8 Business Use Cases for Microlearning
Are you excited to try out microlearning, but unsure when to use it? Below, we outline eight common workplace situations that benefit from a short-form course. Each situation includes a sample microlearning. At the end, learn how you can customize these templates for your own company and training needs. 1. Create Organizational Alignment To hit a business target, everyone needs to be moving in the same direction. Creating that alignment starts with clear, frequent communication of the shared mission, vision, and values. Microlearning can help. The following editable template shows how you can align employees through regular executive “micro” updates: Executive Update 2. Highlight HR Information, Notices, or Reminders Educating employees about annual events like open enrollment, tax season, and compliance training is a critical function of HR teams. The problem? Important announcements often get missed when they’re embedded in long paragraphs or endless emails. Grab the following templates to see how microlearning makes HR communications more digestible and engaging: A Quick Guide To Open Enrollment Internal Company Newsletter 3. Strengthen Company Culture and DEI Initiatives Fostering an inclusive company culture is a continuous process—not a one-time effort. A series of microlearnings can support your larger culture-building and DEI efforts. Check out the following examples for ideas on how to get started: Are You an Ally? Try Taking on These 5 Roles How To Identify and Stop Using Ableist Language Gossip-Proof Your Workplace 4. Streamline Business Processes You can also use microlearning to document and streamline business processes or workflows—such as employee onboarding or performance management. Notice how the following examples make it easy for employees to work through the steps of a process independently: New Hire Pre-Hire Checklist Performance Review and Feedback 5. Increase Security Awareness Most successful data breaches, phishing attacks, and other cybersecurity incidents are caused by human error. Adding refresher microlearnings throughout the year can fortify your defenses. See an example for safeguarding against phishing attacks below: Spot the Phish 6. Enhance Employee Wellness A successful business needs thriving employees. But employee wellness training often ends up buried under competing priorities. Microlearning makes it easy for employees to fit in short breaks for self-care throughout the workday. Check out these two wellness-related microlearning examples: 3 Desk Stretches to Instantly Improve Your Day 5 Tips for Better Naps 7. Provide Quick-Reference Guides Microlearning is the perfect resource for one-off training questions: Employees can quickly find the answers they need—when they need them. Below, we’ve created templates for product and software training. But you could easily create quick-reference guides for sales, customer service, and other teams. Get To Know [Name of Product] Software Training 8. Reinforce and Assess Key Takeaways Finally, who says you have to choose between a more sizable course and microlearning? Repetition aids retention. Consider following up longer training sessions with a microlearning quiz, scenario, or summary. The examples listed below demonstrate how you might do this: Can You Recover From a Workplace Mistake? Training Refresher Wrap-Up There’s no shortage of creative ways you can use microlearning to achieve your business training objectives. The examples above are just a starter list. You might also check out submissions to one of our weekly community challenges, 40+ Microlearning Examples Created in Rise 360 #407. Interested in customizing one of these examples for your team? If you’re an Articulate 360 subscriber or trialer, you can edit all of the examples linked throughout this post by choosing the course from our Rise 360 microlearning content templates. Here’s a short video showing how to do that: What’s the latest microlearning course you’ve created? Tell us about it in the comments—and feel free to ask any questions you might have! Like this article? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest e-learning inspiration and insights directly in your inbox. You can also find us on LinkedIn and Twitter.Build Beautiful Courses Fast with Slide Templates from Content Library 360
We’ve all been there. Maybe you’re up against a short deadline or struggling to find some inspiration. You have your course content ready to go, but you’re not quite sure where to begin with your design. Whether you’re brand new to e-learning or a seasoned expert, turning to a course template might be the solution you need to kickstart your next e-learning development project. Thanks to Content Library 360, you can choose from hundreds of professionally designed, ready-to-go slide templates with cohesive design and color themes—all of which are completely customizable. Each one is crafted by the industry’s best e-learning designers, so you have all the elements you need to create an effective course in no time at all. And with Content Library 360 integrated right into Storyline 360, you can start adding slide templates to your project without interrupting your workflow! To view the different options, check out the table below. For help getting started, check out the links at the bottom of this article. Slide Template Sets Essence template (32 layout options) Project a luxe, modern vibe with the Essence template. Vitality template (36 layout options) Keep it simple with Vitality’s straightforward and easy-to-follow design. Synergy template (32 layout options) Synergy templates elevate your design while unpacking intricate content. Illuminate template (33 layout options) Distill complex topics with Illuminate’s mixed layout options and trendy design. Radiance template (32 layout options) Give your next project a cool, bright, and modern feel with the Radiance template. Affinity template (32 layout options) Go bold. Organize complex ideas with Affinity’s high-contrast, interactive design. Serenity template (32 layout options) Airy Serenity templates provide plenty of room for all your important content. Inspire template (33 layout options) Give important professional content an editorial feel with Inspire templates. Vibrance template (35 layout options) Charming design details make Vibrance templates pleasant and professional. Vision template (40 layout options) Bold images and clean visual layouts make Vision templates a go-to for any course. Velocity template (43 layout options) Velocity templates use blocks of color and full-slide images to highlight content. Tectonic template (34 layout options) Get to the point with dark Tectonic templates. Great for corporate training. Resonate template (37 layout options) Use the Resonate template set to dazzle learners with striking, high-contrast design. Quantum template (36 layout options) Make an impact. Use Quantum templates to give your images the space they deserve. Opportunity template (36 layout options) Grid layouts and emoji-style icons make Opportunity templates professional and fun. Momentum template (42 layout options) Use Momentum templates to present course content in a beautiful and modern layout. Journey template (34 layout options) Dress up content with the on-trend shapes and styling of Journey templates. Harmony template (34 layout options) Color blocking and minimalist icons imbue Harmony templates with a distinctive feel. Fractal template (40 layout options) From the unique background to sleek charts, Fractal templates make a statement. Focus template (41 layout options) Focus templates feature photographic layouts, modern icons, and sleek chart styles. Evolve template (34 layout options) Evolve slide templates use icons and large images to make course content pop. Integrity template (36 layout