Jackie Van Nice

E-Learning Goodness by Jackie Van Nice

German

When Postcards Need Glossaries

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Select Image to Launch Demo

Select Image to Launch Demo

This week’s Articulate ELH Challenge is to create an example of a glossary for e-learning. I’ve been meaning to make one lately, so this was a good chance to play.

The Idea

People have done some wonderfully creative interactions for this challenge that you can check out here. In my case I wanted to create an über-practical glossary that was incredibly quick to build, easy to maintain, and that could handle a lot of entries. Oh, and my example helps decode German idioms used by someone visiting Bali.

The Design

Back of the Postcard

Back of the Postcard

The Postcard

The postcard itself is straightforward: A front-of-postcard screen and a back-of-postcard screen. On the back of the postcard there’s an instruction to hover over/select underlined text to see its meaning. When you do, a lightboxed glossary slide is displayed.

The Glossary

Inserted Table Lightboxed Glossary

Inserted Table Lightboxed Glossary

The glossary itself is built using an inserted Storyline 360 table; a feature I love. In this example I only have a few glossary entries, but for more you could either place a longer table into a scrolling panel, or you could use multiple glossary screens with lightbox navigation to jump between them.

The Result

Ready to see which German idioms cause vacation confusion? See the glossary that straightens it all out in this air mail special delivery interaction!

Meaningful Comparisons in Action

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Select Image to Launch Demo

Since this week marks the end of the first full year of Articulate’s weekly challenges, I decided to go back to complete all of the ones I’d missed – and there were a lot. I still have two more to complete (almost there!) but yesterday I swung back to Challenge #1: How Would You Show Meaningful Comparisons?

Note the Maps of the US and Germany

Note the Maps of the US and Germany

Getting Things Into Perspective

In my earlier “virtual tour” challenge I showed maps of the US and Germany next to one another to show the places I’ve worked. They weren’t meant to be at the correct scale – but every time I look at that piece I snicker at how far off it is. So I decided to do a demo to show a size comparison.

Two Countries; One Monochromatic Scheme

My US-German Palette

My US-German Palette

Two reasons for the red palette: The flag of Germany and the flag of the US. Their only common color is red. What’s interesting is how different the reds are. So I created a palette that includes both of them in an intentional way.
The other reason I wanted to do this was because I’d just completed yet another older challenge using Pantone’s current color of the year and used a monochromatic scheme for that one, too. I liked it enough to try the approach again here.

My Monochromatic Pantone Design

My Monochromatic Pantone Design

What a Drag it is to Compare

The idea is that you simply click on the map of Germany and drag it to different US states to compare its size. Is it effective? You can take a look at the difference between this and the maps I showed in my virtual tour (see images above) and decide.

My truly brilliant fellow challenge participant Nick Russell suggested that it would be great to have comparative data for each US state come up as you drag the map of Germany over it. It would be, but that’s going to have to wait until I’ve added quite a few more hours to each day and quite a few more days to each week. But it’s a fantastic idea, Nick!

Select Image to Launch Demo

Select Image to Launch Demo

Enjoy it Here + There’s More on the Way!

Here’s my comparative demo if you’d like to mess around with it. My goal is to complete the whole first-year set of challenges within the next week. With only two to go I’m in good shape – and I’ll keep you posted!

How I Record Audio for E-Learning

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IMG_2652This week’s Articulate challenge is to share how you create audio for your e-learning projects. Here are David Anderson’s questions along with my answers.

1. Tell us about your recording setup.

I use an Audio-Technica AT2020 desktop USB mic (pictured here on my desk). I either record directly into Storyline or Audacity – just depends on what I need. I used to do elaborate things to try to deaden the room or block out noise, but I stopped all of that and now I record pretty much as you see here, including the low light. I like a nice, calm atmosphere with as few lawnmowers and barking dogs as possible.

2. Show us your audio setup.

See that photo? That’s my audio setup. It’s my USB mic plugged directly into my PC or iMac. This is basically the setup I used to record this podcast; though in that case I was recording into Garage Band rather than Audacity.

3. Share your three favorite audio recording tips.

A. PRE-READ:

One of the first things they teach you in radio is to pre-read your copy. I started in public radio, so I learned this reading PSAs and other announcements. The key is not to read silently; you have to read aloud. Seems silly, right? Fact is, whenever I skip this step I end up doing more takes and more editing. If you invest your time up front by reading the script aloud, and with fluidity, before you record that one piece of it – you’ll save time on the back end by eliminating multiple takes and fixes.

B. LISTEN TO EVERY TAKE BEFORE YOU MOVE ON:

Normally I’m recording for individual screens in Storyline. As tempting as it is to say “Got it!” and move on to the next slide, I always stop and listen very carefully and at full volume to the take I just did. That may be the first time you hear the plane or the sneeze or the pencil drop that snuck in while you were focusing on your script.

C. CARE:

That’s it. Just care about what you’re saying. Anyone can read a line of text, but that’s not going to lead to a compelling voiceover any more than slapping images and text into an e-learning development tool is going to lead to a compelling learning experience. Understand what you’re saying and why you’re saying it, think about who you’re talking to, and put your best energy, focus, and intention into it. It matters, and it shines through in the end result.

My Scenic Route to E-Learning Design (+ Free Storyline Template!)

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Select Image to Launch Demo

Select Image to Launch Demo

This week’s Articulate challenge was to create a virtual tour. Given how varied my journey to e-learning has been, I thought it might make for an interesting tour.

Select Image to Launch Inspiration Demo

Select Image to Launch Inspiration Demo

Design Inspiration

I liked one of David Anderson’s inspiration examples enough to create something similar. It’s a New York Times virtual wine tour of Italy. I appreciated how quick and compact it was while still providing enough information to make for a good tour.

Content

I capped it at 30 jobs, but there were more. At times I worked up to 5 simultaneous part-time jobs in college. Multiply that by a whole lot of quarters and semesters, and we could have been here all day.

Ducks Are Involved

Ducks Are Involved

See the Tour!

If you’d like the tour, take it here.

Get the Free Template!

Grab the Free Template!

Download the Free Storyline Template!

This piece was easier than most to make into a template to give away, so that’s what I did. Grab it on the download page, then have fun making your own tour!