Adobe Captivate and Articulate Studio have different skill sets and sometimes you need the best of both worlds. While Captivate is great for software simulations, I think Articulate is better for soft skills projects and tying the whole thing together. Because Captivate and Articulate have unique qualities you may come across the situation where you want the best of both worlds by using the two programs together. For example, I'm currently working on a project where branching scenarios lead into software simulations. I wanted to use Articulate presenter for the branching scenario but I also wanted to use Adobe Captivate for the software simulations. This brought me to the challenge of embedding an Adobe Captivate software simulation in an Articulate Presenter project. Through a little research and trial and error I found a way to smoothly embed an Adobe Captivate software simulation in an Articulate Presenter project. This post includes a Screenr video and written instructions describing how to take advantage of the best of both worlds by integrating Adobe Captivate and Articulate Studio. Please post a comment if you have any questions or ideas of how to improve upon what I started.
Video Overview:
The Screenr video below overviews how to embed Adobe Captivate Software simulations in an Articulate Presenter project as well as a cool way to transition from a branching scenario into the Captivate software simulation. Check out my post "How to Create a Zoom and Pan Effect in PowerPoint" for more information on the "Zoom and Pan" transition effect.
Written Instructions:
Why reinvent the wheel? Dave Perso wrote up great instructions of how to embed Adobe Captivate in Articulate Presenter in his post at the link below. You may have got the jist from my Screenr video above but if you would like more details or a written set of instructions then click on the link below to check out Dave's post. I also included a link to my previous post which describes a method for transitioning from a scenario into a software simulation by creating a "Zoom and Pan" effect in PowerPoint.
Showing posts with label Technical Training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Technical Training. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Monday, May 4, 2009
Continuous Learning Experience
Through experience I am learning that training should never be a one time event, it should be a continuous learning experience. As a corporate trainer it can be all too easy to facilitate the class (off or online), collect your smiley sheets, and check the class off the list as done forever. It feels great to mark the task off the list but it can also be a recipe for disaster. This raises the question, "What are the best "Continuous Learning" solutions?" This post highlights some of the wins and losses I have had in creating continuous learning experiences.
I have recently been working on a lot of technical training projects for a recent software implementation. The learners completed a series of eLearning tutorials and a day long instructor led training class but that was not enough to help learners retain the knowledge needed to use the software fluently. In an effort to provide a continuous learning experience I implemented a Wiki using MediaWiki. Myself and a few others filled the Wiki with detailed instructions covering every procedure the software is used for. It is now a great resource for quickly finding answers especially in the first couple of weeks after the software implementation. The instructions in the Wiki served as a great reminder of what they learned in the eLearning and instructor led courses to get them through the tough times.
However, the Wiki did not fulfill all of the learners needs. Many learners had a difficult time fully understanding the in's and outs of unique situations by reading instructions on the Wiki. They needed to interact with somebody who could answer their questions and provide perspective unique to the situation they are dealing with. The problem with this is that the technical support staff was too busy to provide the one on one coaching that many people needed. To address this issue I implemented a help forum on the organizations Moodle LMS where learners could go and post their non urgent questions. At first I thought it would mainly be the tech support staff answering questions in the forum but it turned out to be other tech savvy learners who caught on to the software quickly that were able to lend a helping hand to their colleagues by answering questions. The great thing about this is that the quick learners who were answering questions were learning more by answering questions. The forum turned out to not only be a great tool for reducing tech support calls, but it was also a great tool for both novices and experts to learn about the software.
The wiki and help forum turned out to be great resources but this was not until I could overcome the major hurdle of getting people to use these resources. In any organization, it can be difficult to attract participation for tools like this even if the information is valuable. I still don't have the participation I would like but as I continue to advertise within the organization, I'm gaining more and more visitors in each of these resources. The bullet points below highlight some of the advertising successes I have had:
I have recently been working on a lot of technical training projects for a recent software implementation. The learners completed a series of eLearning tutorials and a day long instructor led training class but that was not enough to help learners retain the knowledge needed to use the software fluently. In an effort to provide a continuous learning experience I implemented a Wiki using MediaWiki. Myself and a few others filled the Wiki with detailed instructions covering every procedure the software is used for. It is now a great resource for quickly finding answers especially in the first couple of weeks after the software implementation. The instructions in the Wiki served as a great reminder of what they learned in the eLearning and instructor led courses to get them through the tough times.
