I just returned home from ATD Core4 Miami, and I’m all hyped up to share some Articulate Storyline 360 tips. For those who attended, I presented on Instructional Design for E-Learning as well as Top 10 Tips: Articulate Storyline. Over the next few days, I’ll be sharing some of my resources, in screencast form.
Today I’m sharing information about the Quick Access Toolbar and how to use it via shortcuts in Articulate Storyline.
Check out the screencast below!
I’m ramping up to deliver a session on Top Tips (when using) Articulate Storyline, and boy. oh. boy. Have the Articulate Storyline 360 updates in recent months been coming in handy!
#1 – The New Trigger Workflow
Holy (excuse my language) shit (or poop, or caca, or amazeballs)! THIS. IS. A. GAME. CHANGER! I once got a sneak peek of this about a year ago over breakfast, and let me tell you…my eggs were not as exciting as I had hoped for afterward.
It’s smart, it’s intuitive, it’s modern…I can now start to type the action I’m looking for or the occurrence I’m looking for and it narrows down my options. Holy crap! This makes things SO MUCH FASTER in terms of workflow!
In the Triggers Panel, you can also use the linked dropdown (for ANY portion of the trigger programming) to quickly adjust what needs adjusting -swooooon-! I will say that this does call to the front and centre the importance of labeling things on your timeline, but hey – I’ll lecture you about that in another post. Today we’re joyous.
#2 – SLIDE NUMBERS!!!
I recently posted a screencast showing one method of creating a visual progress meter using the new slide number functionality, and let me tell you…you have so many options when it comes to this. The slide number functionality provides you with a bunch of built-in variables:
And, you can use these variables in many ways to achieve your progress meter creation goals! Stay tuned for other options! This is functionality that I consider an entire game changer. It gives you permission to stop manually setting variables on a slide-by-slide basis, and for this we should praise all of the deities simultaneously. I also like that Articulate is providing you with options, because one progress meter is not the same for all.
#3 – The Recover a Corrupt File Feature
If you’ve been working in Storyline for awhile, you probably know that corrupted files are just a reality. Well – one thing that’s nice is that in a recent update, Articulate has provided a feature that allows you to recover a recently corrupted file, or at a minimum notifies you whether there is a temporary file stored elsewhere.
I cannot explain how valuable this is. I have spent a lot of money on hopefully software purchases claiming to recover my lost data…I have spent hours of my life redoing project files…I’m pretty sure that if this feature would have come out 5 years ago, I would have much fewer grey hairs. I would also likely not have bored 75-100 people to tears in my 2016 Articulate Roadshow: Toronto session (I’m sorry to any of you who were in attendance…though, you likely at some point since then have heeded all of the advice I provided), as now they have one less thing to worry about when it comes to backing up their files.
DevLearn is upon us and I’m sad that I’ll be missing this one. I’m not cleared to fly post-op until the beginning of November, so I will desperately be consuming the conference backchannel all week long! In any event, several of my colleagues have been sharing their conference-related tips, so I thought if I can’t beat ’em, join ’em.
Tip #1: Be Comfortable
So you’re attending a conference, you’re going to spend your days (and sometimes evenings) learning. You will do a lot of sitting and a lot of walking. If you have an activity tracker, THIS is the time to capitalize on all of the steps you will be getting in!
Because you will be doing so much walking, you will want to make sure you pack a sensible shoe, one that you won’t want to set on fire immediately after the conference because of all the blisters they gave you. When I travel, I usually bring options, but will ultimately choose my old reliable Birkenstocks because 1) they go with everything, and 2) they’re the most comfortable shoes I own.
Tip #2: Fuel Yourself and Pack Snacks
I like to think that I’m good at taking breaks, making time for myself, and being smart about eating lunch and drinking water…but I’m not. I’ve learned that in order to set myself up for success, I need to pack myself a range of snacks. Because there’s so much going on at conferences from the sessions to the expo to the networking nights to the other random conference events, I can’t guarantee that I’ll force myself to eat regular meals.
Here’s what I do: I wake up a little earlier and make time for a decent breakfast. I’ll either fuel myself with something healthy and hearty like oatmeal or eggs. Then, I’ll hit up Starbucks and get the largest vat of coffee they offer. While there, I’ll load up on my pocket snacks of nuts/fruit/something sweet, and will also grab a green juice and fill up my water.
Packing snacks ensures that whatever time it is and wherever I am in my conference-day journey, I can reach into my bag and shovel something into my mouth. This is a very important tip.
