In my previous blog, we have discussed a new method to create a closed caption in which each line of the transcribed text comes in sync with audio similar to movie subtitles. But this method becomes lengthy when your course has a large number of slides. So today, in this blog, we will discuss a simplified version of the same process. Step 01: Go to View tab>click Slide Master. Step 02: In the slide master, where you have already designed your customized interface, create a button or an icon (depending on your interface requirements) that can be triggered to display the closed captions. Step 03: Again, in the same slide master, add a new layer for the transcribed text. Step 04: Create a text variable as shown in the below screenshot. Step 05: Now, in the new layer, add a box where the transcribed text can be displayed and write the name of the text variable you have just created, between 2 percentage marks. Step 06: Coming back to the base layer of the slide master, create a true/false variable to help display the CC layer. Step 07: Adjust the variable as shown in the screenshot below. Step 08: Now, add triggers to the CC button to display and hide the CC layer. Close the slide master after adding these triggers. Step 09: Create small rectangles outside the slide. Number of rectangles depends on the number of breaks you give for the whole transcribed content. Step 10: Timeline of the rectangle patches must be aligned as shown in the screenshot below. (It depends on the ‘readability time’ you give for each sentence.) Step 11: Now, adjust the text variable as shown in the screenshots below. That’s it! Preview or publish and check the functionality. You must be wondering why I say this process is a simplified version of the second method. It is because in the second method you need to repeat the whole process for every slide. But, in this method, as you have created the CC button in the slide master, you only have to repeat half of the procedure on every slide. Hope this post is helpful to you. Please share your thoughts through your valuable comments. Related PostsHow to Combine Your Adobe Captivate Projects Into Single Course?How to Add and Sync Closed Captions/Subtitles in Lectora?Creating Closed Caption in Articulate Storyline - Method II

It’s important for all professionals to improve their knowledge and skills and training managers are no exception. Organizations want to hire training managers who have good knowledge of the latest trends in the L&D world and can act as strategic advisors. It is common knowledge that imparting training in an engaging manner is challenging. Training managers need to constantly update their knowledge of learning technologies to deliver the best experiences to their learners. The SlideShare is a treasure-trove of learning resources. But if you’re short on time, we’ve done the homework for you and handpicked 8 presentations which are very popular with the corporate training community. Here they are: 1. Importance of Training Need Analysis It is well-known that competent workforce is vital to the success of modern organizations. So, training managers need to think creatively to enhance competencies. Get a step-by-step guide on how to perform a comprehensive analysis to identify specific training gaps. 2. Presentation on Role of Humor in Training - CommLab India Training managers are constantly trying to figure out ways to ‘create a bond’ between training programs and learners. CommLab India has created a presentation to reveal the secret of making learning an enjoyable experience. 3. Benefits of Training When Streamlining Operations We all know that streamlining of operations plays a crucial role in improving the efficiency of business organizations. In the SlideShare presentation, we’ve explained how to streamline operations effectively. 4. Using an LMS to Evaluate Training Every training manager wants to track their training programs. This presentation explains how an LMS can be used to evaluate training in an effective manner. Even if you came across this presentation before, it’s worth revisiting. 5. Presentation on Need of e-Learning in Organizations - CommLab India This is a must read for all training managers who are new to eLearning and have many concerns about adopting it. We love this topic so much that we even wrote an eBook about it. 6. Cost-Effective Training to Avoid Non-Compliance Penalties Okay, may be your knowledge about compliance training isn’t that bad, but this presentation has some useful takeaways. It explains how organizations can ensure their employees receive mandatory training in a cost-effective manner. 7. Imparting Excellent Training to Your Gen-Y Workforce When you develop a course, you want to ensure all generations of learners to take the course. But, how can you ensure that it appeals to your young learners? Don’t worry. This presentation provides all the information you need to develop an engaging course for the Gen-Y. 8. Most Widely Rolled Out Training Programs Through eLearning Need inspiration to deliver training through eLearning for the first time in your organization? Make sure you flip through this presentation. It lists the training programs that are mostly delivered through eLearning. Did you come across any other presentations that have helped you in your job? Do share them. Related PostsTips for Making a Business Case for E-learning4 Questions to Ask While Initiating E-learning in Your Organization - An InfographicCreative Ways to Present Click on Tab Interactivity in E-learning Courses - An Infographic

