6 Ways to make your Courses Accessibility Compliant (508/WCAG/ADA) in Storyline

6 Ways to make your Courses Accessibility Compliant (508/WCAG/ADA) in Storyline

Try this: Open one of your courses, close your eyes, and complete the course without looking. You will likely have difficulty getting off the first screen. If you have vision disabilities, this might be the norm for you. Some in your audience may have color blindness, hearing disabilities, and mobility disabilities, to name a few.

We strive for intuitive eLearning experiences where our audience can focus on the materials, not the container or the navigation. But when we don’t consider accessibility, we are shutting the door on those who have disabilities and challenging our stakeholders to attain alternative training methods for those who need them. You may think that it is rare that someone with a disability would be using your course, but in the United States alone, 6.4 million people have a visual disability, 10.5 million have a hearing disability, and 14.8 million have a cognitive disability (Erickson).

You may have come across these three standards, 508, WCAG, and ADA, but don’t know how they apply to your project. These standards all have the same goal, which is to make our digital solutions accessible for those with disabilities. If followed, the standards set up requirements that greatly increase the accessibility of your course. They all have similarities and you can find additional information about them through the reference links below.

There are many tools that can aid someone with disabilities, such as screen readers that read on-screen text, special input devices that let someone press a few select buttons and read braille, and screens that magnify aspects of the screen. Storyline, as well as most other […]

6 Ways to make your Courses Accessibility Compliant (508/WCAG/ADA) in Storyline2020-02-18T14:09:40+00:00

10 Missed Questions to Ask eLearning Stakeholders

10 Missed Questions to Ask eLearning Stakeholders

As we begin each new eLearning project, there is information we’d like to request from our stakeholders. We want this information so we can create a project with results that meet and exceed the project needs. So, asking the right questions is essential. Of course, there are core questions asked relating to any established performance requirements, needs analysis data, audience, and job-related information and procedures, to name a few. There are, however, a handful of questions that AREN’T typically asked that should be. And if you are a stakeholder, perhaps the following can give you some ideas when discussing your next project.

Let’s explore 10 commonly missed questions we should be asking stakeholders:

1. Has there been any previous training conducted?

Knowing if any previous training exists, whether it be instructor-led, on-the-job, or eLearning based, can be valuable for a number of reasons.

  1. These previous courses may have information that can be used when writing the new course.
  2. Knowing this training exists may give you the opportunity to take the same training, which can help you gain a foundation for the materials, job responsibilities, and performance needs.
  3. You will know what information and exercises your audience has been invoved in. This may provide insight into why there might be knowledge gaps and act as a foundation that can be built upon.

2. Is there an audience sample group for information, prototyping, and reviews?

Having a sampling of employees who can act as an advisory group […]

10 Missed Questions to Ask eLearning Stakeholders2019-07-11T17:30:29+00:00

Micro-eLearning: What, Why, and 7 Quick Tips

Micro-eLearning: What, Why, and 7 Quick Tips

We take a quick look at what eLearning is all about and 7 ways you can micro your eLearning.

Other recent Postings:

Armstrong Air & Space Museum – Gemini VIII Kiosk

Gemini VIII was the first mission where two spacecraft docked in space and it was also the first time astronauts were forced to solve a life threatening emergency in space. The Armstrong Air & Space museum wanted a kiosk to accompany their Gemini VIII space capsule and provide visitors enhanced information about the mission, the crew, and the capsule itself. View Info

Articulate Storyline & Rise Development at Illumen

Illumen Group is proud to be known as an innovative leader in Storyline and Rise development, with a focus on both rapid development approaches and unique instructional and creative design experiences. Illumen has received several accolades from Articulate for pushing the Storyline envelope, defining ways to solve problems that are raised by many other developers. View Info

As a leading partner in the ever-changing world of eLearning, Illumen has established a strong presence with our clients and the community.

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Micro-eLearning: What, Why, and 7 Quick Tips2019-07-10T17:26:25+00:00

Why Do I Need an eLearning Vendor When I Have My Own Team?

Why Do I Need an eLearning Vendor When I Have My Own Team?

Good question. Maybe what you really need isn’t a vendor, but rather a part-time strategic partner or developer who is there when you need them, and not when you don’t. What do I mean? Allow me to explain.

It’s nearly impossible to staff for every role and depth of resource that a typical organization requires over the course of a few years when trying to successfully meet the eLearning demands of various internal clients. There are often infrequent special needs that can range from specific content or skill knowledge to instructional design, professional videography and audio, to 3D animation – that could make staffing for these situations costly.

