Articulating my Articulate Journey

Written By Amy Warren
e-learning photo.jpeg

I’m currently developing e-learning for a client using Articulate Storyline – this is an achievement! I first learned about Articulate in 2015 when I transitioned to a career in learning and development. From what I could tell, Articulate was the dominant player in e-learning authoring tools. If you called yourself an e-learning developer, you had to know Articulate and its suite of tools. I decided I should learn how to use Articulate – specifically, Storyline.

But, well, work happened. I had lots and lots of work designing traditional classroom training. That left little time to teach myself Storyline. In 2016, I attended a Jane Bozarth workshop on creating engaging e-learning with PowerPoint. I’d read her book, Better Than Bullet Points (and also interacted with her on Twitter), and am a total fangirl – I have the autograph to prove it :)

Jane showed us how to use the features of PowerPoint to create powerful and engaging e-learning interactions. No Articulate required, though I was one of the few participants who didn’t know how to use Storyline. Again, I felt the tug to learn the software. Again, work and life got in the way. I continued to flit about the edges of e-learning. I created a few prototypes in PowerPoint using Jane’s methods. But Articulate Storyline remained the beast I had to slay.

The Pandemic Pivot

Then COVID-19 happened. And that was after a baby happened. Finally, I saw the writing on the wall – or not on the wall, as it were. For five years, I’d focused on instructional design for face-to-face training. And that training was no longer happening. How could I continue to call myself an instructional designer if I couldn’t do e-learning? I decided 2020 would be the year I finally learn Articulate. I was off on maternity leave. The pandemic meant that classroom training contracts would be slow to come back. 

I signed up for a trial of Articulate 360. I enrolled in ATD’s Articulate Storyline Certificate Program. To ensure I didn’t go into a paid course a total newbie, I first did a Lynda (now LinkedIn Learning) course on Storyline. Can you tell I’m someone who likes the structure of formal learning? YouTube has its place, but when I really want to dive into something, I love a course. And it paid off. The ATD course focused on the software itself – there was nothing on the design of e-learning. But that was ok. I was confident that once I knew how to use the program, my design skills would be up to the task.

Once I’d learned the basics, I knew I’d need a real-world project. But who’s going to pay someone with no e-learning experience to develop e-learning? I asked colleagues if they would refer me to a cooperative development organization that would like an e-learning course developed (cooperatives are the focus of my work with IFC). I’d offer my services pro bono in exchange for being able to show the course in my portfolio. 

The result was The 7 Cooperative Principles, which I designed and developed for the Northwest Cooperative Development Center. It was a great experience. It’s not the most complex Storyline course, but I got experience with many of the software’s key features, such as triggers, layers, and quizzes. I wrapped it all up in the story of Nyla, the fictional general manager of the fictional First Care Cooperative.

 I can finally say I know how to use Articulate Storyline. I’m back with my client IFC, designing and developing e-learning for the Agribusiness Leadership Program. I like the design aspect of e-learning – the storyboarding process – more than developing it with an authoring tool. Storyline can be a slog, though that might be because I’m new to it. I still make mistakes. I’m still figuring out how things work. I’m getting terrific feedback from instructional designers with far more Storyline experience. 

Helpful Resources

If you are developing your Storyline skills, here are the resources I mentioned above (plus a few more):

Amy Warren
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