Software for E-Learning

1. EDAE #590 – Teaching and Learning at a Distance Professor Donald Quick, Ph.D Learning Activity # 4 Technology Company Overview - Articulate Presented by Scott Foster August 2, 2011 Software for E-Learning

2. What is Articulate? • Articulate is a technology company that designs and markets software for trainers engaged in instructional design for Distance Learning or “e-learning” applications. • Articulate software “piggy-backs” onto PowerPoint enhancing the creative capabilities of PowerPoint. • Their software presents the information in a format customized specifically for teaching and learning applications. • It providesinstructional designers and trainers with tools to enhance creativity and user interaction in their instructional programs. • Articulate caters primarily to workforce educators although they list a number of educational institutions among their clientele.

3. Company Mission According to their website, their mission is to: • Help training happen at the speed of business. • Facilitate e-learning content that costs less and delivers more in less time. • Deliver rapid e-learning tools that are quick, easy & powerful – so you can focus on creating content, not complicated programming. • Enable teams of knowledge experts & instructional designers to work together on the same simple and effective platforms. • Empower everyone to become an e-learning hero.¹

4. Background • Founded in 2002 by Adam Schwartz, CEO. • Schwartz had previously worked as General Manger at Knowledge Universe, a $1.75 billion learning and education conglomerate. • Schwartz has more than 16 years experience in the e-learning industry

5. Clientele Dell Corporation Google Hewlett-Packard Intel Motorola Xerox Yahoo ADP EDS FedEx LexisNexis Robert Half International Abbott Labs Bristol Myers Squibb 3M Alaska Airlines Boeing Bridgestone Firestone Continental Airlines Costco CVS Domino’s Pizza Ford Motor Company General Dynamics Halliburton Company In-N-Out Burger Kraft Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation Liz Claiborne, Inc. Lockheed Martin Corporation Macy’s More than 25,000 organizations in 115 countries utilize Articulate. These organizations represent a diverse array of workforce and academic sectors, including some of the most recognizable names in industry, government and education. Kaiser Permanente Mayo Clinic United Health Group Adelphia Cisco Systems, Inc. Comcast Sprint Nextel Con Edison ExxonMobil Getty PSE&G Shell Oil Company Bechtel Hilton Jenny Craig McGraw-Hill Tribune Company Walt Disney World, Co Auburn University Columbia University Duke University Harvard University John Hopkins University Michigan State University San Diego Unified School District UCSD University of Georgia University of North Carolina University of Phoenix University of Texas University of Virginia Yale The American Bar Association American Red Cross Center for Disease Control Federal Bureau of Investigation NASA McDonald’s Michelin, N.A. Nationwide Nike Nissan North American Northrup Grumman Office Depot PetsmartProctor & Gamble Quantas Airways Limited Raytheon Saab Cars USA Inc. Scotts Company Southwest Airlines Target Corporation The Gap The Sports Authority Toyota Motor Sales, USA Toys R’ Us WD-40 Company Wendy’s International Whirlpool A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. Fidelity Investments Morgan Stanley VISA Wells Fargo Bank

6. Products • Articulate packages their software programs individually and bundled under the name Articulate Studio. • Articulate Studio ’09 consists of : • Presenter ’09 • Engage ’09 • Quizmaker ’09 • Video Encoder ‘09

7. Presenter ‘09 Presenter ’09 is designed to make it easier to add narration, video, and learner interaction into PowerPoint. With Presenter, instructional designers and trainers can integrate these elements in a usable format with flexible publishing options such as Flash, Word, CD, and podcasts.

8. Presenter ’09 Demo Click on the link below to see a demo of Presenter ‘09 www.articulate.com/community/tutorials09/presenter09/Overview/player.html

9. Engage ‘09 • Engage ’09 is the element of Articulate Studio that facilitates user interaction within the learner content. • With Engage, designers and trainers can: • Examine in greater detail each step of a process. • Explore the relationship between timeline events through text, images and sound. • Explain key elements of a diagram to better understand the main points.

10. Engage ’09 • They can also choose from a wide range of interaction types including: • Process • Timeline • Pyramid Diagram • Labeled Graphic • Interactive FAQ • And more

11. Engage ’09 Demo Click on the link below to see a demo of Engage ‘09 www.articulate.com/community/tutorials09/engage09/Overview/player.html

12. Quizmaker ‘09 • As the name suggests, Quizmaker ’09 facilitates the creation of interactive quizzes that can be integrated into a presentation or e-course. • Quizmaker allows the trainer to: • Branch quiz takers to different slides depending. on how they answer each question. • Animate objects and adjust their timing on the click-and-drag timeline. • Give quiz takers specific results and feedback based on their scores.

13. Quizmaker ’09 Demo Click on the link below to see a demo of Quizmaker ‘09 www.articulate.com/community/tutorials09/quizmaker09/Overview/player.html

14. Video Encoder ‘09 With Encoder ’09, video can be more easily integrated into a presentation or e-course. Encoder converts the following formats to Flash: • AVI Files (.avi) • Windows Media Files (.wmv, .asf) • QuickTime (.mov, .qt) • MPEG Files (.mpg, .mpe, .m1v, .m4v, mp4) • Digital Video Files (.dv), 3G Video Files (.3gp, .3g2)

15. Video Encoder ’09 Demo Click on the link below to see a demo of Video Encoder ‘09 www.articulate.com/community/tutorials09/videoencoder09/Overview/player.html

16. Articulate Online • In addition to their software package, Articulate Studio ’09, the company also offers a hosting service, Articulate Online. • This service takes the place of an internal Learning Management System. • The company offers a variety of plans and features for a monthly fee.

17. Articulate Online Demo Click on the link below to see a demo of Articulate Online http://www.articulate.com/support/tutorials/ao/Articulate-Online-Overview/player.html

18. AdditionalInfo • Articulate‘s products and services present an array of tools to instructors and course designers striving to create professional learning content for Distance Learners. • Articulate Online plans start at $199/month. • The company offers two versions of their Studio product: • Articulate Studio ’09 Pro retails for $1,846, but the company is currently offering a discounted price of $1,398. • Articulate Studio ’09 Standard retails for $1,347, currently discounted to $999. • The component programs of Studio ’09 can also be purchased separately.

19. Additional Info • Articulate also offers its users free “Community Resources” support including: • E-Learning Heroes – Tutorials, downloads, and advice. • The Rapid E-Learning Blog – Hosted by Tom Kuhlmann, V.P. of Community addressing various e-learning tips. • Community Showcase – Examples of their software applications created by other user clients. • Word of Mouth – Another blog addressing company news and product updates presented by Gabe Anderson, VP of Customer Advocacy. • Articulate is also on Facebook and Twitter.

20. Free Trial Offer • To showcase their products, Articulate offers 30 day free trial downloads. • These trial offers do not come with strings attached or require the user to provide credit card information or automatic purchase of the software at the end of the 30 days unless specified otherwise. • I took advantage of the offer and have utilized it to understand the capabilities of Studio ‘09 more fully and encourage other educators to do the same. • For more information, visit their website: www.articulate.com

21. References • Extracted from http://www.articulate.com/company/about.php July 30, 2011