Animating ideas in Adobe Captivate 9

Adobe Captivate 9! Wow, have 5 months passed by already? Just like last year, this year continues to be consumed with my pursuit of TRIRIGAFEEDIA and TRIRIGA UX. On top of that, since March 2016, I’ve had the unique opportunity to investigate the popular eLearning authoring tool, Adobe Captivate, as an exciting new way to deliver our IBM TRIRIGA content. But first, I needed to tie up a loose idea.

Back in September-October 2015, inspired by the MinutePhysics YouTube channel, and the Grovo microlearning provider, but months before Adobe Captivate was even an option, I experimented with a 1-minute proof-of-concept (POC) video. I spent about 26 hours to storyboard, script, and design the slides. In March 2016, I wrapped up the final 4 hours to record, edit, and sync the audio with the video.

TRIRIGA UX Lesson 1

Hi, my name is Jay, and I’m an IBM TRIRIGA information developer at IBM. The idea was to prove that a 1-to-2-minute “microlearning” experience can be effective for more mobile, on-the-go eLearning. Guess what? It proved its point. It took about 30 hours, but I’m still proud of it. So, since then, I’ve tried to carry the same tone, pace, and flow to my Adobe Captivate lessons. But did it work in Captivate?

What do I think of Adobe Captivate 9?

Well, in April 2016, I finally finished my first beta eLearning lesson (of about 12) in Adobe Captivate! While I wasn’t too strict about tracking my hours, I’m guessing that I spent 30-40 hours to adjust the script and audio, design the look-and-feel, and edit the final version. Naturally, with most of the one-time setup and design out of the way, the second and third lessons took only 10-20 hours each.

In terms of technical setup, I subscribed to Adobe Captivate ($30/month) and purchased web hosting ($6/month) so I can easily FTP-upload the files and deliver the HTML content with a simple URL. In terms of responsive output, the lessons run pretty smoothly on desktop browsers. But on Android smartphones, they seem to run more smoothly on Firefox than on Chrome, Dolphin, or Cheetah.

So what do I think of Adobe Captivate 9 so far? I think it’s amazing. It’s pretty easy to insert audio and visual elements, and design motion and transition effects. At the same time, there are so many elements and effects to coordinate or synchronize, not only in one screen size, but in several screen sizes, especially if you want to cover a wider range of devices. But if you can keep track, it’s a fun ride!

To give you a taste of the interface, here are 3 screenshots for the desktop, tablet, and mobile design.

Adobe Captivate 9: Desktop Design

Adobe Captivate 9: Tablet Design

Adobe Captivate 9: Mobile Design

What are my final thoughts?

Earlier, in terms of carrying my “microlearning” tone, pace, and flow, I asked: “But did it work in Captivate?” Yeah, I think so. So far, so good. Although I’ve only completed 3 “UX Lessons” with about 9 more to go, and despite the lagging and choppiness in certain Android browsers, the eLearning path is still promising. Technology will only get better, right? So our content should follow the technology.

At this point, you might ask: “Wait, is this for work? Were you forced to pay for the subscription and hosting?” Great questions, haha. But no, regardless of whether this project was going to be supported or not, I willingly volunteered to pay for them myself, because I knew this would be a cool investment and insight into the world of eLearning and microlearning beyond TRIRIGA and beyond IBM itself.

Finally, feel free to peek at my first 3 “UX Lessons” on TRIRIGA UX. Just click an image below. Enjoy!

TRIRIGA UX Lesson 1