In this screencast, I’m showing you how to make multiple objects on a slide the same size.
Check out the screencast below!
Screencast: Creating Transparent Markers in Articulate Storyline
In this screencast, I’m showing you how to create a neat transparent marker effect. This approach can come in handy when you have the need for many markers on one slide, but you don’t want to gum up your slide with 23849324832 markers.
Check out the screencast below!
Screencast: Calculate Course Duration in Articulate Storyline
If you’ve ever been asked to calculate how long it will take learners to move through a course, you’ll appreciate this screencast! Today I’m showing you how to automatically calculate course duration in Articulate Storyline. Now, it is important to note that this calculation relies solely on the accuracy of your slide timelines. If you have dead space on the timeline, this will be factored in to the calculation – take note of that, and check out the screencast below!
2017 Recap and 2018 Goals
2017 Recap
I hope everyone is having a great New Year’s Eve! Our little family has spent the last week in quarantine with the flu, but I can’t say I’m complaining to much about having a New Years Eve in. Overall, I feel like I hit the business goals hard, but definitely slacked on the personal goals.
This year, I maintained consistent relationships with my long-term clients and added a few other clients, I networked per usual, attended ATD ICE and DevLearn, spoke at DevLearn, and facilitated a week of Articulate Storyline 360 training. My husband and I traveled to Calgary and Toronto, and I traveled to Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Newfoundland. I would have run the Bluenose and participated in the relay race; however, the dates fell in line with when I was away for ATD ICE.
Personal goals:
- Slow down and take more time to enjoy the present;
- Maintain a consistent exercise schedule;
- Register for run the Bluenose Half Marathon and a relay race; and
Travel to Calgary and Toronto with my husbandand plan an anniversary vacation.
Business goals:
Maintain relationships with my long-term clients, and continue building a small network of clients.Continuing networking with colleagues I respect;Attend 2-3 conferences;Speak at 1-2 e-learning events;- Get Sprout up and running;
- Learn a new skill;
- Participate regularly in the Articulate E-Learning Heroes Challenges; and
- Blog regularly.
2018 Goals
For 2018, I really want to focus on some of the personal goals, and more maintenance when it comes to business goals.
Personal goals:
- Slow down and enjoy the present;
- Maintain a consistent exercise schedule;
- Be more mindful of the food I’m putting into my body and make positive dietary changes;
- Run the Bluenose Half Marathon and participate in a relay race (should be do-able since I won’t be attending ATD ICE this year); and
- Travel to Toronto with my husband for the Blue Jays Home Opener and plan and execute an epic 5-year anniversary vacation.
Business Goals:
- Increase business income by 25%;
- Attend 2 conferences;
- Speak at 1-2 e-learning conferences;
- Participate in the e-learning heroes community challenges (period – not regularly, just participate);
- Blog regularly;
- Break 1,000,000 views on the blog; and
- Get more courses up on Sprout.
2017 Blog Review
2017 was a big flop for me when it came to blogging. I started out strong, and had spurts here and there, but I was certainly not nearly as active a blogger as I typically am (2018 will change!). Last year I did this same type of review, and it was a hit, so I figured I’d follow up with another year in review for the blog:
2017 Statistics
- Total Posts: 70 – down 20 from 2016
- Average Daily Views: 2,542 – Almost double compared to 2016
- Average Monthly Views: 77,316 – More than double compared to 2016
- Annual Views: 927,792 (with a couple of days to spare)
How do I feel about those numbers? They continue to blow my mind. I would have been over the moon if I would have broken 1,000,000 views for the year, but like I said earlier – I was a really slack blogger this year.
Most Popular Posts in 2017
The most popular posts in 2017 are as follows:
Screencast: Articulate Storyline 3 or Articulate Storyline 360?
100+ Free Stock Photos for Use in E-Learning
Custom Menu in Articulate Storyline 360
Screencast: Creating Custom Icons in Articulate Storyline With the Noun Project
Screencast: Gate Screen from Start to Finish in Articulate Storyline 2
Screencast: Extend Slide Content Using Lightboxes in Articulate Storyline
Screencast: Using Storyline on a Mac
Screencast: Use Your Timeline and Cue Points to Synchronize Animation in Articulate Storyline
Screencast: Using Dockable Panels in Articulate Storyline 2 and 360
Screencast: Creating Custom Questions Using Convert to Freeform in Articulate Storyline: Pick Many
DevLearn 2017 – Day 2 Recap
I’m at DevLearn all week long, so I’ll be recapping each day/session I attend.