options) Make your course stand out with bold, high-contrast Integrity templates. Perspective template (33 layout options) Minimal slides and a dark theme give this modern template set a sleek feel. Diversity template (34 layout options) The Diversity template set gives any type of training an elegant look and feel. Axis template (34 layout options) Look sharp! The angular shapes in this template set emphasize your content. Chroma template (36 layout options) With hexagonal accents, Chroma slide templates make courses look fresh and modern. Clarity template (34 layout options) Give your course content a vibrant stage with modern and sleek Clarity templates. Vigor template (33 layout options) Give any course a polished look with this simple and effective template set. Flow template (34 layout options) Go with the Flow. Give your course an active, edgy look with this template set. More templates coming soon! Wrap-Up Whether you’re using templates for creative inspiration or to kickstart development, these fully functional slides will have you creating professional-looking courses in no time at all. And the best part is you can customize them to fit the look and feel of your project. To learn how to use and customize Content Library 360 slide templates, check out these articles: Using Content Library 360 Templates How I Customized This Content Library 360 Template 3 Timesaving Tips for Customizing Content Library 360 Templates 2 Tips for Using Content Library 360 That’ll Save You Oodles of Time Inspired by any of the templates listed above? Let us know how you plan to use them in your next e-learning project! Want to use these templates for your own e-learning courses, but don’t have Articulate 360? Start a free 30-day trial, and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.Bring Courses to Life with Characters from Content Library 360
Characters are one of the most commonly used elements of e-learning courses. Whether you’re trying to craft a meaningful narrative or make your content more relatable for learners, characters are a great way to bring your content to life. Luckily, thanks to Content Library 360, you have a diverse assortment of 100+ illustrated and photographic characters at your fingertips. Choose from 100,000+ combinations of characters, expressions, and poses. With a wide range of industries and professions to choose from, you’ll have endless ways to show learners how your content applies to them. And with Content Library 360 integrated into Articulate 360, you can bring a sense of personality to your courses without slowing down your workflow! Let’s take a look at the characters available in Content Library 360: Photographic Illustrated — Modern Characters Illustrated — Classic Characters Photographic Characters Each character has 100+ poses. Thomas (3 outfits) Friendly and professional, Thomas fits any business setting. Sarah (3 outfits) Sarah is a cheerful choice for leading learners through a variety of topics. Aliyah (3 outfits) Choose Aliyah when you need a poised young professional who knows how to get the job done. Renita Renita’s dressed for success as a young professional or customer service rep. Craig Choose Craig to showcase safety protocols on your construction site. Robert Choose Robert when your training needs a friendly face. Amira Meet Amira, a polished woman who’s ideal for most business settings. Michele Select Michele to lead learners through safety and construction scenes. Liz Liz’s kind look is ideal for customer service, healthcare, and more. Glenn Choose Glenn when you want to add a polished executive to your course. DeShaun Deshaun’s a versatile young professional perfect for business settings. Shafer Outgoing and motivating, Shafer is perfect for most business settings. Joseph A charismatic coach or mentor for sports and health-related topics. Isabel A poised character to guide learners through courses on medicine and science. Bradley Bradley’s kind expressions make him an approachable guide for medical courses. Vicki A cheerful-looking call center employee who’s great for customer service courses. Antonio Antonio makes a perfect guide for international business courses. Maria Maria is a young, sharp-looking female EMT for medical courses. Kayla With all her gear on, Kayla is prepped for your safety courses. Mitchell Mitchell radiates the warmth and energy of a caring customer service pro. Lange Lange is the perfect energetic businessman for leadership courses. Mary Choose Mary to guide your learners through customer service training. Valeria An upbeat, young character with a casual look for a variety of courses. Andres Outfitted in an EMT uniform, Andres is ready to lead in medical courses. Carlos Provide learners with a relatable guide in casual workplace courses. Ginnie Friendly-looking older woman in colorful attire for challenging topics. Emily Emily is a laid-back character who’s perfect for many types of courses. Paulina Paulina is an energetic guide for learners in medical and dental fields. Gail A dynamic professional character for courses set in a modern workplace. William An authoritative, professional character for health and science courses. Shelia Sheila is a well-dressed young professional who radiates confidence. Nora This sporty middle-aged woman is the perfect coach for health courses. Jet Jet’s casual style and friendly face make him a versatile character. Gianna This stylish businesswoman is great for corporate training. Brandon The perfect casual character for a wide range of everyday scenarios. Alberto This cheerful man in workwear is great for office training courses. Quan This bright young man in workwear is perfect for industrial scenarios. Laura A great character for customer service courses. Includes headset shots. Atsumi This recognizable character’s fun expressions make her a fan favorite. Al A confident, gray-haired gentleman well-suited for leadership training. Caesar Let this affable doctor help learners make healthy choices. Tonya This cheerful character is perfect for health and wellness training. Nicky Nicky’s style and piercing looks make her a go-to manager character. Tony With his hard hat and safety goggles, Tony’s ready to work. Paula Use this woman in workwear for casual scenarios or industrial courses. Nerijus Nerijus has the look of a sharp young businessman on his way to the top. Marie Mature woman in professional attire is great for courses of any type. Lorraine Cheerful doctor in scrubs and lab coat ideal for health-conscious courses. Jonathan This older man in a headset works great in customer support courses. Javier This casual, older male character works well in any kind of course. James Customer service professional in workplace attire. Includes headset. Jake The perfect worker for industry courses. Includes safety hat and vest. Harriet This regal businesswoman in conservative garb is great for leadership training. Cort Cort is a male nurse character ready to help learners tackle health topics. Rosie Meet Rosie, a stylish young businesswoman for any type of course. Rhonda Encouraging, enthusiastic office worker for corporate training courses. Chris A mature businessman with a lot of personality for workplace courses. Paul Paul is a kind-looking man who’s great for customer service courses. Edwin Edwin is a casual character with kind expressions and a warm smile. Sonee Prim and proper, Sonee is a great seasoned character for workplace training. Jeremy Jeremy’s casual attire and laid-back attitude help him fit in anywhere. Christy Use this energetic businesswoman to give learners the inside scoop. Dave Playful and creative, Dave works well in any workplace course. Nicole Nicole’s gregarious vibe makes her a great character for sales courses. Christian Kind and sincere, Christian is a good pick for corporate training. Ron Approachable middle-aged