How Facebook Can Support eLearning  There is no doubt that internet has changed the way people search for information, interact, buy products or services, and even learn. Before seeing why and how use Facebook as an eLearning tool, let us have a look at some internet and social media trends. UK Internet Trends According to the Office for National Statistics, in 2013 36 million adults (73%) in Great Britain accessed the internet every day; that is 20 million more than in 2006. Furthermore, 72% of all adults bought goods or services online, up from 53% in 2008 (Office for National Statistics, 2013). Another change is the plethora of devices used nowadays to perform those activities. Half of UK adults now use a mobile phone to go online and more than 1 out of 10 use a tablet computer, games console/ player, or portable media player (Ofcom, 2013). Britons Second Most Prolific Facebook Users In Europe Britons are the second most prolific Facebook and Twitter users in Europe with a fifth of over 65s now using these sites (Mail Online, 2013). In general, Social networking continues to grow in popularity; 2 out of 3 (64%) internet users now have a social networking site profile, an increase from 59% in 2011. 7 out of 10 (72%) of those with a social networking profile visit these sites daily, and half of them (50%) visit more than daily. On average, those with a social networking profile estimate that they have 237 friends or contacts listed on their main social networking profile, with a far higher average for 16-24s (352) than for those aged 45 and over (126) (Ofcom, 2013). Thus, eLearning providers should follow their audience and make full use of what the social media platforms can offer by constructing a well-planned social media strategy. Facebook As An eLearning Tool Facebook is mainly used for social connectivity and as an entertainment outlet, but studies have shown that it can also be used for facilitating learning activities. Universities across the globe are currently using Facebook to monitor, recruit, or dismiss students. Faculty members find it easier to approach their target audience via Facebook, and in many cases students prefer using Facebook for interacting with their classmates or downloading course material and communicating with lecturers than using their University’s official software (Bosch’, 2009). How To Use Facebook As An eLearning Tool Upload articles. These articles will support personal development, for example career tips, selfassesment tools, and industry news. Additional resources. Offer free eBooks, videos, presentations etc. to assist students in successfully completing their current courses and getting them interested about starting new courses within your brand. eLearning to user interaction. The eLearning provider and learner interaction could assist in motivating users to finish their courses and resolving any bottlenecks in order to limit the number of potential user queries by providing additional guides and instructions. User to user interaction. Allow users to interact with each other to build a co-learning space and an engaged online community. This way, learners can share stories and experiences and limit the time you will need for provoking participation. Why Use Facebook As An eLearning Tool  You spend fewer resources on customer research. The eLearning provider and learner interaction could assist you in gaining valuable insights about what technologies/platforms your audience prefers and what activities they value and enjoy the most. You spend fewer resources on product development. You can use your Facebook community for testing new concepts before fully developing a new service or a course. Also, you can identify learners’ satisfaction from your services, and get ideas for developing new courses. You reach your target audience on a low budget. One of the best assets of Facebook is that you can promote yourself with no or a limited budget. For example, you can launch contests, offer coupons or a free resource to get more likes, or get your current followers to share your content. You build a "social" brand name. Creating a very open and social profile for your brand will allow people to learn more about you and your services and assist in building trust towards your resources. Putting a face behind your company logo is crucial, as users want to know about your story and vision. Conclusion  It can be concluded that using Facebook for supporting your eLearning services has many benefits for the eLearning provider and for the end user. The eLearning provider can connect in a fast and cost effective way with his target audience and gain valuable insights. The learner can have access to exclusive content, connect with other learners, and learn in a social way. As an eLearning provider, you should always make sure that you promote truthful and accurate information and promote real offers via your social media channels, as bad news travel faster than good news, and negative comments and reviews can shutter your brand image beyond recovery. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

JoomlaLMS Beyond the Basics- Advanced Options of JoomlaLMS Beyond the Basics session builds upon the options introduced in the Study JoomlaLMS Principles webinar. During the question and answer session you are welcome to enter questions in the chat or ask in person and you will get an answer and necessary clarifications from JoomlaLMS support team. The post JoomlaLMS Beyond the Basics- Advanced Options of JoomlaLMS appeared first on VivaeLearning: The Best Free Video Tutorials Online.

