October 6, 2009
For us Mac-based eLearning developers, Windows virtualization can be, sadly, a necessity. Though some must-have tools are starting to arrive on the Mac platform (Camtasia, Captivate, SnagIt), others remain Windows-only for the foreseeable future (Articulate). And often your projects require capturing screenshots natively in Windows-based applications. The ability to run apps from all major OSes in a single environment on a single machine is an advantage that can’t be underestimated, and that ability is what makes the Mac my Ultimate eLearning Development Machine.
There are a few options for running Windows on your Mac. You can, of course, boot into Windows natively using Apple’s Boot Camp, but that puts you in a Windows-only environment. Great for gaming perhaps, but not great for everything else.
I much prefer running Windows in a virtual environment, where I can easily switch back and forth between Mac and Windows apps on the fly, even copying and pasting between the two. Several tools allow you to do this, including VMware Fusion, Parallels Desktop, and VirtualBox. My weapon of choice is VMware Fusion.
Fusion 3 is scheduled for release on October 27, adding a host of new features and improvements, including 64-bit Snow Leopard support, virtual 3D graphics, support for Windows Aero effects (including the lamest of Microsoft’s lame Mac knockoffs, Flip3D), the elimination of the clunky Windows Start menu implementation of previous versions, and general performance improvements.
Full retail price will be $80, though you can typically find Fusion much cheaper (usually after rebate). The upgrade price for current users will be $40.
Posted in Apple, eLearning Development Tools 
4 Comments »
October 2, 2009
I love seeing creative ways of explaining new concepts, and a great example of this is Epipheo Studios‘ recent intro to Google Wave.
Simple, engaging, informative and entertaining: it’s a great example of eLearning done right. It’s nice to see folks like Epipheo and Common Craft hard at work creating un-sucky eLearning.
Alas, some might argue that this isn’t really eLearning at all, but simply marketing – an argument with which I would strongly disagree.
Have a look at some of their other work as well. Great, great stuff. I don’t know about you, but as a learner I’d find my yearly corporate eLearning courses on mandatory topics (ugh!) much easier to swallow if they showed even a glimmer of this kind of passion and creativity.
And note the casual (and familiar) narration style. This guy sounds like…well…someone you actually know rather than someone trying to sell you something on late night TV (”Call right now and get a bonus set ABSOLUTELY FREE!“)
Imagine how different the impact of this would be had it been done using bullet points and a typical eLearning narration style from a poorly-chosen voiceover pro (or worse – one of those abominable robovoices).
This is eQuixotic Hall of Fame material, no doubt. Nice work guys.
Posted in Narration, Presentations, Things I Love, eLearning Design, eLearning Hall of Fame 4 Comments »
September 28, 2009
A big eQuixotic thank you to Troy Stein of TechSmith, the Product Manager for Camtasia for Mac, for indirectly (and likely unknowingly) answering my Mac window resizing question from my last post via this screencast.
MercuryMover from Helium Foot Software is a keystroke-enabled utility that allows you to resize Mac application windows – exactly what I was looking for but was unable to find. Unfortunately it doesn’t allow you to enter specific values – you have to size up and down using your arrow keys – but you can use mod keys to jump 1, 10 or 100 pixels. So there are a few more keyboard gymnastics required than with Sizer, but it gets the job done.
UPDATE: Per the developer Keith Alperin (comment below), you can enter custom window sizes numerically. Thanks Keith! Please pardon my misinformation.
The bad news is this handy little app will set you back $20, compared to Sizer for Windows – which is free.
Troy also points out a handy (and free) way to instantly resize browser windows (Mac or Windows) via setmy.browsersize.com.
Thanks Troy.
Posted in Apple, eLearning Development Tools 3 Comments »
September 24, 2009
In eLearning development there is an almost-constant need to size application windows to a specific resolution when doing static or full-motion screen captures. Capturing your windows and resizing upon publication almost always results in undesirable visual compression. Your best bet is to set your application window to your desired output size before capturing (a hard lesson to learn). But how can this be done easily and precisely? Easy – with the excellent Windows freeware app Sizer by Brian Apps.
By simply right-clicking an edge, corner, or the restore button on your target app you can choose a preset resolution. Or you can set your own custom sizes in the app’s configuration settings.
The functionality (awesome), usability (idiot-proof) and price (free) makes Sizer a no-brainer for any eLearning developer’s toolbox. The app really came in handy for a recent Evernote demo project (more on that in an upcoming post).