Tip #3: Be Organized
This concept can be applied to several areas:
Tip #4: Network, Network, Network!
As a Learning and Development (L&D) professional, your participation in these conferences is also to network your butt off and make as many connections as you can. L&D is not only a great world to work in, it’s a great community to be a part of and I have met some of my best friends at these events, so don’t skimp on this tip!
Tip #5: Treat Yo’ Self
Now this is a tip that I learned just last year. If you have spare time at the conference…say you got in early or you fly out late, make some time for yourself. You’ve had a long week. This could be something as simple as taking yourself out for lunch to a nice restaurant, hanging out by the hotel pool, or my personal favourite: spring for a spa day (you will thank me later).
Last year at DevLearn, I delivered a pre-conference certificate workshop, facilitated a morning buzz, judged a HyperDrive competition, delivered a Bring Your Own Device session, participated in (and won!) DemoFest, and then filled up on all of the conference sessions and networking I could. My Friday I. Was. Beat! My flight didn’t leave until 11pm, so I finished up with the conference and admitted myself to the spa at the Mirage for the rest of the day. It was hands down the best decision I made. I got on my red-eye flight back home so relaxed and zen that I couldn’t care less about being trapped in a metal can in the sky for 7 hours. It was luxurious! 10 out of 10 would recommend.
I’ve been meaning to record this screencast for awhile…since the May 6th release of this feature to be precise. But there was life and work and surgery…so #nevertolate? In any event, I was SO EXCITED (!!!) when Articulate finally came out with slide number functionality for Storyline 360. Our prayers had been heard. And immediately I thought about how it could positively impact my day-to-day life immediately…with visual progress meters. BAM.
Now, the slide number functionality generates a bunch of built-in variables, and this screencast seeks to show you one way of using those built-in variables to create a visual progress meter. I will share other ways later on…or 4 months later, who knows? If you’re interested in the completed Storyline file – feel free to download it here.
Check out the screencast below!
I will begin this post by saying: I no longer freelance full-time. For the past year, I have worked full-time with Traliant as their Senior eLearning Developer, and I love what I do. That being said, I do still freelance…just in a different way and for different reasons.
Awhile ago, I wrote a post about my Freelance to Freedom, and because it’s been five years and a lot has changed, I thought that was as good a time as any to reflect on my freelance journey, my goals, and how I’ve transitioned my freelancing since then.
When I initially wrote that post, I had dabbled in freelancing, working various contracts, and considering making strategic moves, such as requesting reduced hours at my full-time job, securing contracts, and moving toward full-time freelance. Since then, my focus has shifted. I’ve learned:
Let’s break it down!
Levels of Freelancing Comfort
What initially began as me being unable to say no (to contracts) and winding up working both permanent full-time and full-time freelance gigs has allowed me to explore how I want to freelance. For me, I prefer to have a permanent full-time role, while being able to continue my side hustle with small projects.
So for me, what was once ‘take every gig you can and just make time for it’ has turned into a much more strategic endeavour. This is because when I fast forward 5 years (and I’m sure 10/15/20 from now as well), I see that I have put a lot more value into my time and into my work-life balance.
I love freelance work because it keeps things fresh and ever-changing, but I also enjoy stability.
Another level of comfort I’ve found: working remotely. I do enjoy interacting with people on a daily basis, but for me that doesn’t mean it needs to occur within a traditional office space. I appreciate knowing that I can comfortably do my work from my home office, a cafe, a hospital, another country…wherever I want so long as there’s an internet connection. I love being location independent!
What Type of Work I Enjoy Doing
When I first started freelancing, I learned very quickly that I enjoyed working in an Instructional Design or Storyline Developer capacity. I am very good at both of those roles and I learned early on that I wanted to work smarter and not harder, so I chose freelance work that aligned with my skillset.
If you threw me into the full-time freelance pool again, I would still feel this way, and would still align the projects I worked on with my skillset. It makes sense. I fully recommend to anyone: promote the work that you would want to do again, because it’s what you will enjoy doing…and if you spend 40+ hours a week working, you should heed this one bit of advice, if only for your sanity. I’m a big supporter of investing in things that you will spend most of your time doing (work and sleep) – make those elements of your life as comfortable as you can.
What My Overall Goals Are in Relation to Freelancing
Initially my freelancing goal was ‘pay off my student debt’, then it was ‘make all of the money’, and now it is to foster relationships and invest in my professional development. How does that look for me now when it comes to freelancing?
As I mentioned before, I value my time and my work-life balance, so my freelancing is now focused less on more traditionally viewed ‘work’, such as Instructional Design or eLearning Development, and more on my own professional development and the professional development of others.