professional perfect for workplace training. Anton This casual character is perfect for a wide variety of course topics. Andrea Cheerful female worker for industrial or construction site training. Brian A character whose warmth and charisma are great for workplace courses. Christine This serious blonde woman is a perfect partner for challenging courses. Ammon This affable chap can add friendliness and cheer to any type of course. Terri A middle-aged woman for customer service training. Includes headset. Alice A pleasant woman in office attire wearing a hard hat and safety goggles. Sukiyo A seasoned executive who’s perfect for scenarios in office settings. More coming soon! Illustrated — Modern Characters Each character has 300+ pose combinations. Nadiya Dressed in professional attire, Nadiya is a great fit for business settings. Joshua Joshua stays safe with personal protective equipment and a high-visibility jacket. Haley Wearing a hard hat, vest, and work boots, ready for many industries. Sebastian A seasoned industry worker wearing personal protective equipment. Chloe Chloe is perfect for cafe, retail, or casual dining settings. Theresa Wearing nurses’ scrubs, Theresa fits right into medical settings. Shanae An approachable and memorable everyday guide. Wren A young, fashion-forward character suited for casual settings. Don A charming older man for any type of relaxed training. Mike An easygoing, self-assured guy perfect for relaxed settings. Eduardo An older gentleman, well suited for business-casual workplaces. Camila A casual, everyday guide ready to connect with a variety of learners. Jayla A cool, sophisticated friend or mentor, perfect for casual settings. Jamal At home in the business world, Jamal is distinguished but still fun. Jada A savvy and stylish guide who can connect with a broad audience. Eric A man with presence and panache who can connect with corporate crowds. Maya A busy young healthcare worker, well-suited for medical training. Pamela A mature businesswoman for corporate or finance training. Charles The epitome of a CEO, Charles is ready to lead in executive settings. Simone A reliable choice for helping learners navigate healthcare scenarios. Dante A versatile character for most business casual or academic settings. Lily Casual attire makes this character versatile. Includes built-in states. This sharp businessman is a great character for professional training. Shannon Modern businesswoman perfect for executive and leadership training. Amber A young doctor for health-related courses. Poses include a stethoscope. Blake A well-dressed character for any situation. Includes built-in states. Zachary Meticulous, middle-aged doctor for medical-themed training courses. Theo A mature professional who’s suited for more formal corporate training. Sylvie This businesswoman in sharp attire is perfect for professional courses. Sofie Use this casual and approachable middle-aged woman in your next course. Sophia Sophia is a modern and youthful character for any workplace course. Reuben This casual guy is a relatable ally for learners in any type of course. Phoebe Use this skilled nurse in hospital scenarios and workplace courses. Oliver This professional middle-aged man is dressed for any workplace scenario. Nathan This crisp gentleman in a gray suit is great for executive training. Matthew Gentleman in a black and gray business suit for professional training. Marcus Use this bespectacled doctor in health and wellness training courses. Madeline A sharply dressed doctor that’s great for health and wellness courses. Mabel Mabel is an older female surgeon with short hair and wireframe glasses. Lucas An easygoing middle-aged man in flattering business-casual attire. Juliet A redheaded woman in casual attire who’s suited for any kind of course. Stephen Use this charismatic businessman in a bold suit for executive training. Iris Young neighborly female character works for many different types of courses. Harrison Use this charming middle-aged doctor in health and wellness courses. Grace Use this calm and assured female doctor in health and wellness courses. Frank Middle-aged nurse with shiny dark hair perfect for hospital scenarios. Frances A youthful medical professional to use in health and wellness courses. Emma This brunette, middle-aged woman in workplace attire means business. Elisa This young woman is perfect for courses in casual environments. Demond A young nurse is here to help learners in health and wellness courses. Daniel Young, high-energy male perfect for any course in a casual setting. Claire Middle-aged woman for scenarios in casual locations, even the outdoors. Charlotte Fair-haired female professional perfect for workplace training courses. Arthur A striking doctor in business attire who’s great for wellness training. Alex A versatile character that’s calm, cool, and just a little outdoorsy. Abby This powerful corporate character is great for executive-level courses. Jonah This middle-aged man in jeans and a T-shirt is great for casual courses. Ethan An older, salt-and-pepper professional for any type of office training. Marilyn Marilyn’s casual attire and kind smile make her a relatable character. Lydia You can put this confident brunette in just about any type of course. Illustrated — Classic Characters Each character has 300+ pose combinations. Gabriel Molly Olivia Dennis Curt Norene Shane Bernardo Leonard Samantha Jennifer Louis Erik Kristina Beatrice Jayce Rose Roland Gloria Martin Maisie Jay Carmen Gregory Dominick Walt Evelyn Connie Peter Ivy Jason Adelaide Jessica Evangeline Debra Niles Cooper Hazel Bob Marissa In Summary With this ever-growing library of photographic and illustrated characters, it’s easier than ever to create personalized content that truly connects with your learners. Simply include them in a scenario in Rise 360 or add them to your slides in Storyline 360 to tell a story. The possibilities are endless! Looking for more ways to use characters in your courses? Check out these helpful resources to get inspired: 5 Tips to Help You Choose Characters for E-Learning 2 Quick Tips for Working with Characters in Storyline 360 5 Cool Ways to Use Characters to Engage and Connect with Learners Are you already using characters in your e-learning? Share your best practices in the comment below. Want to use these characters in your own e-learning courses, but don’t have Articulate 360? Start a free 30-day trial, and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.All the Best E-Learning Heroes Content from 2023 in One Place
As we wind down 2023 and look ahead to all the things to come in 2024, now is the perfect time to catch up on the most popular content shared in the E-Learning Heroes Community in 2023. To save you time, we’ve rounded up the best of the best for your review. You’ll also find a comprehensive list of the 102+ new and enhanced features we released to Articulate 360 in 2023, in case you missed any. 7 Most Popular Rise 360 Examples of 2023 7 Most Popular Storyline 360 Examples & Downloads of 2023 Check Out the 102+ Articulate 360 Features We Released in 2023 10 Most Popular E-Learning Heroes Articles of 2023 Best of E-Learning Challenges 2023 10 Most Popular Rise 360 Placeholder Content Templates of 2023 10 Most Popular Rise 360 Real-Content Templates of 2023 All 12 Quick Tips & Tricks Webinars From 2023 And if we missed any of your favorite content, please let us know in the comments below. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest e-learning inspiration and insights directly in your inbox. You can also find us on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter). And if you have questions, please share them in the comments.How to Find the Images You Want in Content Library 360
