elearning – reflective Learning Blog

As I’m sure your’e all aware, universities throughout the world are closing their campuses due to the Coronavirus. Thankfully though most of these universities have been able to make adjustments so that their students can continue with their coursework. In most cases this means that the traditional face to face teaching methods have been substituted with online learning. Lecture slides are being put online for students to access and classes are being video recorded. And while this is undoubtedly a positive move it still poses a number of challenges.

I for one, have found the move to online learning difficult. While my course is delivered both online and on campus as it is, I have always chosen the on campus method of learning. Being on campus means I can attend classes and ask questions if need be. Although I have access to podcasts of my classes, I think it’s easier to learn when I’m there in person. Face to face classes are more interactive than accessing a pre-recorded lecture and there’s no way around it (In my opinion). And although I hate to admit it I find it hard to motivate myself to sit through a recorded lecture. It just doesn’t feel the same.

Perhaps the biggest challenge in all of this campus closure is the fact that I’ve lost access to the library. With the library shut down I’ve been forced to study at home. As someone who hasn’t done a single day of study at home in over 4 years I’m finding it challenging. I live in a small house in a noisy housing estate so it’s difficult to block out the distractions. I had been used to my routine of spending the majority of my day in the library but now that’s been taken away from me. And although I’m far from happy about it, there are more important things at stake now. I’m not the only one in this position so I can take some solace in that. The next few weeks will definitely be challenging as I adjust to this new style of learning. However I intend to use it wisely and will be exploring new e-learning technologies that can make my life easier. It’s important to look on the bright side of life so that’s exactly what I intend to do!

Articulate Storyline is an authoring tool used to create online e-learning courses. It allows users to create e-learning courses which can be delivered to a number of devices. It makes use of a block editing format where users fill blocks with content and connect them to each other.

Key features of Articulate Storyline include:

Audio-animation synchronization
Closed Captioning
Slide Layers
Multi device compatibility
HTML5 and CSS3 support

Recently I’ve had the opportunity to become acquainted with this software. As part of my coursework for a college module I’m expected to create a digital learning resource. While we’ve been given the option to use any software of our choice, I’ve decided to choose Storyline. A major reason behind this choice is that our course were given a workshop in how to use Adobe Articulate. Speakers visited us from a company called Novitas and delivered a presentation that showed the uses of Articulate. Storyline was one of the applications talked about in this presentation and I got a good idea of what it was about. I learned about its key features and how these could be used to create high quality e-learning courses. I therefore decided that it would be best to use Storyline, as there is no point trying to learn another software package that I know nothing about. It also seems that most jobs in e-learning require some knowledge of articulate. If I am to get a job in the field of e-learning in a few months time it’s essential that I learn how to use it. It will also look good if I can produce an example of an e-learning course created with articulate. At the end of the semester I will be creating an e-portfolio that I can show to future employers. Therefore using adobe articulate will benefit both my college grades and career opportunities. They sound like pretty good reasons for becoming an articulate master!

Tag: elearning

Adapting to online learning

Articulate Storyline