Lectora Tips and Tricks
Creating Long Pages with Hyperlinks
To create long pages with hyperlinks or buttons that go to points farther down (or up) the page, you’ll need to create something for the actions to Scroll To. You have two choices.
- Create separate text boxes for each point you want to link to.
- Insert images to link to in the text box. You can use a small transparent gif if desired.
Next, create a Go To action, specify the Current Page, and then specify the desired text block in option 1 or the image in option 2 in the Scroll To property of the Go To. Now, when users click a hyperlink, it will automatically scroll down to the point on your page that you want them to visit.
Enabling Flash to communicate with Lectora
To enable Flash and Lectora to "communicate" simply use the code below:
1. Create a button in Lectora, and set it to transparent (it may be better to build the rest of your page before designating an "On Click" function for this button).
2. Within your Flash file, write out this script:
flash.external.ExternalInterface.call ("action###")
Inside the parenthesis, enter in your button HTML number. For the example below, we’re naming the button number 37.
flash.external.ExternalInterface.call ("action37")
3. Save and publish your Flash file and import it into Lectora.
When the Flash animation processes the script, it will execute the Lectora button's desired function.
Lectora 2007 Users Last Chance for Savings!
Upgrade to Lectora 2008 before December 31, 2008 for only 65% off the retail price! With your upgrade, you’ll experience all of the 65 exciting new features Lectora 2008 has to offer. Some of the new features in Lectora 2008 include:
• Flash Conversion
• Help Agents
• Configurable Hotkeys
• Media Library
• Easy Access Template Gallery
With this update, you’ll also be placed on the Lectora Maintenance Track program that enables you to receive brand new features, enhancements to existing features, and more – all throughout the year.
Hurry now because starting in 2009, Lectora will go back to full price. To upgrade to Lectora 2008 today, please contact Trivantis at 877.929.0188.
All Five Military Branches Utilize Lectora
The United States Marine Corps College of Continuing Education now creates its critical online training courses with Lectora authoring software, completing the list of military branches that utilize Lectora. The U.S. Coast Guard, Army, Air Force, Navy and now Marine Corps are all Trivantis clients, further solidifying that fact that Lectora has a strong impact in the military market.
“Trivantis holds great pride that its flagship product is being used to create some of the world’s most important just-in-time training in all five military branches,” said Trivantis VP of Government Sales, Tom Elmer.
In addition to the use of Lectora by the U.S. military, several Department of Defense agencies also utilize Lectora, such as Joint Forces Command, Defense Acquisition University, Department of Homeland Security, Defense Finance and Accounting Services, and more.
Trivantis clients also include a host of government contractors, such as Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, SAIC, BearingPoint, and more.
GSA pricing is available for all Trivantis products and services. For more information about the military additions, partnerships, or contracts, please contact Tom Elmer at 513.852.6708.
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New Lectora Features Coming Soon!
Yet again, Trivantis is releasing even more new Lectora features specifically based on your suggestions! These latest Maintenance Pack features will be available free of charge to all users with a current Lectora Maintenance Plan license.
Some of the new exciting features in Lectora Maintenance Pack 2 include:
✓ Flash and Games Library – Keep learners engaged by easily adding interactive flash animations and games to your courses. Choose from a library of customizable flash games and animations such as flash cards, jigsaw puzzles, tic tac toe, text animations, male and female characters, digital and analog clocks, and more.
✓ Chart Creator – Save time by quickly creating a variety of charts (bar, pie, line, etc.) based upon standard spreadsheet formatted data. Charts will appear as editable images that can easily be recreated.
✓ Notes Report – Now you can find sticky notes quickly and easily by creating a printable report of all the notes in your title, thus providing a quick reference of all notes and where they are placed within the title.
✓ Publish to iPhone – Stay on top of cutting edge technology and provide learners with multiple ways to access courses by choosing from ten templates and two wizards to conveniently publish Lectora titles to iPhone and iPod Touch.
To learn about all the new features coming in December,
please click here or contact Trivantis at 877.929.0188.
Lectora 2008 Users Renew Now
Trivantis would like to remind those who purchased Lectora 2008 in October through December that it’s time to renew your Maintenance Plan subscription. Contact your sales rep today at (877) 929-0188 to continue receiving deep discounts and receive additional new features.
Instructional Design Best Practices
Start with an outline of your course that flows to meet the course learning objectives.
✓ Show instruction that supports one or more learning objective on the slide and highlight it relative to importance.
✓ Use learner clickable icons to show less important supporting information, which also saves real estate.
Include authentic activities and assessment questions by:
✓ Writing questions that test against the learning objectives.
✓ Creating activities and questions that require the learner to apply the most important knowledge in the course.
For example: You have a course that teaches the components of a laptop. Use a drag and drop where the learner has to drag the component names to each part on a laptop image.
Three important concepts to remember when designing self-paced courses for effective learning without an instructor are:
✓ Flow – the course should flow easily from lesson to lesson, topic to topic and left to right/top to bottom on every slide.
✓ Connection – use techniques that continually connect details to holistic concepts in a course.
For example: Use an image to demonstrate a process; on pages that explain the steps of the process, include a small version of that image with the current step highlighted.
✓ Consistency – Create a graphic user interface that appears throughout the course for navigation and items that should be available on every course page. Use consistent “looks” for types of pages and items that appear more than once in a course. This type of consistency helps the learner identify and remember instruction.
For example: In a course with lessons, create a look for Lesson Introduction, Objectives, and Summaries that is consistent throughout the course. Create an important point box that appears when highlighting text that is critical to the page topic.
Join Trivantis at DevLearn 2008 Conference & Expo
Join Trivantis at DevLearn 2008 booth 204 on November 11-14 in San Jose, California. Connect with other eLearning professionals to explore, discuss, and learn about the best ideas and technologies for eLearning.
To register for DevLearn 2008 Conference & Expo, visit www.elearningguild.com.
To schedule a one-on-one demonstration with a Trivantis Sales Representative, please contact Jessica Athey at 513.929.0188
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