
Tuesday, October 24
The Articulate User Conference, hosted by The Learning Guild, returns to Las Vegas this fall as a co-located event with DevLearn 2023.
Through a wide range of sessions you’ll discover tips for using the Articulate 360 apps in exciting ways, learn tricks to streamline course creation, gather inspiration from other creators like yourself, and get a peek at what’s new and next in e-learning. Build your Articulate 360 skills and connect with the E-Learning Heroes community at this action-packed event!
Whether you’re a longtime course creator or brand new to e-learning, you’ll learn how to level up your design and development skills at the 2023 Articulate User Conference.
This year’s event features sessions from Articulate product experts including Tom Kuhlmann, Trina Rimmer, David Anderson, Madison McCartney, and Bianca Woods—as well as members of the community who are pushing the envelope on what can be created with our apps.
You’ll have a dynamic lineup of sessions to choose from covering foundational skills all the way through to advanced course design. Each session will offer a wealth of information to help you expand the e-learning experiences you’re able to create and simplify the processes it takes to build them. And throughout the day, you’ll also connect with other course creators, giving you the opportunity to share challenges and successes and get inspiration and solutions from the community.
Schedule
- Opening Session
- Welcome
- Keynote: Kerry Munz, CTO
Storyline 360 Foundations
- Animating with Impact: Tips and Tricks for Storyline 360
Ron Price, Yukon Learning
Discover practical techniques to enhance your e-learning courses through animations in Storyline 360. Learn how to create attention-grabbing effects, control timing, and engage learners using advanced animation features. Elevate your courses with captivating visual storytelling. - Storyline 360: Time-Saving Tips and Tricks from the Trenches
Ashley Chiasson, Traliant
Supercharge your productivity in Storyline 360! Uncover time-saving tips and tricks to boost efficiency. Explore shortcuts, automation, and workflow optimizations for seamless course development. Harness the power of templates, asset reuse, and other powerful tips. Unleash Storyline 360’s full potential and reclaim valuable time in your e-learning projects. - Interactive Video: Engaging Learners through Immersive Experiences with Storyline 360
Tim Crowe, Kelly Fischer, AT&T
Dive into the world of interactive video and unlock the secrets to creating captivating learning experiences. Engage learners through all sorts of interactive elements. Elevate your e-learning courses with immersive and engaging video content that promotes active learning and drives learner success.
Rise 360 Foundations
- Improve Your Rise 360 Courses with these Creative Techniques
Ginger Swart, Articulate
Unleash your creativity with design hacks for Rise 360. Explore innovative techniques to enhance visuals and create visually stunning courses. Discover image and design tricks to enhance the look and feel of your courses. Learn how to make the most of animations to enrich the learning experience. Unlock the true power of Rise and create impactful and memorable learning experiences that resonate with your learners. - Microlearning to the Max with Rise 360
Melissa Trimble, Articulate
Don’t miss unlocking your e-learning’s full potential! Rise 360 lets you create engaging microlearning experiences that stand out. Join this session to learn practical tricks for turning your course into an infographic, a job aid, interactive scenarios with quizzes, and captivating explainer videos. Let’s take e-learning to the next level! - Tips and Techniques for Creating Accessible Rise 360 Courses
Leslie McKerchie, Articulate
Dive into the world of accessibility and learn how to leverage it effectively in your Rise 360 courses. Discover tips and techniques to ensure your e-learning content is accessible to all learners, including those with disabilities. Explore best practices for designing accessible courses, using alternative text, implementing keyboard navigation, and optimizing multimedia elements. Elevate your Rise 360 courses by mastering accessibility and providing an equitable learning experience for everyone.
