Tutorial: Customize Lectora’s Editor List
In: Tutorials
4 Apr 2009
Building an eLearning course in Lectora is similar to building a puzzle. You bring in the different objects (images, audio, video, animations, etc), and assemble them together in a logical order to form a seamless whole.
In a perfect world, all the puzzle pieces would fit perfectly together with seamless transition. In reality however, sometimes that great stock photo you found a week ago suddenly doesn’t work so well in conjunction with a page’s text and audio. Or your audio decibel levels may be inconsistent, so one page seems too loud while others are too quiet.
What kind of designer am I?
In: Uncategorized
28 Mar 2009That’s a tricky question that I try to avoid. However for sanity’s sake, I think I should set the record straight. First off, I don’t do any fashion, jewelry, or interior decorating. You won’t see a me releasing a limited edition designer hand bag any time soon. And although I have been known to paint furniture occasionally, it is definitely not my forte or vocation.
My official title at work is Graphic Designer. My background is in web design, but most what I do falls into the category of eLearning instructional design. So which is it? Well it depends on which day you ask. Like most folks these days, I’m often switching hats at work.
Some days I’ll work solely in Adobe Flash creating animation sequences or interactive exercises for our web based training courses. Other days I’ll be setting up the courses themselves in Lectora (an eLearning authoring tool). And of course, I’ve always got Adobe Photoshop open in the background.
Early next week, I’ll create the monthly flier for weekly “Lunch ‘n Learns” our department hosts. I’ve had the opportunity to lead a few of those discussions, and hopefully will get the chance to do more soon.
Sometimes I end up troubleshooting an associates’ issues in our LMS (learning management system). I’m fortunate to have done customer service over the phone in the past, so helping someone reset their username and password is a breeze.
A couple weeks ago I got to play photographer, and took pictures of our distribution center which I then used to create an interactive map of the facility.
So what kind of designer does that make me? I honestly have no idea, but I suppose Graphic Designer is a suitable title. Apart from setting me up for a future identity crisis, I don’t mind wearing so many different hats at work. In fact, the variety makes what I do so enjoyable.
In search of a second income
In: Misc. Posts
22 Feb 2009In this economy, I am fortunate enough to have a job at a company which is actually experiencing growth. Upper management has also restated their commitment to our department as recently as a few months ago. For these and other reasons, I spend very little time worrying about becoming unemployed, but still feel compelled to pursue a second income.
Since I’m breaking a barrier and talking about my job, I don’t feel comfortable naming my employer. However, I will say that I work as the graphic designer for the training department of a nationwide retail chain. We primarily build web based training courses (eLearning) using a program called Lectora, and upload them to our learning management system (LMS) so anyone in our stores across the country can access them.
We’ve created some engaging courses, and continually try to break out of the traditional web based training mold which can easily be boring, ineffective, and a waste of everyone’s time. We just finished a series of courses for new managers. The final course simulated a typical day in the life of a manager. We threw common problems at the user, and it was up to them to plan their day accordingly.
We keep trying different ideas to create courses that connect better with the end learner, keep them engaged, and allow them to retain more knowledge. This usually involves visually presenting information in compelling ways, and structuring the navigation in a different, non-linear fashion.
I bring this up because I think it may be the key to creating a second income in the near future. Many other training departments are downsizing, and more responsibilities are falling on fewer people. Few have the budget to hire a graphic designer full-time, and many non-designers are doing their best create good looking training that doesn’t come out looking like boring PowerPoint presentations.
This creates an opportunity for someone in my position to share my knowledge. How can I deliver that knowledge to others effectively? Is there a way to monetize that delivery? What about this blog or a new one? What about writing an e-book? How much knowledge can I share without breaking the non-disclosure agreement I have with my employer? These are the thoughts running through my head recently, and I find them both exciting and daunting. Any advice is welcome.
Good Deal for Good Cause
In: Design Posts
10 Feb 2009The recent Australian brush fires have been devastating. It’s being estimated that the destruction is comparable to 500 Hiroshima bombs. What, if anything, can a designer or developer do to help?
Luckily Sitepoint, maker of splendid and simple books on web design and development, has a 5 for 1 book deal going on until Friday. For $29.95 you can download 5 Sitepoint books (PDF), and 100% of the proceeds will go to aid brush fire victims via Austraillian Red Cross.
I own two Sitepoint books already, and can say they are quick reads, and cover the basics in plain english. This is a deal that shouldn’t be passed up, and best of all it all goes toward a good cause.