Morning Buzz: Building a Partnership With SMEs – Ashley Chiasson
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Keynote: Technology and Storytelling: Making a Difference in the Digital Age – LeVar Burton
DO I EVEN HAVE TO TELL YOU WHO LEVAR BURTON IS?! Star Trek…Reading Rainbow?! GET IT TOGETHER, FOLKS! I cannot explain how excited I am for this session. SO EXCITED! Look at all those capitals and exclamation points!
It is difficult for one to reach their full potential without being able to read in at least one language – LeVar Burton
LeVar kicks off his session by explaining that he believes literacy paves the way for lifelong learning – and he is so true. He explains that the definition of literacy needs to continue to evolve. STEM and STEAM are more well-rounded approaches to educate our children. They need a broad range of literacy.
He wants to take STEAM one step further by including Reading, STREAM. LeVar is an incredible force to promote literacy, and he self-identifies as a storyteller. He genuinely believes that storytelling has the power to fuel children’s development. He explains that it is our imagination that allows use to conceptualize, devise, and design any invention that has ever propelled us in our human journey!
Star Trek should be viewed as paving the way for the world in which we live. The Enterprise had iPads before we did, and Apple should be paying them residuals!
I cannot get over how fantastic LeVar is at presenting…which seems like an odd statement toward someone who self-identifies as a storyteller, but I’m immersive in everything he’s telling us! He explains that his mother passed away a month ago, but whenever he has the opportunity to speak her name in public, he does. She was instrumental in allowing him to reach his full potential in life. She had standards and consequences if you did not meet those standards. She had hopes, expectations, and dreams for LeVar because she knew the power of being educated. His mother taught him there were no limits in terms of what he did with his life, expect the limits he self-imposed.
There are some stories that can impact the trajectory of society! Roots shifted the frame of reference about slavery in America.
He explains that we’re only just beginning to learn how technology can impact education in today’s generation, so he has reimagined Reading Rainbow for today’s children by creating Skybrary School, which can be tailored to individual classroom needs. He wants to meet his audience where they are – smart!
He closes with an exercise: close your eyes for 30 seconds and think about a teacher or someone who saw your potential before you did, and helped you become the person you are today. Who was that person for you?
Session 1: Changing the Face of UI Design for eLearning – Melissa Milloway
Mel has a PACKED house! Giiiiiiiiirl. I love your very respectable numbers, and you don’t sound like you’ve consumed too much coffee, so you’re doing great! AND YOU’RE ON CAMERA – CRUSHING IT!
Mel’s session kicks off with some Ron Swanson and Leslie Knope, so obviously it’s going to be amazing. She talks about the difference between UX and UI, provides us with some Ryan Gosling getting therapy because of the Papyrus font:
And now everyone will start to see the papyrus font in EVERYTHING. In the sketch, Gosling laments the fact that there seemed to be no design thinking when the folks who created Avatar chose the font they were going to use.
April Ludgate takes us into our UI design pet peeves. Mine is autoplay videos because I don’t need your videos foisted upon me. That and popup opt ins…which I know is a marketing strategy…but damnit, GET YOUR LIFE!
Other pet peeves:
- Stock photos with watermarks
- Ads with the fake Xs
- BULLETS ARE TOO VERBOSE (and this wasn’t my submission)
After this exercise, she explains why it’s so important to have good UI: you want to earn your learner’s trust that the training will be effective, you want to showcase your culture in order to build your culture, it allows you to focus on the content, it allows you to save resources, and it minimizes cognitive load.
Ron Swanson’s party dance takes us in to design systems, and Mel demos several examples of these, such as Trello’s Nachos design system. Mel really knows her stuff!
End Note
Mel’s concurrent session was the only one I attended today, because jet lag is really hitting me, and I wanted to take some time to really focus on preparing my presentation materials for tomorrow – it’s been awhile since I’ve given this one!