Beyond the Tools: Advanced Course Design
- Gamify to Engage: Incorporating Game Design Principles in E-Learning
Tia Pez, Delta Air Lines
Elevate your e-learning courses by infusing game-like elements that captivate and inspire learners. Discover how to create immersive learning experiences by using techniques to incorporate elements such as signifiers, Non Playable Characters (NCPs), rewards, and challenges into your courses. Gain insights into learner motivation and the science behind game play to enhance learner engagement and knowledge retention. - Personality in Motion: Creating Engaging Character-Based Sliders
Jonathon Hill, Entain
Unleash the charm of character-based sliders! Infuse personality into your e-learning courses with expressive characters. Dive into design, animation, and storytelling techniques to engage learners and create unforgettable learning experiences. Elevate your content with captivating character-driven sliders. Let creativity take the lead! - Getting More Advanced Animations with Simple JavaScript Snippets
Jeff Batt, Amazon
Take your animations to the next level with JavaScript. Learn how to enhance your e-learning courses by integrating custom animations using simple JavaScript snippets. Discover techniques for creating interactive effects, smooth transitions, and dynamic visual elements. - Mastering Budgets and Timelines: Remove the Guesswork from Project Planning
Michael Hanly, New Leaf Technologies
Unsure how to decode the costs and timelines behind your eLearning projects? Let’s take the complexity out of budgeting for e-learning projects. Learn to simplify financial planning, estimate costs, and optimize resources to accurately manage your e-learning projects. This session also includes a free budgeting tool to manage your projects and report your ROI.
Working at the Speed of Business
- 5-Minute Course Design Makeovers: Quick Tips for Stunning Results
David Anderson, Articulate
Revamp your courses with 5-minute makeovers! Transform the look and feel with simple yet impactful design techniques. Enhance visual appeal, organization, and engagement. Elevate your course designs and captivate learners with stunning results in no time. Get ready for a design transformation! - From PowerPoint to Powerful E-Learning: Conversion Strategies for Impact
Tom Kuhlmann, Articulate
Learn how to effectively convert PowerPoint presentations into engaging e-learning experiences. Discover techniques to transform static slides into interactive content, leverage multimedia elements, and enhance learner engagement. Unlock the full potential of your PowerPoint materials and create impactful e-learning courses. - E-Learning Mistakes to Avoid: Common Pitfalls and How to Overcome Them
John Moore, Yukon Learning
Avoid common e-learning pitfalls! Uncover practical strategies to identify and rectify mistakes. Tackle content overload, enhance interactivity, refine navigation, and create effective assessments. Gain valuable tips and techniques for optimizing courses and achieving optimal learning outcomes.
Improving Course Design
- Weaving Graphic Design into Instructional Modules for Engaging Learning Experiences
Patience Walton, American Express
Embark on a creative journey! Fuse graphic design with instructional design in this immersive course. Dive into techniques for captivating instructional modules, engaging learners with visuals. Master color, imagery, typography, and layout to enhance e-learning experiences. Elevate your skills and craft visually compelling educational content. - Gamify Compliance Training: Creating Engaging and Impactful Learning Experiences
Suresh Kumar, Tesseract Learning
Why should compliance training be dull? Join this session to explore engaging eLearning courses that create interactive learning experiences through scenarios and gamification. Learn techniques to boost learner motivation and involvement, enhancing knowledge retention and application of regulations. Let’s transform compliance training from boring and monotonous to wow! - Design with Empathy to Build Unshakeable Learner Confidence
Anna West, ChurnZero
Unlock the power of empathy in instructional design! Create engaging learning experiences that meet diverse learner needs. Dive into case studies, develop learning personas, and embrace path-focused instruction. Transform empathy into a deliberate strategy, revolutionizing the way it’s understood and applied in learning.
Real Customers, Real Stories
- Driving Sales Success: Bridgestone’s Innovative Approach with Interactive Video and Gamification
Eduardo Leopold, e-LearningPRO
Discover Bridgestone’s engaging and interactive sales training which combines interactive video, storytelling, custom UX, and gamification to engage and motivate the sales teams. Gain insights into best practices and strategies for leveraging interactive video and gamification in your own training initiatives. - Making a Difference Through Technology: One Organization’s Journey from In-School Lessons to E-Learning
Kerry Gannon, Yukon Learning
Explore how one organization made a profound impact by transitioning from traditional in-school lessons to an e-learning approach. Learn about their challenges and successes to deliver effective and accessible education to underserved families. Gain inspiration and insights into creating meaningful change through innovative e-learning solutions. From the Instructional Design phase of the conversion with storytelling and custom character imagery to engaging interactions and tablet-based development in Storyline 360, we’ll cover it all! - Streamlined Course Management: Templates, Development, Updates, and Maintenance for Effective e-Learning
Alex Ryan, Evolve Solutions Group
Explore best practices for templatizing, updating, and maintaining simple to complex e-learning, software screencasts, scenarios, and simulations using a selection of Evolve’s award winning blended learning modules. Elevate your e-learning workflow with optimized management techniques for enhanced productivity and long-term success. - Badass Branching: Unleashing the Power of Storyline 360
Garima Gupta, Artha Learning
Become a Storyline superhero with badass branching techniques. Learn how to create dynamic and personalized learning paths that adapt to each learner’s choices and progress. Explore advanced branching strategies, conditional triggers, and variables to create immersive and interactive experiences. Elevate your e-learning courses with branching superpowers that engage learners and deliver impactful learning outcomes.