Now if only I could find a suitable Mac alternative. Any suggestions?
Posted in eLearning Development Tools 3 Comments »
September 11, 2009
For years, Mac users lagged far behind their Windows-using counterparts in the screencasting department – a sad but undeniable fact. Sure, we had Snapz Pro, which many users still swear by, but ultimately the long-in-the-tooth tool does little but basic capture. Other apps offered some additional functionality, but nothing served up the entire enchilada like, say, Camtasia for Windows.
Everything changed last year with the introduction of ScreenFlow, a beautiful Mac-esque application that provided a full suite of editing tools and effects. TechSmith, the 800-pound gorilla of the Windows screen capture world, had just announced their intention to enter the Mac market, and 18 months later released their much anticipated Camtasia for Mac (an agonizing 8 months later than they had forecasted). Was it worth the wait? Let’s have a look!
Users of ScreenFlow will notice that Camtasia for Mac looks remarkably similar to…ScreenFlow. Which in my book is just fine and dandy – why fix what isn’t broken? I can only thank the gods of software design that TechSmith didn’t try to replicate the interface from Camtasia for Windows, which frankly is an unmitigated mess (I say this as a Camtasia for Windows owner and user). Thankfully they wiped the slate clean for Camtasia for Mac, and this approach paid off beautifully.
Inevitably I’ll want to compare Camtasia to ScreenFlow, but in this review I will refrain from doing so. Watch for a post in the near future in which I’ll compare the two contenders in a head to head battle for screen recording supremacy. Telestream will be releasing ScreenFlow 2 in the next few months, which will make things even more interesting. But back to Camtasia.
Installing Camtasia is a simple “drag to your Applications folder” affair, like most Mac applications. To capture system audio, Camtasia does require the installation of Soundflower, a system extension for OS X, but Camtasia makes this process short and painless.
The first thing you’ll see after launching Camtasia is the recording control panel, and that’s where an initial moment of panic sets in. We Mac users can be a highly discriminating bunch, and we watch for that ferocious attention to detail with an all-seeing eye. And what you see in that initial control panel shows some non-Mac-like sloppiness that makes one fear for the polish of the rest of the app. Note the fuzzed button text and the jagged edges of the record button:
Not a good way to start. While such fit-and-finish faux pas are tolerable (typical?) in the Windows world, Mac users demand a step above. God is, after all, in the details (Mies van der Rohe). Windows users may dismiss such demands as sheer snobbery, but uncompromising quality should be an expectation, not a luxury.
Is this initial stumble indicative of the quality of the rest of the app? Thankfully, no. For the most part, Camtasia for Mac is Mac-tastic joy. Features wise it falls short of ScreenFlow in some aspects and leapfrogs it in others (which, again, I’ll talk about more in an upcoming post), but overall I find Camtasia much more intuitive than ScreenFlow. Effects and editing tools are logically placed and easy to find. Like ScreenFlow, the dark interface helps you focus on the important stuff – your screencast – and not on the editing app itself (Camtasia for Windows could take a lesson here) and gives it that Apple pro app vibe you get in FinalCut and Logic, among others.
Like ScreenFlow, Camtasia for Mac has one capture mode: full screen. Some Camtasia for Windows users may gripe about the inability to capture specific windows or regions, but personally I prefer the full screen approach. Just grab it all and let me choose what I want in the editing process – a level of flexibility that some may underestimate.
Effects are easy to choose, implement and manipulate – just drag and drop the effect you want onto the appropriate spot on your timeline and tweak them to your liking from there. Unfortunately the drag/drop effects elements are unnecessarily ginormous, even on my 24″ display at 1920×1200, which necessitates scrolling through the list. TechSmith could easily make these half the height and retain plenty of visibility while reducing the need to scroll. Note the ability at the top of the list to filter down to a specific effect type: Transitions, Filters and Actions. Nice touch!
A few of the effects fall squarely into the “Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should” category (an area in which PowerPoint is master), primarily the highly-questionable flips, rotates and spins. Most users will wisely shun these effects, but others will be tempted to use them if only because they’re there. And that makes me sad.
Camtasia also provides the basic collection of annotation tools, including text, arrows, boxes and bubbles:
Like the effect tools, the annotation tool elements are also unnecessarily oversized, which will force users with smaller screens to scroll through the list.
