This demo is in response to Articulate Challenge# 338: Create an E-Learning Course Starter Template for the 2020 Olympics.
This colorful PowerPoint/Articulate Presenter template has fourteen editable slides. My inspiration was the debut of Skateboarding in the Tokyo Olympics. Select the image below to view the demo.
Download the PowerPoint/Articulate Presenter files in this zipped folder.
Select the image below to roll the dice and play Name that Bird!
This game demo is in response to Articulate’s E-Learning Heroes Challenge #334: How are Designers Using Random Number Variables in E-Learning?
This game gives the illusion that clicking on the Roll Dice button rolls the dice to come up with a question in random order. However, you will never get the same question twice (unless you play the game more than once), so it’s not truly random. To check out how the variables are set up, check out the free download below!
I based my game on a free Storyline 360 template created by Paul Alders. It’s available for download here: Free Rolling Dice Interaction.
Cool Tool
To create the comic book effect with the images I used, I employed the use of a tool relatively new to me: Colorcinch. This online photo editor & cartoonizer is easy to use, and has a free option.
Authoring Tools
Storyline 360 and Colorcinch.
This demo is in response to Articulate’s E-Learning Heroes Challenge #332: How to Survive Anything: E-Learning Edition.
Select the image below to view the demo.
Download the zipped folder here: How to Survive an Earthquake. After downloading to your computer, right-click the zipped folder and select Extract All to find the editable Story file.
The format of the demo was inspired by Clark Aldrich’s Short Sims technique for quickly creating simple, effective eLearning interactions.
For those unfamiliar with Short Sims, here are some examples: https://www.shortsims.com/examples.
Authoring Tools
Storyline 360, eLearning Art, Red Cross Earthquake Safety site
This demo is in response to Articulate’s E-Learning Heroes Challenge #322: Creating Visual Stories with Interactive Photo Collages
Select the image below to view the demo.
Patients struggling with chronic pain need relief. At the same time, medical personnel are charged with the task of preventing the illegal or harmful use of opioids. These challenges can be difficult to reconcile.
In this photo collage demo, Jonathan tells his story about the chronic pain that he lives with. For more information about Pain Management Best Practices, see https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pmtf-final-report-2019-05-23.pdf.
Cool Tool
To create the comic book effect with the images I used, I employed the use of a tool new to me: Colorcinch. This online photo editor & cartoonizer is easy to use, and free! There are more advanced versions of the application that require a paid subscription, but for this demo I went with the free version. Below is a quick example that shows how the free version of the tool can quickly create cartoon versions of a photo. (The image below is not shown in the demo.)
Freebie
Download the story file.
Authoring Tools
Storyline 396, the Articulate Content Library, and Colorcinch.
Coronavirus Word Search Puzzle is my eLearning lightbox demo for Articulate E-Learning Heroes Challenge #316.
Click the image below to play the online eLearning game.
Like many other eLearning developers, I frequently use lightboxes to allow learners to access optional information, as they see fit. In this case, the Instructions button leads to a short video describing how to play the game.
To create the game mechanics, I am indebted to Paul Alders, who shared a free word search interaction demo and Storyline download in the Articulate community website. Select the image below to view Paul’s demo, and download the file he shared.
The first step I took to customize the interaction above was to enlarge the puzzle–I’ve had poor eyesight all my life, and that’s generally the first step I take customizing any eLearning template! I also changed the color scheme/background and added a Powtoon character.
Next, I decided to use sentences as hints for the terms in the puzzle, rather than giving the learner the terms outright. Finally, I created the lightbox slide with a short video to explain how to play the game.
Authoring Tools: Storyline 360, Camtasia, Powtoon
This is an entry for Articulate’s Course Starter Templates for the Healthcare Industry – E-Learning ELH Challenge #171. The template features a slider interaction, click-and-reveal light-boxes, several different types of quiz questions, and has some generic audio instructions included.
Click on the image above to view the demo.
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The template is fully customizable. In fact, this template is a customized version of the my Teamwork Training Free Customized Storyline 2 Template, found here.
There are two versions of the medical template available to download; one for Storyline 2, and one for Storyline 360 (that one will also work for Storyline 3).
Articulate’s eLearning Heroes Challenge #272 is Using Tabs Interactions in eLearning. I decided to create a short interaction about the recent Coronavirus outbreak. All information in the demo comes from the CDC – Centers for Disease Control an Prevention.
Click the image below to view the demo.
Download the free Articulate Storyline 360/3 tabs template.
This presentation was created with Storyline 360.
