New Interactive Flash Templates for eLearning!

We’d like to announce our latest interactive Flash template set: iStyle.

Have you ever wanted to have a library of pre-made Flash interactions and activities? Templates that look great and could be easily integrated with your eLearning authoring software? (i.e. Articulate, Captivate, Unison, Lectora, etc.) Do you also want the source files so you can edit anything that you’d like? Now you can! The eLearning Flash templates are easy to edit, look amazing, and provide the source files.

How to use the templates:
1. Purchase and download the Flash source files.
2. Open the Flash file and copy/paste your text into the movie clips. (or change anything…you have the source file and can edit every part of the interaction).
3. Publish the .swf file.
4. Insert the .swf file into your authoring tool.

eLearning Activities and Interactions

Everyone is always looking for ways to make their eLearning more interactive. There are many ways to do this. Here are just a few:

1. Interactions
There are many times when you have various concepts or “chunks” of information on a page. You could break it into multiple pages or divide it into sections. For example use tabs and dividers so that the user only sees small parts at a time. Here are some tabs and dividers.

You could also use some type of simple flash memory cards or drag and drop.

2. Scenarios
If you have a lot of information to share you could package it into a scenario. This is a good way to make it “real”. It also helps the user understand how it relates to them and why they should pay attention. Scenarios don’t need to be complex. They nay just be a simple setup page and a question or two.

Here are some scenario examples:
”The company has recently opened 3 new offices and a launched a new website. What products might help this company process customers’ payments?”
“You see a customer at the counter complaining about their cold food. The customer is visibly angry. As a manager what should you do?”

Here is a simple eLearning scenario template.

3. Case Studies
There are times when your scenario needs to be more in-depth. I like to use case studies when a scenario is too simple. A case study would be more intense and could include background information, bios on persons involved, current setup/date/time, multiple phases/steps, twists along the way, and decision points. Case studies take some time to create but can be very engaging.

4. Quizzes
Knowledge checks can keep a learner’s attention. You could even do quizzes before the course content is presented. This might be a good way to help the learner start thinking about the content and to give them a preview of what’s to come. Theses quizzes could be combined to create the final test. Here are some fun quiz templates and games.

5. Hands-On Demos
Many people learn by actually trying out the system (hands-on approach). Online training is a great way to give learners a way to try out a system without being live. You can recreate a series of steps in a software transaction and package it as a simulation. Learners could have three options:

• Sit back and watch a demonstration of how the software works.
• Be prompted where to click and how to navigate the software.
• Be tested to see if they can use the software without any help.

It is basically the “Tell them, Show Them, Let Them Do It” approach. Simulations are a great way to let learners practice in a safe environment.

6. Learning Games
Is there a way to make your course fun and still educational? There are many types of game ideas from word puzzles, Jeopardy, and Millionaire to more complex, immersive games.

There are tons of ways to create interactive content. Most of the time it just takes a little extra thought.

Related articles:
Check out this past article on brainstorming.
Awesome eLearning Do’s and Don’ts.

---

Visit our other sites: eLearning Activities, eLearning Games, Articulate Skins.

ASTD TechKnowledge 2010 – Visit our Booth for a HUGE Discount!

I posted last week that we are exhibiting this week at ASTD TechKnowledge in Las Vegas.

We have a HUGE discount on our BIGGEST eLearning template bundle. (to get the discount you must purchase the bundle at our booth.) Here’s our booth location.

And don’t forget…you can also enter to win some free templates.

Awesome Games and Interactions for Articulate Presenter

If you’ve been coming to this site for awhile you probably know that we build a lot of custom flash games/quizzes/interactions for eLearning developers. I want to take a moment and focus on how the templates work with Articulate.

eLearning Games

Each of the games is created in Flash and has scoring and looks amazing. A learner answers various questions and gets feedback and a running score. Every game comes with the .fla file so that you can customize everything until your heart is content.

However, if you don’t know flash very well, that’s ok. All you have to do is insert your question text into the movie clips in the library. (a tutorial is included with every .fla and there are videos on our template tutorial site.

There are 8 games available right now:

eLearning Interactions

Ever wish that you have tons of interactive page layouts just ready and waiting? Now you can! We’ve created 4 different designs of interactive flash layouts. Pages with tabs and sections, scenarios, drag and drops, flash cards, quizzes, and more! Each set has over 30 interactive layouts.

All you need to do is add your text to the text movieclip in flash and publish. Here are some samples:

Using Templates and Games in Articulate Presenter

Here are the steps to use these flash templates in Articulate:

1. Add the text that you want to see in your game/interaction to the appropriate movieclip in Flash.

2. Publish the flash movie as .swf

3. In PowerPoint go to Articulate / Flash Movie

4. Select your .swf

5. From the Insert Flash Movie window choose these settings:

• Display in slide
• Advance to next slide “When user clicks next”
• Movie plays independently of slide

6. Click OK

That’s it.

Bonus – eLearning PowerPoint Backgrounds

There are also PPT backgrounds available that have over 80 different layouts. We also provide a PPT master template file that you can use to speed up the development process.

(Check out amazing eLearning Games, Flash Interactions, PowerPoint Backgrounds, and eLearning Templates)

eLearning Templates Biggest Bundle

8 Flash games, 2 PPT eLearning course style themes AND more than 60 Flash interactions included in this bundle!

These are PPT and Flash based templates that are super easy to update. Each template is fully customizable in Flash (we give you the .fla Flash source file). All you have to do is open Flash, paste your text, publish, and insert into your favorite eLearning Development tool. Made to work within most rapid elearning software (Articulate Presenter, Adobe Captivate, Rapid Intake, Adobe Presenter, PowerPoint and more).

