Using Animoto to Create a Video

I just discovered a video creation tool called Animoto and I created this video using it. The video took about 15 minutes to create (including tweaks and edits). I’m very impressed with the software; so impressed in fact that I upgraded to the $5 a month version. The main advantage of this paid membership is the ability to download your videos to your computer. The free version does not let you do this. Plus this paid version comes with a nice library of background music and a few more video templates. It does come with some free photos and videos but they are not very impressive. The only problem I have with my level is that you still have an Animoto logo that is on the end of every video. But I think you can remove that if you purchase the more expensive package.

Check out my video below and let me know what you think!

For more tips, check out my book “45 Elearning Tips and Tricks” now available in the Kindle bookstore. Or if you are new to elearning and want some advice, try my other book “How to Create an E-learning Course” It’s  a blueprint for getting into the field of elearning development.

How to Quickly Create an Outline for Your Elearning Course

I couldn’t sleep last night so I decided to record this quick video. I share my method of creating an outline for any training course. Hope you like it!

For more tips, check out my book “45 Elearning Tips and Tricks” now available in the Kindle bookstore. Or if you are new to elearning and want some advice, try my other book “How to Create an E-learning Course” It’s  a blueprint for getting into the field of elearning development.

What can the Avengers teach you about elearning?

There was an idea to bring together a group of remarkable people, so when we needed them, they could fight the battles that we never could…
– Nick Fury

Most of you have probably purchased your tickets for the midnight showing of the Avengers. I know I have. Experts are already predicting that it will have the biggest opening of the year so far, which makes sense because it’s one of the most hyped movies of the last few years.

So why are people so fascinated with the Avengers and what in the heck does it have to do with elearning? My assertion is that we love each members of the Avengers. They are brilliantly unique in their own ways, yet the form a cohesive, bad guy destroying, mega-group. And they all have many of the same traits as elearning developers.

Ironman –

Tony Stark is a reckless, billionaire playboy who plays by his own rules. He is also the only self-made hero in the Avengers. He was born with no special physical abilities, but he was born with a desire to learn and to create. Basically, he’s alot like us. As elearning developers, none of us were born with any special abilities; we’re just normal people trying to make a living. But we were all born with the desire to learn, create and to teach through our courses. We are all self-made elearning heroes. The best developers have been successful because they work hard and are always looking to the future for inspiration. So be proud of your courses. Ironman is the cockiest member of the Avengers and it works for him. Have a little swagger when you tell people’ “I develop elearning!”

The Hulk –

The Hulk is a physical specimen and he is the Avenger’s wild card. They never know what to expect from him next. When he does decide to “Hulk Smash,” he puts his entire body and soul into it. Be like the Hulk with your elearning development. Stop being so predictable! Throw away all of your old templates and clip art. “Smash” all of your tired old multiple choice and true/false questions. Keep your learners guessing. Remember, the more angry the Hulk gets, the stronger the Hulk gets. Get mad at your old courses. It will give you the strength to create a new course that is truly epic.

Thor –

Thor is the son of the god, Odin, and he comes from the magical world of Asgard. His godly upbringing also makes him the most headstrong member of the Avengers and he uses his mighty hammer to destroy anyone who stands in his way. Have you ever been the “Thor” of your company? Have you ever been so headstrong about making changes to your courses that you emotionally destroy anyone who opposes your ideas? Have you ever failed to heed all warnings and instead ran into battle against the throngs of merciless beta testers with only your hammer by your side? Most of us are probably guilty of a little hubris from time to time. We all get touchy about the courses we spend weeks or months creating. But we all need to set our egos aside, once and awhile, and listen to what other people have to say. Most feedback is helpful and it can help us create courses that our end users will love.

Captain America –

Captain America is the original Avenger. He is also the most level headed and humble of the heroes. He often butts head with Tony Stark because Ironman craves constant attention for his actions, while Captain America would rather do what is right without receiving any recognition. As elearning developers, we are a lot like Captain America. We work behind the scenes; we are not the faces or our organizations but we are vital members. We don’t do our jobs for attention but we are noble as heck! Face it, trainers get all the attention and love every minute of it. I’m just kidding (I love my trainer buddies). Although he may not get any of the recognition, the Avengers would be nothing without the Captain. And your organization would be in a world of hurt without you.

For more elearning tips, check out my book “45 Elearning Tips and Tricks” now available in the Kindle bookstore. Or if you are new to elearning and want some advice, try my other book “Become an Elearning Developer Today!” It’s  a blueprint for getting into the field of elearning development.

Why You Need an Elearning Portfolio

In my book, How to Create an E-Learning Course, I mention the importance of having an elearning portfolio available online. To summarize, in this economy more people than ever before are competing for elearning jobs and before you ever get an interview you will be asked for a portfolio. There’s a great post on the same subject on The Rapid Elearning Blog. I would highly advise reading it.

