instructional design

Carousel Effect

You may be familiar with carousel effects, a slide show like feature sometimes used at a website and also an available format and effect for SharePoint sites. Earlier in the week, I realized this design element could also be applied to solve the constant problem of sharing all training content without overloading the slide.

This example utilizes triggers, layers, and (my new favorite Articulate feature!) variables, and I selected a multi-step process with a singular step detailed at each stop along the carousel. I also included text box to reflect the numeric variable value in the lower, right corner as I enjoy having this reference on screen while I’m building and previewing variables. The text box with the reference can easily be moved off screen or deleted entirely when you’ve successfully applied the necessary logic.

The learner can navigate this version by simply clicking arrows, but check back soon. I’ll feature this same slide, but instead of an arrow navigation I will revise the logic to automatically progress through the process steps.

Click here to see "Accidents Happen"!

PowerPoint Tips

We’re preparing for our final corporate orientations of 2017, which means I’m handing out a lot PowerPoint tips. I become the proverbial broken record leading up to these events, reminding presenters and subject matter experts that simple and small changes to a presentation can yield big results. I thought these same simple ideas would make an excellent post here.

If you haven’t done so, change the format of your PowerPoint to 16:9. Most devices are in widescreen format, and this will format your presentation to fill the screen. BONUS- you’ll have a bit more space to work with on your screen! (Check under the “Design” tab.)
When your presentation is running in as a slide show, you may notice some icons near the lower, left corner of the screen- left arrow, pen, slide, and right arrow. Don’t forget this pen feature would be available to call attention to information on your slide or make other notations during your presentation.
Consider using a dark background with light text. This format can prevent eye strain for your learners, especially during long presentations or extended days of learning. (It is easier for the human eye to focus on the dark background and light text.)
Try your best to keep each slide’s word count to 10 or less. You see, if your slide is text heavy, there’s a possibility the learner is reading instead of listening to what you’re saying. The learner CANNOT read and listen to you at the same time! I do not mean that as an slight to your learner- it is simply the way the human brain works. This may mean you need to create more slides, but that’s a simple solution to text-heavy slides. Limited text with strong visuals allows you to present extemporaneously, and there’s a higher probability your learner will retain what has been said.

If you’re insistent on including text heavy slides, use the following tips to make the verbose portions of the presentation more engaging:

Instead of revealing the information all at once, use a carefully selected animation to present the information in small pieces. (So many times I receive finalized presentations that show all the information on a cluttered slide at once versus slowly revealing it using animations or triggers.)
The possibilities for reading comprehension activities are near endless, If you must use the text heavy slide, include some sort of extended group discussion. (You’re going to need to comfortable asking leading questions, facilitating learning with Socratic questioning to encourage critical thinking and problem solving during the conversation.)
1. Present the information all at once, have the audience read the slide, and then each learner should complete some sort of action or gesture when he/she has finished reading. (Examples- raise his/her hand, stand up, bookmark but close their notebook/textbook, face the front of the room, etc.)
2. Next, you can simply discuss the text. You could have the group as a whole involved in the discussion, or you could divide the group into smaller sections to discuss a specific section of the text. You can easily kick this off with simple questioning-What new idea did you learn? What are the pros/cons of this idea? How would you implement or apply this idea at your work location? What questions do you have about what you just read?

There are many resources you can easily access to see other suggested improvements. Watch the webinar and online videos/presentations from the many, many skilled facilitators and PowerPoint gurus out there. Register for a design class. Ask for help- there’s probably someone within your organization with strong presentation skills that might be willing to help you polish your own presentation.
Lastly, think of presentations where you were excited and engaged. Is there any method the subject matter expert or presenter used that you could apply to your own presentation? Don’t be afraid to try something new! If it doesn’t work you can keep practicing or make more changes until you find the solution that’s best fitting to you and your material.

Good, better, best revisted

As mentioned last week, I’m re-visiting the good, better, and best interaction. (To provide a short re-cap, that interaction prompted the user to select from three option and offered coaching on the good, better, or best solution.)

