The Learning eXplosion , by Matthew Murdoch and Treion Muller, is a great read that steps you through how to successfully move your classroom instructor-led training into the virtual classroom. The book specifically focuses on 9 Rules for Creating Effective Virtual Training: 1. The Rule of Continual Change – Learners and designers must always be [...]
Often, due to shortened project timelines, the Analysis phase of the ADDIE process is cut short or skipped all together. This phase might very well be the most important phase of the ADDIE process. It is during the Analysis phase that you uncover the information critical for the learner to be successful in their job. [...]
I recently read a great blog post by Articulates Tom Kuhlmann, titled Here’s Why Slide Count is Irrelevant to Your E-Learning Course . In the post he mentions the following key points: – Screen count does not matter to the elearner…what matters, is the interaction built into the course. – Do not auto-advance the slides [...]
Why is it important to create a course outline or storyboard before building an eLearning course? A course outline or storyboard will help you to organize both the course content and your thoughts on interactivity (audio, video, graphics, interactions, etc.). Here are a few things to consider when building your storyboard: On-Screen text What information [...]
Who would have thought that simply writing an eLearning course would require the instructional designer to have so many different writing skills? As an instructional designer our writing has to motivate the learner, as well as, instruct them on correct processes, policies, techniques, etc. In the eLearning Coach’s article 10 Types of Writing for eLearning [...]
Today I’ll show you some fun masking techniques using Adobe Photoshop. I’ll show you how to create some visual interest and depth to a design by overlapping and masking elements.
Have you ever seen those fun graphics that look like stickers. It’s a very simple technique to duplicate. In this screencast I demonstrate how to create a sticker effect with our cutout people images.
Today I’ll show you a how to add a little more “visual interest” to an Flash animating object. I call it the bounce effect. It’s a very simple technique but can really be awesome. I’ve recorded a screencast to show you how to do it. Here is a quick demo I created showing this “bounce” effect: [...]
I’ve recently been trying to learn how to surf. I’m such a computer nerd… the first place I look is YouTube. I watched nearly every video I could find. I bought my first board last Saturday and hit my first waves Monday. Not to brag, but I think I did better than I thought I [...]
Today I thought I’d share with you an example of how our eLearning Game Templates can be customized in Adobe Flash. I took only about 10 minutes to come up with new look for the Marathon game. I just wanted to show you that all of the elements in these game templates can easily be [...]
The other day I posted a blog about designing a custom steel texture background and adding it to a PowerPoint template. It turned out so nice, I thought that I’d make some matching Flash Activities and Flash Games. Click each sample below for a demo. Here is a tutorial on how to import a custom graphic background into [...]
Today I’d like to show you one of my favorite ways to design buttons. The end result is a nice and simple glossy button. This technique is very easy and even though I’m demonstrating it in Adobe Photoshop, you can follow the same steps in other applications as well. Hope you enjoy!
I am often asked where I get inspiration for design. Well, I always answer, everywhere! Sometimes it is in nature, other times it is from a TV commercial, and times like today it is from a door hanger delivered in the mail box. I received this door hanger in my mail box (not sure why [...]