Sitepoint 5 for 1 book deal - Deal ends Friday, Febuary 13th 2009
Finish Line
In: Dad Posts
8 Feb 2009First of all I should apologize for any Internet Explorer users that had problems reading posts. Since I don’t use IE unless I have to, I only recently noticed past posts were slamming into each other due to bad code or something or other. I’m still getting the hang of using wordpress to make blog posts. Now onto business.
I just wanted to make a quick post summing up the Pinewood derby that took place last weekend. My son’s car did ok, and came in first a couple times. I convinced him to go with a shark design that was cool looking, but also had a chance at speed. We glued a fin in the middle, and painted a mouth to mimic P40 fighter planes from world war II .
My original concerns for intense competition were exaggerated. Our pack DOES have a fancy aluminum 4 lane track with timers, and they were critically important. We had several ties at 1/1000th of a second.
Overall it was a great time, and I’m looking forward to next year and all the other scouting events in between.
Pinewood Preparation
In: Dad Posts
23 Dec 2008Saturday afternoon will be a big day for my children. They will begin the process of carving blocks of wood into pinewood derby cars. If you’re not familiar with the event, it is a Cub Scout tradition where young Scouts (and now siblings) race customized blocks of wood with wheels down a sloped track. Not since Newton has gravity caused so much excitement!
Apparently people (fathers mostly) are REALLY into this now, and competition can be fierce yet still friendly. Thanks mostly to the internet; you can find ways to increase the speed of a car by modifying minute details. Our own cub master suggests baking the wood block to release moisture trapped in the wood. This would free up more weight which we could supplement in strategic places, and not go over the limit. But I’ll just be satisfied if I get the wheels on successfully without a noticeable wobble.
Honestly, I’m a bit turned off by the extreme competiveness of the modern Pinewood Derby. I don’t remember my three derbies being this way growing up. Perhaps my memory is off, but I thought we released our cars by hand on a “3, 2, 1, Go!” basis. Then the cars raced and finally crashed into a cardboard box with a blanket for cushioning. Tracks now definitely release more accurately, and looking online I even saw a finish line with millisecond time recorders for irrefutable final results. Apparently there are no “hanging chads” in today’s Pinewood Derby.
Regardless of how it is now, I have found memories of the old derbies and coming in third place one year. By my final year, I wasn’t even too concerned with speed. Putting a LEGO man in the driver’s seat was purely ascetic. She was a show horse, and not a race horse that went on to win “best design”.
Now as a professional designer, and previous “best design” title holder, I feel some pressure to make something that will stand out as cool looking and still be faster than… a block of wood. I have some ideas I will suggest, but of course will cater to the kids’ final wishes. Ill keep you posted.
What is RSS, and why should I care?
In: Design Posts
6 Dec 2008I’ve been getting word that family and friends are coming to this site. Thats good, but if it’s truly the case then it’s time for an intervention. I’m aware of none of you who use RSS, but you would be wise to enter the 21st century and discover it’s advantages. Why? Because it just makes sense in this day and age as our need to filter information becomes increasingly difficult. We’ll go over what RSS is in a moment, but first we need a brief history lesson.
RSS is to the web, what sliced bread was to… well bread! Today, it is hard to imagine early Homo sapiens laboriously using a knife to cut their own bread. Usually it took an entire day to make it through an entire loaf making exhaustion and starvation a fact of daily life. Luckily with the marvelous invention of sliced bread, the barbaric practice of self-slicing was banned in the early 20th century. Who could forget Teddy Roosevelt’s famous decree:
“Everything henceforth that is great will forever pay homage to sliced bread; the greatest invention of all times.”
Despite getting banned from Wikipedia for saying so, this is where we get the phrase: “Greatest thing since sliced bread.” Nothing has been able to surpass it greatness. Until now!
RSS is better than sliced bread because it reverses the way information is gathered. Taking advantage of RSS feeds, you will no longer have to go directly to sites daily to see if there is new information. In fact, now the information comes to you! In a way, subscribing to a website’s RSS feed is like signing up for an email newsletter, only better.
RSS stands for “really simple syndication” and it’s just that. But enough from me as I’m not much of a technology evangelist. Let’s watch this simple Common Craft video that will hopefully make everything clear:
As mentioned in this video, you can use Google Reader with an account. The great thing about Google, Yahoo, and similar sites is that a single account can be used for all services. For example, if you already have a Gmail account, use the same user name and password to start using Google Reader.