However, the Wiki did not fulfill all of the learners needs. Many learners had a difficult time fully understanding the in's and outs of unique situations by reading instructions on the Wiki. They needed to interact with somebody who could answer their questions and provide perspective unique to the situation they are dealing with. The problem with this is that the technical support staff was too busy to provide the one on one coaching that many people needed. To address this issue I implemented a help forum on the organizations Moodle LMS where learners could go and post their non urgent questions. At first I thought it would mainly be the tech support staff answering questions in the forum but it turned out to be other tech savvy learners who caught on to the software quickly that were able to lend a helping hand to their colleagues by answering questions. The great thing about this is that the quick learners who were answering questions were learning more by answering questions. The forum turned out to not only be a great tool for reducing tech support calls, but it was also a great tool for both novices and experts to learn about the software.
The wiki and help forum turned out to be great resources but this was not until I could overcome the major hurdle of getting people to use these resources. In any organization, it can be difficult to attract participation for tools like this even if the information is valuable. I still don't have the participation I would like but as I continue to advertise within the organization, I'm gaining more and more visitors in each of these resources. The bullet points below highlight some of the advertising successes I have had:
- Cover Resources in Formal Training Courses - I made sure to include training on using the Wiki and help forum in the formal eLearning and Instructor Led courses as a form of advertising and to set expectations of when to use these resources. In the past, employees of the organization have had a tendency to quickly call the tech support staff when they didn't know how to do something so we needed to break this habit.
- Advertise anywhere and everywhere - The more chatter there is about the resources the better. I had success by advertising in the company newsletter and the internal company intranet. Employees refer to the newsletter and intranet for the latest news so these were ideal places to advertise the successes people were having using these resources.
- Get the power users involved - I mentioned that there was a tendency in the organization to rely on the tech support staff when you have a software question. To break this habit we needed to change the habits of both the employees and the tech support staff. Rather than firing off the answer to the question I encouraged the tech support staff to coach the employee on how to find the answer to their question using the Wiki and Forum. Once employees realized that if they call tech support, they are going to be coached on using the Wiki and Forum the calls start dwindling and participation in the resources increases.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Train the Trainer
I am responsible for an upcoming software rollout for a retail organization and I am looking for ideas for structuring a train the trainer course. The training plan involves the learners completing a series of eLearning courses which will be followed by a one day instructor led course. I have finished developing the eLearning courses and the instructor led course so now I need to prepare SME’s to facilitate the instructor led classes on their own.
The ILT course is largely based on completing a workbook filled with exercises that build on what they learned in the eLearning courses. I have also developed a facilitator guide to go along with this workbook. It should be relatively easy to facilitate the class by just using the facilitators guide but I would like to develop some activities that will help build their confidence in facilitating the course.
I have scheduled a 2 day meeting with the SME’s where I will introduce them to the course and prepare them to facilitate it on their own. At this point I am planning on having them participate in the ILT course as a participant on day 1 then going into the train the trainer content on day 2. I have designed similar train the trainer courses before but I am looking for some new ideas to make it more effective.
One of the challenges I am faced with is that there will be 12 SME’s to train and only me as the facilitator. The ideal situation for me would to be able to break them into groups so that they can practice facilitating the course with each other but I’m not sure how feasible or effective that will be with just me as the facilitator.
All this leads to the question of “How can I maximize the time I have on day 2 to prepare them to teach the course on their own?”
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Software Implementation Training Plan
I've been working on what I consider a large project and I am hoping to use this post as a sounding board for my plan. The project involves training approximately 180 users on a ERP software program in a chain of retail stores. Please leave a comment if you have any suggestions that can contribute to the success of this software implementation.
The overall plan consists of a blend of training solutions including eLearning, Instructor Led Training, and Job Aids. Each phase of this blended solution is designed to further the learners understanding of the software and ensure transference after the training has taken place.
One month before the software is implemented, users will begin completing a series of weekly eLearning assignments covering the basics of the system. eLearning is an ideal solution due to the fact that it is a geographically distributed workforce and we do not have the resources for a multi day instructor led course. The eLearning tutorials developed in Adobe Captivate and delivered through Moodle provide the learner with the skills required to complete common everyday tasks.