One of the most useful features of MOODLE LMS is the activity completion tracking system. It enables the training manager to check the course completion status of the learner. By default, it is not enabled. To enable this feature, you need to follow the below steps. 1. Go to site administration block and click advanced features. Then, check the Enable Completion Tracking option. 2. Then, go to Courses option in the Site Administration. In it, click Course Default Settings and set course completion tracking option as Yes. 3. Then, go to Course edit settings and enable the completion tracking option there. See the following screenshot. 4. Course Activity Settings: Every activity has an option for completion tracking, so that you can set the completion status as per your requirement. Here are the default options. Do not indicate activity completion Students can manually mark the activity as completed Show activity as complete when conditions are met. (Reference: moodle.org) Please see the following screenshot for activity completion. 5. For every course, you need to check for its activity and whether it is enabled or not. All activities must be enabled. See the following screenshot. Once you complete the above 5 steps, you need to cross check Cronjob whether it is running properly. Usually, the Cronjob will run every 5 minutes or 10 minutes. Finally, the LMS administrator can see the course completion status of learners who have enrolled into the course. Go through the below navigation to get information about all enrolled users. Here, you can view all enrolled users and all course activities that you enabled for completion tracking. If the user completes an activity, then you can see a tick mark besides the activity, and if the user completes all the activities, then you can see that the last column i.e. course complete is ticked. Hope you find this post useful. Do share your views. Related PostsAdministrator Level Customizations Possible in Moodle - Part 2Restricting E-learning Course Access In MoodleMoodle: What Makes it The Most Popular LMS?

MOODLE is the acronym of Modular Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment. It was developed by Martin Dougiamas, a computer scientist and educator. MOODLE is an incredible Learning Management System (LMS) with exceptional features, and it is used extensively in the corporate training world. But, why is MOODLE the choice of organizations worldwide? What are the features of this popular LMS that help you deliver and manage training in a cost- effective manner? Let us see. Hope you like this post. Do share your views. Related Posts8 Power- Packed Features of Moodle to Deliver and Manage Your Training [Infographic]Collaborative Learning through Moodle [Infographic]Tracking Learners Activities: 10 Useful Reports Generated by Moodle LMS [Infographic]

As instructional designers, it is very essential for us to understand that learners should gain knowledge from eLearning courses and apply the learning to their work. We definitely make courses that effectively impart knowledge to learners, but what exactly can we do to check whether they can apply it or not? Scenarios are the best way to check how much the learner has understood the concept. They help him relate with the situations faced by him and allow him to make decisions if he were in such a situation. Here are three proven tips to make good scenarios for your online courses. 1. Relevance Before making the scenario, it is essential to analyze what the learner needs to perform in his job. Teaching it in an eLearning course gives him a rough idea of the concept. Presenting it in the form of a scenario gives him a proper understanding of how to apply it. For example, if your module teaches the learner how to hire new employees, you explain the basic steps that need to be followed for hiring them. Create a scenario based on a real life situation where a manager conducts an interview. This can give the learner a clear understanding of how he needs to hire the employees. 2. Application Think how a learner would respond in a situation and allow him to make a decision. This will improve the learner’s thinking and decision-making skills. For instance, consider the above example where the learner can play the role of the manager. Show him all the possible situations that can occur while conducting an interview, and then, ask him a question based on them. 3. Feedback The best part of a scenario is that even if the learner makes a wrong decision, it does not cause much damage. It will only help him understand what exactly he needs to do in such a situation. For example, consider the above situation. Even if the learner chooses the wrong answer, give him a proper feedback saying why he is wrong and what he needs to do to get it right. This would help him when he actually encounters such a situation in the real life. These tips help you create effective scenarios for your course. I hope you find this blog informative. Please do share if you have anything to add to the list. Related Posts5 Ways to Make E-learning Interesting - An Infographic4 Tips for Developing E-learning Course Using Rapid Authoring Tools3 Tips to Make Your E-learning Course Engaging and Effective - An Infographic