After you are set up keep an eye out for that orange RSS feed icon like the one I have on this site. In fact, after you get set up, why not return here and click on it. Google Reader is kind enough to know what to do from there, but if you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments. In time you’ll notice all your favorite sites will likely have RSS feeds you can subcribe to, and eventually your reader will be the first thing you go to online. Someday, you will thank me.
DIY Light Box
In: Design Posts| Misc. Posts
23 Nov 2008
Following the example of others online, I created my own DIY (do it yourself) lightbox for photographing small objects on isolated white backgrounds.
If you don’t count my wife wondering where all her white parchment paper went next time she goes to bake cookies, this cost me a total of $0.
I wasn’t concerned so much about quality materials since I was just testing if I could get good results with my Canon PowerShot S3.
I’ve been attempting to sell some of my photos as stock at iStockPhoto.com. I just got through the application process and am currently waiting for my initial submissions to be approved. Once they go through you can check them out here.
I’m hoping a better built, yet still cheap, light box will help create more interesting photos that others will find useful. After today I know for sure investing in better materials will be worthwhile.
CAUTION: If you try one of these yourself, be careful with bright hot lamps next to thin papers and fabrics. The last thing you need is to create a DIY fire extinguisher on the fly.
Photoshop: The Kleenex of Images Editors
In: Design Posts
12 Nov 2008
No matter what brand of tissues you buy, if someone asks for a Kleenex, you’ll grab them one of your generic sand paper squares and they will happily blow snot in it just the same. Similarly, if someone suspects an image has been edited, they immediately will assume it was done so in Photoshop. They might even blow snot in it. Therefore, I say Adobe Photoshop is the Kleenex of image editors.
That kind of popularity and market share dominance makes Photoshop comparable to Google’s search abilities. Both enjoy such a wide lead over the competition that they have become verbs in our technological lexicon. In the same way you can “Google” a subject for more information, you can also “Photoshop” an image to manipulate it (or “shop” as the kids say).
But similar to that morbid cliff jumping analogy parents like to cite, Photoshop’s popularity doesn’t mean you need to rush out and buy it too. Considering the cheapest version is $650 and the extended version $1000, you may want to listen to your parents on this one. Luckily, there are numerous alternative applications (many free) which either mimic or break away from the method of image editing which Photoshop has become famous for.
Personally, I can’t live without a copy of Photoshop due to my reliance on its ability to do complex tasks relatively quickly (after years of mastering). Plus I’ve memorized so many keyboard shortcut combinations, like Alt+Shift+Ctlr+S (save for web), that trying to use anything different will have me banging on the keyboard in confusion like an irate monkey.
Hope may not be lost for you though if you are not yet in the clutches of Adobe Photoshop. So let’s examine a non-exhaustive list of comparable editors using a highly scientific method of measuring them on a scale of non-suckablity.
Expensive Behemoths
Fireworks - http://www.adobe.com/products/fireworks/
Basically using Fireworks is like traveling back in time to 1999. Fireworks ($300) has a unique interface with an emphasis on web image creation. Once a competitor to Photoshop, the two are now partnered in the Adobe Creative Suite where Fireworks waits patiently for its chance to poison Photoshop and take its place as King Image Editor.
CorrelDraw - http://www.corel.com/
If you meet someone who actually uses this thing, it’s like spotting Big Foot. This powerful program has been around for quite some time, and urban legends say it still has some loyal users. I don’t believe those fairy tales because who would pay $430 for it?
Cheap Alternatives
Paint Shop Pro - http://www.corel.com/
This deceptive Photoshop clone is still a great bang-for-you-buck alternative at $99. For years now Paint Shop Pro has successfully taken the market share of people who forget what the name of “that one ‘shop’ program” is called.
Pixelmator (Mac only) - http://www.pixelmator.com/
Cheap and Mac aren’t usually used in the same sentence, but here is a cheap Mac only editor. This robust program is quickly gaining popularity, and for only $60 it’s a very viable alternative for creative professionals and amateurs alike.
Photoshop Elements - http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/
If you’ve just gotta have Photoshop for some strange reason you can try this stripped down version for only $140. Marketed toward the photo hobbyist, the casual user can experience the power of Photoshop without paying for all the fancy bells and whistles they likely wouldn’t use anyway (I’m looking at you “Vertical Type Mask Tool”).