There are a few other nits to pick. One flaw I discovered is in the way Camtasia renders text. Text appears in your screencast with an ever-so-slight stroke and some jaggies, and if you’re like me it’s something you will immediately notice and thereafter be unable to ignore. Below is a sample of what text should look like (left) and what it looks like in Camtasia (right). Hopefully this is something TechSmith can fix quickly.
Resizing the canvas appears to be flawed as well. You cannot grab a side handle to resize disproportionately. Do you want your canvas to be 600×100? Too bad, you can’t do it by dragging. Corners, sides, it doesn’t matter – all resize the canvas proportionately. If you want to deviate from the norm you’ll have to enter a numeric value. Frustrating. Particularly under the “record the entire screen” philosophy that Camtasia for Mac adheres to. If TechSmith wants this to be Mac-like (or even computer-like), the side handles should allow you to resize disproportionately while the corners are used for proportionate resizing.
For me one of the biggest shortcomings of Camtasia is the lack of keyboard navigation in the editor. The inability to jump around the video timeline via the keyboard (Home, End, etc.) is a real workflow downer. This needs to be fixed.
One feature with which Camtasia kicks sand in the face of ScreenFlow is SmartFocus, which automatically zooms in on the relevant action, sparing you the time and hassle of doing it manually. A killer feature to be sure.
Sharing your final video is a snap, with Camtasia providing one-click publishing for iTunes, Screencast.com and YouTube.
You can also export to QuickTime with a single click or select another format (AVI, DV stream, etc.) under the Advanced Export option, though I found AVI publishing to be problematic under Snow Leopard. Problematic as in I couldn’t get it to work. At all. Camtasia gave me a progress bar to indicate that things were going swimmingly, but after completing the process there was no AVI file to be found.
Upon completion of the export process, Camtasia gives you this handy little dialog box that allows you to reveal your exported file in the Finder. Another very nice touch.
Ultimately Camtasia for Mac is a beautiful piece of software that is intuitive and enjoyable to use – and bargain-priced at one third the cost of its admittedly more features-rich (but ugly and clunky) Windows comrade. Does it suffer from the typical version 1.0 rough edges? Yes, but not as many as I expected. TechSmith did a fantastic job with this initial release. Despite the need for a little spit polish here and there, a handful of bug fixes, and the addition of a few features found in its primary competitor, ScreenFlow (and perhaps a few from Camtasia for Windows as well), Camtasia for Mac is a solid addition to any Mac-based eLearning developer, presenter, or screencaster’s quiver at a no-brainer price.
A free trial is available, so go grab it, kick the tires, and let me know what you think in the comments section below (good, bad, ugly). Comparisons to ScreenFlow by seasoned users of that application would also be appreciated.
My hat is off to TechSmith for an impressive initial foray into the world of Mac software, and I look forward to seeing how Camtasia progresses, as well as the arrival of other products (ahem, Snagit) they have in the pipeline.
Posted in Apple, Reviews, eLearning Development Tools 10 Comments »
September 7, 2009
After re-reading and pondering my last post, I believe I was intentionally vague enough to prevent getting exactly the feedback I need. For those of you who already commented on that previous post, let me apologize for not asking the question in the way I should have asked it. I’m going to try again.
The Powers That Be at my agency have recently signed a large contract with an eLearning development vendor. There are several courses included in this contract, one of which has been assigned to me to manage.
The particular course in question is approximately 2 hours of classroom soft skills training that needs to be delivered in an eLearning format. The content has already been written for the classroom. It needs to be repurposed for eLearning. The course will be developed using a Lectora-style system that produces what is essentially an HTML/javascript page turner. Multimedia (animation, narration, etc.) will be minimal. The course will not be narrated in its entirety, but there may be some snippets of narration here and there. Interactions should be basic form-based questions created within the development application. Graphics will include basic stock images/clip art in the classic “eLearning that looks like a bad PowerPoint presentation” style.
The fixed-price contract that has been signed with the vendor for this course is for 766 hours of development at an average hourly rate of $116 for a total of $89,000+.
This is only one of six courses in this contract, which totals $717,000+.
Because I work for a government agency and these are public funds being spent, I’m morally obligated to watch for (and report) wasteful spending. Particularly for projects to which I am personally assigned. (Please note that I had no input on the solicitation or contract process itself.)
I need to be sure I’m on solid ground before I put myself in the sure-to-be-very-unpleasant position of being the one to say “Hey, wait a minute!”
