Learning Developments

FEBRUARY 8, 2011

I'm looking forward to attending the Adobe Learning Summit in March. There are a few things I'm particularly interested in: Adobe Captivate Widget 101 - I've already created my own widget to marshal communications between Captivate and Lectora so that I can save a learner's place inside a simulation. However, I'm interested in learning more about best practices for creating widgets and see some examples of what other people have done.

Adobe 50

Adobe Adobe Captivate Simulations Lectora 50

Learning Developments

FEBRUARY 2, 2011

So I guess 2010 is water under the bridge and I'll try to forget that I only managed four blog posts for the entire year. I'm hoping to contribute more this year and get my readers back for some good discussion about developing for learning. I know from personal experience there are not a lot of good resources searchable on the web related to e-learning development and want to address that with this blog.

Develop 50

Develop Web Learning Discussion 50

Learning Developments

OCTOBER 10, 2011

Articulate Quizmaker is a great tool for quickly creating professional looking quizzes. It also contains the concept of a blank slide that can be put any where in a quiz and used for any type of learning, feedback, or reinforcement of learning concepts. I show an example of how to use blank slides for creating rich feedback in Quizmaker in my guest blog post for Integrated Learning Services Crafting Feedback in Articulate.

Quizmaker 47

Quizmaker Articulate Slides Quiz 47

Learning Developments

AUGUST 24, 2011

I've been using Lectora for almost three years now. Lectora allows developers to take a snippet of code and reuse it on all your pages. This saves time and maintenance costs. You may want that code to work differently on some of the pages. Ideally, you'd still only have that code in one place but set up an exception for how to do this. I show an example of how to do this in my guest blog post for Integrated Learning Services Creating a Smart Next Button in Lectora.

Lectora 47

Lectora Create Integrate Cost 47

Learning Developments

MARCH 7, 2011

When eLearning designers and developers think about using a rapid development tool such as Lectora, they often think about the time savings they get when creating a visual pleasing project and the ability to create reusable components. A rapid development tool is a great way to quickly breath life into your storyboard. One advantage that many of these tools bring, but is not always thought about, is that these tools can make complying with browser and system requirements a breeze.

Authoring 47

Authoring Tools Lectora ActionScript 47

Learning Developments

OCTOBER 4, 2011

Some times you just need a little animation to spice up an e-learning module. Adobe Captivate 5.5 offers an easy way to create text animations that will catch the eye. These animations can be used to let a user know when a module has been completed or when a perfect score is attained. Or, just use them to draw the learners attention. Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.

Adobe Captivate 44

Adobe Captivate Captivate Adobe Flash Player 44

Learning Developments

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

I love the progress mobile technology has made in the past 2 years. However, I've always thought the big limiters to mobile computing are the screen size and a clumsy interface to input data. Tiny videos, images, and small text on web pages are just not ideal for those of us past our teenage years. And my goodness, how many times have I had to retype another tweet because my "i" became a "k" when my finger was slightly off the correct letter.

Project 44

Project Mobile Augmented Reality Apple 44

Learning Developments

SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

I got my Google+ invite back in July (Thanks Derek) but it's been quite a busy summer so I put off getting to know Google+ until now. Being the big Google/Android fan I am, this is long overdue. In this post I write up my first impressions. You can get to Google+ by going to [link]. My first reaction after getting into it was very reserved. I found myself making lots of comparisons to Facebook.

Social Networks 44

Social Networks Google Facebook Social Network 44

Learning Developments

JUNE 3, 2011

All the smart communication devices that are succeeding in the market place have a web browser that supports HTML (and Javascript). On the surface it looks like what computer scientists where trying to accomplish years ago with C++ and Java is now happening through HTML. If you want to write an application that will run on multiple devices and work the same way, you use HTML.

HTML 44

HTML Performance Support Sound Internet 44

Learning Developments

MARCH 30, 2011

I really like Articulate Quizmaker '09 software. I'm bummed to say I have not been using it much because the focus of the content I've been creating is more on software simulations and not a lot of traditional quiz functionality. However, I'm using it with my latest project and I am reminded again how easy it is to create slick looking quizzes using Quizmaker.

Quizmaker 44

Quizmaker Saba Articulate SCORM 44

Learning Developments

MARCH 10, 2011

It seems I’m always looking for a better project and task management system. I’ve been through Task Coach , Mindmapping software , Microsoft Project , Remember the Milk , Task Merlin , Producteev , and now Manymoon. These are all great products but none fit all of my needs. I’d like to think that some where out there is the right system for me; however, I’d be a bit of a fool to truly believe that.

Ideas 44

Ideas Management Google Docs Instructional Design 44

Learning Developments

MARCH 3, 2011

At the beginning of February I launched several new web based training modules on a new LMS. This training is available to nearly 22,000 employees. I've been in the web business long enough to know that something will happen that I didn't anticipate. Usually this is because of an odd configuration by an end-user. It can be a toolbar with a pop-up blocker causing problems, a corrupted plug-in, unusual accessibility settings, or a whole slew of things.

