You must have seen many magicians use a wand while performing their tricks. It seems to be the source of their magic. It makes us feel they can do anything and everything with that wand. So, we call it a magic wand. Similarly, Articulate Storyline provides us with a magic wand. Usually, eLearning developers are asked to create highly interactive eLearning courses, but are given very short deadlines. We all know that creating different interactivities involves writing lengthy action scripts and it takes a lot of time. But Articulate Storyline’s magic wand makes it very easy to create different interactivities without even the basic knowledge of action scripting. All you need to have is the knowledge of this simple magic wand, and you are all set to create highly interactive courses. Wondering what that magic wand is? The magic wand of Articulate Storyline is the Trigger Wizard. This wizard helps us create triggers or actions with its built-in options, minimizing the development time of different interactivities without writing even a single line of action script. It makes a Herculean task so easy, just like the magician lifts a heavy elephant into the air easily with his magic wand. In this blog, we will explore the options of the trigger wizard. The screenshot above displays how a basic trigger wizard looks. It consists of drop-down menus which help in creatinga trigger. These drop-down menus change, depending upon the selectionyou make in certain menus. The only two drop-down menus that would not change are Action and When. Let us understand these drop-down menus. Action In this drop-down menu, you have 21 Actions to choose from. In Storyline 2, with its new features, you have 26 Actions to choose from. These actions are divided into 6 categories: Common, Media, Interaction, Course, More and Quiz. As I mentioned earlier, depending upon the action you choose, the other drop-down menus change. For example, if you select the "Show layer",the next menu displays the list of layers you have on the slide and asks you to choose the layer that you want to display. If you choose "Adjust variable",the next menu displays the list of variables you have in the course and asks you to choose the variable you want to adjust. But, if you choose "Restart course" or "Exit course",the next menu directly asks you when to restart/exit the course. With self-explanatory actions, the drop-down menu appears as shown in the below screenshot. When The next important drop-down menu is When. From this menu, you have to select the event when the action has to be performed. Again, based on the event, you choose the next drop-down menu change. For example, if you choose "User clicks",the next menudisplays the list of all the objects and player buttons you have on the slide and asks you to choose the object that you want the learner to click. If you choose "Media completes",the next menudisplays the list of media you have on the slide and asks you to choose the media on whose completion you want the action to be executed. This is how the trigger wizard helps you create a trigger. You can create any interactivity with the help of this wizard. But there is more to it - Conditioning. To know more about conditioning while creating triggers, stay tuned to my blogs. Related PostsRapid E-learning through Storyline Tool: 5 Infographics Sharing Key Features4 Types of Triggers in Articulate Storyline to Develop Interactive E-learning CoursesHow to Combine Your Adobe Captivate Projects Into Single Course?

If you don’t know, learn. If you already know, apply. If you know and have applied, improve. -Anonymous It is a well-known fact that effective sales training plays a key role in the success of today’s organizations. Companies launch new products rapidly to survive in a competitive market. To be successful in a growing market, a sales person should have good knowledge on his company’s products as well as its competitor’s products. But, how will an organization know that the product released by it is an excellent product? How can sales people be trained effectively? How can organizations ensure that their sales personnel are equipped with the needed knowledge and skills to meet the challenges posed by a dynamic world of business? Well, organizations need to focus on a few key topics in their sales training programs. Here is the info-graphic which shares the topics you need to cover in your sales training program. Hope you find this info-graphic informative. Do you have anything to say? Please do share. Related PostsE-learning to Improve Sales Revenue6 Tips for Effective Sales Training - An InfographicWhy do You Need to Go Beyond ‘E-learning Development Cost Per Hour’?

Adobe Captivate 8 Tutorial: Common JavaScript Interface in Adobe Captivate 8 This Adobe Captivate 8 tutorial presents you the common JavaScript platform for SWF and HTML5 in Adobe Captivate 8. The post Adobe Captivate 8 Tutorial: Common JavaScript Interface in Adobe Captivate 8 appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

Products are the main revenue generators for an organization, and the knowledge of the products is very essential for employees such as sales people, service personnel etc. who interact directly with the customers. Efficient interaction and adequate knowledge of products not only attract customers, but also retain them. Hence, companies are investing more on product training programs. However, there are times when the organization launches a new product and needs to spread the information among its employees, in multiple locations, simultaneously. In this scenario, training by using the traditional approach is not feasible. Therefore, we need a cost-effective solution to deliver training. Here is an Info-graphic which shares how eLearning can be an effective solution to impart product training. Hope you like this post. Do share your views. Related Posts4 Tips to Promote your eLearning CoursesCreative Ways to Present Click on Tab Interactivity in E-learning Courses - An InfographicType of Training Required for Service Staff

Camtasia Studio 8 Tutorial: Sync with Script This Camtasia Studio 8 Tutorial covers the following topics: 00:10 - Copying and pasting scripts 00:50 - Syncing captions 1:55 - Applying timeline adjustments 2:15 - Merging Captions 2:30 - Resuming/restarting The post Camtasia Studio 8 Tutorial: Sync With Script appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

