Exporting screen recordings to social video sites – Did you know?

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Mark Fletcher

Do you wish you could upload your screen recordings to a social video site such as YouTube? Well with Articulate Storyline you can!

In Storyline all the screen recordings you create are stored in the Story file and can be exported using the Insert Slides dialog box.

Exporting a screen recording:

  1. Click on the Record Screen button in the Home tab
  2. Choose the Recording you wish to export

  3. Right-click in the Insert Slides Preview pane
  4. Choose Export movie

  5. Give your file a name
  6. Press Save

Your recording will now be saved into MP4 format ready to be uploaded to your favourite social video site

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SLUG UK Articulate Jam Session – October 2012

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Bruce Graham

Unfortunately, due to personal circumstances, I have had to postpone the SLUG Storyline “Jam Session” planned for October.

Many apologies, and I hope that this will be run sometime early in 2013, before the European Articulate Conference in Leeds in May.

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Adding screen recordings to your Articulate Storyline projects

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Mark Fletcher

In this article I will show you the different ways to add screen recordings into your Articulate Storyline projects.

Unlike similar rapid e-Learning development tools, Articulate Storyline enables you to choose how you would like the screen recordings to be inserted after you have finished capturing your screen action. With Storyline, all your screen recordings are saved as part of your project. This is an incredibly powerful feature which means that you only have to capture your screen action once.

For example, let’s say that you are working on a project that introduces learners to the Articulate E-Learning Heroes website. Using Articulate Storyline, you can create your screen recording and then decide how you want to insert your screen recording using the Insert Slides dialog box.

There are two ways that screen recording(s) can be inserted into a Storyline project:

  • Video on a single slide
  • Step-by-step slides

Video on a single slide

Insert your screen recording on a single slide and Articulate Storyline will add real-time video, including audio exactly the same as if you were creating a video using Articulate Screenr SM. Optionally, you can also determine whether the mouse cursor should be included.

Using the Insert Slides dialog you can choose to insert your screen recording(s) into an existing Storyline scene or a new one.

Video on a single slide and Storyline objects

Video inserted on a single slide behaves in exactly the same way as any other Storyline slide. Want to draw attention to a certain region of your captured screen? Not a problem; just add a Zoom region. You can even include interactivity using Slide Layers and Triggers!

Step-by-step slides

The second way that screen recordings can be inserted into your Storyline project is as Step-by-step slides.

When creating systems software training your e-learning course typically will consist of a number of steps.

For example, if you were creating a module on recording your screen in Storyline, your list of steps might look something like this:

  1. Open Storyline
  2. Choose Record screen from the Storyline Welcome screen
  3. Move and resize the Recording Frame
  4. Click the Red (Record) button
  5. Press Done or Escape (on your keyboard) when finished

If your course is for novice users, you might want to start by showing them the steps, and then get them to try them out for themselves and then maybe test to see if they can carry the steps unaided.

For more seasoned users, you might want to just test their knowledge in a simulated environment with or without any screen prompts.

Select the Step-by-step slides and Articulate Storyline will provide you with three options all which can be inserted into the same Story file.

  • View mode steps
  • Try mode steps
  • Test mode steps

It is important to note that when inserting a screen recording as Step-by-step slides rather than Video on a single slide your recorded audio will not be included.

View mode steps

Choose View mode steps and your learners can watch whilst each of the steps are demonstrated to them. By default choose this option and Storyline will insert the following objects:

  • Caption Text
  • Mouse Cursor
  • Clicks with highlight

If required you can specify whether these objects should be included using the View Slide Options dialog box.

There are 11 different languages for your caption text to choose from.

Your Step-by-step slides can be inserted into an existing scene or you can also create a new one.

Try mode steps

Using Try mode steps you can enable your learners to engage with the learning experience and try out the steps for themselves. Choose Try mode steps and Storyline will by default add the following objects to your project:

  • Text Captions
  • Hand cursor when hovering over hotspots
  • Hint captions (When Hovered)

Test mode steps

The Test mode steps option enables you to check if the learner can carry out each step for themselves unaided. Choose Test mode steps and Storyline will, by default, add the following to your project.

