Adobe eLearning Suite - Captivate 4

First off, I would like to thank Reagan at A&R Edelman for providing me a review copy of the Adobe eLearning Suite. I had posted about the release of this powerful eLearning toolkit some months ago and have just got around to looking at some of the new features specifically in Captivate 4, which is one of the core rapid eLearning tools found within the suite. I have used Captivate 3 to create a number of training and simulation videos for the work that I do and wanted to dig my heals in and see what was new in Captivate 4. From the onset there are some small but significant changes to the interface when capturing your screenshots which gives the developer more freedom and control when you start a project. I found the new interface to be intuitive and really enjoyed the control it gave me when shooting my video. For the past couple of weeks I have been reviewing MindView 3, and wanted to see how I could create a training video for someone who was new to using the Gantt View. In the training video the user will be prompted on the screen to change the duration of a task, create resources and then assign the resources. Click on this link to view the training video.

One of the new features which was integrated into Captivate 4 is Text to Speech (TTS). As a consultant in the field of assistive technology I have been using TTS for some time now and was excited to learn that Adobe Captivate 4 would include this feature. Adobe now supplies the Kate and Paul voices from NeoSpeech, two high quality voices which I have used in the past with students. I wondered how I could use the TTS in the training module and was pleasantly surprised just how good the voices sounded in my video. Inserting text to speech was extremely easy to do- you simply type the text you want Captivate 4 to say in the Slide Note area, and click, on the Covert to Speech button. Once the text has been converted you can then instantly listen to the instructions from within Captivate 4 by clicking on the Play button. As I went through my slides I found that I could copy the text that Adobe Captivate 4 created when I set up the simulation and paste it into the Slide Note area to quickly transform the text to TTS. The speech sounds very clear and is a very fast way to at times, circumvent having to use voice narration. I will let you be the judge of that and I hope you will add comments with regard to how you found the TTS in the video.

One of the really nice feautres that you will not see is the way that Adobe Captivate 4 handles the production of the files. In the past if your video included real time video captures, Adobe Captivate 3 would create multiple videos which made it more of a challenge to upload and manage. With the release of Adobe Captivate 4, things have changed and now regardless of number of real time video captures there is only one final production SWF file. This is a great feature which I know you will enjoy. Likewise, with the release of Adobe Captivate 4 you can now output your training or simulation videos as a PDF file which will run perfectly with Acrobat Reader 9. This is truly a very powerful feature- being able to distribute your digital eLearning assets as a PDF file. In future posts, I will take a look at how you can incorporate Variables and Widgets into your Captivate 4 training videos and simulations. With the release of Captivate 4 as part of the Adobe elearning Suite once again Adobe has produced a quality software applicaiton for rapid elearning.

Adding Mindjet Player PDF's to a Acrobat Portfolio

This has been a very exciting week as I explore some of the new features in Mindjet MindManager 8. As I have shared with you, one of the most exciting features from my perspective is the Export to Mindjet Player, which allows you to create shareable maps with anyone who has Adobe Acrobat Reader 9, on their computer. This feature allows you to open and close topics and subtopics and maintains live links to the web. Being one who likes to experiment with software, I wondered what would happen if I placed a Mindjet Player PDF into one of my Adobe Acrobat Portfolio's that I have created. At the present time the Mindjet Player does not support attachments so one of the ways around this if you own a copy of Adobe Acrobat 9 is to create a Portfolio and add the files you would like to the portfolio. Inserting the Mindjet Player file into my portfolio was very easy and worked right out of the box. Double clicking on the Mindjet Player opened the map and from there I was ready to go. Now I can have my MindManager 8 maps displayed and add whatever additional files I need right within the portfolio. You will find as I have, that creating Acrobat portfolios is a great way to package files for training and consulting.