Click the image below for the demo.
Let’s Play Connect 4! is my response to Articulate’s E-Learning Heroes Challenge #243: How Would You Build a Connect Four E-Learning Game?
I never played Connect Four–I’d never even heard of Connect Four, before being introduced to it through the Articulate E-Learning Heroes website. So, instead of trying to come up with a different version of the Storyline game available on the Articulate website (created by Russell Killips), I decided to add elements to it.
I added an animated introduction, created with Plotagon animation, and edited with Camtasia video editing software. I also included a lightbox with instructions, accessible to users like myself who are new to the game. In addition, I included some sound effects on the Winner and Draw slides.
Free Connect 4 Storyline Download:
Connect Four Freebie By Russell Killips
Authoring Tools: Storyline 360, Plotagon, Camtasia
Using the Paper Cutout Effect to Design E-Learning Graphics – Articulate Challenge #235
Update: The same technique can be applied to photos for a paper cutout effect!
Click here to download the PowerPoint with all the graphics in the tutorial above.
Authoring tools: PowerPoint, Camtasia, Storyline 360
Articulate’s E-Learning Challenge #234 is to create a course starter template, using an office theme.
This editable course starter template is a PowerPoint presentation on the perils of office gossip, which can be imported into Storyline, or used as an Articulate Presenter presentation.
All of the images in the presentation come from the Articulate 360 Content Library. I used PowerPoint’s Artistic Effects tools to transform an Articulate photographic character into a comic book character, to fit with the office comic book theme.
Freebie PowerPoint download: https://secureservercdn.net/72.167.242.48/m3j.4f6.myftpupload.com/234%20office%20theme.pptx
Authoring Tools: PowerPoint, Camtasia for video editing
The Velociraptor is my submission to Articulate’s E-Learning Heroes Challenge #232: Using 3D Models to Build E-Learning.
I created this demo in PowerPoint, using the application’s 3D Model Tools, morph slide transitions, and applied zoom and fly-in animations to the text boxes.
I did a screen capture of the PowerPoint slide show with Camtasia, then added music, sound effects, and an animated end title sequence with the video-editing software. (I’ve found that saving a PowerPoint slide show as a video does not give me as high a quality video as doing a screen capture, when there are many slide transitions and animations in the presentation.)
PowerPoint comes with plenty of free templates and themes. When you open the application, you can search for templates in various categories, as shown in the image below. I searched in the Education category, and found this school report template, which I modified for this presentation. To check out how the morph transition works, you can download the template here: Velociraptor PowerPoint template.
This Leadership 101 template is another submission to E-Learning Heroes Challenge #230: Course Starters: E-Learning Templates for Leadership Training. Click the image below to view the Storyline demo template.
I started creating this demo by leveraging Nicole Legault’s Three Tabs Template, which you can download for free on the Articulate E-Learning Heroes website: https://community.articulate.com/download/storyline-360-3-tabs-templates
To make the template my own, I added several interaction slides from the Articulate Content Library, and changed the color of Storyline’s Modern Player!
Those of you who have an Articulate 360 subscription know that Storyline 360 has two player options: the Classic Player and the Modern Player. The Classic Player can be extensively customized, including choosing your own colors for every aspect of the player. However, the Modern Player has only two overall color options: light, or dark.
In order to customize the colors of the Modern Player, I had to look for help outside of Articulate.
I discovered Cluelabs, a company that offers free, nifty widgets for several eLearning software applications:
Ready-to-use widgets powered by Cluelabs cloud for your Articulate Storyline or Adobe Captivate elearning course.
Using their Storyline 360 Modern Player Custom Colors widget, I created a turquoise player for my Leadership 101 course starter template.
How about you? If you create eLearning courses using Storyline 360, have you missed the ability to customize the colors of the Modern Player?
Storyline 360
E-Learning Heroes Challenge #230 is: Course Starters: E-Learning Templates for Leadership Training. This week’s challenge from Articulate is to share a course starter template for leadership training.
Click the image below to view the Storyline version of my comic book style demo.
I started creating this demo by leveraging Paul Alders’ PowerPoint template, which you can download for free on the Articulate E-Learning Heroes website: https://community.articulate.com/download/powerpoint-comic-strip-template
 Original template |
 My template |
To make the template my own, I changed the colors on the slide master backgrounds, using PowerPoint’s picture tools. I like bolder colors for comic books, so I darkened and increased the color saturation and color contrast on most of the background images. (I thought it would be quicker and easier than it was, because I thought the backgrounds were shapes rather than images! So, I’m not sure I actually saved myself much time in this process!)