  • Incorrect feedback
  • A results slide
  • Limit attempts to Unlimited (Number of attempts can be set to 1 – 10)
  • Try again feedback

Working with Step-by-step slides

Just as with Video on a single slide, you can choose to insert the steps into an existing scene or a new one. Once your steps have been inserted into your project you will notice that for both View and Try mode steps, each of your slides is automatically labeled.

Preview or Publish and you will notice that these labels are also added to the Storyline Player menu tab.

Adding audio to your Step-by-step slides

As mentioned earlier in this article when creating Step-by-step slides your recorded narration isn’t incuded. To add narration you have two options:

  • Insert sound  from a file
  • Record audio using a microphone

Inserting sound from a file

To insert sound from a file carry out these steps:

  1. Select the Insert tab of the Storyline ribbon
  2. Click on the Sound icon
  3. Choose Sound from File…
  4. Select the audio file you wish to import
  5. Click Open

The inserted audio file will now appear on the Timeline.

Note: Articulate Storyline supports the following audio file formats:

Recording from a microphone

To insert narration by recording your voice using a microphone carry out these steps:

  1. Select the Insert tab of the Storyline ribbon
  2. Click on the Sound icon
  3. Choose Record Mic…
  4. Click the Record button
  5. Record your voice
  6. Click Save.

Articulate Storyline even includes a Narration script window where you can insert the voice-over script that you want to include on each of your step-by-step slides.

 

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Screen Capturing with Articulate Storyline

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Mark Fletcher

Mark Fletcher

Photograph of Mark Fletcher

When it comes to software training, Articulate Studio 09 users have been fairly restricted in the types of course we can create.

Yes, we could generate simple screencasts as MP4 files (5 minutes or less) and insert these into Articulate as Flash movies; however when it came to trying to create interactive software simulations in most cases you were probably better off using another tool.

With the arrival of Articulate Storyline all this now changes. Whether you want to create training using real-time video, similar to Screenr SM or interactive software simulations, Articulate Storyline’s robust screen recording tool can cater for all your system training needs!

Recording your screen

You can create a project from a screen recording from the Storyline Welcome screen…

…Or via the Home tab of the Storyline ribbon.

To help you record your screen action, Storyline includes the Recording Frame.

The Storyline Recording Frame

The Recording Frame not only includes instructions on how to capture your screens but, can also be moved or resized.

Even with the Recording Frame active, your application remains live, enabling you to ensure you can get your software set up correctly before you start capturing your actions.

At the bottom of the Recording Frame, you will find a set of recording tools as shown in this screen shot.

The Screen Sizer menu includes a series of pre-defined options:

The Select a Window option (highlighted) is extremely useful. Choose this option, move your mouse around the screen and the recording frame will match the screen area you wish to record.

Recording audio

Storyline automatically picks up any audio device you have available. You can also check the volume level by simply speaking into your microphone and checking the level using Storyline’s built-in Volume indicator.

Additionally, you can choose which device you want to record from using the menu shown in this screen shot.

Recording Settings

Press the Cog symbol at the bottom of the Recording Frame and Storyline will show the Screen Recording dialog box.

Using this dialog, you can choose from a number of settings such as the keyboard short cuts, Sound Recording and other options.

You can pause the screen capture engine at any time by pressing the Pause button found at the bottom of the Recording Frame or by pressing the Pause key on your keyboard. To stop recording you press the Control and PrintScreen keys or manually take a screen shot, by pressing the PrintScreen key.

Capturing your actions

When you are ready to start capturing, press the Record button and Storyline will show the countdown screen. This feature settles down your computer system before Storyline starts the screen recording process; in addition, it also provides you with a few seconds to get ready before the recording begins.

Once active, the Storyline capture engine starts recording anything inside the Recording Frame and listens out for events such as a mouse click.

If you are reading this and wondering what is the best web browser to capture with? The answer is Internet Explorer, followed by Firefox. If you do need to use a browser such as Google Chrome or Apple Safari then I would recommend that you carry out some tests to see what Storyline can and cannot capture.