That’s why a provider like Illumen who specializes in “meeting you where you are at”, can be that flexible missing team-member behind the scenes, helping you achieve success for every type of initiative. In addition, for those times where the workload becomes unexpectedly heavy, we also have the ability to perform full project implementation- from analysis through instructional and creative design through content development.

Here are just a few ways a partner like Illumen has helped organizations by meeting them where they were at and playing the role of that flexible specialty player on their team’s bench.

1. Effective Efficiency

As an L&D manager, it’s fun to boast about adding training talent to the team. But at a time when salaries and health benefits are on the rise and good talent is becoming scarce, adding a new dedicated L&D or IT professional has become increasingly cost prohibitive. And adding one resource who has the skill of […]

Why Do I Need an eLearning Vendor When I Have My Own Team?2019-04-15T14:39:03+00:00

Move from Flash to HTML5 – and Still Keep Your Super Powers!

Move from Flash to HTML5 –
and Still Keep Your Super Powers!

Last July, Adobe announced that Flash, the ubiquitous, super-powered website and elearning authoring tool will be phased out by the end of 2020. What does this mean for you and your courses? Most importantly, your audiences won’t be able to see your courses built in Flash, or even courses created in older versions of software such as Storyline. Popular web browsers have already begun to limit their support for the Flash plugin. And your mobile devices already can’t support it.

At this point, there’s very little that Flash can do that HTML5 can’t handle. The number of companies that rely on Flash has steadily decreased over the last few years. Still, a number of holdouts remain, especially in the education and gaming space.

While the end of 2020 seems far away, it really is not, especially if your organization has a large library of courses published for Flash output. Here are some pointers for developing your transition plan:

1. What tool was originally used to build your course?

If Storyline or Captivate or similar top tier authoring tools, were used you’re in for some luck. These tools have the option to publish in both Flash and HTML5. It may just be a matter of opening the source file and re-publishing in HTML5.

Test to ensure the features still work correctly. If your course was built in Flash, you need to consider re-building with one of these other tools.

2. How much updating does your content require?

[…]

Move from Flash to HTML5 – and Still Keep Your Super Powers!2019-04-23T12:19:17+00:00

eBook Micro-eLearning


MICRO-ELEARNING
Free eBook (Advanced Signup)

Micro-eLearning is an outcome of a well designed training experience. When much consideration is taken as to the audience, what they should be prepared to do after the experience, and the approach you defined, the length of the course happens the way it should. You don’t want to have a course too long, but you also don’t want a course too short to engage, educate, and prepare the audience for what they need. Check out our companion video on micro-eLearning:

 

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Have Questions?

If you want more information about Micro-eLearning or have a project you would like to discuss, please reach out!

You can email or call us anytime at 847-440-2222!

eBook Micro-eLearning2018-06-07T13:45:07+00:00

Illumen-Views: Looking at 3D From “All Sides” An Interview with Tony O’Dell

Illumen-Views: Looking at 3D From “All Sides”
An Interview with Tony O’Dell

Tony_ODell

Illumen-Views features interviews with experts from the world of custom eLearning.

We’re launching the series by addressing one of our eLearning capabilities that we are most frequently asked about – 3D animation.

To learn more about 3D, Senior Consultant Steve Harker interviewed Illumen founder, President, and resident 3D expert, Tony O’Dell.

Thank you for joining us today, Tony.

Thanks Steve, my pleasure.

Perhaps the best place to start is in the beginning. Tony, what is your background, and how did you start working with 3D?

I have always been an avid visual effects fan, and when I first saw Jurassic Park’s 3D dinosaurs I knew that’s what I had to do. So over 20 plus years ago I set out to learn how to do it myself. I found my passion in product and medical animations. They really appeal to my fascination with science and the world around us and how to communicate that in the most effective way to educate and train different audiences.

What defines 3D animation, especially for its use in eLearning?

Animation, motion graphics or anything else that moves needs to be well thought out to deliver maximum impact to the viewer. In eLearning this means getting often complex ideas across quickly and concisely.

What type of need does it typically address for our Illumen clients?

Usually these eLearning or training needs are based around the external or even internal mechanisms of a product such as micro-filtration, cell biology, or […]

Illumen-Views: Looking at 3D From “All Sides” An Interview with Tony O’Dell2018-09-26T14:20:53+00:00

eLearning: Make it Mobile Friendly!