In the past, finding stock images was one of the most time-consuming aspects of e-learning development. Between visiting multiple websites to find what you need and trying to parse each site’s terms of use, attribution requirements, and download specs—it was a frustrating time-suck. But all of that has changed with Articulate 360. That’s because Articulate 360 includes Content Library 360, the ever-growing assetlibrary of millions of images, videos, icons, and illustrations. Content Library 360 puts all of these assets right at your fingertips in Articulate Storyline 360 and in Rise360. With Content Library 360, you never have to leave Storyline 360 or Rise 360 to find what you need. You can search from millions of stock assets without cranking up your web browser—and without sweating details like image quality or usage rights. With Content Library 360, it’s all taken care of for you. Having Content Library 360 built right into your authoring workflow is certainly convenient for finding stock assets, butmillions of them to choose from how do you hone in on what you really want? In this article, we’ll explore some handy Content Library 360 search tips that can help. Nail down keywords and phrases Having access to the stock imagery in Content Library 360 is super-helpful, but at the end of the day finding quality images boils down to smart searching—and as any librarian will tell you: keywords matter. Use keywords that are too broad or vague and you’ll waste time wading through too many of the wrong images. Do Some Word Association Since the same words can have a lot of different meanings, I like to do a little word association. I jot down the keywords and phrases I come up with on a scrap of paper and keep those next to me as I search. When certain keywords or phrases yield better search results, I’ll circle them so I know to come back to those later on as I narrow my search and make my final selections. For example, let’s say I need a picture of someone looking healthy and content for a health and wellness course. When I search for the word “content” I end up with lots of images of writing and paperwork. Not exactly what I’m going for. But if I brainstorm some associated words, like “relaxed” or “peaceful,” and then search for those and other related terms, I find many more options that are better suited to my topic. Pro Tip: Keep in mind that the more search terms you add, the more refined your search results will be. So if you’re looking for something specific, try using as many keywords as possible at first. You can always remove words or phrases from your search to broaden the results. Word Usage Impacts Your Search Results Words that have different uses can complicate searching for the right image. For example, when searching with keywords like “female” or “male,” you may end up with results that seem a little random—or even sexist. That’s because those terms are commonly used as both nouns and adjectives, so searching them is more likely to yield images that include stereotypical gender traits or roles. The term “female leader,” for instance, might result in an assortment of images that include everything from female animals in the wild, leading the pack, mixed in with images of women with exaggerated, stereotypically feminine traits. Here’s a quick example of what I mean: Simply searching “female” yields lots of images of stereotypical traits like youthful women with long shiny hair, curvy body shapes, big eyes, and pouty lips. However, when I searched for “woman” and added the term “business” it yielded much better, more workplace-appropriate results. Keep authenticity in mind Stock images are usually commissioned or sold for use in advertising. Often these images are tagged for search engines or stock photo sites by the individual photographers who took the images. The tags they use to categorize their photos may be based on attributes of the project they were hired for. So one photographer may tag an image of a family on the beach with words like “family” or “vacation” and another might tag a similar image as “people” or “holiday.” Obviously, this makes using some word association a powerful technique (see above), but it’s also a good opportunity to consider images that are a bit more evocative and less literal; to focus on more authentic depictions of concepts rather than the cheesy perfection we usually associate with stock photos. After all, when you’re trying to change people’s minds or their behavior, using more authentic images can help you connect with learners on an emotional level. To help search for and find images with an authentic look and feel in Content Library 360, keep these tips in mind. Take a cue from your audience Are your audience members mostly young people in business casual dress? Appeal to these learners by looking for images of diverse groups of people in a more casual, realistic setting, like the one below. Source: Content Library 360 Don’t toss out people images that aren’t picture perfect Human beings come in lots of different shapes, sizes, ages, abilities, and ethnicities. We don’t all look like models and we don’t always stare straight into the camera with a gleaming smile of perfectly straight pearly whites. Instead of searching for images that depict a model workplace full of designer-clad, camera-ready perfection, like the image below left, opt for a little more realness and character, like the image below right. Staged Stock Photo Source: Dreamstime More Candid Stock Photo Source: Content Library 360 Focus ondepictingan authentic mood or setting I mentioned already that stock photos are not designed specifically for use in e-learning projects. Because of this, many images can end up being exaggerated or cliched portrayals of real-life situations that just don’t resonate with learners. For instance, terms like “boss” can produce results that are gender stereotyped—like a bunch of elderly white men in business suits. Instead, try searching for environments or situations where you’d find someone collaborating, directing, or looking like they’re taking the lead. When I searched Content Library 360 with the keyword “team meeting,” I found lots of great images, including the following ones showing diverse team leaders working side by side with employees. The best part about using images like these is that they convey a feeling of teamwork in a modern workplace, rather than perpetuate a dated stereotype. And images like these are open to interpretation about who is “the boss,” so there’s no worrying that you’ve shared a biased depiction of leadership in your organization. Source: Content Library 360 Avoid being too literal Images should never be there just to fill white space on the screen. You want to make sure that you’re using them purposefully to support the content and objectives of your course. Some people may take that a step too far by asking you to use images of someone doing the exact thing you’re talking about on a particular slide or screen—like a picture of a manager juggling their schedule, in a time management course, for example. But be careful. Searching with keywords that are too literal, like “juggling schedule,” could get you a ton of images like this: Source: Content Library 360 Instead, of wading through photos of jugglers, try searching for images that complement your content and reinforce context. For instance, you could use words that evoke how it feels to be a busy manager, or focus in on images that support the concept of time, like this one: Source: Content Library 360 Get a little creative with stock photos Some stock images may not always be a perfect fit out of the box, but there are ways you can make them work. Here are a few things to try. Do somecropping With the built-in photo editing tools in Storyline 360, there’s quite a bit you can do to customize the look of Content Library 360 images, includingcropping out the bits you don’t need, like I did