Once you have finished capturing your screen action, you can either press Escape on your keyboard or the Done button at the bottom of the Recording Frame.

If you decide you don’t want to use this capture session you can delete it by clicking on the Delete button located at the bottom of the Recording Frame.

Storyline will then display the Insert Slides dialog box where you can choose whether you want your screen recording to be inserted as normal video (think Screenr SM )or as Step-by-step slides using Articulate Storyline’s Show, Try or Test mode steps.

Note: When inserting a screen recording using the Show, Try or Test mode steps your recorded audio will not be included.

Creating additional screen recordings

But what if you need to record more screen action? Not a problem! Press the Record button from the Insert tab of the Storyline ribbon and simply press the Record button at the bottom of the Recording Frame again.

You can even create a new recording or delete an existing one right from this menu…

…or from within the Insert Slides dialog box

As I have shown in this article, creating screen recordings using Articulate Storyline is incredibly straight forward. In my next article I will show you the different types of Storyline projects you can create from a single screen recording session.

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Fine Tuning your screen recordings – Did you know?

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Mark Fletcher

Anyone who has created systems training knows that no matter how hard you try sometimes your screen recordings include unwanted screen elements.

For example, consider the screen shot I have included below taken from the Articulate E-Learning Heroes website.

If you were creating a piece of systems training, to just demonstrate the sign up process; then the fact that the ‘Sign me up!’ tooltip had been included when the screen action was recorded probably wouldn’t bother you too much.

However, let’s say that this was a simulation project where you wanted to check to see if the learner could carry out the sign up process unaided. Now this pesky tooltip is probably something you would want to remove; a task that with other tools could be both difficult and time consuming.

Understanding how Storyline creates screen recordings

To get around this problem, Storyline includes the Capture Action Fine Tuning feature; however before we look at this in any detail. First, we need to take a step back and consider how Storyline records your screen action.

When capturing your screen action, Articulate Storyline records your screen as video similar to the way that Screenr works. However, unlike Screenr, the Storyline capture engine is also listening out for events such as a mouse click. In the case of Try step mode, mouse clicks are inserted on your Step-by-step slides as Hotspots. Insert your Step-by-step slides using the Test mode steps option and the mouse clicks become Hotspot questions which can be tracked and scored.

When you choose to insert your screen recording as Step-by-step slides, Storyline uses some internal ‘magic’ to decide what frames (from the screen recording video) should be added to each of the slides.

In the screen shot below, this slide (Slide 2) is using frame 222 from the original screen recording video.

Fine tuning your screen action

Now that you have a better understanding of how Storyline captures your screen action. We can look at using the Capture Action Fine Tuning feature to specify Storyline should use to create the second slide in this Story file.

To get started, you would carry out the following steps:

  1. Right-click anywhere inside the slide
  2. Choose Action Fine Tuning… from the context menu

Storyline now shows the Capture Action Fine Tuning dialog box as shown in the screen shot below.

Now using the Previous Frame button, I can choose which frame I want to use for Slide 2.

In this instance, I am going to use frame 200 as shown in the screen shot above which as you can see does not include the unwanted screen element (tooltip).

Once I click OK, Storyline loads the video and picks out the frame I have just specified using the Capture Action Fine Tuning feature.

Now on Slide 2 the pesky tool tip isn’t included.

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How DO you tell an eLearning “Story”? (Part 2)

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Bruce Graham

So you know what you want your (eLearning) “Story” to say, but how are you going to SAY it?

Sitting here writing in early 2012, it is  clear that the “classical” world of linear PowerPoint slides for (corporate) training is (whilst still very common….), being rapidly superseded.

Within a few years we will have a Web2/iPad/Android-savvy audience throughout the workplace, and they will not recognise text-laden PowerPoint slides as either interesting or relevant. Unless the production and delivery methods change, the corporate “Training Department” runs the risk of becoming even more irrelevant than it is sometimes currently seen to be.

It seems to me that we are back to classical books again – we can TELL a story (using words), but we have to ILLUSTRATE it – using graphics, interactive elements (where learners see the effect of successful and unsuccessful choices or decisions), and choice in what they consume.

