Authoring tools can be intimidating to get started with, I know. So here’s some advice to help you figure out how to get off to a good start if you’ve chosen a tool but really haven’t gotten started.
First step: Install the darn application!
I’m guessing there are a few of you who haven’t even installed the application yet. Yeah, it’s scary. Once you install it you might have to learn to use it! J So the rest of us are going to get a cold drink and wait for you to install it. C’mon, you can do it!
Vendor tutorials
Here’s the best place for everyone to get started. Most vendors include some very basic tutorials on their websites. Some also have tutorials on the disks that come with the application. Check to see.
For example, Table 1 lists three commonly used authoring tools and one that’s new that’s getting a lot of buzz (Snap!) and the URLS for their online tutorials. Don’t see your authoring tool? Go to the URL for the vendor of your tool and look under resources, support, or training. Or see if there is another category that looks like it would be appropriate. Otherwise, send an e-mail or call the customer support number to find out if they have basic tutorials. They should. (Not having Getting Started tutorials is a dead giveaway that they may not be supporting their users all that well.)
The best way to use the basic tutorials is to have a very small and simple project in mind. (It doesn’t have to be instructional. How about building something funny about your pet?) Use the basic tutorials to build something of your own. DO create something while you follow along. We don’t learn by watching but by doing!
Vendor sites often provide links to in-person training vendors and other training resources. Adobe, for example, has an extremely thorough training resource page (Figure 1), which they intend for experienced users than for novices. But when you get further along, you will definitely appreciate the wealth of resources provided here. Check on other vendors’ sites for similar resources.
Figure 1. Adobe’s learning resources page http://www.adobe.com/training/
Ready to go beyond the basics?
Articulate:
http://www.articulate.com/blog/50-tutorials-to-help-you-achieve-e-learning-awesomeness/
http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/more-than-100-powerpoint-tutorials-a-free-template/ (Getting good with PowerPoint is critical to getting good with any PowerPoint-oriented authoring tool!)
http://theelearningcoach.com/media/10-articulate-presenter-tricks-and-tips/
Captivate:
http://www.adobe.com/support/captivate/beyondbasics/bb_topics.html
http://www.adobe.com/support/captivate/advanced/ad_topics.html
Online courses and CDs
One of the resources I hear mentioned most often for authoring training is Lynda.com (http://www.lynda.com/). (Figure 2) This is especially true for learning Captivate and other Adobe eLearning Suite products.
Figure 2. Captivate 5 Essential Training on Lynda.com (http://www.lynda.com/Captivate-5-tutorials/Essential-Training/73283-2.html)
You can view the Lynda.com video-based tutorials online or you can purchase them on CD-ROM. If you view them online, I strongly advise that you consider purchasing the exercises files (which come with the CDs), so you can follow along with the instructors and do the exercises along with the instructors.
Lynda.com does not create CDs or online video tutorials for other major authoring tools. I have seen other video-based programs for Captivate (such as http://www.vtc.com/products/Adobe-Captivate-5-Tutorials.htm) but have not heard any opinions on these.
A variety of vendors teach synchronous online authoring courses so you’ll want to check for online courses by doing an online search. For example, Webucator has regular online Captivate classes (http://www.webucator.com/classes/captivate-5-training.cfm) as does iconlogic (http://iconlogic.com/adobe-captivate-5-essentials-online-class.htm). Iconlogic also sells its course books by themselves so you can purchase the books alone and go through them without taking the course (I have used them and found them to be quite valuable). My friend Joe Ganci often teaches Captivate courses (http://www.captivatejoe.com/) and there is often an option to take his courses online while he is teaching in person.
My friend Robert at RKCS Learning Solutions teaches Articulate Studio synchronously online (http://www.rkcslearning.com/trainings/). I searched and found other synchronous online training courses for Articulate online but have no personal knowledge of them: VOLT (http://www.thinkbiglearnsmart.com/articulate-studio-09-virtual-online-live-training/), and ASTD (http://www.astd.org/content/education/certificatePrograms/online-programs/essentialsSeries/essentialsofarticulatestudio.htm) (these dates have passed but you can check to see if they will be having additional dates).
If you search with the name of an authoring tool and “online courses” you’ll find other asynchronous and synchronous courses as well as in-person training. I know that people are having a hard time finding funding for travel these days so I’ve limited my discussion here to training where travel isn’t required.
ELearning LinkedIn groups (such as The eLearning Guild, Instructional Design & E-Learning Professionals' Group, eLearn, Articulate – Rapid E-learning, Adobe Captivate and others) on LinkedIn regularly ask each other how to get up to speed on the most common authoring tools. This is a great place to peruse conversations to see what others have done or to post questions and get answers. If you haven’t gotten involved with these free sources of help, I highly recommend it. Joining LinkedIn is free, as is joining groups. You might hear of specific online and local resources that you can take advantage of that I haven’t mentioned, as well as books and websites.
Books
Amazon.com is a great resource to find books on authoring tools. One of the great things about Amazon is that there tends to be comments about books so you have opinions you can use to determine if the books are likely to suit your needs. And you may not realize this, but you can return books if they are in excellent condition and returned quickly. Amazon will even give you a return sticker for your box (go here to get it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/orc/returns/homepage.html).
Start simple and it’s easy
We learn by doing, and authoring skills are no exception. I regularly see people ask on the eLearning LinkedIn groups how long it takes to learn Articulate or Captivate, and some people say two or three days and others say months. The truth is that it depends what you are trying to build. If you are building narrated PowerPoint slides with Articulate, you can easily become proficient in day or so. The same is true if you are building simple application demos in Captivate.
So my recommendation is to start simple, so you can accomplish something simple quickly, gain a sense of accomplishment, and then move on from there. Build your skills slowly over time so you can build onto your skill set.
Your recommendations?
If you have suggestions on the best ways to learn authoring skills in general or the best ways to learn a specific authoring tool, please leave comments in the comment section for this column.
