Camtasia Lab – create a short learning object

I’m on leave for a few weeks, so I decided that I better leave you some homework to keep you occupied in my absence.

Objective
The objective of this assignment is to create a short e-learning module based upon a PowerPoint presentation. Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to convert a PowerPoint presentation into a Web-deliverable format.

The demo must contain slides, animation, graphics, transport controls and a progress bar. In the ‘Things to Try Yourself’ section of the tutorial, there are some guidelines about how to add audio narration to your learning object.

Format
The published learning object must be a Flash movie (FLV or SWF) file, and the file must be able to play back in a standard Web browser such as Internet Explorer, Opera or Mozilla Firefox.

Lab Structure

• Task Breakdown 1
• Task Breakdown 2
• Recording your presentation
• Edit your content
• Publishing your content
• Some things to try yourself
• Conclusion
• References / Sources

Click here to download the PDF of the tutorial.

Hopefully this assignment will keep you occupied in my absence, so I would like to wish you a happy Easter / Spring break, and I’ll talk you in May.

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Adobe eLearning Suite Review on BDLD

Donald Clark has very comprehensively reviewed the new Adobe eLearning Suite (eLS) on his always interesting and informative Big Dog, Little Dog blog.

As you may recall, I posted on eLS when the suite was released, and while welcoming this addition the e-learning practitioners’ content development toolkit, I tempered my enthusiasm as follows:

Where I think Adobe missed a trick is that they should have released this package at least five years ago. While we can say that in the early 2000’s, the e-learning industry wasn’t as large a market segment as it is today, it was substantial enough. Certainly enough of a market segment to be a valuable revenue-generating stream for the company. Unlike DTP, graphical design, and video post-production (which were digitized evolutions of existing industries) e-learning was a whole new industry, a real-life child of the World Wide Web.

I’ll give with one hand and take away with the other: well done Adobe, great to see you’ve finally committed to e-learning; equally, an e-learning suite of tools is such an obvious addition to your product range that you should have done this years ago.

The suite consists of the following apps:

	Tool	Adobe's Description
	Adobe Captivate® 4	Create and deliver rich interactive content
	Adobe Dreamweaver® CS4 with CourseBuilder Extension	Design, develop, and maintain standards-based websites and applications
	Adobe Flash® CS4 Professional with Learning Interactions	Create and deliver rich interactive content
	Adobe Photoshop® CS4 Extended	Discover new dimensions in digital imaging
	Adobe Presenter 7	Rapidly create high-impact Adobe Flash presentations and eLearning courses from PowerPoint
	Adobe Soundbooth® CS4	Create and edit audio with ease
	Adobe Acrobat® 9 Pro	Protect documents and accelerate information exchange with PDF

Very full-featured indeed: if I was starting work today as a learning and development professional and I was handed this set of applications as my courseware production platform, I would be very happy with it.

But don’t just take my word for it: here’s (a very highly abridged version of) what Donald Clark has to say:

It is a complete and tightly integrated solution for authoring rich learning content. …All-in-all the Adobe eLearning suite is a great product for designers, being that it is the first elearning suite.

His review describes the applications and functionality of the Suite in very good detail, and Donald uses his own experience of using the platform to throw further light on how the applications integrate to enable e-learning designers (“instructional designers, developers, and other learning specialists”) to create high-quality courseware.

Donald concludes his article by discussing what he’d like to see in version next of the Suite and his overall impression of the package. Click here to read the review in full.

Note: Adobe have published and are maintaining a useful blog for Captivate users. Click here for more.

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E-Learning Curve Blog is ‘Blogger of the Week’ on E-learning Planet

I’m delighted (and very proud) to have been awarded the Blogger of the Week accolade from E-Learning Planet.

This multi-faceted site includes e-learning forums, information on e-learning jobs, reviews on e-learning products, and so on.

According to the site, they “post information that covers all aspects of e-learning” including:

• An e-learning blog.
• Facilitates collaborative learning between e-learning professionals through its forum.
• Conducts frequent online contests for e-learning professionals.
• Provides free online training and assignments for instructional designers and graphic designers.
• Selects its favorite blog post and blogger from the e-learning blogosphere on a weekly basis.
• Selects active participants in the planet’s forum.