You may want to consider “scoring” any interaction. Not only is it great to judge your learner’s progress, it can work as a great motivator for the learners. While Articulate has built in templates that can easily create quizzing, this can also be easily achieved with a variable. (In addition to creating a numeric variable this example also requires the answer buttons to have “states”.)

Now, it would be ideal that the learner select the best answer first, and that’s exactly what the scoring variable in this example will demonstrate. Simply create a number variable, and then add to that number when the users selects the best answer if the good and better answers are still in their normal states.

Click here

to see the good, better, best example with a scoring variable (and pass/fail slides) added!

Good, better, best interactions

I’ve been encouraging the subject matter experts involved in our classroom training to present more interactive and facilitated learning activities. This has included a suggestion that they present learners with a challenge followed by good, better, or best solutions. (Of course with any challenge and choice interaction, you’ll also need to guide the student through the consequences of his/her choice.)

Earlier in the week I realized a good, better, and best scenario would work great in Articulate Storyline. (Hopefully, this demonstration will also show our SMEs how easily it would be to add this to a classroom presentation!) In this example, I’ve built two slides. The first offers a few details on the slide design, and the second shows this design in action. A few special features include a character whose expression will change based on the learner’s answer, and the disabled next button until the learn selects the best answer.

Tune in next week. I will add a scoring feature to this training sample.

Click here

to review the example.

Creating a user avatar in Articulate Storyline

If you follow training and design closely, you’re certainly familiar with recent trends to create more learner focused solutions. How do you address that trend, creating something customized for your student with a rapid development tool and short deadline? It will require great attention to detail, but using character states, variables, and triggers allows you to add a personalized touch! In addition to creating an engaging course, developing that sort of course logic is always a fun, professional challenge.

The following example uses all of those tools I’ve mentioned (Articulate Storyline’s states and variables) to allow a learner to select an avatar. The simple on-screen representation offers a more customized touch, especially when the character’s pose and expression are further developed (using triggers) to change based on the learner’s action, answer, and responses in the course. Again, it is a course development detail that will test your critical thinking skills, but the finished product is well worth that extra design effort.

Click here to see the avatar example.

Using activities to take your instruction from insipid to inspiring!

Once again, I’m in a last minute scramble, finalizing the details for an instructor lead training session next week. (We’re preparing to host 11 managers at headquarters for four days of training on corporate functions.) And once again, I’m reviewing our subject matter experts’ (SMEs) presentations and asking, “WHERE IS THE INTERACTION?” To simply summarize the situation, despite my constant lobby to make simple changes to presentations, I deal with a lot of SMEs and presenters who want to walk into the room, lecture and spew information, and then leave the room.

I think training “buzz words” such as engagement, activity, and facilitation (among others) can be intimidating to someone who is not accustomed to thinking about instructional design. That’s okay- it’s his/her job to master his/her department’s functions and fill the SME role. It’s my job to think about the best possible design to increase learners’ engagement and knowledge retention while meeting an organization’s strategic learning objectives.I also think including an activity during a training presentation or event is easier than some people realize. Here are a few simple ideas that can create a more engaging learning experience by facilitating knowledge discovery (instead of delivering dull, boring lectures).

1) Does any portion of your presentation require building a list? Don’t display that on your presentation via the projector. Instead, use a flip chart or tablet to have your group brainstorm the list with a volunteer from the group writing down each idea! Once you’ve collected each necessary item/point in the list, return to your presentation and prove details and support information. (It may be wise to leave out the list and details in any prints or handouts to prevent learners from peeking ahead, revealing an answer too soon. This would also hopefully prompt him/her to take notes regarding information he/she finds valuable.)

2) Do you have a slide during your presentation that is text heavy or requires reading a lengthy passage? Instead of having a presenter or instructor lecture on the text, have the group read silently with each person circling/underlining/highlighting passages that he/she recognizes as vital information. After the group has finished reading, ask what they have highlighted, and begin the discussion. This will allow the presenter or SME to provide even more detail, information, and insight regarding the topic. If the group missed a point that should have been highlighted, ask a question about this portion of the text to facilitate discussion on the topic.

3) Does any part of your presentation require looking up information at a website? Why not have the group look this up for you? Using their smart phones or tablets to search for the necessary material, the first person to find the information at the site can stand and read this aloud to the group. Next, progress to the saved or bookmarked link/site with your projector and computer to begin discussing this topic.

The possibilities are nearly endless. If describing the training design includes an action or (safe!) verb, you’re on the right path to more engaging facilitation and activities!

And here’s one final tip- if your activity will require a person to volunteer to read, make a list, role play, build, etc make sure there’s a “prize” for him/her after the activity is finished. It can be as simple as a company branded stress toy, a water bottle stuffed with snacks, movie passes, or playing cards. (The dollar bins and seasonal aisles at chain pharmacies and other major retailers are great places to shop for these simple prizes.)

Extra, extra! Read all about it!

Recently, my boss approached me with a question: what did I think about launching communications or a newsletter for our operations staff? I thought it was a great idea! And even better, I appreciate that she trusts me enough to work autonomously to produce each publication.

In the last few months, the newsletter has grown to be a solid source of information for our employees communicating deadlines, policy changes, procedure reminders, and announcing new staff members. The operations newsletter even inspired me to begin monthly bulletin boards and a quarterly newsletter for our corporate facility. It’s grown to be one of my favorite responsibilities and allows me to balance the company’s communication and strategic goals with my own creativity.

Would you like to see a sample? I’ve attached a generic letter here for a fictitious corporation. Use this as an inspiration to revise your own company’s internal communication plans, or contact me for more information on how I could assist your organization.

Acme Letter

Hover Effects in Articulate Storyline

During a recent conversation with a Subject Matter Expert he was worried a training topic had too much information to be presented efficiently in an online course- a common concern of SMEs, I’m sure! Thankfully, I was able to demonstrate the hover function available in Articulate Storyline as a solution to present more information while maintain clean design. It is a wonderful effect that reveals more information to the user when he/she interacts with the screen. I immediately realized this would be a great demonstration to share here!

As a fan of American History and Hamilton: An American Musical, I was inspired to create a before/during/after hover interaction featuring four of our founding fathers that were featured heavily in the musical. Click here

to learn about Marquis de Lafayette, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Alexander Hamilton and their lives before, during, and after the American Revolution!

The Bill Of Rights

Seventeen years ago The West Wing (my favorite political drama) made its television debut, and I have recently re-watched several favorite episodes. A few evenings ago, an episode inspired this training example. If it has slipped your mind since a civics or history class, the first ten amendments of our U. S. Constitution are called the “Bill of Rights”. Drafted by our forefathers and ratified in December 1791, the Bill of Rights protects personal liberties and freedoms and also outlines certain government functions.

With the inspiration from The West Wing, I realized the Bill Of Rights offers a great opportunity to build an interaction via Articulate Storyline 2. This sort of presentation would make an excellent supplement when training on any concrete order or established process.

Can you “drag and drop” the first five amendments of our U. S. Constitution into the Correct order? Click here

to give it a try!

Tonight’s Entrée- peanut butter and jelly sandwiches

A recent potential project at work discussed the best method to re-train a group of employees on an integral process. Simply and generally summarized, employees are missing the most vital step or performing the steps out of order, which creates a liability for the organization. I immediately knew the drag and drop features available in Articulate Storyline would be an ideal interaction to test the learner’s knowledge, but how could I demonstrate this to a SME/project contact that has not been involved with training processes previously? My first goal was to demonstrate the drag and drop with a process most people could quickly comprehend.

Who doesn’t love a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? (I prefer mine to be made with grape jelly.) I’m sure many people may associate the PB&J with their elementary school lunch box, but since it is a procedure most of us have mastered, I thought a sandwich recipe would be a great example to demonstrate a a drag and drop interaction.

As information, the SME agreed to using this training format, and we’re in the process of revising this course to the specific policy and process. Like a tasty sandwich, I’m certain this brief lesson will hit the spot, satisfying learners and stakeholders alike!

Click here to learn how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!