Captivate 101 – Adobe Captivate Essentials

Class Description
Using Adobe Captivate, you can create eLearning courses for any subject. In this 2-day Adobe Captivate training class you will get the hands-on practice you need to develop and build interactive eLearning courses and software demonstrations. You’ll learn to create complete Captivate projects using objects such as hotspots, interactive elements, voice narrations and audio.  In addition to learning key concepts of elearning, you’ll learn best practices for creating and publishing Captivate projects in professional development workflows. 

Course Benefits
Learning Adobe Captivate will empower you to create all kinds of fully-responsive eLearning content with the industries most popular smart courseware authoring tool. You will learn to design modern immersive learning experiences using all types of media assets. You will master adding interactivity to existing PowerPoint slides and videos that you record yourself or bring in from YouTube.  Attending this class will have you easily creating engaging eLearning content that works across all devices.

  • Understanding the Captivate user interface, elearning development workflows and creating new projects
  • Setting object styles, controlling slide objects, and working with text captions
  • Creating and editing responsive images, objects and interactions
  • Using smart shapes, libraries and cloud callouts
  • Recording demonstrations, simulations and assessments
  • Adding interactivity using buttons, pointers, highlight boxes, rollovers, zoom areas and sound
  • Recording, adding and editing audio including using text to speech
  • Adding video, animation, and special effects
  • Converting and integrating with Microsoft Powerpoint and YouTube
  • Working with Question slides and knowledge checks
  • Using skins, themes, masters, templates and loading screens
  • Publishing Captivate projects to web, mobile and PDF

Who Should Attend
Corporate training professionals, educators, instructional designers, and business users who want to create product demos, application simulations, soft skills/ compliance training, or mobile learning. 
Educators and trainers who are currently using PowerPoint and need to add interactivity to their training materials.
Anyone needing to create professional educational content for topics such as new employee onboarding, soft skills development, or compliance training.

Suggested Prerequisites
No prior experience with Adobe Captivate is necessary for this course, only an open mind a good attitude, and a willingness to learn although the course is appropriate for those with some previous Captivate experience as well. The presentation of the course is tailored to those that attend, taking into consideration individual skill levels within the group.

Knowledge of your computer’s operating system and basic computer navigation is required for all classes, of course.

We do recommend that attendees have access to the Adobe Captivate software before starting the class. You can purchase the software or obtain a trial version of it on the Adobe website.

Course Outline

Preface
  • Education Through Pictures
  • RoboDemo to Captivate
  • Planning eLearning Projects
  • eLearning Development Phases
  • Budgeting Considerations
  • Project Size and Display Resolution
  • Designing Slides in Captivate
  • Fonts and eLearning 
Module 1: Exploring Captivate

As you work through the lessons in this class, the goal is to get you comfortable with each specific Captivate area or feature before proceeding. Like any feature-rich program, mastering Captivate is going to be a marathon, not a sprint. Soon enough you’ll be in full stride, creating awesome eLearning content using Captivate. But before the sprint comes the crawl. During these first few activities, we give you a chance to familiarize yourself with Captivate’s user interface.

  • Explore a Finished Captivate Project
  • Zoom and Magnify
  • Navigate a Project
  • Explore and Reset the Workspace
  • Preview the Entire Project 
Module 2: New Projects & Soft Skills eLearning

You can create two types of eLearning with Captivate: software simulations or soft skills lessons. A software simulation is essentially a recording of step-by-step actions performed on a computer. You can use Captivate to create interactive software simulations (often referred to as “Let Me Try” lessons), demonstrations (often referred to as “Show Me” lessons, and videos (much like the kind you’ve likely seen on YouTube).

Soft Skills eLearning encompasses anything that doesn’t fall into the category of a software simulation or demonstration (terrorism awareness, compliance training, conflict resolution, policies and procedures). Anything that’s a life skill would fall into the category of soft skills. During the lessons in this module, you will create a soft skills lesson that includes multiple slides, text, images, and buttons that allow the learner to move through the lesson at their own pace.

  • Create a Blank Project
  • Add Images to Placeholders
  • Import Images
  • Use a Smart Shape as a Button
  • Disable Click Sounds 
Module 3: Screen Recordings

Recording desktop actions is one of Captivate’s key features… and you’ll cover the hottest recording modes: demo, assessment, training and custom.

  • Rehearse a Script
  • Review Recording Settings
  • Review Recording Modes
  • Record Using Multiple Modes
  • Record a Custom Simulation
  • Record a Demonstration that Pans
  • Manually Record the Screen 
Module 4: Video Demos

If you need to record seamless, real-time screen actions, nothing beats Captivate’s Video recording mode. This section will teach you how to effectively capture videos, but you’ll get a jump start on publishing your videos for use on video sites such as YouTube.