Instructor led classes will begin 2 weeks prior to the implementation. The ILT classes pick up from where the eLearning courses left off by covering more advanced topics and providing the opportunity to discuss unique situations. The eLearning classes will help the learners to gain pre requisite knowledge while the ILT course will help them achieve fluency in the program. A major benefit of the ILT class is that it will provide what the eLearning was missing by covering the "what if" situations.
The ILT classes will conclude by introducing the learners to a job aid in the form of a Wiki. Rather than developing a standard technical manual with detailed instructions I have created a Wiki using MediaWiki. The Wiki is packed with step by step instructions covering everything in the system. In previous software implementations this has been a big help in reducing tech support calls post implementation. That first couple of weeks after the implementation is always hectic but the Wiki helps the users with quick and easy access to step by step instructions just in case they don't remember everything from the eLearning and ILT courses.
There's the plan now I just need to execute. After a lot of hard work I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and can't wait to finish off this project.
The overall plan consists of a blend of training solutions including eLearning, Instructor Led Training, and Job Aids. Each phase of this blended solution is designed to further the learners understanding of the software and ensure transference after the training has taken place.
One month before the software is implemented, users will begin completing a series of weekly eLearning assignments covering the basics of the system. eLearning is an ideal solution due to the fact that it is a geographically distributed workforce and we do not have the resources for a multi day instructor led course. The eLearning tutorials developed in Adobe Captivate and delivered through Moodle provide the learner with the skills required to complete common everyday tasks.
Instructor led classes will begin 2 weeks prior to the implementation. The ILT classes pick up from where the eLearning courses left off by covering more advanced topics and providing the opportunity to discuss unique situations. The eLearning classes will help the learners to gain pre requisite knowledge while the ILT course will help them achieve fluency in the program. A major benefit of the ILT class is that it will provide what the eLearning was missing by covering the "what if" situations.
The ILT classes will conclude by introducing the learners to a job aid in the form of a Wiki. Rather than developing a standard technical manual with detailed instructions I have created a Wiki using MediaWiki. The Wiki is packed with step by step instructions covering everything in the system. In previous software implementations this has been a big help in reducing tech support calls post implementation. That first couple of weeks after the implementation is always hectic but the Wiki helps the users with quick and easy access to step by step instructions just in case they don't remember everything from the eLearning and ILT courses.
There's the plan now I just need to execute. After a lot of hard work I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and can't wait to finish off this project.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
The dreaded Right Click
I am working on developing eLearning technical training courses for an ERP software application being implemented within a division of the company I work for using Adobe Captivate 3. If you are familiar with Adobe Captivate then you are familiar with "Assesment Simulations." I love assessment simulations because they require the learner to do the clicking rather than just viewing a screen recording of the process. This is great because they can actually practice using the software in a safe environment where they can't mess anything up and they will receive constructive feedback based on where they click. This is particularly great for my situation because in this software implementation, learners will be expected to be using the application full time the day the switch is flipped and the software is available to them. Captivate and the assessment simulations are a life saver for me because I can train them on the software without them actually having access to it.
Problem is that the software application has a lot of features that are accessed through right clicking and Captivate has no answer for the right click. I am on a deep dive for ideas of how to simulate the right click in a captivate simulation. I have heard that Captivate 4 is the answer for the right click in a post on Wendy Wickhams blog. Unfortunately Captivate 4 is not out yet and it's going to be a while before I have the budget to upgrade.
There's got to be some creative instructional designers out there who have come up with a way to cover right clicking in a Captivate assessment simulation but I haven't found them yet.
Please post a comment or send me an email if you have any ideas. Look for future posts on my solution to this issue
Problem is that the software application has a lot of features that are accessed through right clicking and Captivate has no answer for the right click. I am on a deep dive for ideas of how to simulate the right click in a captivate simulation. I have heard that Captivate 4 is the answer for the right click in a post on Wendy Wickhams blog. Unfortunately Captivate 4 is not out yet and it's going to be a while before I have the budget to upgrade.
There's got to be some creative instructional designers out there who have come up with a way to cover right clicking in a Captivate assessment simulation but I haven't found them yet.
Please post a comment or send me an email if you have any ideas. Look for future posts on my solution to this issue
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