Learning professionals often create and deliver learning without huge budgets for tools, but it is impossible to be effective instructional designers, training managers, or learning developers without knowing the tools of those trades. Fortunately, many of the best tools for creating and delivering online learning are free or very inexpensive!

In this session you will learn about a plethora of design and development tools that are completely free. You will also get a snapshot of each and how you can leverage them today in your organization. You will leave this session with information on accessing the websites of the curated tools and resources you’re exploring.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to create your learning solution on a budget
• How to access the various free or low-cost tools
• How to access the website showing all the tools
• An overview of the various tools

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers and developers.

Are you a Storyline 2 user? Maybe you were self-taught or used Storyline 1 and are now using Storyline 2? Storyline 2 offers expanded capabilities that are often underutilized, which if applied can create more engaging learning experiences. 

In this hands-on session, you will explore features that will make working on your courses easier and faster. Learn how to build interactivity with the new sliders feature, make your content dance with motion paths and slide transitions, and disable your Next button to better ensure learners have explored all the content they need to learn. 

In this session, you will learn:

• How to navigate through some of the new features in Storyline 2
• How to build a simple slider to create an interactive learning environment
• How to add creative motion paths to your slides
• How to restrict navigation until your learner has met certain expectations 

Audience:
Intermediate designers and developers who are familiar with Storyline and eLearning concepts.

Technology discussed in this session:
Storyline 2.

As technology changes the way we live our day-to-day lives, it is fascinating to imagine what the future will bring. As a learning and development professional, however, it’s very hard to keep up the pace. What technology will be trending and will change the way we live and learn, and what technology will be nothing but hype? Will augmented reality really disrupt our learning? And how about virtual reality and wearable tech? And, more importantly, will we ever be able to afford those technologies as learning supporting tools?

During this session, we will discuss some of the latest technologies by exploring some really cool free or inexpensive tools and apps that can be used as learning amplifiers. Those tools and apps could change the way L&D supports learning and can have an impact on your employees. You will leave being on top of the latest trends and technologies, and will see the benefits of adopting those tools as a verified learning partner.

In this session, you will learn:

• The latest tech trends for learning
• Ten free or inexpensive tools
• The benefits of technology for performance
• How to embrace technology as a learning partner

Audience:
Novice developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Wearable tech, augmented reality, virtual reality.

Learners are more likely to persist online if engaged in their courses and the educational experience is personalized. Personalized e/mLearning communicates a supportive, nurturing, and respectful learning environment. Branding allows you to tailor the experience and speak to the learners; however, doing so effectively and consistently can be tricky. 

In this hands-on session, you will learn to develop an agency brand by building an effective template that is professional and consistent. You will explore the concept of Master Slides and how to apply them in your Captivate projects, as well as learn how to navigate the Object Style Manager. 

In this session, you will learn:

• How to build a template in Captivate
• How to use Themes
• How to use Master Slides
• How to use the Object Style Manager 

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers and developers with basic Adobe Captivate skills. 

Technology discussed in this session:
Current version of Captivate.

As learning practitioners, we strive to understand the real life environment of experts as much as possible. But getting access to really see how they do their jobs when they are in a more technical or hands-on role (i.e., construction, refinery, factory) is difficult. Many times we can’t get access to use video or real-life images because of safety or clearance constraints. This poses a challenge as we try to create impactful learning materials.

In this session you will see how we can now equip subject matter experts with a GoPro camera that they can wear on their chests or hard hats and control it from our phones or tablets. You will see what it looks like within their environment and capture it in the form of a video to put into a course or as easy-access performance support. This session will show you how to quickly set up and use the device. You will learn how to help leadership understand the viability of this technology and set a strategy for success.

In this session, you will learn:

• How a GoPro can become another tool in your development toolbox
• How to discuss this as a viable option with a client (or a manager) and set a strategy for success
• How easy it is to set-up and learn how to use it
• Tips and best practices for success

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
GoPro, iPad, and iPhone.

You’re all excited about the promise of an Experience API-enabled world, but you’ve still got a learning management system (LMS) and a whole host of SCORM-based courses. Now what? In most cases, you’ll need to manage the transition—read: republish your library for the Experience API (xAPI)—over the months and years to come. But what if you could get the most out of both an LMS and a learning record store (LRS) at the same time as you move to your next-generation learning-and-performance infrastructure?

