Articulate Storyline is a very powerful tool for eLearning. It is also extremely easy to use, enabling novice users to quickly learn how to build courses and add interactivity to content. Interactivity is what can make even the most boring content more engaging.

In this hands-on session you will explore a number of different ways to build interactivity into an eLearning course using Articulate Storyline. You will examine different types of interactions, and when each type of interaction works best. You will build interactions during the session, including click-and-reveal, drag-and-drop, and mouse-over effects.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to determine which Storyline tool might be best for certain interactions
• How to build a click-and-reveal style interaction
• How to build a drag-and-drop style interaction
• How to build a mouse-over effect

Audience:
Intermediate designers and developers with some experience and familiarity with Storyline.

Technology discussed in this session:
Storyline.

Participant technology requirements:
A PC or Mac running Windows and Storyline.

Research shows that only 20 percent of corporate learning happens during formal training, regardless of the delivery modality. However, 70 percent of learning occurs during on-the-job experiences. One way of bringing more job experience into formal training is through online roleplay simulations. The challenge most organizations have is the belief that simulations are too expensive, take too long to build, or require skill sets they cannot support.

In this hands-on session, participants will learn how to build a complex and effective roleplay that will run on a mobile device using ZebraZapps. You will explore how easily you can build the simulation by creating your own in 60 minutes. You will leave this session with the tools, content, and media to make simulation-based learning a reality for your organization.

In this session, you will learn:

• An overview of ZebraZapps
• The components of an effective roleplay
• How to build a roleplay from scratch using ZebraZapps
• How to publish the app for mobile delivery

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
ZebraZapps.

Participant technology requirements:
A laptop with Internet access.

Today’s eLearning developers have amazing desktop and cloud-based solutions to choose from. However, deciding which tool will best suit an organization’s learning and development needs, both today and in the future, can be an overwhelming challenge. There are a number of factors that you need to explore and understand before you can make a proper authoring-tool purchase decision.

In this session you will explore the pros and cons of desktop and cloud-based content authoring tools. You will learn where each type of tool excels and where it has challenges. You will examine a framework for understanding and evaluating features and benefits as they pertain to different learning development environments. You will leave this session understanding which option best suits your learning development model, which meets your budget goals, and which provides you the most flexibility going forward, making your next purchasing decision easier and more impactful.

In this session, you will learn:

• The pros and cons of desktop authoring tools
• The pros and cons of cloud-based authoring tools
• A framework for evaluating your learning development processes and needs
• How to choose an authoring system that best matches your learning development (and budget) needs

Audience:
Novice to advanced developers, project managers, managers, directors, and VPs who understand their organization’s learning development model and the challenges they face when deploying authoring tools.

Technology discussed in this session:
Software as a service (SaaS), desktop authoring, and cloud-based authoring.

It’s all too easy to create boring eLearning with any authoring tool, including Adobe Captivate. What we need to engage learners is to make them interact with the content, not just watch and listen. Interaction does not mean just hitting next, back, and menu, nor does it mean just pressing a glossary button or a mute button. It means pulling the learner into the content and having interactivity involve them at the level of doing, not just seeing.

In this hands-on session, participants will explore the various ways that Adobe Captivate can provide opportunities to provide learners with true interactivity. You will examine ready-made interactions along with drag and drop and other interactive elements. You will discover how quiz questions can be used to engage learners along the way as well. You will leave this session having covered all of the ways you can have your eLearning lessons interact with the learner....yes, all of the ways.

In this session, you will learn:

• To use Captivate’s built-in interactions
• To use buttons, click areas, roll overs, and drag and drop
• To use quiz questions for more than just quizzing
• To engage learners in every way possible

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers and developers with a passing understanding of Captivate.

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Captivate.

Participant technology requirements:
A laptop with Adobe Captivate installed.

Courses that meet the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility requirements are in high demand. However, many instructional designers lack the understanding of what 508 compliance really means, and the competency to effectively develop compliant courses.

In this hands-on session participants will explore how Articulate Storyline can help you create eLearning modules that are more accessible for users. You will discuss some of the important issues related to 508 compliance. You will learn how to use alternate text to describe screen elements. You will build courses with closed captioning effects. You will leave this session understanding the Storyline features that support accessible content.

In this session, you will learn:

• To list some of the more pressing issues regarding eLearning and 508 compliance
• To use alternate text to describe onscreen elements
• To build courses with closed captioning effects
• To determine which Storyline features support accessible content

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers and developers who are familiar and comfortable with the basic functions of Storyline.

Technology discussed in this session:
ADA section 508, use of alternate text, closed captioning, Storyline.