Here’s Why You Need an E-Learning Portfolio

For more elearning advice, check out my books “45 Elearning Tips and Tricks” and “26 Things I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me About Elearning” now available in the Kindle bookstore.

Watch someone use your elearning course for 5 minutes

When I first started developing courses I assumed if I could figure out my way around my own course, anyone could. I was very mistaken. You can never assume that your course is easy to navigate or follow. You always need a few more sets of eyes. Don’t get me wrong; you can always send the link to a small group of people and have them test it on their own time. They will provide you feedback and it will probably be helpful. But have you ever sat behind someone and actually watched them use a course you created? Probably not…

Once you finally decide to do it, it’s an eye-opening experience. The things you assumed would be completely obvious don’t seem so apparent when you watch other people taking the course. But this is not a bad thing; in fact, it’s a very good thing. It may hurt your ego a bit because you realize you’re not as big a genius as you thought you were, but it will make you a better developer in the long run. And it will make your courses better as well.

For more tips, check out my books “45 Elearning Tips and Tricks” and “26 Things I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me About Elearning” now available in the Kindle bookstore. Or if you are new to elearning and want some advice, try my other book “Become an Elearning Developer Today!” It’s  a blueprint for getting into the field of elearning development.

26 Things I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me About Elearning – New Kindle Book

I’m proud to announce my new ebook “26 Things I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me About Elearning.”

I based this book off a hypothetical situation I found on the internet. It goes something like this: if you had 30 seconds to go back in time and give advice to your 16 year old self, what would you say?  I started thinking about how that relates to someone’s professional career. What would your present self tell your past self regarding your chosen profession? That’s how I came up with the 26 things. It could have been any number, but 26 just kind of worked itself out. The link to the book is below:

26 Things I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me About Elearning

Please let me know what you think about it. I always appreciate feedback.

For more tips, check out my book “45 Elearning Tips and Tricks” now available in the Kindle bookstore. Or if you are new to elearning and want some advice, try my other book “Become an Elearning Developer Today!” It’s  a blueprint for getting into the field of elearning development.

Elearning Tip #6: Use Silhouettes in Your Elearning Courses

There are certain times when you just can’t find the right image of a business person; either their dress style is not quite right or you can’t find the right ethnicity (you always want diversity in your elearning courses). In those situations, use silhouettes. Silhouettes can come in handy when you are presenting generic information and need some kind of image to spice up the screen.

 You can find these images on pretty much any stock image website. If you can’t find images, you can create your own if you know a little bit of Photoshop.

For more tips, check out my book “45 Elearning Tips and Tricks” now available in the Kindle bookstore. Or if you are new to elearning and want some advice, try my other book “Become an Elearning Developer Today!” It’s  a blueprint for getting into the field of elearning development.

Great post on Attention Grabbing Ideas for Elearning Courses

I ran across a great post this morning from the Elearning Heroes blog. These ideas have actually crossed my mind before, but I didn’t give them much credence because I thought they might be too “out of the box.” But apparently, other people think they might be useful as well. I am now considering creating a full elearning course with a Facebook style layout. I’ll let you know when I start it…

3 Ideas for Grabbing Attention

For more tips, check out my book “45 Elearning Tips and Tricks” now available in the Kindle bookstore. Or if you are new to elearning and want some advice, try my other book “Become an Elearning Developer Today!” It’s  a blueprint for getting into the field of elearning development.

Elearning Tip #5: Invest in a Good Microphone

Ten years ago, microphones were expensive and not very easy to use. You would have to buy the mic and a mixing board and figure out how to make the mixing board talk to your computer. Those days are gone. Now there are several great USB microphones that plug directly into your computer (no mixing board required). They are inexpensive and very high quality. I use the Blue Snowball microphone which, as of the beginning of 2012, is listed at around $70 on amazon.com. It is extremely easy to use and the sound quality is phenomenal. I use my microphone to create scratch audio for courses (which is basically placeholder audio so you can time animations and for review purposes) and to record my own podcasts. I love my microphone and have found it invaluable in my elearning development.

For more tips, check out my book “45 Elearning Tips and Tricks” now available in the Kindle bookstore. Or if you are new to elearning and want some advice, try my other book “Become an Elearning Developer Today!” It’s  a blueprint for getting into the field of elearning development.

BONUS!

For the next three days only, I am providing the following book absolutely FREE with the purchase of either of my two Kindle books.

“Photoshop for Business Pros: A No-Frills Approach for Learning Photoshop Fundamentals”

If you need to learn the most important aspects of Photoshop for the corporate world, enough to get that big project done on time, this is the fastest and easiest way to do it. The book is a series of how-to tutorials with videos embedded directly inside of the document. It’s cutting edge and it’s yours for free.

Great Post on How Infographics can Help Elearning Courses

Infographics are popping up everywhere nowadays. Many are visually impressive and the text is chunked into very manageable sections. Tom has a great new post on his Rapid Elearning Blog. Check it out. It has alot of great correlations between elearning and these graphics.

Click here to read the post.