Jackie Van Nice

E-Learning Goodness by Jackie Van Nice

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Free Tic-Tac-Toe Template in Storyline!

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Click Image to Launch Demo

Click Image to Launch Demo

I made a punctuation tic-tac-toe game this week for an ELHChallenge. Folks liked it and wanted to know how it was built, so I made it into a game template to share. I’ve replaced the images with a generic smiley face from Microsoft clipart, standardized the colors, and put in placeholder text – but other than that you’ve got the original file.

Tips to Help You Customize It

  1. Download it: Grab it on the download page.
  2. Tic-Tac-Toe Grid: The lines are on the master slide. To change it go to View > Slide Master.
  3. Disabling Clicks on the Grid: To keep the user from clicking on a question they’ve already answered, I added an invisible rectangle on top of each grid image on the base slide named “disable 1”, “disable 2”, etc. The initial state is set to Hidden, but once a question has been answered the rectangle is triggered to go to a Normal (yet still invisible) state to block mouse clicks. If you choose to keep this functionality, be sure these disabling rectangles are in front of the grid images rather than behind them.
  4. Images: Replace them by right clicking on each and choosing “Change Picture”. Keep in mind you’ll be replacing them on the grid and on all 27 layers that include images. (There are also 8 results layers, but they don’t include images.)
  5. “Learn More” Buttons: On each feedback layer there’s a Learn More button that originally linked to a URL. I left the trigger intact, but if you’d like to use it you’ll need to update it with the link of your choice.
  6. Compare it to the Original: If you’re not sure what to put where, just compare it to the original game. That should clear it up.

Have Fun!

I hope you enjoy making your own game. If you have questions just let me know in the comments below!

I’m on Fakecation!

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Select Image to See Larger. Or Not.

Select Image to See Larger. Or Not.

It goes without saying this is David Anderson’s fault. First he leaves us bereft without a challenge this week, and a couple of weeks ago he challenged us to go on fakecation when I was too busy to play along. I’ve simply combined the two (lack of a challenge + a missed challenge) to create this beauty.

The Idea

The idea was to stick my face on top of someone else’s exciting photo.

The Process

In Fireworks I carved a hole in the photo where the real skydiver’s face used to be, then I put mine in its place. It’s franken-photo 101.

Enjoy! Or Not!

You can see the giant version here, but I think you’re way better off getting out there to enjoy your own real vacation. Have a safe and happy holiday!

Buttoned-Down Design (+Free Storyline File!)

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Select Image to Launch Demo

Select Image to Launch Demo

This week’s challenge is to create some cool button styles. My goal was to keep it quick and do something I haven’t done before. Not hard since I usually give my buttons short shrift.

The Idea

I simply wanted to see if I could figure out how to make something like David Anderson’s cool button example.

So I Did a Version Starting In PowerPoint…

Since it looked to me like cutout shapes were involved, I started in PowerPoint to create them, then essentially animated them in Storyline.

They were fine, but I wasn’t thrilled because they weren’t buttons you could easily copy, paste, and edit.

Then Kortenbosch Shared a Little Something…

Once Jeff Kortenbosch posted his button challenge entry, along with a fabulous how-to video, I decided to see if I could make better buttony buttons like he did – natively in Storyline.

Turns out I could. Thank you, Jeff!

Select Image to Launch Demo

Select Image to Launch Demo

Check ‘Em Out!

So that’s what happened. If you’d like to see my result – version 2! – you can see them right here!

Download The Free File!

If you’d like to use my updated Storyline buttons, feel free to grab the customizable file. The download page is right here.

Storyline 1 to 2: Passport Makeover Edition

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Select Image to Launch (New) Demo

Select Image to Launch (New) Demo

I was always fond of this little passport how-to I did in Storyline 1, but when Articulate was kind enough to feature it on their E-Learning Examples page recently and people seemed to like it – it got me thinking about how I could update it using Storyline 2’s great features.

Navigation: Before & After

Before: A Tab-Based Layout

Before: A Tab-Based Layout

After: A Paris-Bound Jet Guides You

After: A Paris-Bound Jet Guides You

One of my favorite features in Storyline 2 is the slider for its ease of use and power to deliver a lot of information in a compact way.

I knew it would be perfect to get the entire application on one screen where the user could see everything from a high-level overview to a mid-level peek to detailed animations showing how to fill it out – simply by sliding the Paris-bound jet down the runway.

The thing is, you could still create this basic design in Storyline 1 (using this layout for a more compact presentation and navigating via clicking or tapping) – but there’s something about the slider that makes things like this easier to ideate, create, and (on the learner end) use.

Updated Animations

John Hancock Would Be Proud of the Signature Animation

John Hancock Would Be Proud of the Signature Animation

The other feature-based update I made was to the animations. In the original I relied on a fade animation to bring in handwriting and typing, but being able to use the new built-in wipe animation improved the look and feel quite a bit, so I was happy about that.

See the Jet-On-the-Runway Slider!

Here’s the updated jet-fueled slider demo, and here’s the original demo for comparison. Enjoy – and bon voyage!