Ashley Chiasson, M.Ed

Instructional Designer & Consultant

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E-Learning Challenge #110 – Awaken Your E-Learning Force

Last year I completed many more e-learning heroes challenges than I thought I had, and I’m surprising myself early in 2016 by completing my first challenge of the year!

The Concept

This challenge was to ‘awaken’ our e-learning force by creating a Star Wars themed interaction…this was a tall order for me because I had never seen an entire Star Wars movie. I know. I know.

The Method

When thinking about this challenge, I knew I wanted to do something with the iconic intro crawl, and I knew I wanted to build the interaction in Storyline, which was limited in terms of being able to adjust the perspective of my text.

So, here’s what I did instead:

  • Went into PhotoShop and created a transparent canvas the width of my Storyline design, and double the height;
  • Then, I added a text box around the entire canvas, chose a Star-Warsy font, changed the font colour to a shade of yellow, and wrote out my crawl;
  • Once I was finished writing the crawl, I right-clicked the text layer, and selected Rasterize Type;
  • Then, I chose Transform > Perspective from the Edit menu, and adjusted the top of the text box to become a smaller width with the bottom of the text box remaining the same;
  • I added a drop shadow and saved the image.

Then…

  • I went back to my Storyline file where I had applied a background fill of a Star-Warsy looking pattern;
  • Then, I added a scroll panel to the entire width (and majority of height) of my project, with the scroll bar extending past the slide so you couldn’t see it;
  • Next, I added the image I had created in PhotoShop and applied a line motion path, changing the direction to up, changing the easing to none, and I dragged the end point of the motion path to the desired location;
  • I added some Star Wars theme music (attribution under the Resources link), and moved on to the next slide, and set a trigger to jump to the next slide when the motion path animation completed;
  • The next slide was a simple click and reveal interaction that employed buttons to trigger layers.

Result

Screen Shot 2016-01-05 at 10.53.44 AM

To view the full interaction, Click Here.

2015 Recap and 2016 Goals

2015 was a great year! Challenging at times, but still pretty solid. I learned a lot this year, worked with a ton of amazing clients, and I look forward to seeing where 2016 takes me!

2015 RECAP:

Let’s see how I did with my 2015 personal goals:

With that being said, my goals for 2015 are mostly personal goals:

  • Begin therapy to conquer my social anxiety (or at least learn how to cope with it);
  • Maintain a consistent exercise schedule and run a half marathon in May (and possibly another in September);
  • Take positive steps toward becoming the best version of myself I can be;
  • Spend more time with my husband and our family; and
  • Travel to Europe with my husband, taking a proper vacation.

As for business goals:

  • Complete both books and have them published;
  • Present and KILL IT at Learning Solutions 2015;
  • Continue networking with colleagues I respect;
  • Continue working with clients I respect;
  • Conduct various workshops at the university and encourage growth within our distance offerings;
  • Overhaul my portfolio;
  • Participate more actively in the ELH Challenges;
  • Continue blogging regularly; and
  • Begin authoring my third book.

Overall, I feel like I did pretty good with my 2015 goals – I also completed the Online Learning Consortium’s Teaching Certificate, 19 E-Learning Heroes Challenge entries and wrote 38 Terminology Tuesday posts. However, there’s still lots of work left to do in 2016.

2016 GOALS

Personal goals:

  • Slow down and take more time to enjoy the present;
  • Maintain a consistent exercise schedule;
  • Rehabilitate my jaw;
  • Spend more time with my husband and our family; and
  • Travel to Colorado and Iceland with my husband.

Business goals:

  • Slow down, take on fewer clients (than in 2015), and work on fostering long-term working relationships;
  • Continuing networking with colleagues I respect;
  • Speak at 1-2 e-learning events;
  • Publish my 2nd book;
  • Conduct more workshops and speaking engagements at the university, continuing to promote online learning;
  • Learn a new skill;
  • Participate regularly in the Articulate E-Learning Heroes Challenges; and
  • Blog regularly.

Terminology Tuesday: Multi-Access Framework

We’re preparing for a busy Winter semester, and this semester we have a large amount of multi-access classes being taught. While not exactly a ‘new’ thing for us, perfecting it is relevantly new, especially with rapid advances to technology.

Multi-Access?

What is a multi-access class? Well, it is a class designed to cater to the needs of two groups of students: those attending face-to-face, and those attending online or at a distance. This type of class allows both groups of students to participate in the learning exchange of the course itself, while creating a greater sense of community by interacting with students in both environments.

Multi-access students are central in this context. They are able to choose when and where they participate; sure, some students may only be able to attend online, but the option is there. They are not restricted by having to register as either an on campus or online student, they can mix and match as their schedules allow.

How is the Multi-Access format beneficial?

Outside of its obvious benefits to student flexibility, the multi-access format allows institutions to increase enrolment opportunities, while providing faculty members with increased delivery options. It also provides increased access to the course content to a broader range of students.

Resources

Articulate Storyline Essentials Ebook Sale!

The lovely folks at Packt Publishing are placing all ebooks on sale for 5 dollars! What a steal! If you’d like to purchase my ebook, Articulate Storyline Essentials, at this special price, please click through the banner below.

Happy Holidays!

$5

Terminology Tuesday: Year 1!

It was requested by several readers, many months ago, but it’s finally here…

Terminology Tuesday: Year 1 – The Ebook

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Purchase your copy through gumroad.com. The prices are in Canadian dollars, so it’s a steal for all of my American or international readers!
I hope you enjoy the ebook, and keep your eyes peeled for Terminology Tuesday: Year 2!

 

Terminology Tuesday: Accessibility (in Education)

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What do folks in education mean when they refer to ‘accessibility’? Well, in the online learning context, it really means allowing all learners, across all browsers and devices, access to all course content in an equitable manner.

Learning should not be impeded by inaccessible course content. 

In this context, accessibility does not necessarily mean increasing access to course content for individuals with disabilities. Of course, this is always a concern, but the perspective should change to just ensure course content is inclusive of all learners, not just those individuals with self-reported disabilities.

Sure, you should be conscious of ADA/508 compliance issues and include transcripts to all video or audio elements, use ALT tags for your imagery, and ensure your course materials are formatted in a way that can easily be processed by assistive technologies, but you should also look at accessibility from the broader lens of usability. Is your course functional? Is it mobile responsive? Are all applications used within your course accessible to all learners?

A lot of course content developers or Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) simply don’t think of these elements when developing the content, but it’s important, prior to launch, to review your course as a whole from an accessibility and usability perspective.

Content should be chunked into smaller portions to avoid cognitive overload, it should be presented in a logical format, it should be presented using various formats (e.g. text/audio/video) alongside relevant transcripts, the course navigation should be straight forward and/or explained at the beginning of the course, formatting should be consistent, and your assessment strategies should be varied.

Resources: