I have heard colleagues over the years proclaim some discontent when it comes to developing compliant related courses, such as Code of Conduct or Fraud related courses. The negativity usually centers on the belief that these types of courses are boring page-turners or information dumps, which when viewed this way certainly doesn't make it sound very fun to develop, does it?
Say what you will, but these are actually one of my favorite types of courses to build, and that's primarily because I don't view them as boring page-turners, or information dumps. Instead, I view them as awesome opportunities to develop fun, interactive, story-based masterpieces.
Now you may run across subject matter experts or managers who don't think fondly of creative and fun courses and prefer to play things safe, but don't let that deter you, go for it anyway. I discuss this a previous post titled 'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight', so check this post out if you need some inspiration to go against the grain a little here.
Check out this course I created called 'Social Engineering', which is a type of fraud scam and definitely falls into this 'compliant course' category. I could have just dumped a bunch of information on some pages, asked a few review questions along the way and called it a day, but that's just not my style!
Instead I decided work some creativity and fun into the course, which also made it a blast to develop. In this course you go on a spy caper, find clues and capture some bad guys, while all the time learning a thing or two about Social Engineering.
Consider this approach the next time you're faced with content that may seem boring at first. Avoid the information dump, mix in a character or two, and take your learner on a journey. They will thank you for it in the end!
A funny thing happened at the 2012 Lectora user Conference. I found my new e-learning development software, and it's not Lectora!
So there I was at the 2012 Lectora user Conference, visiting all the exhibitors, which were new at this conference, and I stumble upon the good folks at 'E-Learning Uncovered', a totally unbiased vendor who writes how-to books on e-learning development software. During my conversation I candidly asked them their opinion on the new Lectora 11 that was being announced at the conference compared to the new Articulate Storyline product I had heard so much about.
Without droning on with all the details, the E-Learning Uncovered reps advised me that they were waiting with baited breath for the Lectora 11 feature announcement taking place later in the conference. If Lectora could pull a rabbit out of the hat and incorporate a timeline and audio syncing ability, in addition to some sort of screen capturing tool, they just might be included in the conversation with Articulate's new Storyline tool, which they heralded as a "Do-It-All Game Changer"!
So there I am, sitting at the much anticipated Lectora 11 presentation listening to all the new features, waiting and hoping for mention of a timeline, syncing, screen capture, something, but it never came. Now I like the folks at Lectora and they really do put on one heck of a conference, but all that really doesn't help me once I get home, and I was extremely disappointed that none of the features I was hoping for were announced.
When I arrived back home I immediately downloaded the Articulate Storyline trial and just as quickly fell in love with it. PowerPoint feel, easy to use, syncing, audio recording tools, timeline, screen recording,variables, layering, and more. Pretty much anything and everything you could ask for!
Like most times when I attend a conference of this nature I am required to give a presentation to the entire team regarding what I learned at the conference (gotta justify the investment right?), and you should have seen the look on everyone's faces when my Lectora User Conference presentation concludes with recommending we invest in Articulate Storyline as our new primary e-learning development tool. I'm glad to report that by bosses listened, and I am now the proud owner of a Storyline license, as is my development colleague.
Storyline has it all people, so if you're looking for a single stand-alone tool for all your e-learning development needs, there's not a better one out there than Articulate Storyline. Take this new kick-butt Storyline tool and package it up with the absolutely unrivaled support and forum's Tom Kuhlmann and team has put together, and you have a top-notch head of the class solution set!
By the way, I still have Lectora, but I use it only as a wrapper these days for things I develop in Captivate (Which I may not be using for very much longer either once I master the Storyline screen capturing tool).
