Adobe Captivate Article

Maximizing learning using visuals, text, and audio in Adobe Captivate 3

"I'll have the Number three Animal Style with a root beer."  My wife laughs at me when we eat at In-N-Out Burger because I order the same thing every time: Number three Animal Style with a root beer.

Anyone who lives in or has visited Arizona, California, or Nevada knows what I'm talking about. This fast food chain is renowned for its simple menu composed of ultra-cheap, ultra-fresh burgers, french fries, shakes, and sodas. Your meal is built by an assembly line of frenetic workers seconds after you order it. If you look closely, you may even witness a mountain of potatoes being cut by a burly 16 year old using a manually operated french fry press. It is arguably a staple of the Southwest American diet.

For years, I went to In-N-Out Burger obliviously believing that the three-item menu proudly displayed above the cash registers were the extent of their offerings. Then a friend shared with me knowledge that has been imparted on a select few: They have a secret menu. If you place your order Protein Style, you will be served a burger wrapped in hand-leaf lettuce instead of a bun. My favorite choice, the Animal® Style, adds a pickle, extra spread, and grilled onions. For the adventurous few, you can order a 4 x 4—four patties and four slices of cheese on one bun. How secrets like this stay hidden is beyond me!

The funny thing is that many instructional design and development practices are disseminated the same way as this secret menu: Tribal knowledge spread through conversation, whispers, and sometimes speculation. Not sure how to best teach new hires your company's processes and procedures? Ask a senior designer with years of experience with the company. Not sure of the best approach to implement your company's new compliance policies? Ask your next-door cube neighbors for their ideas. Not sure how to record and deliver audio using your e-learning authoring tool? Ask some peers in an online discussion forum.

Although this word-of-mouth approach is timely, easy, and readily accessible, often times the opinions derived are just that: Opinions that may be based on formal education, experience, conversations, urban legends, or notes scribbled on the bathroom wall. Fortunately for us, researchers have spent years analyzing human learning and have discovered effective instructional design strategies and media practices. Although this research may not be as accessible or straightforward as simply asking your peers or in-house experts for their opinion, you can be assured that, by applying evidence-based practices to the development of your e-learning content, you will provide consistent learning and job transfer for your learners. In this article, I talk about these practices and how you can apply them as you create e-learning content with Adobe Captivate 3.

Requirements

To complete this tutorial, you will need to install the following software:

Adobe Captivate 3

• Try
• Buy

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