You must have noticed movies in which closed captions (sub titles) of the dialogues are shown of the same language as the movie. The idea of closed captions was mainly introduced for the deaf or people with hearing deficiency, but it has been very useful even for the non-native speakers of the language.Movies now-a-days show closed captions, so that people all over the world can watch it even if they do not know the language. E-learning developers also recommend having closed captions for courses, keeping in mind the types of learning styles.This feature is mostly preferred by visual learners or by learners who tend to avoid listening to the audio and read the content by themselves. Articulate Storyline provides a Notes Pane, where you can put all the transcribed text.Today, in this blog; let us see how to add the notes pane to the player. Step 01 Click the Notes tab which is beside the Timeline and States tab. Step 02 Copy the transcribed text and paste it in the notes pane. Step 03 Now, in the Insert tab, click the Edit Player Properties button. Step 04  In the Player Tabs, click the checkbox of Notes to enable it in the player. You can change the placement of the notes pane in the player using the arrow buttons given below the tabs. Click OK after enabling the notes pane and preview or publish the course to check the functionality. That’s it! This is how we add a notes pane to the in-built player of Articulate Storyline. This Notes Pane can be used only if you use the built-in interface of Storyline for the eLearning course.In case ofa customized interface, there are two different methods to display the closed caption.We will look at those methods, in my next blogs. Hope this blogis helpful to you. Please share your thoughts through your valuable comments. Related PostsRapid E-learning through Storyline Tool: 5 Infographics Sharing Key FeaturesHow to Combine Your Adobe Captivate Projects Into Single Course?How to Add and Sync Closed Captions/Subtitles in Lectora?

Criteria For Evaluating A Custom eLearning Development Company In India Top 6 criteria for the evaluation (and tips to increase the chances of success) of your outsourcing initiative Capability and Expertise in Custom eLearning. This is the start point to look at the services and product portfolio and how closely this maps to your current and future needs. Tips  Do check for the industry-specific expertise that is relevant for you. Do not miss out the review of audited balance sheets to check on the financial stability (more importantly, you must get an understanding of their next 2-3 years' plan). Match your growth plans with the expertise they currently offer/have plans to add in future. Do ascertain what they "do not do"! Size and capability to scale. While the current team size should be an important factor for your evaluation, it is equally important to understand how they can scale at a short notice, if required. Tips Check on the number of concurrent projects that a typical team handles and the turn-around time. Ascertain how easily they can scale to your ad-hoc requirements. People (particularly talent in Project Management and Instructional Design). The quality of people in the vendor team determines the success of your outsourcing initiative. So, ask for the details on the talent that will be potentially aligned for you. While you start your interaction with the Account Management and Project Management talent first, ask for the details of the next level as well. This information is an important indicator to ascertain how multiple, concurrent projects will be handled. Particularly significant is the check on the expertise from the Instructional Design team. It is vital to determine their expertise in learning design. You also need to get clarity on their Instructional Design methodology. Then look at Visual Design from the range of talent available (for instance, from visualization to illustration capability). Look at the Technology team’s capability to support varied requirements (different authoring tools, adaptive and response frameworks, and Learning Management System support). Last but not least, look at their Quality Management System and specifically check for how they feed the lessons learned to continuously enhance the process. Tips If you are targeting outsourcing as a long-term or strategic initiative, start with the management team details first. Particularly in the early phase of the association, it is risky to work with the vendor’s contractors. It is essential to have their employees working with you. During the evaluation phase, do focus on assessing their working style, communication skills, and flexibility they can offer. Development process. A mature development framework is the second most important factor that would determine the success of your outsourcing initiative. Ask for the detailed work-flow and the supporting assets. Do assess how efficiently the sign-offs will be handled. Ask for the risk management and mitigation measures. Additionally, ask for the communication guidelines and ascertain what measures are in place to ensure timely delivery (with requisite quality). Tips Make sure that you check out the flexibility the development framework offers and how easily it can be tweaked and aligned to your development methodology. What is important to check here is the work-flow and if it is aligned to "continuous improvement". You need to also check for actual assets to assess how they are used practically. In addition to these, check what their focus is on international business and how it can address the dynamics of distributed development. Pricing model for custom eLearning. One of the benefits of outsourcing is cost saving, so this aspect is a crucial evaluation factor. You must ask for a detailed break-down of all components to ensure that there are no hidden or unplanned costs. Tips  The project pay-out to the vendor is not the only component of your cost. You need to factor for other aspects, like your Project Management time, tracking for risks, reviews, and tracking how effectively your feedback gets incorporated. Quantify all these aspects to determine your Total Cost of Outsourcing (TCO) and assess your progress against this. Over a period of time, you should be able to use TCO pointers to leverage more from the same budget and be able to manage more projects at the same time. Infrastructure and measures to protect your Intellectual Property (IP). Since the outsourcing vendor would be your distributed development arm, it is vital to ensure that their infrastructure is in line with your requirements. Additionally, you must ascertain the Info Security policies that they have in place to safeguard your IP. Tips While most companies that focus on International business will have the required infrastructure, double check on the bandwidth of communication links. Besides obtaining details on Info Security policies, check how exactly the practices to limit access to your information are applied during development. Α quick summary το use in your evaluation of custom eLearning development companies Credentials.  How long have they been in business of custom eLearning? How much has the business grown? How many customers are long-term? Prior work (demos and samples).  Ask for a wide range of samples (cutting across varied authoring tools). Ask for samples showcasing innovative learning strategies. Reference checks.  Do not depend on email alone to get feedback. Pick up the phone and have a detailed discussion - ask for the pain areas, how were challenges addressed, and so on; do not restrict your questions to what worked, ask for what did not work and how they addressed the challenges. Work-flow.  How is it aligned to dynamics of distributed custom eLearning development? How easily can it be tweaked to your specific requirements? Details of the Management team, Project Managers, and Development team.  An outline of their HR initiatives to retain talent and what attrition rates they currently have.  Their take on what they see as the "future of learning" and how they are aligning to it. I hope this article will add value to your evaluation process and help you in securing a long-term partner who can consistently add value to your business. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Google for Education Video Tutorial: Teacher Tips- Using Organization Functionality in Gmail This Google for Education Video Tutorial presents how to use Gmail to organize your emails in a personal way. The post Google for Education Video Tutorial: Teacher Tips- Using Organization Functionality in Gmail appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