How To Make Sure That Your Blended Learning Solution Is Effective Technology and Innovation today open the way for corporate learning and limit classroom-only approaches. Gone are the days when training was limited by distance and cost; employees can now avail themselves of multiple learning modules to enhance their learning. Most organizations are not, however, completely abandoning traditional modes to favor newer models such as online learning. Blended learning is often a preferred route where the best delivery methods available are utilized for a specific objective. This includes online learning, classroom-based instruction, electronic performance support, paper-based, and formalized or informal on-the-job solutions. There is evidence that a solid blended learning design makes sense both instructionally and economically; however, there are various challenges that can sabotage learning success. Here are some of the most common problems of implementing blended learning and the ways to overcome them: The Problem Of "Too Much Too Soon". As learning technologies evolve they become increasingly accessible. As developers of learning solutions, we always feel the urge to use either all of them at once or the one that has the most features. However, just creating learning solutions with the latest technology doesn’t mean that your learners will succeed while using it. Putting out too much technology can make blended learning programs appear too flashy, and participants may not take them seriously. Also, with newer technology, glitches can be expected. If learners encounter too many technical difficulties which cannot be easily fixed, the content may be abandoned completely. This lack of technical efficiency can lead to the failure of the whole learning program. To minimize the challenge, don’t include all available technologies at once; rather utilize the simplest technology possible, especially when introducing online learning for the first time. Also, make sure that technical support is available for your technology aided learning platform, and that the facilitator who is leading the learning initiative can answer basic queries as well. The Problem Of The Traditional Mind-Set. Learners often have the preconceived notion that traditional classrooms are more effective because they believe they can be more successful in a familiar environment. They understand the classroom nature and assess their inputs in terms of behavior, effort, and participation. Technology aided learning changes these parameters, as there is too much of the "unknown". It takes effort to make a self-directed learning program successful; Learning and Development professionals, managers, and facilitators should have the confidence to fully support the program. Participants should be properly introduced to the entire learning program - including having directions about how to install and use technology, as well as participation and attendance/completion requirements. Managers should have an orientation about what their employees will be experiencing, and how they can ensure that learning takes place. Facilitators should be comfortable with the concept and help the learners within and beyond the classroom. The Problem Of Managing And Assessing Learner Progress. Trying to keep track of learners’ progress can be the most difficult challenge to address. But this aspect of blended learning cannot be ignored; learners may complete an online course, but if they don’t have a deep understanding of what they have completed, the learning impact will be nil. Both classroom and self-paced components of blended learning have to be tracked in order to ensure learning success. To ensure that learning takes place, assessment should be introduced for online as well as classroom lessons. Results can be monitored, tracked, and used to ascertain that all learning requirements have been met. Also, facilitators or online administrators should interact with participants to make sure that learning outcomes are understood and thus expectations are met. The Problem Of Misdirected Strategies. When the creation of an eLearning course begins, usually most attention is paid to technology implementation and the actual design of learning content comes second. Learning designers may have neither the time nor the budget to create a successful program; when a learning strategy is discussed, the biggest part of it is concentrated on the ways of adopting technology to make learning content available. The conversation is about "how to deliver" and not "what to deliver". It is important for eLearning designers to go through a design process and determine the portions of the learning content that requires face-to-face time, the portions that require collaboration, and what learning content can be self-directed. Only after careful segregation the learning content should be developed for multiple channels of delivery. The Problem Of Bringing All Blending Elements Together. Blended learning programs have multiple layers and last for extended periods of time. It is important to have proper coordination and oversight, or learners will tend to complete either only the "easy" parts of the learning program, or only the scheduled/compulsory components. Too much information may put an unnecessary load on learners, making it less likely for them to be motivated to complete self-paced learning requirements. Too much information will spill over the classroom platform and the facilitator may be overwhelmed by the amount of items that need to be managed. A course map and schedule for online as well as classroom learning events can help learners plan better their learning: These can be put up on the organization’s Learning Management System, including links for content, virtual classroom schedule, and other supporting learning materials. The contact information for the facilitator and technical support should also be included. A "Frequently Asked Questions" section can provide answers to common questions and help learners work through technical or logistical glitches. With adequate planning online learning can be successfully implemented for organizational training. With all aspects -technical, organizational, and instructional- taken into account, the benefits of blended learning will be truly enjoyed by learners and the organization alike. This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

