102 BYOD: Personalized PDF On the Fly from Articulate Storyline
1:45 PM - 2:45 PM ET / 10:45 AM - 11:45 AM PT Wednesday, October 26
Andros AB
Extending learning beyond the online course to support performance on the job can produce more effective outcomes. Whether it is a customized job aid, personalized checklist, a guided self-assessment, or simply a certificate with key takeaways, a downloadable PDF is a common option for designers. However, creating a customized PDF on the fly used to be a time consuming, error-prone, and tedious activity mostly done by highly-skilled developers. In this hands-on session you will use Articulate Storyline, along with a more flexible yet robust PDF creation tool written in JavaScript.
In this hands-on session you will use Articulate Storyline to capture data for a personalized action plan learners can download in a PDF format. First, you'll explore an existing solution to experience the process. You'll then create a data architecture design to document what data you want to capture form Storyline and where that data will show in the PDF. Next, you'll use Adobe Acrobat to prepare the PDF. (We'll also share some time-saving tips on how to use PowerPoint to speed up this part of the design.) In this example, you will include the name, role, timeline, and an avatar for the user, and then list the selected actions along with links to supporting materials and a checkbox for completion. The PDF will be created on the fly by a JavaScript library called pdf-lib. You can use the library under MIT license for free. Finally, you'll use JavaScript triggers in Storyline to integrate the data source and the PDF library. The session only covers the basics of the process but we'll explore some more advanced examples and you'll walk away with the source files to build your own application. We'll end the session with a brainstorming activity to get you inspired on how you could implement this technology for your audience.
In this session, you will learn:
- How to create a personalized PDF on the fly from Storyline
- How to capture and transfer Storyline variables into the PDF
- How to simplify the PDF design by using PowerPoint
- How to include custom images in the PDF
Technology discussed:
Articulate Storyline, JavaScript, pdf-lib JavaScript library, Adobe Acrobat
Participant technology requirements:
Articulate Storyline 3.0 or 360, a text editor for JavaScript code (Notepad++,  Sublime Text 3, Atom, or similar), and Adobe Acrobat DC
Zsolt Olah
Sr. Learning Technologist
Amazon
Zsolt Olah is a sr. learning technologist at Amazon with 20 years of corporate learning and development experience in the intersection of technology, digital learning, and data. In this role, Zsolt is responsible for the full life-cycle of learning data projects from the strategy document to data storytelling. His motto: "Less Content, More Impact." He’s a frequent speaker at national (DevLearn, ATD International Conference & Expo, TechKnowledge) and international learning conferences; blogger at elearningindustry.com. Zsolt is an advisory board member on the Workforce Development Edtech Board along with a group of chief learning officers, practitioners, and academics looking at where L&D is heading in the future. Previously, he worked as a digital learning & experience manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS). In his free time, Zsolt has also published a book, written two screenplays, completed the HarvardX Data Science certification, and played mostly mediocre soccer.