For the past several weeks I have been detailing the process I use in creating an e-learning course. Last week I discussed importing a course that was designed in PowerPoint into Storyline. This week we will cover customizing the player and the quiz feedback master in Storyline to make your course more unique.
Customizing the Player
First, let's start with customizing the player. Storyline has a built-in player that wraps your e-learning course. The standard template has the menu and notes on the left side bar, the progress bar with Previous and Next buttons at the bottom of the player, and some additional links such as resources in the upper right hand corner.It is set to different shades of gray.
You can customize these items as much or as little as you want. For instance, you can move the menu to be at the top left corner as a drop down so that you have no left side bar at all. To do this you would click on the word Menu under Player Tabs in the Player Properties screen and use the down or up arrows to move it where you want it to be on the player - Topbar Left, Topbar Right, or Sidebar.
Customizing the Player
First, let's start with customizing the player. Storyline has a built-in player that wraps your e-learning course. The standard template has the menu and notes on the left side bar, the progress bar with Previous and Next buttons at the bottom of the player, and some additional links such as resources in the upper right hand corner.It is set to different shades of gray.
You can customize these items as much or as little as you want. For instance, you can move the menu to be at the top left corner as a drop down so that you have no left side bar at all. To do this you would click on the word Menu under Player Tabs in the Player Properties screen and use the down or up arrows to move it where you want it to be on the player - Topbar Left, Topbar Right, or Sidebar.
You can also make changes to the player tabs - for example changing the word Resources to be Course Resources instead. Using the Text Labels button on the Player Properties window you will see all kinds of words that you can change that are part of the player. If you would prefer the buttons to say Forward and Back instead of Prev and Next, you would change those items here.
Lastly you can change the color of the player to match the colors in your course or to make the player invisible as I did in this course. These types of changes are done under the Colors & Effects button. There are several built-in color schemes to choose from under the Color Scheme drop down or you can create your own using the Show Advanced color editing link. When using the advanced editing features, it can be a bit of trail and error trying to figure out what item is being changed. So Articulate has created a cheat sheet to show you what each of the items will change.
Customizing the Feedback Master
Another way to customize the look and feel of your course is to change the standard feedback master. You can do this by going to View> Feedback Master. All of the feedback masters will appear and you can edit these just like you would edit any other slide master. Once you have made the changes to the feedback master, any quiz questions that you add in to the course will take on the new look and feel you created for your feedback. Don't forget to add in animations as well to these masters! In the example below, I just made the gray feedback shape stretch across half of the screen rather than being a small rectangle in the middle of the screen (the standard Storyline feedback master). This also allows me to add in more feedback while keep the font a readable size.
Another way to customize the look and feel of your course is to change the standard feedback master. You can do this by going to View> Feedback Master. All of the feedback masters will appear and you can edit these just like you would edit any other slide master. Once you have made the changes to the feedback master, any quiz questions that you add in to the course will take on the new look and feel you created for your feedback. Don't forget to add in animations as well to these masters! In the example below, I just made the gray feedback shape stretch across half of the screen rather than being a small rectangle in the middle of the screen (the standard Storyline feedback master). This also allows me to add in more feedback while keep the font a readable size.
But you can be even more creative by adding in backgrounds, colors, characters, etc. Whatever you can normally do for a slide, you can do for your feedback master. Here is another example of a feedback master that has been customized.
So those are just a few ways that you can customize the look and feel of your course created in Storyline. Here are some additional resources to help you.
Next week I will cover recording audio narration in Audacity.
Next week I will cover recording audio narration in Audacity.
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