Mobile eLearning seems nearly limitless!  It can happen anywhere at anytime. But is “what’s happening” truly engaging and memorable? It will be if you remember these tips!

1. Clean and Concise

Remember- mobile learners are already being inundated with external distractions. Rather than add one more, make your eLearning a little safe haven. Don’t make them sort through clutter or unnecessary information. Embrace white space, make navigation simple and avoid cognitive overload.

2. Screen Space Is Gold

Screen space is your prime real estate. Reduce image size. Substitute large blocks of text with bullets. Avoid graphics, text, and graphs that require excessive screen scrolling.

3. Compress and Link

Mobile learning is often limited by bandwidth. Images that show up instantly on a laptop can take much longer on smartphones. Optimize all of your multi-media elements. Compress large files and/or include links to external sites that can be accessed later.

4. One Touch Navigation

For navigation, opt for an icon with a drop down list. This minimizes space without sacrificing navigation. Make them clear and easy to tap. Use hot spot graphics or buttons instead of hyperlinks. Remember the the mobile learner is often operating with one finger.

5. Audio Autocracy

Audio can be challenging for mobile learners, thanks to those external distractions. If learners don’t have headphones, they aren’t going to reap the rewards of your audio. So give them complete control of the audio playback, including muting, pausing, and adjusting volume. Include subtitles when possible.

6. Make Sure You’ve “One” Them Over

Mobile learning dictates small doses. That’s why it works well as a moment of need support tool or  knowledge refresher. Learning courses must be bite-sized and easy to swallow. Think one learning objective; one goal, or topic for each mobile-friendly online course. Break complex […]

eLearning: Make it Mobile Friendly!2020-02-18T14:18:48+00:00

Making the Move to eLearning

As a company starts to grow and expand, it requires an increasingly greater investment to bring instructors and learners together; whether they are your own employees, distributors, or clients.

Consider the task of on boarding. Companies want just-in-time training, yet it makes no sense to fly in a trainer to instruct one new employee in a timely basis. Even legacy employees have training needs which include skill improvement, systems, and product updates and compliance certification.

These challenges are all addressed through eLearning:

  • The divide between physical location and time disappears.
  • The learner experiences consistent, convenient, and enjoyable training.
  • You have the ability to instruct anyone, on any topic, at any time.
  • With an LMS, you can track training records and assess real performance and results.

So now that you’ve decided to make the move, what are the steps you should consider? Here are a few tips that will help you make an effective transition.

An Expert for a Partner

You can always bring your resources in-house once you know you have a training system that works. However, depending on the vendor you choose, you may find the flexibility that outside consultants and designers offer will provide the ongoing return on investment you need. Whether you partner with an expert or go it alone, the remaining tips are important to keep in mind.

Training Objectives

Why did you create your traditional training materials? What should learners be doing differently once they complete the training? These are important questions to consider.

Instructional Design

There are various models and theories to choose from. What approach best addresses the learner population, the content, and your culture? For example, if you design online training courses based on the cognitive load theory, you will create smaller eLearning modules that are […]

Making the Move to eLearning2020-02-18T14:17:15+00:00

eLearning: The Importance of Templates

eLearning templates serve as blueprints to build courses that are effective and professional looking, while insuring engagement for the learner through consistent high quality content and interactions. Here are just a few of the benefits for both designers and their clients for using templates.

Easy to Build or Update Courses.

Customized, reusable eLearning templates meet your design needs, from user interface design and image sizes to interactivity and functionality. You just have to import, copy and paste, add or remove without constantly recreating the wheel. Templates can make it easy by preparing for different page layouts, image and text treatments, and different interactivity that meets the different needs of your audience.

Saves Development Time and Cost.

Using eLearning templates make it faster and easier for your your designers to create eLearning courses, which translates into reduced future investment for you as a client. It also reduces the amount of time you need to spend reviewing and approving.

Consistency.

Uniformity is a vital part of any eLearning course. Templates provide a feeling of consistency for learners for both course architecture, navigation, and look and feel, and interactivity. A customized template is created for your company to also reflects your brand and culture.

Focus

As the client, the use of templates allows you to focus on content, not the time consuming process of building designs, programming and complex development for each new course.

Whether using already created templates or having custom templates created, we highly recommend spending time considering the best experience for your learner and the information they need to learn. Knowing this helps you determine a what template is going to lead to the best educational outcome.

Using  customized Templates is a win-win for both elearning providers and their clients. It especially  insures ease of […]

eLearning: The Importance of Templates2018-06-07T13:45:09+00:00
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