BONUS: Reuse the templates over and over again in multiple courses…or even other websites and presentations.

Learn more

eLearning Templates Bigger Bundle

8 Flash games AND over 30 Flash interactions included in this bundle!

These are Flash based templates that are super easy to update. Each template is fully customizable in Flash (we give you the .fla Flash source file). Just open Flash, paste your text, publish, and insert into your favorite eLearning development tool. Made to work within most rapid elearning software (Articulate Presenter, Adobe Captivate, Rapid Intake, Adobe Presenter, PowerPoint and more).

BONUS: Reuse the templates over and over again in multiple courses…or even other websites and presentations.

Learn more

eLearning Templates Big Bundle

8 Flash games included in this bundle!

These are Flash based templates that are super easy to update. Each template is fully customizable in Flash (we give you the .fla Flash source file). Just open Flash, paste your text, publish, and insert into your favorite eLearning development tool. Made to work within most rapid elearning software (Articulate Presenter, Adobe Captivate, Rapid Intake, Adobe Presenter, PowerPoint and more).

BONUS: Reuse the templates over and over again in multiple courses…or even other websites and presentations.

Learn more

Spy Challenge eLearning Flash Game Template

Another great Flash eLearning game template from e-LearningTemplates.com.

This is a Flash based template that is super easy to update. Each template is fully customizable in Flash (we give you the .fla Flash source file). Made to work within most rapid elearning software (Articulate Presenter, Adobe Captivate, Rapid Intake, Adobe Presenter, PowerPoint and more).

BONUS: Reuse the templates over and over again in multiple courses…or even other websites and presentations.

Specs:

Files included: .Fla and .swf
Requirements: Flash 8 or newer
File size: Final .swf only 144 KB
Output dimensions: 720×540

Flash eLearning Multi-Game Bundle #2

We have just bundled another amazing group of elearning flash game templates.

Visit e-LearningTemplates.com for additional details.

$225 Value! – 4 Games included in this bundle:

Golf Challenge
ShootOut Challenge
BootCamp Challenge
Spy Challenge

These are Flash based templates that are super easy to update. Each template is fully customizable in Flash (we give you the .fla Flash source file). Made to work within most rapid elearning software (Articulate Presenter, Adobe Captivate, Rapid Intake, Adobe Presenter, PowerPoint and more).

BONUS: Reuse the templates over and over again in multiple courses…or even other websites and presentations.

Specs:

Files included: .Fla and .swf
Requirements: Flash 8 or newer
Output dimensions: 720×540

Why Use eLearning Templates in Your Course?

Are you developing online training content (eLearning)? Do you want to save money and time? Are there multiple members on your team and you need everything to be consistent? Are there varying levels of technical expertise on the team?

These are just a few questions that we come across while building online training content. Using templates to build eLearning can address many of the questions above. Before discussing a few points let me describe what I mean by eLearning templates.

Templates can include many different assets. Many common ones are PowerPoint master slide layouts that have many different pages ready for you to insert content. There are also various tools that create template interfaces and GUIs for courses. E-learning templates can include buttons, icons, color schemes, images, quizzes, games, and more. Basically they can be used over and over in different projects. Now let’s discuss a few benefits.

Save Time and Effort

Wouldn’t it be nice to have the interface, page layouts, buttons, icons, colors, and the most often used components of an online course ready to go? Right there on your desktop and ready to drag and drop into place?

Having templates ready to goes means that you don’t have to waste time re-creating the same pieces for each course. This can be very valuable for those who may not have a strong background in multimedia. It could take a novice designer a long time to create a flash movie or design an asset that an expert could do in minutes. Also, the quality will be very different.

Another huge plus is that the designers can now spend time focusing on writing good material and less on how to make a button look pretty.

Consistency

Many organizations want their online courses to be consistent. They should have the same colors, look/feel, quality, etc. no matter who the individual designer was. Templates can help achieve this desire. Designers have a base to work from and are all using the same files.

You can also develop a template interface player. This would ensure that learner always have the same navigation options on each course. You could also standardize where links to job aids, outlines, bookmarking, and other features appear. The learner become familiar with navigating your course and doesn’t need to waste time trying to figure that part out. They can jump right into the training.

Technical Functionality

Are there certain requirements that your Learning Management System has for courses to function properly? Are there guidelines that the IT department has? Templates are a great way to build a file that works within all guidelines and then to share it with the entire department. As designers use the template is cuts down on troubleshooting time trying to determine why something isn’t working. That effort has already been done and only needs to happen once.

Move Beyond Your Talent

There are some amazing multimedia designers that can create some great content for online training. Not all instructional designers are good at creating multimedia. Templates can be created to add a lot of professionally designed interactivity and games to courses. All you have to know how to do is edit the template and then you can add content that is beyond your skill level to create on your own.

Increase Output and Creativity

I touched on this earlier but e learning templates allow designers to spend time on what they do best…writing course content. Templates can allow you to spend project time on the “meat” of the course and not on the “administrative” parts. This has two consequences: 1. You can spend time thinking of creative ways to make your course interesting and 2. You can build more courses in a shorter amount of time.

I hope that this article gave you a few ideas around how eLearning templates can help you and your team.

If you would like to see some templates here are some examples:
eLearning Flash Template Interactions
eLearning Games
PowerPoint Backgrounds

Next Page »