In this session, you will learn what to do with xAPI statements. You’ll discover how an LRS is different from—and similar to—the LMS you already have. You’ll review your options when it comes to LRSs and how LRSs can work (and can’t work) with your LMS. You’ll also learn the considerations to keep in mind when looking for an LRS, get a list of key questions to ask when selecting an LRS for your environment, and gain insights into both the learning and infrastructure aspects of xAPI from early adopters.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to identify the benefits of an LRS, both in contrast to and in combination with your LMS
• How to choose from among three types of LRS options
• About potential options for your next-generation learning-and-performance infrastructure
• What key questions to ask potential LRS vendors to narrow your search

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced managers, directors, and VPs with a basic knowledge of xAPI and LMS capabilities.

Technology discussed in this session:
xAPI, LMS, LRS

Intellectual property law affects every stage of the development process. Yet, it is daunting and complex. Trying to gain a working knowledge can be overwhelming. As a result, decision making is rooted in ignorance, fear, or frustration, none of which contributes to project goals. The continuing struggle to quickly develop content may lead you to infringe on someone else’s work, expose your work to an unpleasant legal action, or miss out on using free media to enhance your projects.

In this session, you will learn about copyright essentials through an entertaining snapshot of the law and recent cases. Learn how to apply legal concepts such as the fair use doctrine to everyday scenarios. You’ll become more confident finding sites that offer public domain, Creative Commons, and open access–licensed works. Developing an applied understanding of copyright law and learning how to find media you can use will help you become more productive and focused as you maximize your financial and creative resources.

In this session, you will learn:

• Copyright and fair use basics
• Which recent court cases are interesting and important
• How to find online media you can use
• About Creative Commons licenses and which are most accommodating
• How to correctly attribute media you use

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
API for Creative Commons licenses and plugins for proper attribution of work.

eLearning developers are often challenged with making learning more interesting or interactive. Games provide an opportunity to meet both needs. You’ve read the research on their impact and you know that games have been useful learning tools through all the stages of life, but building games in eLearning has been a challenge for those who do not know how to program.

In this session you will learn the process for designing and building simple learning games using Articulate Storyline 2. Starting with a simple framework, you’ll leverage some key elements such as Variables and randomization. You will leave this session knowing how to design and build your own learning games without needing programming skills!

In this session, you will learn:

• How to create a framework of a simple game
• How to create randomization
• Whether Variables are needed for a particular effect
• To decide which Variables work best in different situations

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced designers and developers who are very comfortable with the basics of Storyline. Participants should be able navigate around the interface quickly and easily. Some experience with Variables and Conditions is helpful.

Technology discussed in this session:
Storyline 2.

Participant technology requirements:
A PC or Mac running Windows Storyline 2.

Adobe Presenter works perfectly in some situations and not others. Knowing when to use a particular tool is half the battle. Adobe Presenter features many new possibilities for you to use it if the situation calls for it.

In this interactive session, you will learn how and when to use features like learner collaboration as a way to bring authentic conversation into your course module, speech to text and annotation to enable a personal video creation, and how to use the drag-and-drop interface to create meaningful and engaging interactions without any programming and right inside Microsoft PowerPoint. This session will focus on the best features of Adobe Presenter and give you the tips that make using Presenter a delight!

In this session, you will learn:

• When to use Adobe Presenter and when not to use it
• Which features in Adobe Presenter make your learning shine
• How to incorporate real interactivity into your learning
• How to balance what PowerPoint offers with the features of Presenter

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Presenter.

Participant technology requirements:
Laptop with Adobe Presenter, licensed or trial version.

Authoring, particularly cloud-based, is a growing segment for L&D. With numerous platforms and approaches to consider, having a strong framework with which to source, assess, and evaluate a tool is critical. Selecting the wrong technology for authoring your learning assets can prove costly to the organization and its learners if critical criteria or processes are overlooked or misunderstood.

In this session you will learn, through shared experience and lessons learned, how to select the right criteria for evaluating cloud-based authoring tools and conducting a hands-on trial. You’ll also learn to identify a critical business-process criterion that should form the basis for the evaluation strategy that goes beyond “really cool features.”

In this session, you will learn:

• How to define your features and functions matrix
• The business process criteria that should drive your selection
• How to rate and rank a shortlist of tools or platforms
• The criteria for running a hands-on trial
• How the initial vendor contact can set the tone for the long-term experience
• How to align the business needs with the tool and platform features

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Cloud-based eLearning authoring platforms and tools.

The ability to customize content for learners is the best tool in the hands of eLearning authors. Learning is better when you can customize the experience based on learner choices, responses, specialization, and scores achieved in a quiz. It would be even better if you have the ability to serve content to learners based on their location. 