Support 40

Support Module Web Issue 40

Learning Developments

MARCH 1, 2011

You know a technology geek when you see one because when they see a new cool technology, their eyes light up. They think new technology is sexy and they want to find a way to incorporate it into their lives. This is what makes them so knowledgeable about technology.they love to tinker with it. Technology geeks find ways to use new technology where they can.

Flash to HTML5 Conversion 40

Flash to HTML5 Conversion ActionScript Simulations Software Simulation 40

Learning Developments

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

As I build up my development skills and try to communicate my skills to others I do business with, I keep asking myself, "am I a Flash developer?" Adobe Flash is a very complicated product and in order to create a Flash application, you need a variety of skills. On one hand, as a software engineer, I am well equipped to write Flash applications. On the other hand, not being a graphics designer, creating applications with amazing animations is not really my strength.

Flash 40

Flash ActionScript Develop Movie 40

Learning Developments

FEBRUARY 15, 2011

I'd like to think my e-learning is so intuitive that there is no need to add help. (Pause for applause???) The reality is that no matter how brain dead simple I think it is, there is always a chance that it won't actually be me taking the course. That's right, it will be someone else with a different brain, a different level of experience, and a different familiarity with a web browser.

Quicktime 40

Quicktime Lotus Help Brain 40

Learning Developments

FEBRUARY 11, 2011

I love mind maps. They are a great way to brainstorm ideas and organize your thoughts. I've also found them very helpful for taking notes at meetings. I use mind maps at both work and home for these reasons. Because I keep a lot of information in mind maps, I need to be able to access them from wherever I am. Through the use of my smart phone and storing my data in " the cloud ", I am able to do just that.

Ideas 40

Ideas Tools Organization Informal 40

Learning Developments

FEBRUARY 8, 2011

I'm looking forward to attending the Adobe Learning Summit in March. There are a few things I'm particularly interested in: Adobe Captivate Widget 101 - I've already created my own widget to marshal communications between Captivate and Lectora so that I can save a learner's place inside a simulation. However, I'm interested in learning more about best practices for creating widgets and see some examples of what other people have done.

Adobe 40

Adobe Adobe Captivate Simulations Lectora 40

Learning Developments

FEBRUARY 2, 2011

So I guess 2010 is water under the bridge and I'll try to forget that I only managed four blog posts for the entire year. I'm hoping to contribute more this year and get my readers back for some good discussion about developing for learning. I know from personal experience there are not a lot of good resources searchable on the web related to e-learning development and want to address that with this blog.

Develop 40

Develop Web Learning Discussion 40

Learning Developments

MARCH 21, 2011

I'm back in my hotel room after a long day at the Adobe Learning Summit. Adobe is doing a lot of good things with e-Learning and those things were on display today in Orlando. I've decided to summarize some of my notes I took at the conference today. You can also read play-by-play tweets from the folks who are a part of the twitter-verse. Video and Audio in Adobe eLearning Suite 2.

Adobe 68

Adobe Adobe Captivate Flash Captivate 68

Learning Developments

FEBRUARY 4, 2011

All of us go to meetings and most of us think the meetings occur way too often and last way too long. Instead of formal meetings, I’m a big fan of impromptu meetings with 2-3 people when technical decisions need to be made. I’ve never seen good decisions made when more than 4 people are in the room. However, for large projects, it is important to have regular status meetings where representatives from all aspects of the project are present (i.e. development, support, documentation, marketing, et

Project 49

Project Summary Discussion Teams 49

Learning Developments

FEBRUARY 4, 2011

All of us go to meetings and most of us think the meetings occur way too often and last way too long. Instead of formal meetings, I’m a big fan of impromptu meetings with 2-3 people when technical decisions need to be made. I’ve never seen good decisions made when more than 4 people are in the room. However, for large projects, it is important to have regular status meetings where representatives from all aspects of the project are present (i.e. development, support, documentation, marketing, et

Project 45

Project Summary Discussion Teams 45

Learning Developments

FEBRUARY 2, 2011

Systems and courses timeout. We all know that. A logged in session with a computer only has so long with inactivity before the user is considered to have abandoned their session and the system logs them out. While this is well understood to those in the e-learning industry, it can be confusing for some learner so e-learning developers need to handle this time out gracefully.

SCORM 57

SCORM Portal LMS Problem 57

Learning Developments

FEBRUARY 11, 2011

I love mind maps. They are a great way to brainstorm ideas and organize your thoughts. I've also found them very helpful for taking notes at meetings. I use mind maps at both work and home for these reasons. Because I keep a lot of information in mind maps, I need to be able to access them from where ever I am. Through the use of my smart phone and storing my data in " the cloud ", I am able to do just that.

Ideas 50

Ideas Solution Tools Organization 50

Learning Developments

FEBRUARY 2, 2011

Systems and courses timeout. We all know that. A logged in session with a computer only has so long with inactivity before the user is considered to have abandoned their session and the system logs them out. While this is well understood to those in the e-learning industry, it can be confusing for some learner so e-learning developers need to handle this time out gracefully.

SCORM 40

SCORM Portal LMS Problem 40