Free Webinar: Custom Reports Made Easy Discover how CourseMill’s new Advanced Reports feature lets you easily create custom reports, charts, and graphs. Learn how to add links to your desktop for immediate access to data without needing to log in. It’s so easy to track training results with CourseMill and John is here to show you how! This is one webinar you don’t want to miss. Sign Up for Free This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Adobe Captivate 8 Tutorial: Accelerometer-based Game in Adobe Captivate 8 This Adobe Captivate 8 tutorial presents how to create an accelerometer-based game with Adobe Captivate 8. The post Adobe Captivate 8 Tutorial: Accelerometer-based Game in Adobe Captivate 8 appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

Whenever I design an eLearning course, I ensure that the course is user-friendly and the learners can make the most out of it. For this purpose, I make extensive use of visuals and graphics. Graphics are a good way to replace text in online courses and reduce the cognitive load. They go a long way in enhancing the efficacy of eLearning courses and help optimize learning. As a result, they play a key role in improvingthe performance of employees. But, when you use graphics in your course, you need to make sure that the graphics go with your content. It is important to see that the graphics you use are ‘instructive’ and not ‘decorative’. Here are a few tips that you can follow when using graphics in an eLearning course. Tip #1 Use representational visuals to show actual appearance It is common knowledge that a good eLearning course enables the learner to apply the knowledge gained to his job. Representative visuals, which are photographs used to depict concepts visually, are very useful tools to help your people transfer their learning to the workplace. They are very effective because they are ‘real’ visuals and your staff members can relate to them easily. Here is the photograph of goods in a seaport. Tip #2 Use organizational visuals to show qualitative relationships According to Ruth Colvin Clark and Chopeta Lyons, an organizational visual is a knowledge representation that uses shapes and text to illustrate various types of qualitative relationships among the content. It is very useful to reduce excessive load of longer texts.Organizational visuals can be used to in online courses to teach a variety of subjects. Here is the screenshot of an organizational visual used in a course on supply chain management. Tip #3 Use relational visuals to communicate quantitative relationships Graphs and charts can be used to depict a large amount of information in a learner-friendly manner.They are often used to explain the quantitative relationships between different variables. Tip #4 Use transformational visuals with on-screen contiguous text Transformational visuals are used to show changes that take place over time. They provide directions, feedback and memory support. Transformational visuals are the ideal tools to depict the steps of a procedure or process. You can use either dynamic visuals or static visuals, based on the learner’s prior knowledge. Show static stills first, followed by an animation or a video to reduce cognitive load. Here is the screenshot of a graphic that shows a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly. Tip #5 Use interpretive visuals to depict ‘invisible’ and abstract concepts Instructional designers find it hard to explain certain abstract concepts. In such cases, you can use Interpretive visuals, which illustrate theory, principle, cause-effect relationships. Efficient use of visuals enhances the effectiveness of your eLearning course and helps your people learn better. Hope you find this post interesting. Do share your views. Related PostsMaking E-learning Videos with Microsoft PowerPoint 2010Creating a Visual Strategy for E-learning: What Should You Consider?5 Qualities of a Good Instructional Designer - An Infographic