If there is a need to develop an eLearning course in quick time and a cost-effective manner, Articulate Storyline is the first choice of the eLearning developer. A survey by the E-learning Guild, in 2013, revealed that Articulate Storyline is the most preferred rapid authoring tool. It has many built-in features such as templates, characters and so on. They are ‘ready to use’ and help developers save time. If required, customization can also be done. Storyline has the ability to publish courses to HTML5 and the iPad. The GUI of this tool looks similar to PowerPoint. So, anyone who has knowledge of PowerPoint can operate this tool. Let’s now see a few tips which are useful for developers. Hope you find this post informative. Please do share your views. Related Posts4 Tips for Developing E-learning Course Using Rapid Authoring ToolsRapid E-learning through Storyline Tool: 5 Infographics Sharing Key FeaturesRevealing 3 Hidden Features of Articulate Storyline - An Infographic

How To Use The Next Button In eLearning: 8 Tips For eLearning Professionals Letting your learners freely roam about the eLearning course and choose which path to follow has its benefits, but if you are dealing with a linear structure a next button is often the best way to go. It guides your learners through the process and takes the frustration and guesswork out of the eLearning experience. Here are some tips for effectively using the next button in your next eLearning deliverable. Define your navigation icons in the beginning. You cannot just assume that all your learners are going to know what each navigation icon means, including the next button. Even if you are going to use the traditional arrow, clearly state that in the beginning of the eLearning course and identify all other navigation buttons as well. In fact, it may even be wise to include text on each button throughout the eLearning course, just in case the learner needs a reminder. Also, if there are other icons in the mix, then be sure to place them on a different section of the page in order to avoid any confusion. Don’t be vague about where the button leads. Most learners are hesitant click on a button if they aren’t sure where it will take them. This is true for most things in life though. As a general rule, a vast majority of people will think twice before doing something if the outcome is not clearly stated. It’s all about the fear of the unknown, and this also applies in eLearning environments. Therefore, be very clear about where the next button in eLearning is going to lead. For example, you can include a "go to the next page" or "start the scenario" label on the next button. Create eye-catching buttons by using contrasting colors. Who says that the next button in eLearning has to be drab and dull? Why not spruce up your next icons by using contrasting colors that catch the learner’s eye? It’s a known fact that objects or images that are colorful or interrupt a particular pattern are more noticeable. Create a red next button to stand out against your white page backdrop, for instance. Just make sure that your text is also in a contrasting color so that it doesn’t blend in. Keep mobile users in mind. Mobile phone usage is on the rise in the world of eLearning. So, you’ll have to remember that some of your learners will be using their mobile devices, which have smaller screen sizes, to access your eLearning course. This means that your next button in eLearning has to be large enough to tap, but not so large that it occupies the whole screen. Try your button out on a variety of different mobile devices to determine how big it should be, bearing in mind that most people use their thumbs when they are clicking through a mobile learning course. The Next button in eLearning should grab learners’ attention, but not steal the spotlight. Ideally, the next buttons you include in your eLearning course design should be prominent, as you want them to be noticed by your learners, but they should never be distracting. They are navigation icons, after all, not a key takeaway or eLearning exercises. Keep it simple by adding just one next button and one back button to each eLearning page, and make sure they are separated from other clickable items, such as hyperlinks. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to click the next button and ending up somewhere else entirely because the clickable areas are too close together. Give it a "clickable" appearance. Speaking of clickable, you want to make sure that your next button is, well…a button, which can be clicked, rather than just another graphic on the page. Ensure that it has borders around it to define its parameters, and that it has a shape that somewhat resembles a button, like a rectangle or arrow. Above all else, make sure there’s a sufficient amount of white space around it to draw more attention to the fact that it is a navigation icon. Follow the natural flow of the eLearning course page. The next button should be at the bottom of the page, preferably on the right hand side. Unless you are addressing to particular cultural groups, learners’ gaze will naturally go from right to left and top to bottom, so the next button will be the last thing that they see on every screen of the eLearning course. This also helps to guide learners through the eLearning course, as they will be able to immediately determine that this is the button that will help them move along and progress to the next page, thanks to its position. End the page with a cliffhanger. Sometimes your learners need some coaxing to push that next button, especially those who may be lacking intrinsic motivation. Why not convince them to click by leaving the page on a cliffhanger. For example, you can ask them a thought provoking question, or cut off a story just before the conclusion to pique their interest. You want your learners to wonder what is going to happen next or get an answer to a fascinating question. You can even mention that they will be able to "see the conclusion to the story" or "get the answer" by clicking the next button. The next button doesn’t have to be a major faux pas in eLearning. In fact, by using these tips you can create an engaging and exciting linear course that is easy to navigate and enjoyable for every member of your audience. Looking for more tips to improve your eLearning course navigation? Read the article Effective eLearning Navigation: 5 Key Principles to learn about the 5 key principles of eLearning navigation that will help you create organized and user-friendly eLearning experiences. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Litmos LMS Tutorial: Litmos LMS Course Overview This Litmos LMS Tutorial presents how simple it is to create LMS courses in Litmos. Simply, create a new course, give it a title and set a few optional settings, then add content and assign to users. That’s it! The post Litmos LMS Tutorial: Litmos LMS Course Overview appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

We all have a child in ourselves, energetic, fun loving and having zeal to explore and win games. In this state, we learn the best because our emotional state is very positive and retention of learning will be at the peak. How do we bring out the kid in ourselves, while learning a new skill or acquiring knowledge? How can you help learners play and learn at the same time? The answer is to create a challenge instead of regular quiz questions to teach or evaluate learning. For example, if we are creating a game for sales professionals, we can create a game where for every positive answer, the learner will make a $500 sale. And, if he does it right the first time, he gets a bonus. The game can be time-bound to make it more interesting. Salesmen are used to targets and bonuses, and this will be aligned with their personalities. Another example can be a coach and a learner playing a game, and if the learner gets it right, he gets a badge or a medal and on completion of the challenge and a winners’ cup. One caveat - do not make the game very simple, as the learner will lose interest. Have some hurdles so that he is motivated to try harder. Visually, having cartoon characters and a background sets the mood of a fun time and not serious learning. Music also plays a role in engaging the learner, during assessments. Have music for right and wrong answers, a coin sound for a badge and claps for the final winners’ cup! With authoring tools like Storyline, creating effective learning games is very easy. Some of the interesting games are hangman, memory games and matching games. The challenge is choosing the right game based on the learner, content and learning outcomes. Related PostsAre You Driving Your Learners Insane? - 4 Annoying E-learning Design Practices3 Motives to Use Games in Your E-learning CoursesWhy Should Instructional Designers Use Prototypes for E-Learning?