  • Record a Video Demo
  • Add a Video Zoom
  • Add a Video Pan
  • Smooth a Mouse Path and Show Visual Clicks
  • Split a Video
  • Trim a Video
  • Insert a Video Project into a Standard Project
  • Publish a Video Demo 
Module 5: Captions, Styles, Timing, and Round Tripping

Once you’ve recorded your lessons, the real work begins. During these lessons, you will learn how to add text caption, set object styles and control the timing of slides objects. You’ll also learn how to leverage the power of Microsoft Word to share your slide text content with team members and incorporate their changes.

  • Insert and Edit Text Captions
  • Edit the Default Caption Style
  • Change a Callout Type Used by a Text Caption
  • Control Slide Timing
  • Control Slide Object Timing
  • Check Spelling
  • Align Slide Objects
  • Export Captions to Word
  • Import Captions from Word into Captivate 
Module 6: Pointers, Paths, Paths, Boxes, and Buttons

If you’ve created a demonstration, that pesky mouse can sometimes have a mind of its own. You’ll learn how to tame that wild mouse during these lessons. Then you’ll learn how to add some basic interactivity to a lesson via buttons.

  • Control Mouse Effects
  • Edit a Mouse Path
  • Clone an Object Style
  • Insert a Highlight Box
  • Insert an Image Button
  • Control Appear After Timing 
Module 7: Images and Videos 

Nothing breaks of the tedium of learning than images and videos. During this module, you’ll learn how to import, resize, and align images. You’ll learn the power of the Library and how it can make managing assets project-wide a snap. You’ll also learn how to import and work with videos,

  • Insert, Resize, and Restore an Image
  • Import Images into the Library
  • Resize, Transform, and Align Images
  • Manage Unused Library Assets
  • Create an Image Slideshow
  • Insert a Video
  • Set Video Properties 
Module 8: Audio

eLearning lessons that contain voiceover audio and sound effects are more effective than lessons that don’t… and that’s just a fact! Learn how to add, edit and record audio during these lessons. You’ll also learn how to convert Text-to-Speech

  • Work with Rollover Captions
  • Import Audio onto a Slide Object
  • Import Background Audio
  • Add a Slide Note
  • Calibrate a Microphone
  • Record Slide Audio
  • Import Audio onto a Slide
  • Edit an Audio File
  • Insert Silence
  • Convert Text-to-Speech 
Module 9: States, Animations, and Object Effects

Interactive objects can do more than just serve as clickable objects. You can make them perform all kinds of visual tricks with simple changes to their states. You’ll also learn how to make any objects perform some awesome animation effects.

  • Change State Views for a Button
  • Add an Animation to a slide
  • Insert a Text Animation
  • Apply an Effect to a Slide Object
  • Apply a Free Fall Effect to an Object 
Module 10: Software Simulations 

Interactive software simulations is generally thought to be more effective than passive demonstrations. During these lessons learn how to convert an existing demonstration into a highly engaging, interactive powerhouse.

  • Hide the Mouse
  • Replace Phrases
  • Insert a Click Box
  • Insert a Text Entry Box 
Module 11: Working with PowerPoint

Often times the eLearning project begins in Microsoft PowerPoint. Why not use that content in your Captivate project? These lessons will help you master the PowerPoint to Captivate workflow.

  • Create a Project from a Presentation
  • Edit the Source Presentation
  • Synchronize with Source
  • Rescale a Project 
Module 12: Quizzing

Captivate sports some robust quizzing tools. You’ll learn how to setup, create, import, and edit question slides and how to create question pools.

  • Edit Quizzing Object Styles
  • Set the Quiz Preferences
  • Question Slides
  • Insert Question Slides
  • Edit a Question Slide
  • Compare Submit All to Submit Buttons
  • Insert a Knowledge Check
  • Review a GIF File
  • Import a GIF File into a Project
  • Create Question Pools
  • Move Questions to Pools
  • Insert Random Question Slides 
Module 13: Publishing

No project is finished until it’s published so that it can be consumed by your learners. Learn the best publishing format to use for the widest audience (including SWF and HTML5 output). Learn how to add a TOC to your lessons and the ideal settings for publishing.

  • Apply a Skin
  • Edit, Save, and Delete a Skin
  • Name Slides
  • Check Publish Settings and Add a Loading Screen
  • Publish as SWF and PDF
  • Run the HTML5 Tracker
  • Publish as HTML5

Related Classes

Our goal is to make sure your class meets your objectives, not ours. Therefore, all of our outlines are treated as guides to help steer the workshop. This outline does not guarantee that all the topics listed will be covered in the time allowed. The amount of material covered is based on the skill level of the student audience. We may change or alter course topics to best suit the classroom situation.

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