with this image, below. Source: Content Library 360 Add a transparent overlay Distract from the shortcomings of an image that’s less than ideal by covering it with a transparent overlay. Here’s how to do it in Storyline: Draw a rectangle shape over the image and add a light or dark fill. Change the transparency of the rectangle’s fill color to achieve the desired effect. Finally, place some text on top of that rectangle overlay, like in the example below. Now you’ve de-emphasized the image by making it part of the background for your content AND you’ve created a cool, eye-catching way to draw your learner’s attention to what really matters! Before Overlay Source: Content Library 360 After Overlay More Learning The bottom line is that stock photos are not designed specifically for use in e-learning projects. And the truth is, you’re not always going to find the perfect image right away. Sometimes you’ll need to go to a highly specialized photo site or get a little creative with how you use an image—or you’ll need to spend some time refining your search terms using the tips I shared above. But the real beauty of Content Library 360 is having the ability to search right at your fingertips. You can’t beat the convenience of finding and inserting images right within the apps. And by using some of the creative search strategies I’ve covered here, you’re bound to find loads of options for your projects. If you’re looking for more tips on working with stock images, check out these helpful articles: Customize and Edit Photos in Storyline: 6 Tips How to Remove Backgrounds in PowerPoint Enhance Your E-Learning Courses with Stock Images and Video What are your search tricks for finding stock assets in Content Library 360? I’d love to hear your tips, so please share them with me in a comment, below. Want to try something you learned here, but don’t have Articulate 360? Start a free 30-day trial, and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.Check Out the 102+ Articulate 360 Features We Released in 2023
Brand-new features in Articulate 360 can help you create a broader range of exciting learning experiences. And enhancements to existing features can streamline your design and development processes, making course creation even easier. But when apps evolve constantly, it’s not always easy to see just how much has changed over time. That’s why we’ve collected the 102+ new and enhanced features released in 2023 in this one handy article! Take a look at how much our apps have progressed over the past 12 months to see if there are any useful updates you might have missed. Storyline 360 Rise 360 Content Library 360 Review 360 Reach 360 Articulate 360 Desktop App Articulate 360 Teams Storyline 360 64-Bit Version of Storyline Harness the processing power in modern computers with a 64-bit version of Storyline 360. Large, media-rich courses benefit from increased stability and faster performance. Video Playback Speed Let learners explore at their own pace by choosing a course playback speed between 0.25x and 2x. Closed Captioning Boost video accessibility by including closed captions when publishing projects as MP4 video files. Adaptive Streaming Video With streaming video support, deliver video content to all learners, regardless of their internet speed. Accessible Feedback Layers Empower learners with accessible question feedback layers that meet color, contrast, and focus guidelines by default. Publish Storyline 360 Courses to Reach 360 Publish Storyline 360 courses directly to Reach 360—a lightweight distribution tool to deploy your e-learning content to more learners, including deskless workers, contractors, and customers. Video Transcripts Generate synchronized video transcripts from closed captions so visual content is accessible to all learners, including those who rely on screen readers, use braille displays, or prefer to read. Background Audio Create immersive experiences with continuous background audio that sets the tone and keeps learners engaged. Learners can turn off background audio if they prefer. In-App Review Comments Speed the review process and never miss crucial feedback with in-app comments. Review 360 comments appear in context as you’re working in Storyline 360, so you can act on stakeholder feedback immediately. Reply to comments and resolve them in real time as you create content. Add images from comments to training with a single click. Cloud Backup Access your Storyline 360 project files from anywhere and share them with team members by uploading your source files to Review 360. Rest easy knowing your projects are backed up, making previous versions easy to recover. Improved File AutoRecovery Fix project files that won’t open with the help of strengthened Storyline 360 recovery capabilities. Live Caption Support in Google Chrome Make use of Live Captions while taking Storyline 360 courses in Google Chrome. Updated Default Fonts Access the latest versions of several fonts that get installed with Storyline 360. Enhanced Player Properties Enjoy easier access to the modern player controls (play/pause, volume, etc.) and player tabs (menu, glossary, etc.) checkboxes now that they’re all left-aligned. Streaming Video Support for Videos in 360° Images Make use of the streaming video feature for videos in 360° images. Create Time-Based Triggers Create time-based triggers in minutes and seconds instead of having to convert values to seconds only. Feedback Master Quickly apply a feedback master to multiple question slides simultaneously. Upgraded Embedded Version of Chromium Benefit from Chromium 112.0.5615.165 in Storyline 360. Insert Web Videos Insert web videos using relative paths. High-Res Animated GIFs Give learners the best visual experience possible with high-resolution animated GIF support. Wrap Text Ensure text in data-entry fields wraps more easily using the wrap text option instead of having to increase the height to be more than 60 pixels. Optional “Lost Connectivity” Alert Let your learners know when they lose their connection with this optional alert you can turn on in the player properties. Faster Trigger Wizard Performance on Macs Enjoy better trigger wizard performance on M-series Macs. Set Your Cover Photo To Fill the Player Frame Easily set your cover photo to fill the player frame in the player properties. Screen Recording on Primary and Secondary Monitors Record your screen on primary and secondary monitors with DPI settings over 100%. Full-Screen Storyline Block Display Display Storyline blocks in Rise 360 full screen on mobile devices when player controls are turned off. Display Crisp Text and Images Display crisp text and images in embedded web objects by unchecking the scaling option. Background Audio in Video Output Include background audio in published video output. Turn Player Navigation Elements On or Off Control how learners navigate submitted quiz questions by turning player navigation elements on or off. Neural Voices Generate realistic, natural-sounding text-to-speech narration with neural voices. New Neural Voices (US English) Enjoy two new English (US) neural voices options, Danielle and Gregory, for text-to-speech conversion. Icons and Text Displayed in Player For new projects that use the modern player, navigation buttons now display both icons and text by default. You can still switch to just icons or text instead. Speech Synthesis Markup Language (SSML) Support Unlock new possibilities for text-to-speech audio. Use SSML to adjust the speaking rate, modify pronunciation, emphasize words, add pauses, and more. Fixed Positions for Modern Player Controls Make it even easier for learners to interact with your course thanks to fixed control positions at the bottom of the player. Text Wrapping Easier Benefit from an improved user interface for text-entry fields text-wrapping options. Enhanced Button