Closing Session
What do past speakers have to say about the event:
- Ashley Chiasson, Manager, Learning and Development, Traliant
The best thing about the Articulate User Conference was getting to engage with members of the community face-to-face and check out all the cool things that people were doing. In development, you can operate in a silo so it’s always nice to get inspiration from your peers and see how you can push tools beyond what you think are the limits. - Brooke Schepke, Chief Design Officer, Yukon Learning
The Articulate User Conference is such a great day of learning: learning best practices and case studies from others, learning about new and upcoming features on the horizon, learning about accessibility trends, meeting new friends and old, and so much more! - Samuel Apata, Senior E-Learning Developer, Starbucks
My experience at the Articulate User Conference has been transformational. Getting a chance to collaborate and share ideas with members of the E-Learning Heroes Community was truly amazing! I always enjoy meeting my online friends and learning about what’s on the roadmap for Articulate. - Zsolt Olah, Sr. Learning Technologist, Amazon
What I love about the User Conference as a speaker is the people in the room. It’s a place where you don’t have to explain yourself. And regardless of what your challenge or big idea is, the solution is in the room.
Session Schedule
Opening General Session: 8:30a – 9:15a
Overcoming Common Challenges with E-learning
Tom Kuhlmann
Our Articulate User Conference kicks off with an exploration of some of the most common challenges that exist within elearning design and development. Join Tom Kuhlmann for a journey examining the biggest hurdles elearning professionals face in their work, and the strategies that can be applied to overcome them.
Break: 9:15a – 9:30a
Block 1: 9:30a - 10:30a
10 Ways to Use Sliders in Storyline 360
Track: Articulate 360 Foundations
Jodi Sansone
One of the most popular and versatile features in Storyline 360 is the interactive slider. Sliders are fun to create and customize, and learners love using them to explore important topics. In this session, we will review diverse ways to use sliders for presenting lists, timelines, processes, photo galleries, data visualizations, before and after comparisons, visual transitions, and choosing a character for branching scenarios.
Using 360° Images to Give Employees a Realistic Look at Their Work Environment
Track: Improving Course Design
Paul Njuguna
Looking for an easy way to give your employees a realistic look at their work environment? 360° images in Storyline 360 are the perfect solution! In this use case, staff members can virtually explore a product sales floor and pick up valuable information along the way through customized markers that feature audio, video, and images.
Block 1A:
9:30a - 9:55a
Three Common Variable Challenges & How to Resolve Them (25 min)
Track: Advanced Course Design
Block 1B:
10:05a - 10:30a
What is xAPI & Why Should I Care? (25 min)
Track: Advanced Course Design
Want to build better and more informed learning experiences? xAPI makes it possible to collect data about the wide range of experiences a person has during the course. In this session, we’ll lay the foundation for understanding xAPI: what it is, what’s required, and how it helps build better learning.
What is Accessible E-Learning?
Track: Build Accessible Courses
Two Challenge Showcases: Fear and Loathing in E-Learning Quiz & Get Kimiko Branching Video Scenario
Track: Showcase & Deconstruction
Jonathan Hill
In this session, we’ll deconstruct an interactive quiz: Fear and Loathing in E-Learning. This unconventional project combines creative ways to use animated gifs, video backgrounds, random variables, and more to create one of the most engaging examples submitted in the weekly e-learning challenges.
