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Adobe Captivate enjoys a dominant market share position with over 62% of respondents that use Rapid e-Learning, Courseware Authoring, or Simulations tools indicating that they use Captivate.
To captivate means to attract and hold the interest and attention of (someone, for example students) and it means to charm. (Wordnik Def 2012) Captivate provides Art teachers with the potential to design Interactive eLearning content that is attractive, and informative.
Adobe® Captivate 5.5 software is claimed by Adobe to be the “industry-leading elearning authoring software for rapidly creating and maintaining interactive eLearning content”.
eLearning tools can be divided into four categories; Rapid eLearning Authoring Tools, Simulation Tools, Deployment Tools & Media Editors. This segregation helps put the field of eLearning into perspective (eLearning Guild 360 Report on eLearning Authoring Tools and Software. 2008)
This model created by Partridge represents facets of the process makes it easier to define a software application like Adobe Captivate.
Captivate with Rapid eLearning Authoring Tools
Adobe® Captivate® 5.5 software, can effortlessly capture images, video and audio streaming. This makes it possible to offer entire learning experiences that provide a way to cater for diverse learners.
Teachers can create eLearning content rapidly because they can engage students and other educators within the context of a simple workflow. This capacity is further enhanced by a welcome capacity to migrate existing training materials into engaging rich media experiences.
Adobe® Captivate® 5.5 Provides Simulation Tools
Captivate provides educators with simulation software. This capacity makes it easy to teach through preplanned demonstrations both within the classroom, and within a more complex online space. This capacity for demonstration is especially suited to blended mode teaching where the teacher walks through a pre-recorded demonstration with student in a face to face situation, but with an ability to provide a ready reference for self-direction and revision.
In this example, I have simulated using the levels tool in Photoshop. However, it is an underutilisation of the software authoring tool to think that simple simulations is all that can be achieved. “Capturing and creating simulations is just the tip of the Captivate iceburg,”
Solid Deployment Options of the Authoring Software
Adobe® Captivate Reviewer provides the potential to share eLearning projects between arts practitioners and their team members. This provides a context for all kinds of collaboration and a space within which to solicit “in house” comments and feedback. This capacity to communicate with and through the software provides a way to dramatically reduce the time required for a review cycle.
It can be published in a variety of ways and this means students can access the final product easily and from their own preferred chosen style of device.
Media Editors a Bonus Provided by Adobe® eLearning Suite
Rapid eLearning Authoring and Simulation with standard LMS integration and publishing options is quite achievable when an author uses the simple Captivate web authoring software. It is perhaps a better option to use Adobe® eLearning Suite if you want the more developed and robust approach to your course offering. ELearning Suite adds the industry’s most powerful media editing software packages such as (Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, Acrobat, Soundbooth and more). These tools are further enhanced by deployment options such as multi-scorm packaging and an ability to deliver to mobile devices.
“When evaluating an authoring tool, the three most important integration and collaboration factors are that the tool is SCORM conformant, the tool integrates with leading learning management systems, and the tool allows easy sharing of content”
Syntegration of a Web Authoring Style
As each web authoring tool has been extended to the eLearning Suite there is an add functionality and integration of systems, which makes the workflow between Captivate and the media editors smoother and more productive. Combined this range of tools form a system, or a synergistic capacity, which is unbelievably potent for eLearning course development. The unlimited capacity for teaching the Visual Arts is only in premature stages of development.
Learning to navigate interoperability between products within this powerful potpourri of software capabilities becomes an intuitive adventure. After a very steep learning curve this streamlining will save time, effort and frustration.