Ashley Chiasson, M.Ed

Instructional Designer & Consultant

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Terminology Tuesday: Design Part 2

Asset_Mgmt

Several weeks back, I talked a bit about elements featured in the design phase of course development, and now I’ve returned to finish off (the high-level) discussion.

Previously, I talked about design documentation. Now I’m going to focus more on the technology and visual elements.

Within the design phase, this is typically where I would identify an authoring tool or Learning Content Management System (LCMS). Where will the development occur? Will the course be developed in Articulate Storyline? Adobe Captivate? Flash? An internal LCMS? This should be identified before anyone moves further into the development phase. Why? Because the development tool selected may impact some of your specifications in your design documentation. For example, if you specify one authoring tool in your design documentation, but use another, your client might hold you accountable for not doing what you said you were going to do.

Once selected, this authoring tool specification will help you out when coming up with a style guide (e.g. what screen styles you’re planning on using) and will be instrumental in specifying prototype requirements and compliance requirements. If your project requires SCORM compliance, you’ll want to ensure the authoring tool you select has that capability…or redevelopment might be in your future.

Another element you might want to consider during the design phase is to outline your course content. High level is usually best for this.

From a higher education perspective, the design phase is where I would have faculty members begin populating a Course Development Plan document. This document acts as a container for specific high-level course content, and facilitates and easier transition during the development phase. For example, this document (once complete) will have most all of the content housed within the document (and signed off on), and the faculty member can then copy/paste the textual content into the Learning Management System (LMS) instead of having to spend time retyping/researching what content they want to include in which module. It just streamlines the development process.

For design, I think a good rule of thumb would be to outline as much information about the project requirements and high-level course content as you can, because it will make for a smoother development phase!

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E-Learning Challenge #7 – Converting Static Content to Interactive Knowledge Checks

The Concept

The goal of this challenge was to take an existing, static, content slide and convert it to an interactive knowledge check using the convert to freeform functionality in Articulate Storyline.

The Method

First, I came up with a quick ‘static’ slide (there were some animations to jazz it up a bit, but nothing the user had to interact with aside from the next button, with some general information about three types of triangles.

Then, I added a custom next button using a rectangle shape.

Next, I added a slide featuring the three triangles, converted this slide to freeform and selected the Pick One option. I also customized the feedback to keep the visual aesthetic in check.

Finally, I modified the player (player background and bored colour, no menu/resources/volume) and published.

The Result

Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 9.22.26 AM

Click Here to view the full interaction.

E-Learning Challenge #3 – Gate Screens in Online Courses

A rainy weekend is the perfect time to catch up on some e-learning challenges, and I’m really digging deep into the archives for this one!

The Concept

This challenge was to develop a gate screen for course content. It was specifically requested to develop two slides, but I feel like the gate screen is pretty self-explanatory, so I opted out of the second slide.

The Method

I knew I wanted an elegant looking gate screen, so I chose a background image relevant to my content (in this case, driver training tips – specifically, tips for driving in the rain). I then added shapes to create a sleep looking ‘popup’ box with second shape at the top, posing the question.

Some of the best gate screens I’ve seen operate as knowledge checks, so that’s the style I chose. I created a multi-response question with two layers. One layer for correct (with a green banner and a continue link) and one layer for incorrect (with a red banner and a continue link).

For the multi-response question, I used checkboxes so the user could see which selections they made when the feedback appears. I then added triggers to show the correct layer if Checkbox 1, 2, and 3 are selected IF Checkbox 4 is not equal to Selected, and a trigger to show the incorrect layer if Checkbox 4 is selected.

The Result


 Screen Shot 2015-10-03 at 3.50.22 PM

Click Here to view the full interaction.

E-Learning Challenge #101 – A Look Back at E-Learning’s Most Iconic Character

This week I missed DevLearn and was living vicariously through those in attendance via my twitter feed. But, I was finally able to relish in a secret I had been keeping for many months! On March 13, 2015, I suggested the lovely folks at Articulate have Atsumi, one of the most iconic e-learning characters, in the flesh, at their DevLearn booth. No one responded to this tweet, which I found a bit odd, but I later received a direct message vowing me to secrecy. I managed to negotiate a FaceTime in with Atsumi (thanks, Kelly!). My day was made!

Screen Shot 2015-10-03 at 12.10.43 PM

This week’s e-learning challenge is an homage to the wonderful lady who made these experiences (throughout many courses and at DevLearn) possible – Atsumi! Thank you, Atsumi for being such a wonderful stock photo specimen and for taking time to engage with use E-Learning Heroes!

The Concept

The challenge this week was to share our favourite Atsumi e-learning moments and explain how we’ve used here in our courses.

I’ve only used Atsumi a handful of times in courses, mainly because I avoid using the stock character packs unless a client specifies. But when they do specify, Atsumi is my go to character! Because of the glory that are Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), I can’t show you how I’ve used Atsumi in those courses. Boo!

The Method

First, I downloaded Jeff’s Atsumoji Freebie to use as a background. Then I added a rectangular shape and applied a transparency.

Atsumi’s poses and facial expressions are near and dear to me, so I chose five of my favourite poses and added them to the slide, applying a fade animation effect.

I then added two states to each character: grey (greyscale) and selected. I added triggers to each character to change the state to grey when any other character was selected, and then a trigger to each character to change state to selected when the user clicked a particular character. Another trigger was applied to each character to show the corresponding layer when the character was clicked.

I added layers with textboxes, indicating what Atsumi was thinking (based on the pose).

Finally, I added a brief instruction so folks knew what they were supposed to do with all of the Atsumis, and adjusted the player (no menu/resources/title/changed player colour).

The Result

Screen Shot 2015-10-03 at 12.08.54 PM

Click Here to view the full interaction!

Terminology Tuesday: Design Part 1

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Over the past two weeks, I’ve talked quite a bit about the analysis phase of most Instructional Design models, and now it’s time to talk about the Design phase.

But I’m not a designer!

Oh. But you are! At least if you claim to be an Instructional Designer. Like analysis, many IDs don’t get the opportunity to dip their toes in the design phase, but it’s a very important phase to be a part of.

While it might sound as though we’re talking graphic design and look/feel, we aren’t exactly. Only sort of. The design phase is where you identify how the learning is going to occur. So the look and feel…conceptually. And it may also include elements of visual look and feel.

The output of this phase is typically referred to as ‘design documentation’. This documentation outlines things such as:

  • Instructional Strategy
  • Learning Objectives
  • Assessment Strategies (and sometimes the assessment items)
  • Prototype Requirements
  • Compliance Specifications (e.g. system requirements for the end user and SCORM requirements)
  • Branding Guidelines
  • Screenstyles

The design documentation is used to guide the design and allows developers to keep their eyes on the prize (or the project requirements). It also allows multiple developers to ensure a consistent approach across development.

Have I piqued your interest?

Great! Stay tuned for more on the design phase…next!