Ashley Chiasson, M.Ed

Instructional Designer & Consultant

Instructional Design

E-Learning Challenge #123 – Course Starter Templates for E-Learning #Freebie

I figured it was time to jump back on the E-Learning Challenge bandwagon, so I used some of the free time (or time I procrastinated with) I had this week and came up with a few slides to get folks started when it comes to e-learning development.

The Concept

The idea behind this week’s e-learning challenge was to share a course starter template that consists of at least six slides…so I had to go back to my project and add another slide (whoops!).

The Method

I first went to Unsplash, which is my goto resource when it comes to finding inspiration and/or background images for use in my projects. Once I found the image I was going to use, I applied it as a background to all of my slides, with a transparency. From this image, I pulled three main colours for use as a palette and went to work!

  • Note: If you look at the source file, you’ll see the colour palette I chose off to the left-hand side of the slide.

For the cover slide, I used a trapezoid rotated 90 degrees as the base for my course title. I also added some custom navigation, disabling the Prev and Next buttons on the course player.

The objectives slide was reused from a demo I tossed together awhile back. I modified the slide to reflect the background and colour palette I chose.

The full-text slide was easy – I added a rectangle, filled with a colour from my palette, and then a text box for the heading and one for the main paragraph.

The container for popups slide was pulled from another project and repurposed with my colour palette, and some shapes and buttons were removed.

The bulleted list slide was a more modern take on a bulleted list, built out using rectangles.

The question slide was a modified convert to freeform pick one that was created for an exercise in the book I’m currently finishing up, Mastering Articulate Storyline.

Finally, I went to the course player and disabled pretty well everything, and adjusted the colour scheme to match my palette.

The Result

Screen Shot 2016-03-30 at 1.07.52 PM

Click here to view the full demo. | Click here to download the source file.

Terminology Tuesday: Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR)

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(Complete discretion: Part of me has wanted to use this image in a post for many moons…so I loosely related it to PLAR, implying that the aliens previously filled that individual’s brain with knowledge…#sorrynotsorry.)

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR)

PLAR involves acknowledging relevant life experiences as credit against a pre-determined set of standards. Think of PLAR as a way of becoming exempt from an exam in high school. You demonstrate your competencies, and if the demonstration is strong enough (usually graded), you are fast tracked to the next course.

We often see PLAR in on-the-job roles, where someone may not have the perceived necessary academic qualifications for a certain position, but their previous work experience has been considered acceptable to warrant a career position for that individual.

 Why is PLAR important?

  • As an individual, it can help you identify skills and knowledge that may be relevant for application to future positions.
  • It allows institutions and workplaces to set a benchmark for your knowledge and skills as they relate to their organization.
  • Is efficient when it comes to identify training gaps and filling those gaps instead of delivering unnecessary training – this identification is often paired with training needs analysis.

Screencast Monday: Uploading Storyline Projects to Articulate Tempshare

One of my favourite ways of uploading and sharing projects for Subject Matter Expert (SME) review is to use Articulate Tempshare. Once again, the lovely folks over at Articulate have come up with a fantastic (and generous) solution to temporarily storing our Articulate outputs, and it has come in handy for me on more than one occasion.

What is Tempshare? Articulate Tempshare is a temporary store for your Articulate project outputs; it allows you to upload web-based project outputs and stores them for 10-days, providing you with a link to view your project. It is SO HELPFUL!

Another great use for Tempshare would be to share files with other developers (or Articulate) for troubleshooting purposes.

E-Learning Challenge #117 – Visual Design Tips for Cover Slides

The Concept

The idea behind this challenge was to use a custom background, coupled with a visual design tip from Tom Kuhlmann, that illustrates how to use a visual echo technique in e-learning design.

The Method

Smashing Magazine recently posted a freebie download for some super cute barista and coffee lover icons. I downloaded them, but hadn’t found the opportunity to use them, so they were my muse.

I selected one of the icons from the set (the coffee sign), applied some transparency, made it into a background image for the main slide, and then set about creating a tabbed-style interaction on the left-hand side, with the same coffee image (with no transparency) as a logo of sorts.

Using several of the other barista icons, I created appropriately labeled tabs, and added layers for each of these items. Within the layers, I added a larger image of the tab icon and an explanation for how to make that type of beverage.

Finally, I customized the player by removing the navigational elements and adjusting some of the base colours.

The Result

Screen Shot 2016-03-22 at 8.30.26 PM

Click here to view the full interaction.

Terminology Tuesday: Open Educational Resources (OERs)

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There’s been a rumbling around the university for the past couple of years, but more so in recent months, about Open Educational Resources (OERs) and the place they may or may not have in our course offerings. With all of the buzz, it seemed like a good time to chat a bit about what OERs are.

OERs

OERs are not a new concept; in fact, UNESCO founded the term way back in 2002. However, they do seem to be more prominent in modern digital learning. The concept behind OERs is to have educational resources in the public domain, accessible to all, and OERs would remove limitations (typically in place via copyright) when it comes to use and redistribution of materials.

The main benefits of OERs are: increased access and free, the latter of which is incredibly beneficial when it comes to required texts used in post-secondary education, which traditionally have been quite costly. Considering the financial obligations the students of the world are already taking on in order to receive high-quality educations, textbook costs are one element that OERs may provide financial relief.

Resources