Participant technology requirements:
PC or Mac running Windows, Storyline.

Lectora is a popular development tool that is more powerful than most instructional designers realize. Lectora is extremely malleable, making it possible to do almost anything you can design. However, some users are unaware of how to get the most out of the authoring tool.

In this hands-on session, participants will explore tips and tricks for getting the most out of Lectora. You will learn to control functionality based on current date, move an item in a group individually, and put an item on top of a Flash object. You will examine how to display a student’s name as first-last (switching from last-first), build and display a countdown (or count-up), and how to time events to audio.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to control functionality based on current date
• How to move an item in a group individually
• How to put an item on top of a Flash object
• How to display a student’s name as first-last (switch from last-first)
• How to build and display a countdown (or count-up)
• How to change selected items in a list box based on outside user interaction
• How to reset individual form elements
• How to time events to audio
• How to build conditional functionality with multiple decision points

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers and developers who are familiar with Lectora X, Inspire, 11, or a comparable rapid development tool.

Technology discussed in this session:
Lectora (version X, Inspire, or 11 are appropriate for this session).

Participant technology requirements:
Laptop with Lectora installed.

As eLearning developers we often get caught up in designing only what we know from experience. The same holds true with eLearning developers using Articulate Storyline. The more you know, the more options and ideas become evident to solving instructional design challenges. The more you know about variable programming in Storyline, the more the world opens up to unlimited design possibilities.

In this hands-on session participants will explore the basics of Articulate Storyline variable programming. You will examine when it is best to use a variable, and when variable programming may not be the right solution. You will discover what a Boolean variable is and review some applications for its use. You will explore numerous tips, techniques, and a few trickeries to get the most out of variables. You will leave this session with several practice source files to practice using variables in your own projects.

In this session, you will learn:

• About variable types and their differences
• The various uses of variable types
• The best time to use a variable
• Tips on how to best manage multiple variables

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers and developers with a good understanding of object states, layers, and triggers using Articulate Storyline.

Technology discussed in this session:
Articulate Storyline.

Participant technology requirements:
Laptop with licensed copy of Articulate Storyline or a 30-day trial version.

Choosing an authoring tool can be very challenging, especially as the number of authoring tool options continues to grow. In 2014 there are almost 190 different authoring tool options available to organizations. Understanding which authoring tools work best in different contexts is critical in order to make the best purchasing decision.

In this session participants will explore the speaker’s top 10 authoring tools for 2014, as well as the criteria used to provide the ranking. You will explore the various capabilities that today’s authoring tools provide, and which capabilities provide the most value. You will also look ahead to 2015 and beyond to identify where the market is heading and what new capabilities developers can expect.

In this session, you will learn:

• The top 10 authoring tools for 2014
• The top mobile authoring tool in the market
• Trends in the authoring tool market that will impact consumers
• Forecasts for 2015

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, managers, directors, and executives with a basic understanding of authoring tools, either by previous use or from exploring the market to buy one.

Technology discussed in this session:
Authoring tools.

When you limit your design to the default question slides in Captivate, the result can often be a boring assessment. Being aware of the basics of these slide designs and of the quizzing system variables allows developers to extend the functionality of the default slides. By tweaking these default slides you can create simple games that can turn a basic quiz into a challenging experience.

In this hands-on session you will go beyond the basic template of a Captivate question slide and explore ways to enhance the default interaction. You will examine techniques including replacing text with image or audio, knowledge slides, remediation, intermediate score slides, control navigation, drag and drop, scored objects, and more. You will also clarify the process, possibilities, and limitations of the Captivate questions slide template.

In this session, you will learn:

• To understand the default process and objects in question and score slide
• To know the quizzing system variables
• How to add intermediate score slides and shape buttons
• The use of the advanced interaction panel
• How to create custom question slides based on widgets or interactions
• How to create custom question slides with standard objects
• How to use the drag & drop wizard for question slides

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers and developers with a basic knowledge of Captivate.

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Captivate (latest version) on a Windows or Mac machine.

Participant technology requirements:
Latest version of Adobe Captivate on a Windows or Mac machine.

There’s a growing demand from organizations to create courses that work on both mobile and desktop platforms. The currently available tools have a hard time doing this, and many times you must create multiple courses for each type of screen. In addition, content only resizes to fit these various screens; it doesn’t truly change based on each device.

In this session you will learn about the latest release of Adobe Captivate 8, and the huge advances it enables in responsive mobile design. You will explore how this software enables users to build in one view, and support multiple mobile devices at the same time. You will discover how this software enables developers to create courses that actually change design and content layout based on different devices. You will leave this session understanding how this software provides greater efficiency and improves your learning programs.