And that, esteemed colleague, is where you come in.
Is this price – given the basic course parameters I provided – outrageous, questionable, or acceptable? How many hours would you expect to spend on a project of this nature (though my details are admittedly sparse)? Or how much would you expect to pay an outside vendor?
Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. This may be your money we’re talking about.
Posted in eLearning Design 20 Comments »
September 6, 2009
I’d like to go to the collective experience of my peers for this development question.
You have a two-hour mostly soft skills classroom course you need to convert to eLearning. The content has already been written for the classroom but needs to be reformatted for online delivery. The course will be a basic HTML/javascript page turner with stock graphics sprinkled throughout. No video will be included, but there may be some audio narration scattered throughout (the entire course will not be narrated, however). You will be using a development system similar to Lectora. There will be some basic form-based knowledge checks (multiple choice questions, matching, etc.) that will be developed within your authoring tool. The course will require no custom programming and no extensive interactions or simulations.
Given this basic overview of the project, how many hours of development time would you estimate it to require? I’m looking for ballpark numbers here. If your boss or client asked for a rough number, what would you say?
Your feedback on this question would be appreciated. Please voice your opinion in the comments section below. More on the reason for the question (and why I’m looking for a collective answer) in a later post.
Thanks!
Posted in eLearning Design 5 Comments »
August 31, 2009
There are pretty much only 3 things left in my computing life that I envy on the Windows side of the fence:
1) Games
2) Articulate
3) Snagit
TechSmith Camtasia used to appear on my list as well, but that was obviated first by ScreenFlow, and later (last week, in fact) by Camtasia for Mac (huzzah!!!). I am currently putting Camtasia for Mac through its paces and will post a review soon – along with an opportunity for you, dear reader, to win a free copy for yourself. Stay tuned!
I’ve not much time for gaming, so #1 is not terribly important to me (and on the days when it is important, I simply boot into Windows on my iMac or play on a console). As for Articulate, well, I hold out little hope as their software is so tightly welded (wedded?) to Office for Windows. But at least I don’t have to yearn for Snagit much (?) longer! TechSmith recently announced on their blog that Snagit is indeed in the “early stages of development.” (Wait, did they say “early stages?” *sob*)
I’ve posted several times on the sad state of Mac-based screen capture software, and while we now have two excellent (and Windows-beating) contenders for motion screen capture tools (ScreenFlow and Camtasia for Mac), there is still no true challenger to Snagit for Windows for static captures. I look forward to this changing.
Hopefully TechSmith will eschew the mostly-crummy interface of Snagit for Windows (sorry guys!) and make it completely Mactastic (as they successfully did with Camtasia for the Mac – more on that in my upcoming review).
I can only hope the wait won’t be as long this time – they announced Camtasia for Mac way back in January ‘08 I believe, and just delivered last week. I’m hoping an 18-month wait is not in store for Snagit for Mac. I’m optimistic that the learning process of developing Camtasia will result in much faster development on Snagit.
However long the wait, I welcome TechSmith to Mac-based eLearning development with open arms and great expectations.
Posted in Apple, eLearning Development Tools 9 Comments »
August 20, 2009
Today I’m reviewing the Samson C03U Recording Pak. This almost-all-in-one (more on that in a bit) solution looks well-suited for eLearning narrators who want high-quality recording on a modest budget.
The C03U is a USB microphone that gives you excellent recording quality while offering the convenience of a plug-and-play USB connection. The Recording Pak is a Samson bundle that includes the microphone, desktop stand, shock mount and USB cable, neatly packed into a nice molded-foam-lined aluminum case for easy storage or transport.
The microphone itself has a solid heft, and its excellent build quality is evident. Unlike my Blue Snowball mic, there’s no plastic to be seen on this baby. A 3-way pattern switch lets you select between omni, supercardioid, and figure-8 pickup patterns, which give you some flexibility in sound control based on your recording environment and situation. The figure-8 pattern, for example, is designed for recording, say, a group of people sitting around a table (if you ever run into such a need in your eLearning audio work).
The stand is short, heavy, and padded with foam underneath. There will be no inadvertent toppling of the microphone with this setup!
Being the type who jumps into a new product without first reading the instructions, I was befuddled by the microphone mount for a minute before I realized you have to remove the Euro adapter before mounting the mic (or the shockmount) to the stand.
This fact is mentioned in the owner’s manual, to my chagrin. A few quick turns with a nickel and the adapter came free, allowing me to mount the shockmount to the stand (and the mic to the shockmount). I did find it odd for Samson to ship the kit with the Euro adapter installed when the Euro adapter does not fit the stand provided in the kit.
Samson missed a golden opportunity by not including some type of pop filter with this kit. Those of us who are amateurs at voice recording have not mastered the art of plosive control, and a pop filter is absolutely essential. Samson could easily have crafted a custom-fitted pop filter for this kit for very little cost. Instead, one must rely on a third-party pop filter, which, as you can see in this photo, may not be (and likely won’t be) an ideal fit. I’m using an MXL metal pop filter, which comes affixed to a fairly large arm mount and a long flexible gooseneck. Too long to be easily maneuvered into the ideal location on the stubby Samson stand. The pop filter tries mightily to rise up and away from the microphone, as the gooseneck is not entirely pliant while it struggles for space to accommodate its excessive length. Fighting with the thing alternates between comical and frustrating, but ultimately ends up just being frustrating.
Not only is the pop filter difficult to situate, but it also poses the issue of where to store it, as there is no place to put it in the molded case. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a pop filter designed for this very kit, with its own storage slot in the case? Why, yes it would! Alas, this is one those head-smacking moments where a manufacturer stopped just short of providing the ideal solution. Samson, please consider designing a custom clip-on pop filter for future kits like this. You are so close to greatness…
The kit also comes with Cakewalk Sonar LE recording software for Windows, which I will ignore for this review as I use GarageBand on my Mac for my narration recording.
Sound quality is very good – close to my current mic of choice, the MXL USB.009, which I reviewed a few months ago. Perhaps a bit less full and a bit more harsh to my admittedly non-expert ears. I’ll let you decide for yourself, via my admittedly non-expert sample recordings below.
Samson C03U
MXL USB.009
In addition to the difficulty of attaching a pop filter, my other niggle with the Samson kit is the height of the mic stand – or perhaps better stated the height of the mic when mounted to the stand. Even with my chair adjusted to its lowest point, I had to hunch over slightly to get good mouth-to-mic placement. The much taller MXL USB.009 mic poses no such problem for me.
Overall, the Samson C03U Recording Pak is an excellent, high quality package for eLearning developers who need a good recording solution without breaking the bank. Had Samson only included a pop filter in the kit, I would have deemed this mic a home run for budget narration recording. Without it, I’ll call it a solid triple. You can pick up the kit for just under the $200 mark from various online retailers.
Might I suggest Amazon?
You don’t plan to keep recording your eLearning narration with that cheap-o headset mic, right? Right???
Posted in Audio, Hardware, Narration, Reviews, eLearning Development Tools 12 Comments »
August 14, 2009
Lynda.com holds a place very near my heart as a superb training resource, but Lynda.com also has the dubious honor of an eQuixotic first (and possibly last): a dual 2008 nomination for both eQuixotic Hall of Fame (Lynda.com: Saving Grace – The Content) and Hall of Shame (Lynda.com and Navigational Pain (Or “Please Don’t Punish the Learner”)). How did they accomplish this seemingly impossible contradictory feat? By pairing stellar training content with a learner-punishing delivery system.
I’m happy to report that Lynda.com has heard my anguished cries (well, our collective anguished cries as Lynda.com users) and responded by improving the learner experience tremendously. The new course player allows you to play an entire chapter at once (yes!) and also allows you to jump to the next or previous movie within the player window itself (yes!!!). Hallelujah! Gone are the aggravating mouse gymnastics required to move from one topic, or chapter, to the next. Thank you Lynda.com!
The new intro animations are very slick, and the welcome segments with the course author are very nicely done:
Sadly, there seems to be no keyboard control of the player. Restoring this (I swear it was there before, unless my memory fails) would be a welcome improvement.
But hey keyboard control, get off of our cloud! For now we celebrate the vast improvement to the Lynda.com learner experience. With this change I hereby retract Lynda.com’s nomination to the eQuixotic Hall of Shame. Their nomination to the Hall of Fame, however, remains secure. And deservedly so.
If you are an eLearning developer or presentation designer, a yearly subscription to the Lynda.com training library will probably be the best self-development money you’ll spend. And now more than ever.
Posted in Content, eLearning Hall of Fame No Comments »
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