One of our customers is a leading company in the automotive industry and provides products and services globally. Their business strategy involves sourcing auto components and systems and creating benchmark value for investors. They have created eLearning courses for their customers and personnel. To make their eLearning courses better, they wanted to enable their learners to Like and Unlike each slide. Furthermore, they also wanted to enable learners post comments on every slide. This would help the learners give their feedback and improve the online course. As we have the expertise in developing eLearning courses, they requested us to implement this feature in all existing courses. Challenges:  Designing a 5 hour course in 6 weeks, which engages the learner Tracking the user feedback on every slide. We have followed following steps to complete project quickly. Designing a 5 hour course which engages the learner This eLearning content is heavy, and it was a big challenge for us to develop the online course. We created an eLearning curriculum and divided it into 15 units. The duration of each unit was 20 minutes. We used Gamified assessments to make the learning effective and interesting and presentation patterns such as click and learn and scenarios to facilitate easy understanding. We developed a unit and sent it to the client for approval. Once that unit was approved, we made a standard template and checklist based on the client feedback. We followed the same standards throughout the curriculum to maintain consistency and ensure quality output. By following this process, we saved time and avoided rework. Tracking the user feedback on every slide The client had a unique requirement - they wanted users to provide feedback on every slide of the eLearning course and to track it through the LMS. We have created Like, Unlike and Comment buttons on every slide to enable users to provide feedback. By using PHP and JavaScript, we have linked the buttons in the course to the LMS. When the users give their feedback on the slide, it will be tracked on the LMS and generate user-wise and topic-wise reports. These reports helped the client improve the eLearning course further. Have anything to say? Please do share! Related PostsCreative Ways to Present Click on Tab Interactivity in E-learning Courses - An InfographicWhy E-learning for Retail Employees - Five Reasons - An InfographicTo Start eLearning in Your Organization - 5 Steps to Consider

According to the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), safety training programs should be implemented across companies to reduce injuries and deaths at the workplace. But, how can you deliver good safety training, at low cost? Well, you can use the online medium to equip personnel with the needed knowledge of safety policies and procedures, in a very cost-effective manner. Let us now see 7 instructional techniques to design an effective online course to deliver safety training. 1. Ice-breakers An ice-breaker is a good way to start your safety training course and grab the attention of the learner. It can be used to ‘warm-up’ the discussion among the participants. 2. Scenarios Scenarios are used for introducing risk-based situations, to employees, as they help them identify the threats to safety and encourage them to think of the best possible solutions, in a given situation. In scenario-based training, learners are presented with various scenarios. The background for each of these scenarios will be based on incidents or accidents that happened earlier. 3. Quizzes Quizzes can be used to test the knowledge of the learner that has been gained during the program. You can present quiz questions using games, such as Hangman, very effectively. Most employees are familiar with these games, and they go a long way in emphasizing the importance of safety equipment and procedures to be followed. 4. Videos  Bite-sized videos can be used as reminders to follow safety procedures. Various safety procedures can be demonstrated in the form of videos. Videos add a ‘realistic look’ to the course and give the learner a clear understanding of various safety measures. 5. Storytelling Stories are very effective tools to connect with your learners emotionally. You can use them to create a ‘high impact’ safety training course. For instance, you can base your online course on the story of a factory worker who has lost his limbs as a result of not adhering to the safety procedures. Stories with animated characters transform a ‘dry’ safety training program into an engaging learning exercise. 6. Case studies Case studies are very effective instructional tools to train workforce on safety. They enable them to understand why safety procedures are important, and this helps prevent their violation. For example, while designing a course on the norms stipulated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), you can include case studies of employees which violated these norms and as a result suffered serious injuries. 7. Infographic training do and don’ts  Info-graphics are very useful to present the dos and don’ts of safety in a visually appealing manner. Thus, we see that these 7 instructional techniques can be used to develop a highly effective online course to deliver safety training. How do you use eLearning to impart safety training? We’d love to know. Related Posts3 Reasons Why Problem-based Learning Is Effective Learning7 Benefits of Converting Your Safety Training to E-learning5 Features of E-learning That Make Safety Training Effective