In this session, you will learn:

• How Adobe Captivate 8 can automatically adjust your content based on different devices
• How to create responsive mobile interactions in Adobe Captivate 8
• How to create responsive themes in Adobe Captivate 8
• How to publish Adobe Captivate courses to ensure mobile compatibility

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Captivate 8, responsive themes, and responsive interactions.

There’s a great deal of buzz in our industry about HTML5. Chances are that the development tool you’re using to create eLearning can output to HTML5, but most instructional designers are not sure why that feature is important. HTML5 is also a subject that, for many, is clouded in confusion, with learning professionals often unable to translate the technical discussion into understanding of what the technology makes possible.

In this session you will learn about the HTML5 core technology from an easily digestible and understandable perspective. You will discuss why HTML5 is important and what skills you need to develop to take advantage of it today. You will also explore what types of questions you should be asking of your team, developers, and LMS vendors. You will leave this session with a better understanding of HTML5, including why it is important and what resources, tools, and templates you have available to help you apply HTML5 immediately.

In this session, you will learn:

• Five ways HTML5 can help your development team
• Five ways HTML5 can improve your user experience
• Fresh ideas you can apply immediately with your team
• Free web apps to learn new skills
• Using open-source web apps to improve your tool set today

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors with a basic understanding of eLearning and how tools work.

Technology discussed in this session:
HTML5, CSS3, Fonts, JavaScript, Canvas vs SVG, Media formats, Adobe Edge Tools, iOS, Android, and browsers.

Instructional designers tend to define what is possible by the limitations of our chosen authoring tools. We remove ideas like responsive courses from consideration because our authoring tool does support the capability. Sometimes common modern web practices don’t always transfer over to eLearning authoring tools until it is too late. Why not take control over what you can do in your eLearning authoring by building it yourself?

In this hands-on session you will explore how jQuery Mobile allows you to build responsive custom mobile applications that not only take advantage of modern web technology, but simplify development without the requirement of heavy amounts of coding. You will learn how this tool removes many of the constraints placed by authoring tools and how to build custom, mobile-first HTML5 quickly and easily. You will examine how to integrate the xAPI into HTML5 to allow you to track progress within your LMS or LRS.

In this session, you will learn:

• jQuery Mobile basics
• How to build a player in jQuery Mobile
• How to make your jQuery xAPI compliant
• How to develop a custom HTML5 course

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced designers, developers, and project managers who know basic HTML5 formatting.

Technology discussed in this session:
jQuery Mobile and xAPI.

Participant technology requirements:
A laptop with an HTML editor.

Learning professionals are increasingly losing a battle against short attention spans and increased competition for learners’ attention. We need to adapt our approaches to accommodate the changing needs and desires of our audiences that want training in highly visually formats, and in short doses.

In this session you will explore the concept of screencasting and how it can provide an audience with the information they need in ways that traditional eLearning often fails to do. You will learn why screencasting is a valuable deliverable for eLearning developers to have in their skill set. You will examine how screencasting complements traditional eLearning-development skills in a way that will make your overall services more valuable. You will leave this session understanding the niche screencasting fits into for efficient and effective content delivery.

In this session, you will learn:

• What screencasting is
• How it can complement other eLearning deliverables
• How screencasting can fit into overall training strategy
• An overview of screencasting development process
• The types of training for which screencasting should be considered as a solution

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors with some familiarity with instructional design methodology and eLearning as a training solution.

Technology discussed in this session:
Screencasting output—videos.

Complex online learning platforms usually mean complex visual styles. Maybe your platform has different skins for different groups of learners. Or maybe the styles change depending on the learning context, e.g., in a practice exercise versus a learning evaluation. All that visual complexity transfers to complex, often messy, stylesheet code.

In this session you will explore Less.js, a CSS preprocessor, which extends the CSS language to allow for variables, functions, and reusable sets of style declarations called mixins. You will learn how these features can help you create stylesheets that are more themable, reusable, and better organized. You will gain an overview of the concepts and advantages of Less, and walk through the process of creating your own Less stylesheets.

In this session, you will learn:

• What a CSS preprocessor is, and why you would use one
• The features of Less.js that make it easier to manage and use stylesheets
• How to write stylesheets in Less
• How to compile Less for deployment

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced designers, developers, and project managers with a good practical understanding of CSS and how it is used to style HTML pages.

Technology discussed in this session:
CSS, Less.js, HTML.

Participant technology requirements:
Participants will need to install Crunch (Less editor and compiler), available free from http://crunchapp.net/. Participants are invited to bring their own CSS stylesheet files to rework during the session and show as examples.