You may have noticed that I have placed a new widget on my blog recently to have you sign for free premium assets and information. This will allow me to target my readership and provide you with timely information which may include video's, newsletter, and or articles. For those of you that sign up now I will email you a link to Portfolio so that you can see just how easy it is to package your maps and attachments. So if you have a moment, please subscribe for the free services at the top of the blog by entering your name and email address- thanks Brian

Creating PDF Portfolios in Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended

I have been a long time user of Adobe Acrobat and use it extensively in the work that I do as a professor and technology consultant. While many of us are used to using Adobe Acrobat Reader- you don't really understand the power and utility of Adobe Acrobat until you start working with with the Standard, Pro or Pro Extended versions. When Adobe announced that they had just released version 9 of Adobe Acrobat, I knew that I had to take a look at it and see what new features it offered. I once again would like to thank Roman from A & R Edelman for providing me with a review copy of Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended. There are currently four different versions in the Adobe 9 product line which include: Reader, Standard, Pro, and Pro Extended. Each version has a different set of features which are delineated on this matrix provided by Adobe. For the purpose of this review I am going to be speaking about Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended version which has the most advanced feature rich set.

In this post, I will highlight two very exciting features which I know will change the way we think about PDF's (Portable Document Format) and how we use them. On the top of my list is the introduction of portfolio's and the ability to play Flash assets within a PDF which takes this version to a whole new level. Let me start off by talking about the Portfolio feature which I know will make us all rethink how we create and distribute information that we produce. I'm sure that if you are like me, you often get emails with several PDF attachments. When the email is delivered into your inbox you have no idea which one to open first and once they are opened you then have to save them to a folder and organize them in some way so that they are useful to you. Well all of that has changed with the concept of creating a PDF Portfolio with Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended (Portfolio's can be created with the Standard and Pro editions of Acrobat).

Now imagine that you can now take your existing PDF files, SWF files, Word files, Excel documents, and picture files and create one unitary portfolio which stores all of your documents. When you are ready to share your documents via an email attachment there is only one file to attach. While this is certainly an improvement over the way we used to do it, now imagine that you have the ability to craft the portfolio so that it has the look and feel that you hope to achieve for your communication. Once you begin to create your portfolio you can choose a layout, add a welcome and header, select a color scheme, specify file details, and publish the portfolio. I found it very easy to create the look an feel that I wanted and I was able to add my picture to personalize my portfolio. I choose to use the Revolve layout which gave me a sort of cover flow effect that you might find on your iPod. To add the files to my portfolio- it was as simple as dragging them into the portfolio from my desktop where they were stored. You should note that my PDF Portfolio contains several different types of files, just to show you the power of this new feature. I included a Word document, a Captivate SWF movies, and several PDF files. Acrobat allowed me to use the nice blue color schemes from a large palette of colors. One of the really impressive features is the ability to present your documents in the order you desire when the recipient receives them. By creating an Order field within Acrobat, I was able to place a number from 1 to 6 into the field and then sort the documents so that they appear in the order that I want. As you create your PDF Portfolio there are lots of features that you can change to insure that it looks and behaves as you wish. Before publishing your PDF Portfolio there are lots of ways that Acrobat allows you secure your PDF portfolio. Click here to watch how I created a PDF Portfolio in Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended

What really got me excited is the way Adobe Acrobat 9 handles files within the portfolio. You will see if you download my PDF Portfolio that Acrobat will allow you preview your Word and Excel files right within the portfolio. You will also note that I placed a Captivate 3 swf demonstration video within the PDF file that plays right within Adobe Acrobat Reader 9, without the need of any additional players. This feature alone is huge. Imagine being able to great technical and training guides complete with Flash videos embedded right within the PDF. With Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended you can easily embed Flash video within your Word and PowerPoint presentations. Once you install Adobe Acrobat 9 Extended you will now have a new Acrobat menu embedded within Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. By simply using the Embed Video drop down you can insert Flash and FLV videos right within your documents that are automatically converted to Flash when you publish your PDF's. This is truly an awesome feature and one that will change the way we think about how we use PDF's for training and distributing information. Remember you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader 9 to view the Portfolio.

As part of Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended you also get the added bonus of Adobe Presenter 7 which is an add-in to PowerPoint. I must say a very powerful add-in to say the least. I have highlighted the use of Adobe Presenter in a previous post- so if you missed it here is the link.