5 Time-saving Tips from the E-learning Community

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.

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.

• Road signs via RedKid.net. View the tutorial.
• Airline ticket via Music Airport. View the tutorial.
• Newspaper effect via Fodey.  View the tutorial.
• Motivational posters via Big Huge Labs.  View the tutorial.

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.

• Mike’s hole tip.
• David’s hole tip.

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.

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.

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.

• Creating hand-drawn emphasis and call out graphics.
• Create page curl arrows.
• Draw corner page curls.

Free Downloads:

• Page curl stickers v1, v2, v3.
• Page curl emphasis.
• Page curl arrows.
• Multicolored curled notes.

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.

• Bonus: download 27 Businessmen silhouette images courtesy of Linda Lorenzetti.

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.