In my previous blog, we discussed the importance of closed captions in eLearning and how to add the Notes Pane to the player that is used as the closed caption. But, this Notes Pane can only be used if you choose the built-in interface of Storyline for your eLearning course. In case you choose to customize the interface, you also have to create a customized closed caption. This can be done using two different methods. In the first method,you can create a pop-up and put all the transcribed text in it (similar to the notes pane). In the second method, you can bring each line of the transcribed text in sync with audio (similar to movie subtitles). Today, in this blog, let us know the first method of creating a closed caption. Step 01: In the customized interface, create a button or an icon (depending on your interface requirements) that can be triggered to display the closed captions. Step 02: Add a new layer and rename it. I’ll rename it as CC which implies Closed Caption. Step 03: Do not forget to change the slide layer properties as shown in the below screenshot. Step 04: In the base layer,select the CC button/icon and add a trigger to it as shown in the screenshot below. This trigger will display the closed caption text, once you click the CC button/icon. Step 05: In the CC layer, design a pop-up of the required size. Also, add a close button to the pop-up. Step 06: Select the close button and add a trigger to it as shown in the screenshot below. Step 07: Now, within the border of the pop-up, insert a scrolling panel. Go to Insert tab>select Scrolling Panel>drag the mouse on the screen for the desired size of the scrolling panel. Step 08: Add the closed caption text to the CC layer and drag the text box on to thescrolling panel. This will let the text move inside the scrolling panel. You can then align the text perfectly inside the scrolling panel. Preview or publish the course to check the functionality. That’s it! This is how we create a closed caption which displays all the transcribed text in one pop-up. We will look at the second method, where each line of the transcribed text comes in sync with the audio, similar to the movie subtitles. Hope this tip is helpful.Please share your thoughts through your valuable comments. Related PostsHow to Add and Sync Closed Captions/Subtitles in Lectora?How to Change Default Player Buttons Labels in Articulate Storyline?How to Add Buttons to an E-learning Course in Articulate Storyline?

DevLearn 2015 Conference And Expo Innovation exists at the intersection of invention and value. But innovation doesn’t happen on its own-you have to make it happen by taking advantage of today’s cutting-edge technologies. DevLearn 2015 Conference & Expo will inspire the innovator in you to discover what technology makes possible for learning today and to examine and experiment with all the growing opportunities for tomorrow. Come explore the changing world of learning technologies with the leading community of industry pioneers and witness innovation in the making, September 30 - October 2 at the MGM Grand Las Vegas. Learn more: http://bit.ly/1QUJsGw Concurrent DevLearn 2015 Sessions Posted! At this year’s conference you will have the opportunity to explore more than 125 concurrent sessions in 13 key topic areas critical to those building and leading organizational learning and performance programs. We’ve posted descriptions for more than 110 of those sessions, which explore topics such as: Development Strategy Emerging Tech Management Instructional Design Performance Support Mobile Tools Media Social Learning Games & Gamification Virtual Classroom Data & Measurement And more: http://bit.ly/1NmmFOt DevLearn 2015 Keynote Speakers This year’s keynote speakers tap into the four critical elements of learning innovation: Curiosity, Disruption, Passion, and Technology. These keynotes are sure to inspire your inner innovator to take your own learning to new heights. Curiosity, Discovery, and Learning Adam Savage, Host, Discover Channel’s MythBusters Learning Without Boundaries Natalie Panek, Mission Systems Engineer, MDA Robotics and Automation Learning Disrupted David Pogue, Founder & Columnist, Yahoo! Tech Digital Badges and the Future of Learning Connie Yowell, Director of Education, MacArthur Foundation Learn more about the DevLearn keynote speakers: http://bit.ly/1GCFiYZ Co-located Event: Adobe Learning Summit Join learning industry luminaries, eLearning and mLearning experts, peers, and Adobe product teams on an exciting journey at the Adobe Learning Summit 2015, co-located with DevLearn. Save $100 if you are also registered for DevLearn, plus an additional $50 with the Early discount if you register by August 14! Learn more: http://bit.ly/1KiR0in DevLearn 2015: Register Now and Save $100 or MORE! Don’t miss this chance to join your colleagues from around the world at DevLearn, the event that showcases the innovations that shape what’s next for learning technologies. Register by August 14 and save $100 with the Early registration discount—in addition to all other discounts for which you may qualify! Register now! http://bit.ly/1GyJ2eL Learn more: http://bit.ly/1QUJsGw This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

Google for Education Video Tutorial: Teacher Tips- Using Google Drive to Edit Office files This Google for Education Video Tutorial presents how to use Google Drive to edit Microsoft Office documents natively and how you can give them super powers and make them in to Google Docs. The post Google for Education Video Tutorial: Teacher Tips- Using Google Drive to Edit Office files appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.