E-Learning Planet select the Blogger of the Week based on the following parameters:

• The number of informative, innovative, and self blog posts in a week
• The number of positive comments from visitors

Previous Bloggers of the Week include Donald Clark, Tony Karrer, Harold Jarche, and Jay Cross. I’m not sure I deserve to be in such illustrious company, but I’ll take it!

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Informal Workplace Learning: KMs and virtual environments

Concluding our overview of influences which are contributing to the emergence of informal and non-formal learning in the workplace. Yesterday, I discussed three of the five change factors influencing how learning activities are being implemented in the workplace:

1. Blended learning
2. Talent management
3. Web / Learning 2.0
4. Knowledge centers
5. Immersive learning simulations (serious gaming).

Today, I'm going to look at the remaining change factors.

Knowledge Centers
A knowledge center provide a central, just-in-time location for information. It is a single-focused interface with information about a specific topic, like IT applications, sales, or project management. A knowledge center is often a portal or part of the company intranet (like Moodle or SharePoint), or it is the knowledge management component of an LMS like BlackBoard. Knowledge Centers are where information workers go for FAQs, the latest tips, tricks and how-to's, links to external resources, relevant information, and other resources about a specific topic that may not be directly related to a formal course (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 Employees Find Help In A Knowledge Center

Sites must be useful, up-to-date, and responsive to employee needs. An organization must decide on the most important knowledge center topics, create a user-friendly site, and populate it with information. A designated person must be responsible for maintaining the knowledge center portal and identifying new information and material for the site. Survey employees about their needs and provide a feedback box on the site.

Immersive Learning Simulations: Serious Games
Simulations are models of the real world. Add pedagogically sound content, learner interaction and involvement, and a gaming element — all focused on achieving a learning goal — and the result is an immersive learning simulation (ILS).

The challenge is getting the right mix of learning and gaming. Today’s most immersive learning simulations are custom creations from a specialized vendors, and they are more obviously expensive than traditional e-learning content development. Achieving the right balance between the gaming and learning components takes expertise from three professionals: a subject matter expert, an instructional designer, and a game developer, all working closely together.

As more immersive 3D social networking environments like Second Life (2L) become available, serious gaming will become a more common modality for non- and informal learning. There are some problems associated with the environment, however. According to Bill Brandon (2007, p.7)

for typical non-students (employees) sitting through a slide-presentation-and-lecture in Second Life is no more effective (and likely less so) than sitting through the same dog and pony show in a physical space.

With this in mind 2L does have potential; e-learning practitioners can use it to create effective constructivist learning environments. For example, if you have a requirement similar to this for sales training, negotiation skills, diversity training, or any other communication- based skill, Second Life might be all you need. Interactive learning activities (like simulations, immersive learning, and gaming) put employees in virtual yet authentic situations, where they can learn the skills and materials while also making decisions and getting immediate feedback on their choices.

The transformation of workplace learning means that organizations must develop informal learning as a resource for employees. As the younger workforce becomes a more significant part of organizations and moves into management positions, these people will demand different kinds of learning opportunities and tools to get to learning resources quickly.

Figure 2 VLE on 2L

They expect to control much of their own learning, so learning professionals must offer an range of useful up-to-date resources inside and outside the organization for information, knowledge, and training. If employees don’t see these learning resources as part of their organization's talent management and development programs, the chances are that they will move to more progressive companies that will acknowledge their learning and career development needs.

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References:

Brandon, B. (2007) ‘Give Your e-Learning Some (Second) Life: Simulation Made Easy.’ eLearning Guild. [Internet] Available from: http://www.elearningguild.com/articles/abstracts/index.cfm?action=viewonly2&id=246 (subscription required). Accessed 19 March 2009

Schooley, C. (2008) Informal Methods Challenge Corporate Learning [Internet] Available from: http://www.forrester.com Accessed 12 March 2009

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