I replaced the existing fonts with some I already had on my computer (Bangers & Back Issues BB – both can be downloaded for free), and decided to go with photographic images, rather than cartoons, for the characters in the scenario. I altered the photographic characters by using PowerPoint’s artistic effects. Then, I included some office backgrounds, again altered by using PowerPoint’s artistic effects tools.
I like creating in PowerPoint when I want to manipulate images extensively, using PowerPoint’s image-editing tools. It makes for a smoother workflow for me, rather than uploading images into Photoshop, editing them, then downloading them from Photoshop and uploading them to an eLearning application. When I’ve edited all the images in the PowerPoint to my satisfaction, I can upload the PowerPoint to Storyline, or use Articulate Presenter, to finish my eLearning course and add interactivity. Sometimes I export the PowerPoint to video, and use Camtasia’s video-editing tools and quiz capability, too.
To download my version of the comic book template, click here: https://secureservercdn.net/72.167.242.48/m3j.4f6.myftpupload.com/DevelopLeadershipSkills_ELH230.pptx
PowerPoint, Storyline 360
It’s Mongoose vs Cobra! Who will win? Marty and Mona Mongoose battle the snake charmer’s cobra to get to the finish line. Click on the image below to view the demo, roll the dice, and play the game!
This Storyline game demo is a response to Articulate’s E-Learning Games Challenge #225. The challenge is to create a variation on the classic board game, Snakes and Ladders.
I used Russell Killips‘ original Snakes and Ladders Storyline Game for inspiration. To learn more & download Russell Killips’ freebie Snakes and Ladders Storyline template on the Articulate E-Learning Heroes site, click on the image below.
PowerPoint 365, Storyline 360
Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2019 is Living Coral. To view my Living Coral eLearning Template demo, click the image above.
I customized the Articulate 360 Serenity template by changing the color scheme on the Master Slide, and changed the colors on the Articulate Player to correspond with the new Living Coral theme. I added background images, made available on the Articulate website by Tom Kuhlmann, for visual interest.
The classic Articulate cartoon characters were customized by saving them as Microsoft Drawing Objects, then changing colors as desired, to correspond with Pantone’s Focal Point palette.
Authoring tools for this presentation: Articulate Presenter 360, PowerPoint
Click the image below to view the Articulate Storyline demo, a very late submission to the Articulate ELH Challenge #12: Transform Infographics Into Interactive Graphics
As an instructional designer/eLearning developer, sometimes I’m called upon to create “information dump” eLearning modules. These modules frequently contain a lot of downloadable documents on various disconnected subjects, such as forms for procedural updates.
I created this fun newspaper-themed interactive infographic to demonstrate how such information might be organized in an engaging way. Each pulsating button plays a short animated video, created with Plotagon animation, that describes the document update in question. Learners are encouraged to download the documents from the Resources tab.
Authoring tools: PowerPoint 365, Storyline 360, Plotagon
This demo was one of my submissions to E-Learning Heroes Challenge #204: Comic Book Theme E-Learning Templates #204
Click the image below to view the demo of this Articulate Presenter 360 template in action!
Articulate Presenter is a PowerPoint add-in. If you subscribe to Articulate 360, it’s one of the tools in your arsenal. In this template, I also used an Engage conversation interaction, and a QuizMaker multiple choice question. I edited format of the Engage and QuizMaker master slides to blend with look of the Presenter/PowerPoint template.
The template came from the Articulate 360 content library; I changed the theme fonts on the PowerPoint master slide.
I used PowerPoint’s picture formatting (sharpen 100%, color saturation 200%) and artistic effects tools (Cutout effect, 6 shades, varying transparency levels) to cartoonify the Articulate photographic characters in this template.
I’ve included two freebie versions; the Presenter package if you have access to Articulate Presenter 360, and the PowerPoint only version, if you don’t. In the PowerPoint only version, the Engage 360 and QuizMaker 360 interactions are not included.
Authoring tools: Articulate Presenter 360, PowerPoint 2016, QuizMaker 360, Engage 360
This demo was one of my submissions to E-Learning Heroes Challenge #204: Comic Book Theme E-Learning Templates #204
Click the image below to view the demo of this Storyline 360 template in action!
I was able to create this theme quickly, thanks to the Articulate 360 content library, which has editable themes and multiple cartoon character choices. I changed the fonts for the existing theme, and added larger shadow effects to the characters for a moody effect. The background images also came from the content library.
I used PowerPoint’s picture format and artistic effects tools and to edit some of the images.
