Can Captivate Be Used To Create Interactive eTextbook?

[jpholly]

Hello. I just downloaded the trial version of Captivate to see if it will work for my particular need.

I want to create an interactive course pack to take the place of a very expensive textbook that’s currently required for an online college course I wrote using the college's LMS. Based on the feedback I’ve been getting from the students, I get the strong impression that most of the students don't buy the textbook. So I’d like to develop a format in which selected readings from various open sources are presented, with occasional questions interspersed so we can make sure the students do the readings. This would also save each student over $100.

From my perusal of Captivate’s features, it seems like it might be a good fit for this purpose. I would appreciate any comments or advice anyone might have.

Many thanks in advance!

[StevePixel]

Hi JP, 

The short answer is yes, but you may want to consider using an application that handles text far better, such as InDesign. I would think it would be very frustrating inputting and formating large volumes of text in Captivate. You can however import and manipulate text easily and elegantly in InDesign, you can also add various media (video, audio, gifs, etc.) and export it as an interactive PDF. 

I'm not sure you can ask questions though, 

Cheers, 
Steve 

[jpholly]

Steve,

Many thanks for your reply - I appreciate your input. However, I need something more interactive than the features currently offered by InDesign.

[Lilybiri]

I used InDesign with embedded Captivate tutorials to offer to my students when I was teaching in a university college.

Too bad, that is no longer possible, since Flash has been "killed". InDesign handles text pretty well, you can publish as ePub (fixed layout o flowable layout) and it has some possibilities for embedding media. You can have 'interactivity' but it is limited, will not work on any output, and is very cumbersome to create, compared with the typical eLearning tool that is Captivate. Just FYI I do coach both InDesign and Captivate training (some more as well).

If you have a LMS, why not offer a combination of assets, instead of aiming at 'one' text book? A mix of texts, media, quizzes, interactive tutorials. Management can be done with the LMS : you can create rules so that a certain sequence, and even success is imposed to be able to proceed in the course.

[jpholly]

Lily,

Thanks for your message. The college has a policy of not changing its online courses once they have been approved and accredited, so I need something other than the LMS provided by the school. Having a background in graphic design, I'm hoping I can figure out how to create a format using Captivate that will work for this situation.

Again, many thanks!

[Lilybiri]

You cannot have 1 captivate file to replace a textbook, that is simply impossible because it would be so huge that learners would have a very bad experience, especially if you also want to transfer results to a LMS. If you need one textbook, you have no choice but stay with the limited interactivity provided by applications like InDesign.

Strange policy, what is the use of a LMS if you cannot dynamically adapt learning assets and have to wait for approval of a 'textbook'? Why keep to the old 19th century style of learning assets (textbooks).  My college experience was a lot better, but I live in Europe, Belgium. Innovation was welcomed and approved, was trusted as an expert in innovative techniques (department even got special appraisal). I introduced flipped classes before the word was invented, worked with project and problem based learning,  replaced a 'textbook' by lots of interacitive tutorials and self-assessments deployed on the LMS. Especially the better students appreciated this approach a lot, the lazy students were complaining because they had to take control of their learning process which meant more working hours.

[sdwarwick]

depending on the type of course,  I'd actually start looking at more web-based solutions that are far more lightweight.  This may be something you could accomplish much faster in Adapt, for example.  Once you get over the change in paradigm,  you'd be flying. 

[jpholly]

Hello and thanks for your message. I don't know much about Adapt other than what I just learned today from reading the website. I'm wondering if there are any samples of a similar project that can be viewed online. Please let me know if you have any ideas about this.

Many thanks,
JPHolly

[sdwarwick]

I believe that they have some examples on the website, but not likely something as extensive as you may be looking for.  Feel free to contact me at sdwarwick <at> elearningocean <dot > com to discuss.