ID Toolbox
Practical tools for e-learning developers… Over the past several months I've built a set of browser tools for the bits of Storyline and Rise that used to cost me hours. Eleven of them, all completely free, no signup, no accounts, nothing to install. They run entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded anywhere, which for me was the whole point, I wasn't keen on posting client content to a website just to check something… ID ToolboxWhat tools do you use?
What are your go to tools you use everyday and wouldn't be without in your authoring process? Here's mine. There's one thing they all have in common, and for me it's the important bit, nothing gets uploaded. They're plain HTML and JavaScript running in your browser. When you drop a .story file, an image or a SCORM zip on one of these, it gets read in memory on your own machine and that's the end of it. No server, no account, no sign up. Most of what I work on is client material and I'd rather not be posting it to a third party site. I suspect I'm not alone in that. They're all completely free, no trial, no limits, no nonsense! Story Auditor Variable health checks Storyline project files. Finds broken and at risk JavaScript references, unused variables and script issues before you ship. Story Documenter A complete written specification from a .story file. Every slide, every trigger in plain English, every quiz answer etc, ready to print or share with clients. Great for creating storyboards. Image Press Resize, compress and convert images in the browser. E-learning size presets, a target file size, batch zip download, and image metadata stripped on output. Great free tool for managing images for projects. SCORM Bench Run a SCORM package against a logging LMS runtime, without uploading it. Every API call visible, live data model, the manifest checked. Works with SCORM 1.2 and 2004. And a quick question; what's the thing in your workflow that still doesn't have a tool? These only existed because I moaned about something enough and then got annoyed enough to fix it!✨ Friday Fun Prompt: The Blank Slide Moment
You know that moment… You’ve got the topic. You’ve got the request. You open a new project. And then… Where do you actually start? 💬 What’s the hardest part of starting a new course for you? Is it: • Defining objectives? • Organizing messy source content? • Figuring out structure? • Just getting momentum? Bonus: What’s one thing that helps you move past that starting point?Fast AI Moodboards in Visily.ai
In this short tutorial, I walk through how I use Visily.ai to create a polished 12-slide AI moodboard for training and instructional design projects. The workflow is simple: gather your inspo, align with brand assets, write a clear prompt in Grok 4.1, and let Visily.ai generate high-fidelity layouts that guide the entire visual direction of the course. This approach helps you explore concepts quickly and present a strong visual foundation before moving into development. You can watch the full breakdown here: https://youtu.be/AcndXNYe7DM?si=kCcFqOon9vyBZuf1Instructional Design for Financial Services: Lessons from the UAE
Hello Articulate Community, I’m reaching out to connect with fellow learning designers, educators, and organizations exploring fresh ways to drive professional development through impactful e-learning. I’m an Instructional Designer based in Dubai, specializing in designing and developing training solutions and digital learning experiences using Articulate tools. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to scale large-scale training programs across the UAE, particularly in the financial sector, including banks and insurance companies. What makes my approach unique is the balance between instructional creativity and scalability. I’ve not only crafted engaging modules but also rolled out end-to-end learning journeys, covering classroom, digital, and blended formats, ensuring they align with compliance standards, industry regulations, and organizational goals. Some areas I’m passionate about include: Designing custom e-learning modules (SCORM-compliant) that seamlessly integrate into existing LMS. Building training frameworks that can scale from a single team to entire institutions. Creating learning content that bridges complex financial concepts with learner-friendly, practical delivery. I’m now exploring freelance opportunities to collaborate with organizations that want to reimagine their learning, scale their programs, and maximize learner engagement. If your organization is looking for instructional design expertise with proven UAE financial sector experience, I’d be happy to connect and discuss how we can work together. Feel free to reach out here or connect directly. Looking forward to learning and collaborating with this inspiring community!Do You Storyboard Before Building in Rise?
