How Can I Leverage an e-Reader Style Glossary in My e-Learning Courses?

The questions we address here on The Articulate Trainer originate with questions that our students ask during our hands-on Articulate training. Some are unique, while others are more commonplace. When discussing the Player, one question we are frequently asked is whether or not it’s possible to leverage the simplicity of an e-Reader glossary feature. As usual, there are many ways to make something like this happen. Let’s take a look at one possible solution.

Building Your Slides

The first step is to build your slide just as you normally would.

Next, determine which terms might be unfamiliar to your learners or where additional information might add value. In this example, I’ve chosen to make the font bold and italicized. Other options include using a different font, font size, underline, or color.

Highlighting these terms really serves two purposes:

• First, it displays each of the terms clearly and differentiates them from the other text. This lets the learner know there’s something special about them.
• Second, it makes things easier for you as the designer. By having the terms called out, you know which ones to define and can save yourself time.

Tip: You probably want to include some instructions explaining to learners what they need to do in order to show each definition (something like, “Select each term to learn more” or “Hover your mouse over each term”).

Build Your Layers

For this build, I used layers to display each of the definitions of my terms. You could also use lightboxes or even captions; it really depends on your design and the content you’re working with.

Label each layer and use the same definition formatting for consistency.

You’ll want to ensure that each layer has a trigger that causes it to be hidden so that the learner can return to the Base Layer. I’ve created an “x” button that hides the current layer when selected.

Add Hotspots on the Base Layer

Return to the Base Layer and draw a hotspot over each of the terms you wish to define for the learner.

Tip: Make the hotspots a little larger to make it easier for the learner to select or hover over them.

Adjust the Triggers

When you added the hotspots, each of them automatically created a trigger that is set to show a particular layer when the user clicks. All you will have to do is adjust the trigger so that each hotspot shows the correct layer. This is where naming comes in handy. Remember to always name your layers and objects as you add them!

Notet that I built this example such that each layer displays when the hotspot is clicked. You could also display each layer when the learner hovers the mouse over each hotspot. It’s up to you…remember, there’s always more than one way to do something in Storyline!

Take a look at how this particular method looks in action. You can also download a copy of the project file at at this link.

Summary

I hope this gives you some ideas on how to add some creative glossary sections into your e-Learning courses. The sky really is the limit on what you can build and how creative you can be in this tool, which is what makes Storyline so powerful! Good luck in your future builds, and let us know what questions or comments you have below.

And, remember: with Storyline, if you build it, they will learn!

~John

Update: Please note that the interface of the faster new trigger workflow (in Storyline 360 update 3.33.20625.0 or later) will appear slightly different! While the process is the same, this article uses screen captures from the classic trigger workflow.