branching scenarios because everything is already built for you. You can quickly customize the block with Content Library 360 images and characters and then add your own dialogue, responses, and feedback. Use case: It’s best to use this block when you want to build a scenario fast! 2. Button Stack Block For this example, and examples 3 and 4, I inserted the same Image & Text Block to introduce the customer and the scenario, but chose different blocks to display answer options. In this case, I used the Button Stack Block. Button stacks can be used to send emails, access external information easily, or jump to other spots in a course. In this example, I used the button stack as answer options for the scenario. The learner selects a response and is directed to another lesson based on their answer. Use case: This block is useful if your custom feedback includes a lot of text or if you want to provide more contextual information based on a learner’s response—like a lesson with additional images, text, and block types that goes into more depth about that topic. 3. Flashcard Grid Block The Flashcard Grid Block is another option for your story-based interactions. With just one click you can define terms, reveal text, and much more. For this scenario example, I used the cards to display both answer options. The learner can click either option and get specific feedback based on their selection. So if a learner chooses the correct answer but wants to explore why the other answer is incorrect, they can! Use case: When you want to give the learner the option to easily view the consequences of more than one action, whether correct or incorrect—for example, if there are multiple correct answers but one of them is better than the other. 4. Knowledge Check Block Since knowledge checks are ungraded and don’t report a score, they’re a good way to provide a safe space for learners to reflect and practice applying what they’re learning in a low-pressure environment. And the great thing about knowledge checks is that you can build them right within a lesson! That’s exactly what I did in this example. Use case: Use this block when you want to quickly test learners’ knowledge within a lesson and the feedback only includes text. 5. Quiz Lesson Sometimes you need to do more than just check in with learners—for example, evaluate how much they’ve learned. That’s where quiz lessons come in! Quizzes are scored and report that information to your Learning Management System (LMS). For this example, I used a multiple choice question. Use case: If you need to track learners’ scores in your LMS, this is the option you’ll want to choose. Wrap-Up These are just a few creative ways to build scenarios in Rise 360 and when you might want to use them in your projects. Of course, you’re not limited to just these options. With so many lesson and block types, the possibilities are limitless. What creative ways have you used to present scenarios in your Rise 360 courses? Please share them in the comments below! If you liked the scenario examples above, you can see them in action here. Want to learn how to create realistic scenarios learners can relate to? Check out these helpful articles: 7 Tips for Writing Effective E-Learning Scenarios Help Learners Practice Their Skills with Scenarios in Rise 360 How to Choose the Point of View (POV) for Your E-Learning Scenario Want to start creating your own scenarios in Rise 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.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.Storyline 360: Adaptive Scenario Template
Learn to work with Storyline's variables to create custom branching scenarios that adapt to the learner's performance in the e-learning course. You'll work with Storyline's built-in quiz and results slides to generate the scoring variables. Then, using conditional triggers, you'll redirect users based on their point levels during the course. Learn more about this project: View demo: View the final projectStoryline: Task Prioritization Immersive Scenario Template
Need to teach your learners how to prioritize tasks? This immersive scenario is just the thing! Learners have to look around their desk to identify and analyze the tasks on their to-do list and determine whether they’re urgent and/or important. From there, learners must decide whether to do each task today, schedule it for later, delegate it, or take it off their to-do list. Explore this project. To learn more about how I designed this template, be sure to check out this article. And if you’d like to see two other example courses that teach these same concepts, head on over to this article.Storyline: Job Interview Branched Scenario
Want to give learners a safe place to hone their conversation skills? Try a branched scenario! Perfect for practicing what to say, a branched scenario includes realistic questions, responses, and reactions. And because the stakes are low, learners can make mistakes without fear—learning from their stumbles without facing real-world consequences. Inspired by a branched scenario template and article by Nicole Legault, this new download takes learners through some of the trickiest questions they might be asked in job interviews. Using Storyline 360’s slide layers, you can give custom feedback on each choice without having to add more slides. What’s more, the wide variety of character poses in Content Library 360 means you can also use body language to give learners even more clues about how they’re doing. Building your course in Rise 360 instead of Storyline 360? You can either bring this download in with the help of the Storyline block or use the scenario block to quickly put together a similar interaction! Explore this project Want to try building something similar in Storyline 360 but don’t have Articulate 360? Start a free 30-day trial.