A previous post discussed the benefits of the backchannel for students who are shy or introverted. This post examines the benefits of the backchannel for students and teachers in diverse classrooms. What is a diverse classroom? When students of varying abilities, backgrounds, and experiences are in one class (section, session, meeting, etc.), the class is called diverse. Almost every class today can be called diverse!  In special education, the term "inclusive" is important and is used either alongside the term 'diverse' or on its own; it is tied to the mandate that K-12 schools provide the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) to their special needs students. According to Wrightslaw, "LRE means that, to the maximum extent appropriate, school districts must educate students with disabilities in the regular classroom with appropriate aids and supports, referred to as 'supplementary aids and services,' along with their nondisabled peers in the school they would attend if not disabled, unless a student's IEP requires some other arrangement" (U.S. Department of Education et al., 1994).  The IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) of 2004 stipulates this requirement. Having a diverse group of students simply means recognizing that all the people are unique in their own way. Their differences could consist of their reading level, athletic ability, cultural background, personality, religious beliefs, and the list goes on. There has always been diversity in the classroom, but in today's society it is important to embrace it and make positive use of it. Teachers should value diversity and they need to model this attitude to their students. When people value diversity, they recognize and respect the fact that people are different and that these differences is generally a good thing. For example, when attempting to solve a problem, it is better to assemble a diverse team with many skills and many different ways of approaching the problem than it is to assemble a team that has all their strength concentrated in one area ("Appreciating and valuing diversity," n.d.). In today's classrooms, then, a teacher can work with students with: IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) or GIEPs (Gifted students) 504s, which provide services to students who have physical or mental impairments that substantially limit major life activities (Office for Civil Rights, 2013) Home languages other than English (English Language Learners, or ELLs) Varying socioeconomic statuses Varying cultural experiences Varying religious beliefs Diverse learning styles I'm sure I missed a category, but think you understand what I'm trying to say: Teachers need to be ready to differentiate instruction to satisfy the academic needs of students from diverse backgrounds. It can be an intimidating, overwhelming, and exhausting proposition. Educational technology has helped make this process a bit easier, thankfully, and the backchannel is one type of educational technology that supports the inclusive and diverse classroom. I bet you are glad I got to the point of this post. The Backchannel as a Written Record Back in 1991, I was a junior in college. I decided to start tape recording lectures so I could listen to them later and type out my notes. It really helped me to catch those things that the professor said during lecture that I missed as my mind wandered, which was inevitable in those days. In those days, too, the professor expected that you would know everything said during lecture, so missing something could hurt your grade. Today, however, I believe that teaching has evolved to a point where understanding is more important than recall. If I were an undergrad today, I would not need to spend hours typing out my notes to commit them to memory; I would need to be able to explain the significance of what was said, create hypotheses about why things are connected, and evaluate what others have said. It would still be nice to have that recording, though, or some written record of what happened in class, as a transcript to review while reflecting on the content. The backchannel transcript can help students who lose their concentration during class, or who need more time with the content to make connections and construct their own understanding. You can set up an outline in Microsoft Word that has discussion questions or topics; when the right time comes, simply copy and paste them into the chat box. Alternatively, you could set up a PowerPoint with one question per slide, then let the students use the backchannel application to answer questions. Those who are shy or introverted (see my last post), will welcome the chance to respond in writing. Their responses will complete the transcript, which students can retrieve at a later time to study from.  If they missed something, they will realize it while studying and be able to fill in the gaps. The Backchannel Can Keep Everyone Informed Suppose you decide to do small group work in a class. Group work is great, but also poses one problem: Some groups will perform very well, and others will not. How can you make sure that everyone comes away with a good understanding, no matter what his or her group? I suggest using a backchannel to capture discussions and the groups' answers to questions, then share the transcript with all of your students. Using the backchannel also allows all groups to go at their own pace; helping one or the other this way will not disturb the other groups. Use the Backchannel to Review The backchannel does not have to be solely for discussion. In fact, if you use applications such as Poll Everywhere or SurveyMonkey or Google Forms, you can set up a poll for your students to help them study for a test. One of the applications just mentioned allow you to create a word cloud from free text answers. I will leave it to you to figure out which one that is. When you are finished with the poll, publish the results to your classroom website, or send it to everyone through email. For more information, please check out these references. Appreciating and valuing diversity. (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2015, from https://www.nde-ed.org/TeachingResources/ClassroomTips/Diversity.htm CAST: About Universal Design for Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2015, from http://www.cast.org/our-work/about-udl.html#.VXAx_M9Viko Office for Civil Rights. (2013, December 19). Protecting students with disabilities. Retrieved June 4, 2015, from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html Teaching for diverse abilities - Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2015, from http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching-resources/course-planning/diverse-abilities/#udl U.S. Department of Education, Wright, P. D., & Wright, P. D. (1994, November 23). Questions and answers on Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) requirements of the IDEA - Wrightslaw. Retrieved June 4, 2015, from http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/lre.osers.memo.idea.htm Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Thank you! I hope these suggestions have given you some ideas for how to use the backchannel in your classroom to help students learn at their own pace. Thank you for reading this! This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Most of you must have heard the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words". In the context of eLearning, pictures can really create wonders. Using images in an eLearning course is an effective way to teach the learner. A still image can help the learner retain information for a long time. Now that we know images play an important role in eLearning, there are a few things that need to be taken care of when you choose images for your course. Let us see what they are. 1. Are the images relevant to the target audience?  If you are making a course for a healthcare organization and use the image of a sales executive, then it would annoy the learner and distract him from the course. An image of a physician or something related to the industry would work in this case. This is because healthcare professionals are the target audience for the course. It is very important to know who your target audiences are. 2. Do the graphics support the content? It is true that images make the course visually appealing, but they should not be used only as decorative materials. Each image used in the course must be relevant to the topic; it should represent the content that is being taught. Learners who avoid reading the content on the screen can easily remember the concept if the image speaks it. Even if the learner fails to understand the concept when he reads it, he can understand and retain it if there are supporting images. 3. Are the images authorized? The next and most important thing is to check whether the selected image is from an authorized source or not. Otherwise, it may lead to legal conflicts. Make sure that there are no "watermark images" in the published version of the course. All images must be purchased before the course is sent to the client. 4. Are the images consistent throughout the course? Another essential point to remember is that the images used are uniform with other images in the course. For example, if you think of using vector images in a course then the entire course should have vector images. A combination of vector and real images would be distracting. As images play an important role in the learning process, it is necessary to spare a little time and consider these points to choose the right images for your course. I hope you find this blog informative. Do share your views on the post. Related PostsImportance of Content Comprehension in E-learningDeveloping Curriculum Courses in E-learning Picturing the Phases of ADDIE Model - An Infographic