FREEBIE Storyline 360 download (modern player):
FREEBIE Storyline 3 download (classic player):
Authoring tools: Articulate Storyline 360, PowerPoint 2016
*Updated 6/17/18 – a new Storyline 3/360 version has been added to the download links below.
This demo was one of my submissions to E-Learning Heroes Challenge #132: Ways to Use JavaScript & Articulate Storyline.
A couple of years ago a client requested a printable certificate option for a Storyline assessment module I was designing. Since Storyline does not have that option, I had to scramble to create the feature. Of course, I did a google search first, and found many different tutorials on the subject.
It turns out there are various ways to create a printable certificate, using JavaScript with Storyline! This example is just one way to go about it.
Preview: Click the image below to view the demo of the Print Certificate template in action!
Two free downloads: The zipped folders each contain the .story file, the printCertificate.html file, and the Storyline output folder.
Customize: To customize the look of the Certificate, edit the printCertificate.html file with any html editor, such as Dreamweaver or Notepad.
Remember: Be sure to insert the printCertificate.html into the Storyline output folder after you publish your Storyline module. Otherwise, the print certificate function will not work! (See the example Storyline output folder in the zip file you downloaded).
Tip: Be sure to pay attention to your browser and/or printer settings before printing or saving the certificate as a PDF. You can control the margins, the header and footer information, and the orientation of the certificate page by adjusting your browser and/or printer settings.
For example, in the Chrome browser (image below), you can uncheck the “Headers & Footers” option to print your certificate without that extraneous information at the top and bottom of the page.
4 Benefits of Donating Blood is my submission to Articulate’s Challenge: Common E-Learning Interactions: Tabs Navigation (2018) #199
I created this new tabs interaction by revamping a free tabs template download created and made available on the Articulate community website by Montse Anderson.
The Benefits of Fruits template is a Storyline 2 template. I upgraded the template to Storyline 360, then changed the colors, fonts, graphics, text, and added text-to-speech audio with background music.
Download the Storyline 360 template by clicking here: Tabs Navigation
I used the font Caviar Dreams for the text. To create the cartoon characters, I used the fonts Kartoon Kutz, and Kartoon Kutz 2. Download all three fonts: 3 Fonts
I used PowerPoint to create the cartoon images from Kartoon Kutz fonts. Get the PowerPoint file by clicking here: Font Characters
Authoring tools: Storyline 360, PowerPoint
This is my entry for Articulate’s E-Learning ELH Challenge #156: Creative Image Effects for Stock Photos in E-Learning. Click the image above to view the Mad Men-inspired demo.
I used PowerPoint to create the comic book photo effects shown in the demo, using the steps shown below. To download the PowerPoint Photo Effects Step-by-Step zip folder, click here.
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This is another entry for Articulate’s E-Learning ELH Challenge #171: Course Starter Templates for the Healthcare Industry. The template is fully customizable. I based the template on the Articulate 360 Journey template, available in the 360 Content Library. I changed the color scheme on the PowerPoint slide master, and added new graphics, some animations and slide transitions. The process was remarkably fast and easy!
Click on the image above to view the demo.
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There are two versions of the medical template available to download in a zip folder; one version is a PowerPoint file, and the other is an Articulate Presenter file. If you don’t have Articulate Presenter, you can still use the PowerPoint file on its own, or import it into Storyline or Captivate.
Authoring Tools: PowerPoint, Articulate Presenter 360
This module has been updated to Storyline 360, using the new text-to-speech closed-captioning feature. You can download either the Storyline 2 or the Storyline 360 version below.
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Editable content slides |
Editable quiz slides |
Download the editable Storyline 2 .story file: http://goo.gl/f2VaRG
Download the editable Storyline 360 file: https://goo.gl/6r9g8g
Authoring Tools: PowerPoint, Storyline 2, Storyline 360
This is an entry for Articulate’s E-Learning Heroes Challenge #183 – Course Starters: Construction Theme E-Learning Templates. Click on the image above to view the demo.
I leveraged the trusty Articulate Content Library and some of my old Storyline 2 presentations to create this course starter template. The themes available in the Content Library are easy to customize, and you can replace the generic images with specific photos from the content library to suit your needs. I added animations, and used PowerPoint to create some visual effects on some of the images.
The Construction Course Starter Template is compatible with Storyline 360 & Storyline 3.
