Best practice for creating a software simulation with Captive 9?

[Coastliner]

Hello all.

I'm a new user with Captivate 9 and have been spending some time getting to know it. It looks like an excellent application but I'm struggling with something fairly fundamental.

I'm trying to create an e-learning course that talks about a software system used by my employer.  The early "introduction" slides are fine and I've had not real problem creating them, however I then need to switch to a software simulation to demonstrate how to use the system itself and this is where the problem starts.  I suspect it's my process..  What I'm doing is this :

Recording the narrative to a wav file using windows recorder

I then open Captivate and insert to software simulation slide - run the simulation to match what I've just narrated

The insert the wav file to the first of the slides, selecting (Keep the slide the same length but distribute the audio file over several slides.

I then go to Audio / Edit / Project and start to adjust the timings for which the software simulation slides change to make them match my narrative.

The problem I have is that some slides will not reduce in length of time sufficiently to match the narrative.  Where I've tried to list some options and click on them at the same time the slides will not display for less than 3 seconds, but my narrative paused for 1.5 seconds so I cannot keep everything in sync.  Within the slide itself there is only a mouse movement item in there which is only 1.3 seconds in length, but I cannot reduce the slide itself to anything less than 3 seconds.

So I'm keen to know if the process I'm using to record narrative and then visuals is a poor one and I should be doing things in a different, better way.... Or is the process a good one and there's something fundamental that I've not understood about using Captivate?

Thanks in advance

Alex

[Lilybiri]

There are some details missinb in your description: is the software simulation captured only in Demo mode? I rarely use that mode, replace it by a video demo because it has better quality. Moreover having the software siulation in Training mode will increase the level of interactivity in your project.

To answer your questsion: for a simulation I would never start with the narratoin. First I will create the simulation (or the video demo)), what you call 'visuals'. After editing that visual side, I will ad slide notes to each slide. You can use those slide notes when creating the audio clips for each slide in Captivate (do not use windows recorder, please) or in a dedicated audio application. I am using Audition for that purpose, but you could also use Audacity, and import the clips to the Library. If you use Captivate for the audio, each clip will be inserted automatically as slide audio. With an external audio app, you can import all clips to the Library, and drag them from the library each to a slide. It is to be preferred not to use one long audio file for the project, audio could get out of synching when not playing the published file in ideal circumstances. Last step: synchronize the visuals on each slide if necessary to the slide audio, using the Timeline.

[Coastliner]

Thank You Lilybiri.

Sorry for missing the details out, to answer you question I am recording the simulation in Demo mode, thanks for the tip on recording in video mode, I'll try that this afternoon..  I went for demo mode because I thought it would produce smaller files sizes (and place less stress over a network). I look forward to trying video mode.

I was recording my audio in Camtasia (because I have to use a laptop for the audio and the screen is too small to correctly display Captivate).

I was also going for the narrative first because I write the script in full and then read from the script to try and focus on getting the best quality narrative (no "um" and "errs" that I do so much in natural speech!)

From the look of what you've said, I think I may need to completely change my approach, hopefully video mode will help me work around this..

Thanks again

Alex

[Lilybiri]

No, my recommendation was to use Training Simulation mode. Video Demo slides will probably lead to bigger file size, because of its higher quality.

For Video Demo my approach is different, because synchronizing is lot more time consuming than with the simulation slides. I will indeed write out the narration in that case, and while recording the visuals read that narration as sort of draft, to make sure the rythm of the recording is correct. Later on I will record the audio in Audition, and replace the dragt autio in the video demo. For Video Demo your present work flow makes more sense, audio before visuals. 

Since you have Camtasia, why not record in it, publish to mp4 and insert as syncronized video in Captivate project?

[Coastliner]

Thank again Lilybiri

I was starting to think that I'd just record the demonstration of the application in Camtasia and then import it..  I just wanted to check here first before giving up on doing what I was doing above..

A big reason for trying to do it in Captivate is simply because I'm trying to discover how much I can (and can't) do in Captivate.

Thanks again

Alex

[Lilybiri]

I have Camtasia as well but rarely use it. Reason is that as a former professor I believe strongly in the power of interactive eLearning, not in passive video. That was the reason I mentioned before not to create software sims in demo mode, but at least also in Training and/or Assessment mode. It can be done in one recording session, no need to repeat. You'll see that using Training sim slides will make your project lot more engaging than the best video.

[Coastliner]

I completely agree with you about the interactivity being far better than a passive viewing..

but...

This is my first e-learning project and I have much to learn.  The storyboard I devised for this project is (sadly) a passive viewing storyboard and I only realised that I'd missed an opportunity after getting it signed off. Getting a fresh approach signed off will take too much time.  Plus this course will only last a year.

It's a lesson learnt for the future.  The whole role is new to me... learning Captivate, Camtasia and how to create a course from scratch has been a steep learning curve.  This time around I think I'll have to stick to "View only" for this course and then build upon that.

Thanks again

Alex