Toolkit: Upgrading Minds, Upgrading Tools: Raptivity and iSpring

All the kidsare back in school now, and many parents are breathing a sigh of relief, notbecause they’re finally getting a little time to themselves again (well, thatdoesn’t hurt) but because their kids are back to learning again, and in theprocess is the hope that their minds are becoming sharper.

Evolution

eLearningdesigners and developers are always seeking the Next Big Update in hopes thatthey will be able to create even better instructional design approaches. Mosttools continue to improve over time until they pass that line into becomingoverly complex or bloated, and then they typically die. However, many vendorshave learned from the mistakes of the past and are now being more careful aboutsimply adding a feature without ensuring that it is integrated correctly.

One reason forthis is that there has been a big change in how tools are being delivered foryou to use. The eLearning tools landscape continues to have a handful ofPowerPoint add-ins and a few dozen applications that you download and installon your computer, but there has been an explosion of tools that are startingand staying in the cloud, meaning that you install nothing on your hard driveand you are working directly in your browser to create your lessons. It’s a bitironic considering how cheap hard drive space has become.

The software cycle is changing

This has led toa very big difference in how authoring tools are updated. There are fewer toolsthat publish a new version for you to download and install once every six to 12to 18 months. The new versions of these tools typically include many newfeatures—some big, some small—and those features take some time to learn. Thelearning of a tool’s features, in other words, happens in concentrated spurts:a big spurt initially when first learning the tool, then other sizable spurtseach time the tool is updated.

It’s differentin the cloud. Rather than performing major updates with lots of new features,with those updates occurring many months apart, in the cloud the tools can beupdated incrementally in short sprints of two to four weeks. This means thateach time you log in to the tool website, you may be getting a slightly betterversion. Of course, those small increments add up quickly over time, so the endresult is that you still have a much better tool after a few months, but youdon’t have to wait and then learn those new features all at the same time. Youcan, rather, be learning something new a little at a time as features areintroduced.

Think of howsimilar this is to how we have created eLearning over the years. We used todeliver eLearning to our clients on CD-ROMs or DVD-ROMs, much like we have beenreceiving tool updates. However, once we started to post our eLearning courseson the web, we could update them whenever we made improvements, even if theimprovement was minor. It costs little to replace an authoring tool’s files ona web server, just as it doesn’t cost much to make some improvements to yourlearning and upload the new files, versus having to make copies of a CD-ROM orDVD-ROM and send it out to every student.

Besides newtools that start out in the cloud, we see evidence that popular tools that wehave been installing on our computers are now moving to the cloud as well.Trivantis, for instance, has had a lot of success with the installed version ofLectora, starting in 2009. Since then, the online version and the installedversions have almost become carbon copies of each other. This is especiallytrue in Lectora 16 (installed) and Lectora Online 3. Expect much the same fromother tool vendors in the future.

Update news

Raptivity

Congratulationsto Harbinger! Harbinger makes Raptivity,among other great tools, and it’s now celebrating its 10^th anniversary.If you’ve considered Raptivity before but thought it was too expensive, checkit out now. They’ve lowered theirprices a lot!

Harbinger alsomarks a second milestone. Harbinger has released a Mac version of Raptivity for thefirst time in its history! This version contains 10 of Raptivity’s interactions,and the annual license retails for $99.

If you haven’tchecked out Harbinger’s Linker tool, you just might want to do so, consideringhow useful it is to link together multiple interactions, slides, and mediaassets. Linker is for Windows only.

Until thisFriday, September 30, there is an offer available at the top of raptivity.com/store.html. You can also sign up for free trials of the tools.

iSpring

iSpringrecently released version 8.3 of its popular Microsoft add-in authoring tool.Though a dot release, some nice new features were added:

1. The Conversation Simulation tool allows you tocreate interactive case scenario conversations.
2. Another cool feature is a new screen recorder,using the built-in iSpring Cam.
3. A new 50/50 Video Lecture Player lets you create nicely formatted andcustomized video lectures.
4. iSpring also now includes an audio and videoeditor.
5. Quizzing nowhas an updated editor and better customizations of feedbacks. You can also nowadd narration audio to quiz questions and to feedbacks.

Joe is presenting at DevLearn!

Joe Ganci willpresent two sessions at DevLearn 2016 Conference & Expo in Las Vegas. Registerby Friday, September 30, to save $100 with the Early Discount!

• Session 412 (Thursday, November 17, 10:45a –11:45a): New Technologies That Will Change Your Learning Strategies
  You are always striving to ensure thelearner is learning in the best possible way, aren’t you? Sometimes technologyintroduces a new way of interacting that really takes learning to a new level.Explore some of these technologies and their possibilities for learning.
  This session will explore the changinglandscape of learning technology. You will learn how wearable technology couldenhance the learning experience and how tools like Oculus Rift and GoogleCardboard are opening eyes to the possibilities of virtual reality. You’llexamine which technologies will soon help learners really leap ahead inincorporating new skills. It’s not just about avant-garde, bleeding-edgetechnology; you’ll look at technologies that cost nothing at all that can takelearners to the next level!

• Session 815 (Friday, November 18, 10:00a –11:00a): BYOL: Create the Best eLearning Using Adobe Captivate
  When you want to implement your bestinstructional designs to help your learners in the best ways possible, you mayoften find yourself limited by the tool you use or a lack of understanding ofthe tool’s features. The result? eLearning that is less than stellar, bores thelearner, and results in few productivity gains. Often, designers are led tobelieve that’s the best they can do.
  In this hands-on session, you will build ashort lesson one step at a time and see how easy it is to turn a “blah” lessoninto a really interesting experience for the learner, ensuring better learningresults. The published lesson will work on desktop and mobile devices. You canthen take the lesson back to your office and reuse as you wish.
  You must bring your own laptop (BYOL) with yourown copy of Adobe Captivate loaded to obtain maximum benefit from this session.