Break: 10:30a – 10:45a
Block 2: 10:45a - 12:00
Block 2A:
10:45a - 11:15a
How I Stumbled Into E-Learning and Became a Successful E-Learning Designer (30 min)
Track: Articulate 360 Foundations
Kandice Kidd
E-learning can be a daunting task for anyone, but especially for those with no experience and also being a team of one. But with some careful planning and execution, it can be a very successful endeavor. Join me in this session as I detail my success with e-learning and provide a simple blueprint to help you get better at course design and become a pro using Articulate 360.
Block 2B:
11:25a - 12:00p
Troubleshooting Storyline 360 Courses: Tips to Keep You on Track! (35 min)
Track: Articulate 360 Foundations
Tom Kuhlmann
Have you created an interaction and can’t figure out why it’s not working as it should? Combining triggers, variables, layers, and objects can be a challenge when trying to troubleshoot an interaction. There are tips and tricks to help resolve issues with your courses. In this session, we’ll review ways to make troubleshooting your courses much easier.
Go Beyond Watching Videos and Create Engaging Learning Experiences
Track: Improving Course Design
Zsolt Olah
Are you looking for creative ways to improve video-based courses? In this session, you’ll learn how to use advanced Storyline elements such as triggers, variables, conditions, and a snippet of JavaScript with a pinch of gamification to transform passive video consumption into a more memorable experience. You’ll also learn how to avoid the common mistakes designers make when creating video learning experiences.
xAPI: Getting Started
Track: Advanced Course Design
Matthew Kliewer
Want to learn more about xAPI? A first prototype project is the route many new-to-xAPI learning experience designers use to get started. There are many reasons to choose this route: to build an initial xAPI project as a learning experience; to test the waters; or to convince others at the organization to come on board. In this session, we’ll look at some ways to get started with xAPI.
Block 2A:
10:45a - 11:15a
How to Write Alt Text for E-Learning (30 min)
Track: Build Accessible Courses
Ginger Swart
Alternative text, or alt text, is a text for non-text content in web pages. We tend to think of alt text as being used for images, but it applies to other types of content as well. Alt text serves multiple functions: screen readers announce it in place of images; if an image fails to load, the browser will present the alt text visually in place of the image; search engines use it in their assessment of the page’s purpose and content. In this session, we’ll cover how to write alt text for images, charts, and more.
Block 2B:
11:25a - 12:00p
How to Create an Accessibility Checklist (35 min)
Track: Build Accessible Courses
Raye Shilen
Accessible e-learning isn’t a trend, it’s the right thing to do. But if you’ve never built an accessible course, getting started can feel overwhelming. Using a checklist to guide you while you’re building is a simple way to get started and build new habits. In this session, you’ll learn how to create a checklist for you to use to create accessible e-learning courses, regardless of what authoring tool you’re using
Two Challenge Showcases: Safety Equipment Drag & Drop Activity & Bravehearts Interactive Map
Track: Showcase & Deconstruction
Discovery activities are a great way to engage learners. In this session, we’ll review a themed, interactive map: Bravehearts, and how it was designed with gorgeous graphics and engaging animations. This project features custom avatars, toggle buttons, animated tooltips, and more.
Lunch: 12:00p – 1:00p
Block 3: 1:00p - 2:00p
Top Tips for Streamlining Your Course Development
Track: Build Accessible Courses
Ashley Chiasson
E-Learning developers spend much of their time working within a development tool, but they may not know how to leverage all of the tool’s secrets and hacks to make their development time more efficient. In this session, I’ll be sharing 40-50 top tips so you can streamline your development within Articulate Storyline 360 and unlock a new level of productivity!
Simulation & Gamification as Part of a Blended Learning Strategy
Track: Improving Course Design
This session is an in-depth look at Evolve’s award winning Taco Builder course developed as part of a blended learning strategy for new hires and existing restaurant employees. We will look at the process and methodology from ideation to implementation and performance measurement. Participants will also be given an opportunity to brainstorm on how this type of gamification and simulation could be utilized within their organizations for task-based learning.