Click to download: https://secureservercdn.net/72.167.242.48/m3j.4f6.myftpupload.com/Construction%20Template%20SL360.zip
Authoring Tools: PowerPoint (for editing images), Storyline 360
This is my entry for Articulate’s E-Learning ELH Challenge # 175: Record and Share Your Training Videos. Click the image below to view the short video tutorial on how to create cartoons using PowerPoint.
My final entry for Articulate’s #ELHChallenge 132 is a freebie template!
In this template, the learner is addressed by name during the course. In Storyline, this is accomplished by creating a user name variable, and having the learner enter their name in a text entry box on the first slide. When the user name variable is triggered on certain slides, the learner’s name will appear.
More fun with variables, triggers, and JavaScript: in this course, the learner can take notes in an online learning journal. At the end of the course, the learner can either print or save their notes, or they can email their notes to themselves, by clicking an icon. This is done by adding some JavaScript for Storyline to execute.
Preview: Click the image below to view the demo of the Print/Email Notes template in action!
Learners can print, save or email their learning journal notes.
Download: The Zip file download contains the .story file, the print.html file, an example logo.png, and the published Storyline output folder: https://secureservercdn.net/72.167.242.48/m3j.4f6.myftpupload.com/PrintNotes.zip
Customize: To customize the print.html file, use any html editor, such as Dreamweaver or Notepad.
Remember: Be sure to insert the print.html file (and your optional logo.png, if you desire) into the Storyline output folder after you publish your Storyline module. Otherwise, the print certificate function will not work! (See the example Storyline output folder in the zip file you downloaded).
Update (June, 2, 2021) – This article was originally posted about 5 years ago, and unfortunately several of the links to the online tutorials and resources I used to create this template are no longer available.
Authoring Tool: Storyline 2.
This is my entry for Articulate’s E-Learning ELH Challenge #172. Click the image below to view the demo.
This challenge is all about creating an e-learning module in black and white. Storyline 360 makes it easy to customize an existing template with lightening speed! I chose a template from the Articulate Content Library, then applied a gray-scale color scheme to the slide master and feedback master.
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A bit of tweaking was necessary to get the colors just right, primarily with the text. I added some entrance animations and slide transitions to the slides. Next, I applied a subtle glow effect to the characters on several slides.
I created a short black and white animated video to go on the media slide, using GoAnimate.
We don’t need no stinkin’ colors!
Authoring Tools: Articulate Storyline 360, GoAnimate (Vyond)
This is yet another entry for Articulate’s E-Learning ELH Challenge #171: Course Starter Templates for the Healthcare Industry. This Storyline 360 template can be customized to suit your needs.
Select the image below to view the demo.
For this health care tabs template, I used the “scrubbed” font below to create characters with a medical theme.
Using PowerPoint, I added color to each font picture, before uploading them to the Storyline template.
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This template was inspired by Trina Rimmer’s Storyline tabs template, available at: https://community.articulate.com/download/storyline-2-progressive-tabs
Authoring Tools: PowerPoint, Articulate Storyline 360
Articulate’s E-Learning Heroes Challenge #154 is to use Pantone’s 2017 Color of the Year, Greenery, in designing an e-learning module. I customized a Storyline 360 e-learning template, using the Greenery color. Click the image below to view the demo.
I also designed a short course with Articulate RISE, featuring Greenery.
Click to download the Freebie Storyline 360 Template:
https://secureservercdn.net/72.167.242.48/m3j.4f6.myftpupload.com/Greenery_Template_Download.zip
Bonus tip! Check out and download David Anderson’s cool Color Tint and Shade Generator!
Authoring Tools: Articulate RISE, Articulate Storyline 360
Articulate’s ELH Challenge #165 is to create custom e-learning graphics using free font icons. Click the image below to see a Storyline 360 demo of my challenge entry.
Get the editable PowerPoint file by clicking here: https://secureservercdn.net/72.167.242.48/m3j.4f6.myftpupload.com/165%20elh%20font%20icon%20challenge.zip
Authoring Tools for this demo: PowerPoint 2016, Articulate Storyline 360
Articulate’s ELH Challenge #139 is to makeover a classic Storyline 1 eLearning interaction. I chose to makeover the FAQ Interaction template, pictured below.
In my Storyline 2 update, I changed the screen size and orientation to portrait, suitable for a tablet or PC, and I’ve given the interaction a responsive expandable accordion FAQ look.
Click the image below to see a demo of the new FAQ Interaction.
Get the editable .story file by clicking here: https://secureservercdn.net/72.167.242.48/m3j.4f6.myftpupload.com/Freebie%20FAQ%20Interaction.zip
Authoring Tool for this demo: Articulate Storyline 2