In this session, you will learn the multiple ways to create a location-aware course. You will learn how to utilize the global positioning system (GPS) capabilities of mobile devices to deliver timely, location-aware content to learners using Adobe Captivate. You will also see how to create courses/assessments that require learners to be at a particular geolocation to mark it as complete. 

In this session, you will learn:

• About the geolocation variable in Adobe Captivate
• How to create location-aware courses using the geolocation variable and advanced actions in Adobe Captivate
• How to create location-based assessments
• Best practices and examples of location-aware courses 

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced designers and developers with basic Captivate development skills. 

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Captivate, iPad, iPhone, Android devices. 

Participant technology requirements:
Latest version of Adobe Captivate.

A state healthcare agency made a significant investment in new technology with the purchase of Microsoft Office 365 (SharePoint, Outlook, Excel, etc.), but there was a known gap in the digital skills of agency employees. Due to budget constraints, it had been several years since the last technology upgrade and as a results the employees had no experience with Office 365 and limited experience with productivity tools in general. However, the employees were not without relevant learning content. They had a catalog of eLearning courses on Microsoft Office and a learning management system (LMS) to make them available. Yet this skills gap remained an issue...

This session will describe a systems approach to building a learning ecosystem that provided a smooth user experience, relevant formal and informal learning content, and a collaborative platform to share the journey. This session will describe how SharePoint 2013 can be integrated with an LMS to provide performance support and social learning to engage, enable, and empower over 4,000 people in a state agency.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to leverage SharePoint for social learning
• How to integrate your LMS with SharePoint
• How to leverage instructional videos in SharePoint
• How to use SharePoint to curate external learning content

Audience:
Intermediate designers and novice managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
SharePoint 2013, Meridian LMS, PC, iPad.

Scenario-based learning is a proven effective method for learning using complex real-life situations. However the effort and technology to develop scenarios has often appeared to be too complex, expensive, and time-consuming. Today though, authoring tools have advanced to make designing and developing robust scenarios to be easier and more efficient than ever before.

In this session, you will learn how to build templates for scenario-based learning courses that will increase learner engagement while drastically cutting development time. You will build a scenario-based learning template that you can use, saving time, money, and frustration. Using Advanced Actions and Variables you will create a decision-based branching scenario with complex interactions.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to set up a scenario
• How to build a template
• How to create complex interactions
• How to save and reuse Advanced Actions

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Captivate.

Participant technology requirements:
A laptop with the latest version of Captivate installed.

Learning professionals are always looking for the best and most efficient way to distribute training, education, and performance support. Sometimes that is face-to-face (F2F), other times online, and there are times where a blended approached is best. You can easily and cost-effectively create an online or blended approach by using readily available online tools and resources. No expensive LMS is needed!

In this case-study session you will learn how Southlake Regional Health Centre created a free blended solution using WordPress and other online resources to distribute course materials, provide participant discussion opportunities, and solve some issues that traditional LMS delivery poses. You will gain insights from the many lessons they learned as they attempted to enhance the learning experience of an established multi-day program with a more blended approach.

In this session, you will learn:

• How they created a blended-delivery learning system using free or inexpensive online resources and tools
• Which features to look for in a WordPress template to best meet the needs of online learning
• How to set up a WordPress site to optimize it for delivery of training and learning materials and resources
• Where to find inexpensive resources that you can use to enhance the learner’s online experience

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

eLearning and instructional designers are often asked to turn long blocks of content into a product that is effective and engaging. On top of that, everyone wants a product that is mobile-ready and adaptive. How can designers with limited skills in programs like After Effects or Blender and limited coding skills create products that fit the content-focused needs of our clients?

In this session you will learn how to create interesting motion-graphics animations using Microsoft PowerPoint. You will see how these animations are flexible in the types of content they can get across—emotional, didactic, or in-between. You will also practice the basics of using PowerPoint to develop motion graphics for use in your eLearning course. Finally, you will learn how to integrate animations into standard eLearning, and consider how to talk with clients about using the most appropriate content medium for different types of content.

In this session, you will learn:

• When motion-graphic animations are most effective
• A simple process for developing a script and storyboard
• The nuts and bolts of using PowerPoint to construct complex motion graphics
• Resources for adding music, sound effects, and voiceover narration to your animations
• Ways to share and distribute your finished animations to your learners

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers and developers with strong PowerPoint skills and an interest in visual design of information.

Technology discussed in this session:
Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 or 2013.

Participant technology requirements:
A Mac or Windows computer with Microsoft PowerPoint (minimum of 2010, 2013 preferred) installed. A pair of headphones is also helpful, but not required.