For the rest of this post it’s important to clarify that last point.

Many courses, where Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are providing content try to produce “Just in Case” content – they believe each and every learner needs and wants to learn as much about the subject as the SME. They load the course with facts that are irrelevant to the business needs of the audience. One of the main jobs we have, as learning experts, is to explain and prove that this is the case. Whilst respecting the in-depth knowledge of the SME, we need to guide it to an appropriate place.

Part of this is caused because a “PowerPoint Deck” (a load of slides) is easy and simple to pass to Training/an Instructional Designer, however, there’s seldom any thought or discussion on whether it tells a coherent story to the intended audience or not.

Because of this, and because content may be transformed into eLearning for several types of audience, with differing needs, it’s necessary to allow some freedom in navigation and consumption.

There’s a fear in many corporations that if you do not make the learners go from A to Z they will miss something crucial. Here’s a secret…if the objectives are clear and relevant, learners can work out what learning is relevant, and what is not, for themselves.

Here’s are some examples:

Does the annual fire/Health and Safety etc. certification need you to do the entire course (again), or can you just do a pre-test that guides you in what you need to re-visit, if anything?

How about this same scenario, but at a more granular level – at each section/chapter, there is the option to skip the chapter based on successfully completing a quiz, (a quiz that takes you back to the content if you do not complete it to pre-set “Pass” standards).

In every course we create, we need to distinguish between what I refer to as LEARNING and DATA. Learning is required content, Data is optional. Data can be included on Glossaries, via Web Links, and in (for example), the ability to branch to In-Depth Explanations, but we must seldom if ever force our learners to consume, give them a choice at some point.

Articulate Storyline allows for this in many ways, and in the next post I’ll cover some of the features we can make use of, and also look at some examples of graphical representation that can help make interesting, visual and experiential learning.

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“Fade to background” effect.

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Bruce Graham

Slide backgrounds do not have to be white all the time – here’s an effect using graphics that can bring a little “style”, and it is simple to create in Storyline.

1>     Open a project, and go to “View > Slide Master”

2>     Insert the appropriate image that you want as your background, and set the transparency to 75%, (this can vary, but needs to be transparent enough for all your standard content to show).

3>     Close the Slide Master, and create a “Title Slide”. Copy a 0% transparency version of the image onto top of the semi-transparent image, matching the position exactly. Add a “Fade Out” animation – setting it to “Slow” or “Very Slow”.

4>     You will now have a Title slide that plays, with your chosen image, which then fades to background and provides a visual reminder cue to the course for the remainder of the course/story.

5>     This can be repeated with different images for each Scene for a repeating visual Theme.

There are countless ways that you could vary this, and many ways that this could be done using Slide Masters, but this is simple, quick and effective.

 

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Icon Size in Buttons – Did You Know?

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Bruce Graham

When you create a button in Storyline, first type the text that you want to display, (if any), and then you can allocate an icon to it. There are dozens to choose from…

Make sure the button is selected, and choose “Format” and select the dropdown display to choose your icon. But how do you make it larger?

Icon size is linked to the size of your text, so just highlight the button again, and increase text size in the usual way – the icon will get larger too.

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Autosave in Storyline – Did You Know?

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Bruce Graham

There’s no “Autosave” in Articulate Storyline v1.0
Look at the top of the page and if the coursename has a small * symbol next to it, it means something has changed since the last save.
Which is easier – CTRL+S, or losing hours of work?
Always worth thinking about, (it’s happened to many of us in the beta!)

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Crossfading – Did You Know?

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Bruce Graham

Cross-fading is a lovely technique to enhance the start and end of a course. It’s where music fades out, and as it does so, your voiceover comes in over the top. It’s easy to do in Storyline.

1> Take some music and use an audio application to add a “Fade out” effect. They are very often standard/built-in – just select the time, such as the last 2 seconds, and then click on Effects > Fade Out. Insert onto your timeline.

2> Insert your voiceover audio onto another Timeline area, then drag so that the 2 audio clips intersect as you want them to!

A simple and effective way to easily enhance the start (or end) of your course.

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