Week Eight

Hello!

Week Eight was easy peasy and EXACTLY what I needed!  Our actually class for week eight was a bit different, in that we each had a specific review time slot where we reviewed our project with our professor.  It was a great opportunity to put out what we've already created, get feedback, and ask any questions.  While I was logged in just during my timeslot, a few my other classmates seemed to be present the entire time.  I did get in a few minutes early and was blown away by what some of my classmates have created so far - wowzaaaa!

 I have been bogged down trying to get my background template perfect in photoshop before I start actually building in Captivate - something I'm sure to regret within the next 3 weeks.  This is the same problem I have at work where I can't start the actual work on something until I have all the extras in play.  I don't know why that is, but I'm going to go with the excuse that it is in an effort to avoid have to change the entire layout at the end.  I will also credit this terrible tendency to the reinforcement I received in my Adobe sanctioned Captivate course, where our instructor created amazing graphics in Photoshop before importing them into Captivate.  He mentioned how he doesn't do a bit of work on a project until he has everything he needs from the client - this is my new approach.  So far this was worked out alright for me, but as my clients increase their turnaround time this may not be the best avenue for me to pursue.

So I've gotten not just my layout and custom buttons completed, but I've also made multi-functional buttons so when they are rolled over or clicked they have a different appearance.  This is the super-cool thing that has taken me weeks to do and I'm starting to wonder if they will even work since I don't have 5.5.  I guess we'll see, either way I now know how to change the hue/saturation to images within Photoshop - and here's a hint it doesn't work on jpeg but somehow on .pngs.  So as an earlier post states - I'M IN LOVE WITH .PNGs!!!

This past week I was able to attend an advanced training on Adobe InDesign - which is the topic of the modules I am creating for 681.  I learned so much about InDesign that I didn't know and I am trying to be very careful about "product dumping" on the audience of my intro module. 

Well time to get back to storyboarding (for work), catch you in week nine of the summertime!

Ahh rhyming, don't judge!

Week Seven

In week seven we learned about Audacity which is a free music editing software similar to Adobe Soundbooth.  We reviewed the Audacity interface and took some time to practice deleting portions of sound files.  We focus on removing the portion of a sound file that had singing and voiceover, in order to just have the background music.  This type of editing could be done to use the instrumental portion of a song as intro or outro music for an online module.  We also learned we could loop this section of music in order to extend its play time. 

We then moved into Captivate and learned how to add audio into our Captivate projects.  We saw how audio integrates into the timeline and practice adding audio to specific objects within a slide.  This could be useful in a situation where children learn sounds, for example by clicking on the cow a 'Moo' sound would be triggered.  In a professional instance, it could be used to help mechanics recognize 'bad' sounds of a specific piece of machinery. 

Next week we are using our class time to do individual reviews of our projects, my slot is at 7pm.  I've completed the storyboard for the first of two modules and am now working on solidifying the artwork for the layout of my modules.  I am working to develop custom buttons, which will vary in color depending on if they are active, have been clicks, etc.  I am also tinkering with Captivate and InDesign to determine the size of my recordings.  I have to find a nice balance between the space for the movie on the screen and the area for text, I am unsure if I will be using audio in my modules.  I actually am attending a two day advanced InDesign training this week, so hopefully with the feedback from my review and what I learn in training I will be even more prepared to begin building the module. 

Until Week Eight!

Week 5 (and a Thunderstorm delay)

Happy Belated 4th of July!  A few updates before we get into what was covered during Week 5.  

• Quickly after my Week 4.5 post, I figured out that I was supposed to post my Analysis Report & Objectives to the discussion board.  This synchronous class thing is a strange bird and hopefully I can get the swing of it before the semester ends.  
• Due to the serious thunderstorms that kicked off our nation's birthday Week 6 was postponed.  Luckily I somehow avoided the storm and any side effects that were going on.  So I took advantage of my time at the beach and enjoyed an impromptu "spring break".  

Week 5 was an exciting time in Captivate.  We were introduced to pointers, buttons, and highlights, we able to practice with each, and even took some time to learn how to do custom buttons.  I am planning on doing one or two custom buttons for the 'home' and 'quiz' function of my InDesign tutorials, that will mainly depend on my ability to find acceptable images from Fotolia.  Fotolia is the stock image site we use at my company and I suspect it may not be the best stock image site out there, but I'm not the one who pays the bill.  

Since deciding to pursue the InDesign module, I spoke with the Training Manager to let her know the new deliverable that will be available to her team.  I'm pleased to say she was excited and hopefully it will be a valuable tool to expand the facilitators skill sets.  

Well, its time to keep on storyboarding!  

Catch you at the end of Week 7!

Cortney