If you look closely, you’ll notice that content is delivered through conversations in many types of media… in movies, TV shows, interviews, commercials, and more. Part of the beauty of conversations is that the content is delivered and you aren’t even aware of it. In this post I’ll outline some best uses of conversations to deliver lessons and then show you how to quickly build them into an eLearning course. And, of course, I’ll provide the source files for a FREE eLearning template at the bottom of the post.
So what’s so powerful about conversations? I like that they provide elements of: [Read the full article…]
Back before I started eLearningArt, I worked on a consulting project in a niche industry that had a limited supply of useful stock images. Given our budget, conducting a custom photo-shoot was out of the question. On the other end of the spectrum, we also didn’t want the unprofessional feel of using mismatched clipart. Instead, we developed our own set of matching icon images to use throughout the series of courses. Here are some of the lessons that I learned on that project and continue to hold true.
When I work with display board eLearning templates, the image of the display board is only one part of the design.
You’re probably used to seeing images like this (you don’t need to read the content, it’s just a placeholder):
…which is fine. But when I use display boards in my eLearning courses, the image above is just 1 of several views that I use.
Incorporate storytelling by creating multiple views
Information on a board is visually interesting, but it doesn’t take advantage of the opportunity to add a storytelling component to your eLearning course. Who is presenting the information on the board to the learner? Is it a character in your course? Is it an avatar guiding the learner? I want to show you a way that I use my display boards in 3 views to incorporate storytelling into the course and move beyond just displaying the information. [Read the full article…]
PowerPoint is a powerful tool, but I’m often surprised that some of the most useful features are hidden. Here are the top 5 tips that would have saved me many, many hours of work over the past few years if I had only known them. I hope you find them as useful as I do.
Master shortcuts and hotkeys to cut development time
You probably already know how to cut and paste, but I bet even the most seasoned PowerPoint guru can learn a few things here. [Read the full article…]
You can incorporate many techniques from film to improve your training
You don’t need a blockbuster movie budget to incorporate some cool techniques from movies. In fact, a lot of what I learn from movies and TV is more about storytelling than special effects. Take the example of the “establishing shot” that my good friend, Dave Richards, from e-Mersion introduced to me. Dave has a background in film and has been producing award-winning eLearning content for years, so I took some good notes, did a little research, provided five examples below, and included some free assets for you to work with as well! [Read the full article…]
One of the most important elements of good scenarios, quizzes, and templates is the background image. It’s easy to spend hours searching for the right background. One way to cut down on the search time is to build your own backgrounds. In this post, I’ll show you four techniques that I use to rapidly build my own backgrounds. And, of course, I’ll include some source files for you to experiment with. [Read the full article…]
Starting as low as $20 per month, you’ll have access to a huge and expanding library of e-learning images, templates, and other assets. Save over 90%. Sign up now to lock-in this low price.
A special offer for our blog readers
Sign up in the next month (by July 27th) and get an extra month free, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee. Just enter “Assets Blog” in the “How did you hear about us field” when placing your order.
Last week I blogged about creating a rapid eLearning course mockup to get stakeholder feedback early in the development process. This week, I want to talk about how you can create and use character interaction templates to build out mini-scenarios.
Here’s an example of a 2-person character interaction. I’ll provide the links to the source files below so you can download and use it. I also have a few videos below that show how easy it is to customize or build your own.
Here’s a quick overview video that explains the basics of the character interactions. I have 2 more videos below that detail how you can customize the template or build your own. [Read the full article…]
One of the most painful lessons I’ve learned as an elearning developer is that what I envision and what my boss or client expect are often very different. I think we’re on the same page in an initial meeting. Then I go back to my desk, close myself off to the world and build what I think is a super-awesome course. I bring it out for some feedback after dozens of hours of work, and they make some change requests about the design or functionality that, while seemingly simple, would require many hours to implement. Ouch.
I’ve gotten smarter in my old age (ok- I only have a few gray hairs, but I’m sure they were all caused by reworking elearning courses). Now I try to whip out a semi-functional mockup within a few hours and go back right away to stakeholders for feedback.
Hello there! It’s Art again – E-Learning Art – bringing you another lesson to enhance your e-learning scenarios. In my last post, I talked about facial expressions and provided a lesson on how you could add that effect into your own training. One of the greatest advantages of building your scenarios with elearning characters and backgrounds that are separated is that you have the ability to add contrast. For example, check out the images below:
By adding a simple shading effect to the background, I’ve made the characters above stand out. This technique is easy to do and can really improve the visual impact of your course. In this lesson, we’ll look at some background shading effects.