When I'm starting a new Rise course, I often sketch out a quick outline first. Other times, I build right in Rise (especially now with AI!) and organize as I go. Lately, I've been wondering how others approach it—especially when it comes to storyboarding or outlining content ahead of time. If you build Rise courses, I'd love to hear: Do you typically create a storyboard or outline before jumping into Rise? 📝 (And if you do, what does it usually look like—simple notes, a spreadsheet, something more detailed?) I'm gathering some insights for an upcoming community project and would love to learn from your processes! 🙌🏼Best way to get feedback/workshop content with SMEs
I'm starting a project that involves a lot of SMEs contributing content, and I know there will be plenty of back and forth to get the language just right. What’s the best way to handle this? In the past, we’ve used Word storyboards with track changes, but it’s hard for SMEs to visualise, and it takes ages to format. I’ve also used Review 360 in Rise, but the feedback screenshots often end up in the wrong spot, making it confusing to know what the SME is referring to. A colleague suggested Storyline might be better for reviews. Is that true? Or should I just export as a PDF and get feedback that way?20 Ways to Present E-Learning Game Design Concepts & Storyboards #470
Game Show Design: Storyboards RECAP #470: Challenge | Recap This week’s challenge asked course designers to share a concept or storyboard for an e-learning game show activity. This is the first part of our four-part game design series, which highlights the major milestones in e-learning development. Week 1: Concept & Storyboarding Week 2: Design & Prototyping Week 3: Development & Review Week 4: Final Project Submission Mallory Frazier Example | Mallory Frazier | Website Phil Mayor Example | Phil Mayor | Website | @philmayor Julie LALAMEDIA Example | Julie LALAMEDIA David Davis Example | David Davis Thierry EMMANUEL Example | Thierry EMMANUEL | Website Sean Murray Example | Sean Murray Samuel Apata Example | Samuel Apata | Website | @afrostem Jonathan Hill Example | Jonathan Hill | Website | @DevByPowerPoint Ron Katz Example | Ron Katz | Website Jodi M. Sansone Example | Jodi M. Sansone | Website | @jodimsansone Jesse Wu Example | Jesse Wu | Website Maren West Example | Maren West eLearn Dev Example | eLearn Dev Shelby Breece Example | Shelby Breece Mara Buggenthin Example | Mara Buggenthin Angela Thomas Example | Angela Thomas Kirsten Ossa Example | Kirsten Ossa Arron Walker Example | Learn more | Arron Walker | Website Jayashree Ravi Example | Jayashree Ravi | LinkedIn Kate Golomshtok Example | Kate Golomshtok | Website New to the E-Learning Challenges? The weekly challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challenges anytime you want. I'll update the recap posts to include your demos. If you have a blog, please write about your challenge example. I'll add links to your blog post, so your examples get even more exposure. And for those who share your demos on Twitter or LinkedIn, please include #ELHChallenge so your network (and Articulate!) can track your e-learning coolness. Share Your Concept & Storyboard Examples! The e-learning game challenge is still open! If you have one or more ideas you'd like to share, please jump over to the original challenge and post your links in the comments section. I'll update this recap page to include your examples.Make Working with SMEs a Breeze with These 3 Downloads
One of my favorite things about being an e-learning designer is creating courses on a wide variety of topics. I’ve learned so much over the years! When I look back on it, it’s almost like I had to become an expert in every subject in order to create the most effective learning experience. And while some of my knowledge came from my own research, more often than not it was gleaned from the content provided by my project’s Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). Subject Matter Experts play a critical role in course design. They have the knowledge, experience, and insight to help you create the most impactful training. Despite their importance to your projects, working with SMEs can also be challenging. From different perspectives around how content should be presented to old-fashioned beliefs around how people learn, many e-learning pros find themselves in a battle of wills with their SMEs when all they really want is a productive partnership. This problem can be especially vexing when creating custom e-learning in a powerful app like Storyline 360. With so many creative possibilities, there are countless ways to present content. So how do you help your SMEs visualize different treatments and bridge gaps in understanding, all while building positive relationships with your SMEs? Here are three documents I’ve found essential for communicating clearly and aligning expectations from the start. Document 1: Project Kickoff Questions Before meeting with your project’s SMEs, it pays to do a little prep work. If you already have some source content pulled together, study it to get a basic understanding of the material. And if you don’t have content, research the topic or the company to make the most of your time with your SMEs. As you study, prepare a list of questions to help guide the conversation and show the SME how much you value their time. Need to kick-start your thinking? Download and customize this Project Kickoff Questionnaire for your needs. Download With all of your prep work done, you’re ready to set up a meeting with your SME to discuss the project. Make sure to bring your list of questions, and then listen actively and take notes. This is your time to build trust with your SMEs and identify knowledge and performance gaps to determine the right solution. Document 2: Project Plan After you determine the right solution, it’s time to put the details in writing so you’re all on the same page. A project plan can be a great way to align expectations. In the project plan, you can include the project background, course information, deliverables, timelines, and any other important details. Once you’re done preparing the project plan, have the SME review it and confirm its accuracy before moving forward with design. Need help creating a project plan? I’ve got you covered! Download this free project plan template. Download Document 3: Storyboard Now that you and the SME are on the same page, it’s time to start designing the project. If you’re using a slide-based authoring app like Storyline 360, the best way to make sure you have a solid foundation for development is to create a storyboard. A storyboard is the blueprint for a course that outlines the content screen by screen. Storyboards help your SMEs visualize how the content will flow and allows them to make edits before you start development in your authoring app. Note: If you’re using a web-based authoring app like Rise 360, you can skip the storyboarding phase and go straight to development since it’s easy to use and quick to make changes. Need help getting started? Then download and customize this storyboard template with your content. Download What Next? After the storyboard is finalized, you can feel confident knowing you have a solid foundation to start building your course. Taking the time to develop project kickoff questions, create a clear project plan, and storyboard the content before you start developing it in your authoring app will set you, the SME, and the learners up for success. For more ideas on working with SMEs, check out this series on Everything You Need to Know About Working with SMEs. 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.