What I’ve really been passionate about for the last five or so years has been: Speaking. I love delivering sessions at conferences and providing training to others in the form of workshops and online courses (usually on topics of Instructional Design, eLearning, eLearning Development, etc.). I am very fortunate to have a career that allows me to do this, and the reason I see this as my preferred form of freelancing is because: 1 – it allows me to connect with colleagues and share what I’ve learned over the last 15 years of my professional life, and 2 – I have always been terrified of public speaking.
It’s a weird Catch-22 of ‘I like sharing’, but ‘I hate speaking’, and speaking at conferences and other events has allowed me to improve on a skillset of which I struggle. This is invaluable to me. So while I no longer freelance in the traditional sense of the word, this is my freelancing.
Last Words of Advice
Work outside of your comfort zone if you’d like, but make sure that it’s sustainable for you, your goals, and your desired work-life balance. If you want to do freelance full-time, there are strategic ways of executing this goal, so don’t work yourself to death – no one needs that kind of pressure. If you’d like to hear more about my freelancing insights, I’ll be delivering sessions on this topic at both ATD TechKnowledge 2020 and Learning Solutions 2020 (as well as some sessions and workshops in between).
Where the Heck Have You Been?!
I know, right?! I didn’t blog at all in August. So some of you might be thinking, “where has Ashley been?” At least I hope you’ve been thinking that, because I’ve really missed connecting as frequently, and I’m about to get back to it!
In July 2018, I tore my medial meniscus and damaged a bunch of cartilage in my knee playing softball. If you remember my jaw saga, you might be thinking “choose a different sport, please”, but no. No. I. Will. Not! ANYHOW. I had been waiting since then to have knee surgery, and on July 31st 2019 the wait was over!
I participated in a really neat research study that had two options: Option 1 – I get the surgery they’ve been doing successfully for years, which would only require one surgery, or Option 2 – I get a fancy 2-surgery deal that would first extract cartilage, mail it to a lab, grow new cartilage, and then 3 weeks later I would have a second surgery to implant the newly grown cartilage – cool, right?! I wouldn’t know which I had been selected for until I woke up from the anesthesia of surgery 1.
I really wanted the cool surgery so I could tell everyone I was bionic or part cattle (because the grown cartilage matrix was made with bovine matter), but my maiden name is Murphy and I abide by Murphy’s Law (anything that can go wrong, will go wrong), so I was randomly selected for the old surgery, which is referred to as ‘microfracture‘ plus a meniscus repair. Now that I’ve had this surgery, I am extremely glad to be nearly 6 weeks post-op, and not having to restart the post-op countdown with the second surgery, but it’s not nearly as neat sounding.
Long story short: I’ve been caged up on crutches and in a bulky range of motion brace for the past 4.5 weeks, and I have 1.5 more to go before I get the fancy custom brace and get cleared to resume normal life tasks like driving. I’ve had 2-4 appointments every single week, and it’s been incredibly exhausting. But, I’ll spend another 12-18 months in the new brace, and then my knee should be almost good as new. Which means: more softball and more travel.
So, that’s where I’ve been, and like I said earlier, I’m very excited about getting back into the swing of things with the blog…and with speaking opportunities!
Where Am I Speaking?
If you’re in the market for some Miami travel this November, I’ll be delivering two sessions for ATD Core4 Miami:
Session 1: Instructional Design for E-Learning
Oftentimes, eLearning programs don’t fully consider instructional design principles and best practices. Without considering these principles, though, how can you ensure that the eLearning is effectively addressing the issue for which it was developed?
In this session, you will learn about several key instructional design tips to consider when developing your eLearning. These tips stand to help you create a more targeted, consistent, and accessible eLearning program.
Key Takeaways:
Session 2: Top 10 Tips: Articulate Storyline
So you’re developing some pretty awesome e-learning in Articulate Storyline, but you’d like to streamline your development…this is where all of those software secrets can come in handy! If you’ve ever felt like you could use a clone, this session aims to make you twice as productive doing what you do.
In this session, you will learn 10 top tips for working in Articulate Storyline, and how these tips can help you become more productive in your Articulate Storyline development.
Key Takeaways:
And, then I’ll be delivering a 2-day workshop in Washington, DC, so if you have any recommendations for things to do and/or people to see, definitely let me know!
This is one of the first years in a long time that I won’t be participating at DevLearn because I won’t be cleared to fly until early November, so I’m having some serious FOMO…but 2020 will be a good one!