Accessibility Provide learners with a more accessible experience now that the “Back to Top” and “Skip Navigation” buttons and the volume slider meet color contrast guidelines. Control Background Audio with Triggers Control the background audio for each slide using triggers to play, pause, or stop the playlist. Tooltips Available Display tooltips that are accessible to mouse, keyboard, and screen reader users automatically using the built-in player controls and navigation buttons. Fine-Tune Background Audio Customize the background audio experience even further by fine-tuning the volume with a percentage-based variable. Rise 360 Microlearning Deliver bite-size, single-objective content with the Microlearning feature. Turn Off the Cover Page Turn off the cover page when you publish for LMS to improve compatibility, streamline training, and get learners into content faster. Theme Color Contrast Use theme color contrast to instantly ensure training content meets accessible color handling requirements for learners with low vision. Turn Off Lesson Headers Turn off lesson headers to provide a more focused learning experience. Reply To and Resolve Review 360 Comments Reply to and resolve Review 360 comments from within Rise 360 and add suggested images with a single click. Block Contrast Settings Automatically adjust the contrast of text and graphics at the block level or select your own contrast with block contrast settings. Enhanced Block Settings Customize your blocks with distinctive backgrounds and easily adjust padding options with enhanced block settings. Team Folders Create shared team folders to organize your team’s content, assign permissions, and invite collaborators. Enhanced Dashboard Management Organize and keep track of what’s important to you more easily with the enhanced dashboard. New Real Content Course Templates Get even more great content out to learners fast with new additions to our library of real content course templates. In 2023 we added new courses and microlearning experiences on topics like exercise, forming healthy habits, Black History Month, discussing disabilities in the workplace, and more! New Placeholder Content Course Templates Jump-start course creation with even more placeholder content course templates. New additions include course outlines on equity compensation conversations and sales order management processes. Publish Rise 360 Courses to Reach 360 Publish Rise 360 courses directly to Reach 360—an add-on to Articulate 360 that lets you quickly distribute training, enroll learners, and track their progress. Specify an Admin When Publishing to Reach 360 Get the right eyes on your course when publishing it to Reach 360 by selecting a specific admin to notify from a searchable drop-down menu. Quote Block Accessibility Improvements Give all your learners a better experience with accessibility improvements for quote blocks. WCAG 2.1 Conformant Process Blocks Include process blocks in your accessible courses now that they’re WCAG 2.1 conformant with improved keyboard navigation and screen reader support. Translate Labels for Screen Readers Broaden your impact and enhance accessibility by translating screen reader labels into other languages. Added Labels for Sidebar Progress Indicator Enhance localization and accessibility with labels for sidebar progress indicator tooltips. Default Text Color Improve accessibility conformance on new courses without lifting a finger by leaving the default text color, which is now true black. Skip Video Compression Add _NOPROCESS_ to a video file name to skip compression when uploading it to your course. Exported Training Destinations Quickly select a destination for your exported training with the Rise 360 dashboard publish menu. Cover Page Overlay Setting Use the Overlay setting to preserve both image clarity and text readability by choosing a light or dark translucent overlay for your cover photo that automatically maximizes text contrast. Links in Button and Button Stack Blocks Use relative links in button and button stack blocks to link to training within your subdomain. Theme Color Selector Use the Theme setting in the block element color picker to quickly select your training’s theme color. Logo Size Options Crop your logo to decrease white space and increase its size to customize your cover page branding. Quiz and Labeled Graphics No Longer Animate Protect those with motion disorders automatically now that quiz and labeled graphics items no longer animate when learners enable reduced motion settings on their devices. Rise 360 Images Marked as Decorative by Default Mark images as decorative automatically when you leave alt text for an image blank so it’s ignored by screen readers. Block Background Images Randomly Selected Enjoy a wider variety of default block background images now that they’re randomly selected on a block-by-block basis. Progression Arrows Remain Visible on Zoom Give all learners a better experience now that labeled graphic progression arrows remain visible when zoomed in or viewed on a mobile device. Split Block Design Menu Apply design settings to blocks more easily now that we’ve split the block design menu into two new menus: Style and Format. Updated Placeholder Content Templates Enjoy the new and improved placeholder content templates, a makeover where you’ll notice that the “lorem ipsum” text has been replaced with instructional and sample content. To improve accessibility, we’ve removed italicized formatting. We’ve also updated block design throughout the templates to take advantage of recent Rise 360 formatting enhancements. Linked Block Padding Add a custom value for top and bottom block padding at the same time using the linked padding option. 4k Video Support Boost course video quality with the ability to upload 4k videos to Rise 360. Content Library 360 Thousands of New Images Find the perfect royalty-free photos for your online training even more easily with the addition of hundreds of thousands more high-resolution images from Pexels. New Illustrated Characters Represent a greater variety of learners with six new illustrated characters: Eduardo, Camila, Mike, Shanae, Don, and Wren. Review 360 Request Review Keep your team on track without the hassle of spreadsheets or phone calls thanks to the request review feature. Send and track requests for specific stakeholders to review a content item right from Review 360. With email notifications, due dates, visible statuses, and completion buttons, you’ll never miss another deadline. Team Folders Create shared team folders in Review 360 to organize your content, assign permissions, and invite collaborators. You can even allow multiple authors to publish new versions of a course to the same Review 360 project. Comments Only Allowed on Current Versions of Courses Keep teams in sync by preventing stakeholders from accidentally adding new comments to old versions of a content item. Enhanced Dashboard Quickly and intuitively organize your Review 360 dashboard with nested folders, subfolder breadcrumbs, an action toolbar, and more project management efficiencies. You can even multi-select items and folders, then move them in bulk. Learn more about the enhanced dashboard. Review Status Labels Allow stakeholders to reset their status after completing a review for more flexibility. Send Bulk Review Requests Send a request to multiple reviewers simultaneously by copying and pasting their email addresses in bulk. Text-Formatting Toolbar in Request Review Send engaging review request messages with the new text-formatting toolbar. Content Privacy Settings Control access to your content by making your Review 360 items private while still allowing invited stakeholders to offer feedback. Reach 360 Reach 360 Launched Reach 360 launched! Reach 360 is a frictionless LMS that integrates with Articulate 360 so you can easily