How to Extend Storyline with JavaScript Snippets
Track: Advanced Course Design
JavaScript can be used to extend the capabilities of Articulate Storyline. In this session, we will walk through some common JavaScript triggers that can be used to add functionality like pulling in the current date and time, triggering preformatted emails, generating a certificate with the learner’s name, and working with any API. In this session, we’ll learn to work with JavaScript triggers and how to edit them to get the results you want, even if you’re not a JavaScript expert.
My Course Isn’t Accessible! Now What?
Track: Build Accessible Courses
Just about every designer has courses that they’re still responsible for, are still relevant, and unfortunately, aren’t accessible. In this session, we’ll cover how to take an inaccessible course and retrofit it to be more accessible to your learners.
Using Drag & Drop to Simulate Real World Activities
Track: Showcase & Deconstruction
Yvonne Urra-Bazain
How can we engage learners in situations where there may be multiple “correct” answers? In this challenge showcase, we will explore the design and development of a freeform drag and drop deliverable using Storyline 360. We’ll dive into the production process, including applying a Style Guide, workflow tips for inserting vector graphics and working with multiple drag objects, and executing JavaScript to create a print screen for documenting open-ended learner responses
Break: 2:00p – 2:15p
Block 4: 2:15p - 3:15p
Spicing Up Your Rise 360 Course
Track: Articulate 360 Foundations
Want to take your Rise courses out of the box? In this session we’ll explore simple strategies and techniques to spice up your courses and make them more visually engaging.
State of Play: How To Build a Game-Like Quiz in Storyline 360
Track: Improving Course Design
Jonathan Hill
In this session, we’ll deconstruct an interactive quiz. We’ll start by learning how to use Storyline 360’s sliders to create a parallax scrolling background effect. Then how to combine custom quizzing, progress bars, and animated characters into the final project.
Widgets to Help You Do More with Articulate 360
Track: Advanced Course Design
Nicholas Soldatenko
Authoring is easy enough with Articulate 360, but what if you want more functionality? In this session, we’ll explore some creative ways to extend your course authoring using custom free and low-cost widgets where you can do things like create a leaderboard or use Google Sheets as a simple LMS.
Block 4A:
2:15p - 2:40p
Top 10 Most Helpful Accessibility Tools (25 min)
Track: Build Accessible Courses
Elizabeth Pawlicki
Does this text make any sense? Is a learner with a vision disability going to be able to access this course menu? Is my color contrast good enough on my slide? Where do I get closed captions? These are all questions we may ask ourselves when creating courses, and there are loads of tools out there to help. In this session, I’ll show you my top 10 favorite tools for creating
Block 4B:
2:50p - 3:15p
Making the Business Case for Accessibility (25 min)
Track: Build Accessible Courses
Leslie McKerchie
Have you hit a roadblock somewhere in your company when trying to advocate for creating accessible courses? Have you been told that creating accessible courses takes too long, is too expensive, and there aren’t enough learners in your company who need accessible courses? Accessibility is not only good for learners – it’s good for business. In this session, we’ll cover how to make the business case for accessible e-learning in your organization.
Block 4A:
2:15p - 2:40p
Challenge Showcase: Zooming in on a Masterpiece (25 min)
Track: Showcase & Deconstruction
Jodi Sansone
Sometimes course creators need to explain a complex visual such as a map, document, form, diagram, or photo. There are many features that can zoom in or isolate parts of a visual to make it more digestible for learners. In this session, we’ll review how to use Storyline’s zoom features, built-in markers, and layers to explore complex visuals.
Block 4B:
2:50p - 3:15p
Storyline Showcase: Adaptive Interactions (25 min)
Track: Showcase & Deconstruction
Alex Ryan & James Oakley
This showcase will demonstrate examples of how Storyline can be used to break down complex technical topics through adaptive interactions and simulations.
Break: 3:15p – 3:30p
Closing General Session: 3:30p - 4:30p
Articulate360: What’s New & What’s Next?
Madison McCartney
Our closing session looks to the future, exploring some of the latest features of Articulate360 that can take your next project to even greater heights, as well as a sneak peak into some of the upcoming features you can look forward to in future updates!
Do More and Save More!
Save $100 on your Articulate User Conference registration when you also register for DevLearn—in addition to all other discounts for which you may qualify!