Sub-Badge: Analyze Technologies

Criteria: Evidence of describing emerging technologies and evaluating the benefits and limitations of the tool’s usage.

Artifact: A chart reviewing e-learning development tools

Reflection

For the competency, "analyze the characteristics of existing and emerging technologies and their potential use," I have selected a chart I created for a class where I reviewed e-learning development tools as an artifact. The intention of this chart was to compare three tools used to develop e-learning in the instructional design world.   The chart breaks down three tools: Articulate 360, Adobe Captivate, and Camtasia. I used software description, accessibility, usability, and web-based vs. desktop to provide different perspectives on each tool. Finally, based on my findings, I offered the pros, cons, and recommendations. 

            When I created this chart, I worked with captivate and articulate. I completed the certification for the older version of Captivate and used Articulate 360 for a few of my projects at my job. I also used both of them for projects in my earlier masters classes.   I had not used Camtasia, but I had seen it used with another colleague's projects. This assignment taught me that Articulate and Captivate are continuously evolving. Both of them are great e-learning creation tools, and although Captivate was the more complex tool  (it has since been revamped), it is often the preferred tool because it is MAC-friendly, whereas Articulate is not. I also found that Camtasia is a premier technology for creating videos. It also has evolved because it has a prompt where you can do text-to-speech instead of doing voice video script where you type what you want to say. This makes it easier to do a voice-over without having to do a lot of takes.

            This chart gave me a perspective on how three e-learning tools can achieve different goals. It showed me that I have more than one choice regarding creating e-learning and that all the tools will continue to evolve to create e-learning. I am getting training in Articulate 360 and certifications in Captivate and Camtasia to improve my skills with all these tools. I currently have the certification for the older version of Captivate, but I would like to be certified in the revamped version of Captivate. I also received my certification in Camtasia in 2023. It expires this year, so I will recertify to stay current. Finally, I would like to learn more about Articulate 360. I do my work on a MAC, so to proceed with learning more about Articulate, I will have to use the online version. I want to continue to become more knowledgeable in all these tools and, in turn, become a better Instructional Designer.