deliver training to more learners. Group Self-Registration Simplify learner management by generating a sign-up link that automatically adds your learners into a group. API Integrations Use the Reach 360 API to build custom integrations with your business systems, giving your team access to valuable training and data where they need it most. Connect Reach 360 and Zapier Automate your work and streamline your productivity by adding Reach 360 to your Zapier workflows (currently in beta). Custom Domain Brand your Reach 360 URL with a custom domain you own. Owner Role The purchaser of your Articulate 360 Teams subscription is now listed as the Owner in Reach 360. Improved Group Member Lists Improve performance with paginated group member lists that display 50 members per page. Bulk Delete Learners Use true “select all” to bulk delete learners, even every learner, from your Reach 360 account. Active Learner Usage Report At a glance, see how many users have logged in to your Reach 360 account with the Active Learner Usage report. Bulk Delete Members Bulk delete members, even every member, from a group with “select all.” Bulk Import Bulk import and delete group members via CSV. Connect with Slack Connect Reach 360 and Slack so you can share course previews and get in-app training notifications. Share Content with QR Code Share specific training items directly with learners via URL or QR code. Learning Path QR Code Allow users to directly access a learning path—and self-register as a new learner if necessary—with a QR code. Self-Registration QR Code Allow users to self-register as new learners or group members using a QR code. Custom Certificates Create and manage custom certificates. SSO for Learners Enable SSO for your Reach 360 learners directly from your Reach 360 settings. Manage Groups and Users with SSO Use SSO to manage learners and groups, allowing them to quickly access training using one set of log-in credentials. Users API Endpoint Delete users from training with this Users API endpoint. Reach 360 API Quiz Data Enhancement Include quiz data in the course.completed event type for Webhook Events in the Reach 360 API. Sortable Activity Report Column Quickly check completion status with a sortable column in the activity report. Separate Admins for Reach 360 Enjoy more organizational options by defining separate admins for Reach 360. Enhanced User Role Management Streamline Reach 360 user management to include learners and admins only. Reporter Access Delegate training analytics by assigning reporters who only have access to detailed reports for specific groups of learners. Custom Certificate Settings Select a custom certificate to be the default certificate for your Reach 360 training. Default Direct Sharing Direct sharing is enabled by default for all new content published to your Reach 360 library. Articulate 360 Desktop App Improved Error Reporting Resolve issues faster with updated error reporting. Articulate 360 Teams Retain Shared Content Maintain control over shared content when a member leaves the team. Wrap-Up As you can see, 2023 was a big year with lots of exciting updates to the Articulate 360 apps. You can see what’s up next by checking out our feature roadmap page. Want to try out some of these features, but don’t have Articulate 360 just yet? Start a free 30-day trial, and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.Two New Storyline Characters Wearing Personal Protective Equipment
We’re excited to announce that we’re adding two new characters to our ever-expanding character library in Storyline! Dressed in hard hats and high-vis safety vests, Sebastian and Haley are ready for a variety of scenarios that require industry-specific outfits. Here’s a quick peek at how you can use these new characters in your courses. Sebastian Dressed in a hard hat, high-visibility vest, and work boots, Sebastian represents a variety of industries. His personal protective equipment makes him a great fit for settings like construction and events. With a serious, experienced presence, he can play many roles—co-worker, manager, foreman, or mentor. Haley Bright personal protective equipment makes Haley stand out from the crowd. She could be a member of a maintenance crew, an airport mechanic, or a stakeholder visiting a construction site. With her vibrant expressions and sleek ponytail, Haley is a versatile character, perfect for entry-level or managerial roles. Wrap-Up To insert these characters into your Storyline 360 courses, select Characters in the Insert tab. There, you can explore the full character collection in Content Library 360, which features these new characters and many more for a total of 100,000+ combinations of photographic and illustrated characters, expressions, and poses. We look forward to bringing you more characters dressed in different styles and for more industries. If there’s a specific character you’re looking for, let us know in the comments! These characters will work for folks using Storyline 360, the continuously updated version of Storyline included in Articulate 360. Want to try them out? Get a free trial of Articulate 360 right here. And subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest features and resources.5 Mental Health Resources You Can Share With Your Learners Today
Did you know that May is Mental Health Awareness Month? Individuals aren’t the only ones impacted by mental health challenges—businesses can feel the effects, too. Polling from Gallup indicates that employees with mental health challenges miss four times more work than those who rate their mental health positively. This lost productivity costs the economy some $47.6 billion annually. As an e-learning designer, you can help employees feel supported by providing resources that raise awareness of the importance of mental health and outline helpful tips for improving it. If you’re an Articulate 360 subscriber or trialer, you can get the ball rolling quickly by using the ready-to-use mental health training materials in Rise 360—just in time for Mental Health Awareness Month. Curious what’s available? Check out some of the new releases below. You can learn how to customize these templates for your own company and training needs at the end of this article. 1. Stress Busters Microlearning Course Encourage employees to feel more relaxed with the 9 Simple Stress Busters You Can Do Today microlearning course. Moving through this quick learning exercise reveals proven strategies for relieving stress and activating feel-good endorphins. 2. Breathing Exercises Microlearning Course Anyone feeling tense can benefit from the Melt Away Stress With a 3-Minute Breathing Exercise microlearning course. With each successive swipe through a guided breathing exercise and accompanying graphics, learners will feel more peaceful and serene. 3. Feel Your Feelings Microlearning Course Reinforce the message that it’s OK not to be OK with the Feel Your Feelings microlearning course. This quick activity helps people process difficult emotions by prompting them to name and explore their feelings from a place of compassion and understanding. 4. Get Grounded Microlearning Course Support employees through worry spirals and mental fog with the Escape Anxiety With a 5-Minute Grounding Practice microlearning course. Moving through this 5-minute practice roots learners in the here and now as they engage their senses of taste, touch, smell, sight, and hearing. 