The Rapid Elearning Blog

The Rapid E-Learning - great use of page curls

A few days ago I came across this thread in the user community.  In it, Dave Newgass was asking how to build an interaction of a person going in and out of a cubicle.  He got a couple of responses and a demo PowerPoint file to review.

Dave’s question (and the feedback he got) really speak to the value of the user community and why you need to be part of it if you aren’t already.

  • Production tips come from people who produce. Software vendors like Articulate create authoring software that has a bunch of features.  But it’s the users of that software that will come up with how to use it.  They also have all sorts of creative ideas based on their experiences that the vendors may never consider.  So tapping into that expertise can save you a lot of time trying to figure out how to do something with the tools you have.
  • Asking questions builds a pool of tips and tricks.  Some of my best ideas come from the questions I get from the community.  Someone will ask how to do something.  Initially, I may be a bit stumped.  But then I play around with some ideas and usually come up with some sort of solution. So asking questions provides answers; but it also helps the experts broaden their skills, which in turn adds additional value to the community.
  • There’s lots of free stuff.  Who doesn’t like free?  I like to build quick templates to practice some techniques. Then I give them away.  Ideally, you’d take the ideas and practice building your own templates.  But the reality is that you have limited time and if you get the template for free, why not just use it (which you’re free to do)?  So take advantage of all of the free assets in the user community.

Speaking of free, I’ve included some additional tips and tricks from the user community.  Many of them include free downloads.

Animated Cubicle Dude

Here’s a screencast where I break down Jeanette’s solution to the animated cubicle person so you can see how she did it.  I also expanded on it a bit and built a simple feedback interaction.  You can see the tutorial here and the published example below.  I also added the PowerPoint file to the downloads section if you want to play around with it or use it in a course.

The Rapid E-Learning - cubicle dude

Click here to view the demo.

Free Image Generator

There are all sorts of free image generating applications online.  If you’re on a limited budget, why not take advantage of them to create some assets for your elearning courses.  David Anderson presents a few solutions with some ideas on how you can use them in your courses.

The Rapid E-Learning - free image generators

Torn Hole Graphic Effect

Here are a few tips on how to create bullet holes for your elearning courses.  I guess this comes in handy if you’re working with street gangs or drug cartels.  Even if you don’t need bullet holes, these are good tutorials to practice doing on your own because they help you learn to use PowerPoint as an illustration tool.

The Rapid E-Learning - bullet hole graphics

Get Busy with the Bezier

Speaking of PowerPoint as an illustration tool, the Bezier tool in PowerPoint gives you the capability to create virtually anything.  It’s just a matter of learning to use the tool.

The Rapid E-Learning - use PowerPoint's Bezier tool

Fortunately, Diane Elkins (author of E-Learning Uncovered: Articulate Studio ‘09) gets you going in the right direction with this quick tutorial.

She shows how to trace objects using the Bezier curves to create your own custom clip art and illustrations.  As you can see, once you master the techniques you’ll be able to create almost anything.

Page Curls are the Justin Bieber of E-Learning Graphics

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’ll no doubt recognize page curls as the hottest visual design technique for elearning courses since Dr. Werner introduced the next button.

The Rapid E-Learning - create page curl effect

Good thing for you the elearning community is hopping with page curls.  Check out these tutorials and feel free to download the ones already created.  Be sure to use them now, because soon Bieber will be Baio and page curls will be next year’s screen beans.

Free Downloads:

If you’re currently part of the community, then you know that these tutorials are just the tip of the iceberg.

There’s a lot to be gleaned from your peers in the elearning community.  You’ll save time by learning some production tips and you’ll be able to download a bunch of free assets.  You may even make a few friends.

Events

Free E-Learning Resources

Want to learn more? Check out these articles and free resources in the community.

Here’s a great job board for e-learning, instructional design, and training jobs

Participate in the weekly e-learning challenges to sharpen your skills

Get your free PowerPoint templates and free graphics & stock images.

Lots of cool e-learning examples to check out and find inspiration.

Getting Started? This e-learning 101 series and the free e-books will help.



22 responses to “5 Time-saving Tips from the E-learning Community”

[…] Traduzione autorizzata tratta dal post originale di Tom Kuhlmann sul “Rapid E-Learning Blog”. Il post originale è disponibile qui […]

Leggi la traduzione (autorizzata) in italiano di questo post qui:

http://www.mosaicoelearning.it/blog/?p=803

http://community.articulate.com/forums/t/1788.aspx

Hi blog readers, here is a free PowerPoint template I created for e-learning courses, based on Screenr.

Hope you like it.

[…] Follow this link: 5 Time-saving Tips from the E-learning Community » The Rapid eLearning Blog […]

My favorite part of this blog post is how hipster-y the guy in the cubicle demo is. He would fit right in in Portland!

Kelly: to fit in I’d have to add a pint of beer. 🙂

My eyes are still watering for laughing so hard! “Page curls are the Justin Bieber of E-learning.”

April 6th, 2011

Hi Tom,

Wow!! Where do I find the time to look through all the excellent stuff??? Many thanks for all the tips and tricks
regards
Martin

[…] Tom Werner on April 6, 2011 Interesting post by Tom Kuhlmann about various graphics tips and techniques for e-learning, such as how to use PowerPoint to make […]

[…] questo post, trovate anche i tutorial per utilizzare correttamente questi strumenti (e […]

Thank you so much for the tips !

@Tom: Very true. Good thing I have beer suggestions! Hopworks 7 Grain Stout? Rogue Hazelnut Brown? Deschutes Abyss?

(Can you tell I prefer dark beers?)

@Kelly: I also prefer the darker beers. I usually try the local Porters when I travel.

Very awesome stuff!

I’ll be sure to give some of these a try.

@Tom: We should get together! Porters are my favorite. I actually named my dog Porter. He’s brown and black. It seemed fitting.

You’re the gretseat! JMHO

“Page Curls are the Justin Bieber of E-Learning Graphics” thats hilarious but true. I think its a very useful graphic. Asking questions and being part of the community definitely saves time. After all it is eLearning, so why not learn from the people who already do it.

[…] 5 Time-saving Tips from the E-learning Community […]

[…] 5 Time-saving Tips from the E-learning Community » The Rapid eLearning Blog Torn Hole Graphic Effect There are all sorts of free image generating applications online. If you’re on a limited budget, why not take advantage of them to create some assets for your elearning courses. David Anderson presents a few solutions with some ideas on how you can use them in your courses. […]

[…] Roadmap to Better Rapid E-Learning 7 Simple Rapid E-Learning Tips & Free PowerPoint Template 5 Time-saving Tips from the E-learning Community RedKid.Net jeanettebrooks: How to draw a corner page curl on images/documents in #PowerPoint / […]