Storyboarding and prototyping are more important than ever, but too often we're making do with substandard tools or skipping the process altogether because the tools don't make it easy. If only there were tools that would help! Have you heard of Adobe's free tool, XD? It's part of the Creative Cloud but you can download and use it for free, even if you don't subscribe.

Many eLearning designers and developers need to teach systems. It can be quite labor and time intensive to teach face-to-face. Hiring a vendor to build system simulations is another option, but with its own challenges. Vendors have to learn your internal processes, your organization may not have a secure way of giving a non-employee access, and changes to your systems may lead to additional costs to have the vendor-built simulation content updated.

With the vast number of awesome features included in Adobe Captivate, it can quickly become overwhelming to identify which approach to take on a project. Should you utilize screen capture, program simulations, create a page-by-page presentation, maybe use videos and audio? Don’t get me started on activities and quizzes! And what about the new VR functionality Captivate offers?

What's the best eLearning authoring tool out there? That's a lot like asking, "What's the best car on the road?" The answer can be very subjective, and in the end it's based on what matters most to you. Identifying key features and characteristics that differentiate tools—such as price, ease of use, interactivity, accessibility, and mobile compatibility—can help you can make the best choice to meet your needs.

Delta Air Lines Pilot Learning and Development needed a way to push Captivate beyond its off-the-shelf capabilities to meet the requirements set out by both Delta and the FAA, and to enable us to produce 15-20 lessons every three months. Widgets can be hard to use, even harder to customize, and it is almost impossible to figure out how make one on your own, however we were able to crack the code and develop some widgets that are now an essential part of our training workflow.

Learners don't always want to sit through a formal training course, or simply don't have the time. Microlearning is a great way to deliver just what people need, when they need it. But, as a learning professional, how do you create it? While the idea of short learning sessions is great, they can end up taking almost as long as a full course to create, as you need high-impact video or interactive features to explain and reinforce key information quickly. It's important to be able to create microlearning efficiently, so that you ultimately have the time to serve the needs of all your learners with the full range of topics they need access to.

Is your technology training content as dry as the Sahara Desert? Are short deadlines killing your creativity and ability to provide interesting and meaningful eLearning? Are you new to eLearning development and need a tool that’s easy to learn how to use? At ServiceNow, we had these common challenges and one more: we had technical releases two times a year. This meant that we needed a development tool that curriculum designers could learn without much difficulty and could develop with quickly, because anything that was created would be outdated and need to be replaced within six months. We also wanted a solution that would allow us to take our technology training and turn it into engaging, online content without sacrificing creativity and ease of use. Articulate's latest authoring tool, Rise, helped quench our thirst for interactive eLearning with a tool that is simple to use for design and development.

When you're not a developer, installing frameworks using node, git, grunt and terminal can seem totally overwhelming. Type what? Where? Do what? How do I launch it? Oh, I give up! Then when you’ve finally bribed a developer to help you and you've got the framework working, what happens when it needs updating, or worse, stops working? The Adapt framework and builder have been somewhat confusing for many, and that's not to mention the lack of customization in the builder. What if there was an option out there that offered the Adapt Builder hosted in the cloud? Well there is, and it's fantastic.

Creating the look and feel of a course, document, or animation can be complex and require a plethora of different tools, right? Wrong! You already own one tool that can get you started on every one of these items and more—PowerPoint. With a creative approach to this common tool, you can actually edit photos, design icons, create videos, emulate software, edit audio, and lots more.

With the wide range of tools, apps, and online resources being launched all the time, it’s not always easy to stay on top of what might help you out in your day-to-day work. It’s also easy with this stream of new options to miss out on great new updates or techniques that can allow you to use old favorites in new ways.