Free Downloadable Alternatives
GIMP - http://www.gimp.org
Despite having the 2nd lamest name for a software title (surpassed marginally by Pimp-Ass Newsreader), this powerful program has been gaining popularity as more and more people become amazed it is 100% free. Using GIMP you will notice differences from Photoshop, but most significant is the price tag. This program is constantly being improved and updated as well. If you are serious about image editing, learn this program. After which you can give them suggestions for a new name.
Like paying $0 for robust software, but still want to edit like a pro? Try a GIMP beginner’s book.
Paint.net - http://getpaint.net
See CorrelDraw and subtract $430
Picasa - http://google.picasa.com
Technically, Picasa is more of a photo organization tool than an editor, but it still has some very simple to use common editing features. I highly recommend this simple, fast-loading, and free Google program for managing the massive influx of digital images and video collected on your hard drive. Looking for a single image with Windows Explorer is like dumping a shoebox of 1,000 Polaroids on the floor. Give yourself a break and use Picasa where you can quickly and easily find and edit your images from the same application.
Free Web-Based Alternatives
Picnik - http://www.picnik.com
You have died and gone to image editing heaven. That is what you will think after visiting Picnik and experimenting with the simple interface, powerful one click solutions, and numerous editing options. If you love it enough you can pay for advanced features, but not even a sign up is required for the impressive basic functionality. Take notes web developers and entrepreneurs; this is what a successful web application and online business model looks like.
Splashup / Pixlr - http://www.splashup.com / http://www.pixlr.com
If you want an extremely limited free Photoshop clone but enjoy the torment of not being able to right click, then these two web-based editors are for you. Each has their different benefits, but both are too limited for serious use. Apart from editing an image quickly while using someone else’s computer, there is little need for these two. Let us never speak of them again.
Photoshop Express - http://www.photoshop.com/express
Adobe decided to put an end to all this “free online editor” business by creating a free online editor. Unfortunately it is slow, cumbersome, and requires you signup and upload your photos to its image hosting service to do anything. If you get that far you’ll find a decent editor hidden inside, but for all the trouble you might as well just use Picasa. Since Adobe can’t decide whether it wants to mimic Flickr or Picnik, it simply fails to successfully do either.
Do you use an editor I didn’t mention or spotted a CorelDraw user in the wild? Share in the comments.
2 Lessons Learned from a “Real” Job
In: Misc. Posts
10 Oct 2008It has been a little over a year now since I started my current job, and it has truly been a life changing experience. Not in the new age spiritual sense, but in a character building one. After I landed this graphic design position, I remember my Dad saying something along the lines of this being my first “real” job. At first I got a bit offended because that statement seemed to undercut the fact that I had supported a young family for years off the other “fake” jobs where real people still worked. Looking back though, I can see exactly what he meant.
Since the age of 16 I had been working in physically demanding jobs where I was expected to produce quality content quickly. Whether that meant pulling weeds or shipping out packages, I learned my role quickly and followed it the best I could. The problem with doing these jobs over the years was that I had grown accustom to receiving orders from someone above me paid to do all the thinking. That made the first six months at my current job difficult, and taught me these big differences between blue and white collar jobs:
1. In the end, you are your own manager.
Yes, your boss tells you what to do based on what his/her boss expects them to do and so on up to the top. However, you are the one in charge of how the implementation takes effect. In the office your boss is less likely to care about the fine details compared to the finished product. So based on that are you going to check email for an hour now or later? Two assignments are due today, which has priority? Which can wait? How will you structure a project due in a month? These kinds of simple decisions were brutal at first for me.
2. Often what is expected of you is seldom defined properly or formally.
Unlike pervious jobs, the beginning of this one had me experiencing long periods of down time or little work. I had a hard time asking for more work because I had come to associated this as a death wish. In a typical blue collar hourly position, you relish any chance you get to take it easy, but at an office job you always need to be busy with something. Your entire job title may need to be changed to more adequately meet the company’s needs, but if your sitting around doing nothing the more likely outcome is you’ll be let go. On the other hand, if you are an asset to your company, you have job insurance and hopefully get compensated appropriately. Regardless, always get your boss to lay out the specifics of what you are responsible for early on (in writing if possible). That way if things don’t come together elsewhere, it’s harder to point the fingner at you.
The last hour of the last day of my last blue collar job, I was sweeping the floor. I had a smile on my face though becuase I knew it was the last of many floor sweepings and similiar activities I would do in exchange for an hourly wage. Little did I know I was in for a few months of a rough transition. Yet now that I understand the changing dynamics of an office job, I feel better prepared to handle my career in the future. Best of all though, I am finally getting paid to think!