5. Day-by-Day Challenge Course To offer access to a more in-depth daily challenge, check out the 5-Day Challenge To Improve Mental Health course. Each day, learners can refer to this course, explore a different facet of mental health, and follow simple exercises for putting concepts into practice. Wrap-Up Providing mental health resources as part of your business training is a win-win. Employees have access to support at work, and businesses benefit from employees who are less stressed and anxious. The examples above can help you get started, but the sky’s the limit for how you can use Articulate’s creator tools to achieve your business training objectives. Interested in sharing one of the supportive resources with your team? If you’re an Articulate 360 subscriber or trialer, you can access and edit all the examples linked throughout this post directly fromyour Rise 360 dashboard. Simply click Create New, choose Microlearning and select the template you want to use, as shown in the video below: Looking for even more ready-to-use, customizable mental health content? You'll find those in your Rise 360 dashboard too. Just click Create New, choose Course, and then select Mix & Match Lessons. Here are some relevant topic categories to check out: Stress Management: covers stress management fundamentals, stress and work performance, and strategies to relieve stress. Health and Wellness: includes dealing with difficult emotions and life events, exercise, forming healthy habits, mental health awareness in the workplace, positive psychology fundamentals, and positive psychology in the workplace. Resilience: features content on resilience fundamentals, building career resilience, leadership and resilience, emotional and physical resilience, and thriving through challenges. Be sure to also follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn and come back to E-Learning Heroes for more advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.A Visual Design Checklist for E-Learning Noobs
The visual design of your e-learning impacts everything from its usability to how well it supports learning. The ideal visual design is eye-catching (in a good way!), effectively guides the user’s attention, and hopefully captures their imagination or immerses them in an engaging experience. When the visual design is well executed, it makes it easier for learners to focus, grasp, and retain the content they’re learning. Sounds awfully important, right? It is. So it’s no wonder that e-learning noobs with little or no graphic design experience find visual design so intimidating! If you’re a relative noob, you may feel a little less than confident about your visual design skills. By far the easiest solution is to rely on professionally designed slide templates like the ones you'll find in Content Library, one of the awesome new tools inArticulate 360. Need to create a custom visual design fromscratch? I've createda shortchecklist of visual design basics to help make sure your courses are as attractive as they are effective. The Visual Design Checklist Are the course user interface (UI) elements, like navigation buttons, the menu, video controls, easy to find and use? E-learning is an interactive experience. Much like navigating an application or a website, people need visual cues to tell them what to do next and where to click. To make sure your UI design is easy for learners to use, check out this awesome article by Nicole Legault, “User Interface Design: 3 Things E-Learning Designers Need to Know.” Are the visuals appropriate for the tone of your subject matter? Colors, image styles—even the font you choose—all work together to give your course’s visual design a distinctive tone. To avoid sending mixed signals to learners, make sure your style choices sync up with the purpose and message of the course. How do you nail the right look and feel for your course? Check out David Anderson’s tips for Design Mapping. Not only is design mapping a fun exercise, it’s also a really effective way to develop fresh ideas for your projects. Are your layouts making gooduse of the available space? Particularly when it comes to learning, folks need to be able to direct their attention and focus on the information you’re sharing. Here are a few visual design must-haves to make sure your slide layouts are doing just that … A focal point. A focal point serves as a visual “hook” that attracts learners and draws their attention. Having a focal point on each slide is the foundation of a visual hierarchy—that is, the ordering of design elements on the screen to make it clear what learners should look at first and how they should proceed to navigate the rest of the information on the screen: should their eyes move up or down, or left to right? A focal point is usually an image or on-screen text. A few of the many attributes that can elevate text or an image to focal point status include size, shape, color, texture, and placement. Adequate white space. White space includes things like margins around the edges of your layout, as well as line spacing, cell padding in tables, column spacing, or the empty spaces between objects. Too little white space can lead to your layout looking cluttered or crowded. Too much white space makes it hard for folks to make connections between design elements on the screen. Not sure if you’ve got adequate white space in your design? Try removing nonessential elements or adding more space to see if it feels like there’s a little more breathing room. Logical object placement. The concept of proximity—that is the placement of related design elements relative to one another—is a powerful way to visually communicate with your learners. Grouping related items in a logical way—say, a button right next to the object that button relates to—will help make your layout more intuitive for learners. Is there visual consistency from slide to slide? Having a nicely balanced visual design is something your learners will expect to see on every slide in your course, not just a select few! And the single best thing you can do to meet those expectations is to create more visual consistency or cohesion from slide to slide. Some ways to create that sense of visual continuityinclude: Integrating the course player into the styling of your slides. Using a consistent color theme throughout your project. Using consistent typefaces throughout your project. Placing design elements like screen titles, text boxes, and buttons in the same location on each slide. Are graphics and images being used purposefully? To help learners focus, it’s always a good idea to cut the clutter and minimize the use of purely decorative elements that may be distracting or confusing. Instead, focus on simplifying your design. Use visuals that support learning by consolidating or clarifying information that would otherwise end up as a lot of on-screen text. More Learning Don’t let a lack of visual design prowess get the best of you! E-Learning Heroes has oodles of resources, articles, discussions, and how-tos that can help you build your skills as you go. Check out some of these awesome resources to continue your visual design education: Best of 2016: Resources to Boost Your Visual Design Skills 3 Essential Visual Design Concepts Visual Design for Beginners: Unlocking the Power of Metaphors 5 Visual Design Tips for Gamified E-Learning 4 Quick Tips to Make Your E-Learning Stick Trying to build your visual design skills? Share your story with the friendliest e-learning community in the world by leaving us a comment below, or starting your own discussion. Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.Video Highlights of Our Favorite New Articulate 360 Features
We’ve added so many useful features to Articulate 360 in the past quarter. But there are a few we’ve been especially excited to share with you! In this video, check out some of the biggest game-changers that came out in the past few months. Want to do a deeper dive into a feature you saw in the video, but don’t have Articulate 360? Start a free 30-day trial. And subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest product updates, e-learning examples, and expert advice sent directly to your inbox. If you have questions, please share them in the comments.
