[ANN] Adobe Captivate Workshop at Documentation and Training Vancouver

[Scott Abel]

Don't miss "Adobe Captivate", a half-day workshop with Neil Perlin at  
the Documentation and Training UX Conference, April 18-21, 2007.   
Held in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, the theme of the 8th  
Annual Documentation & Training Conference is The User Experience.  
The event features sessions and workshops that help technical  
communication pros improve the usefulness of the products they create.

Learn more: http://www.doctrain.com
Download the program (PDF): http://www.doctrain.com/images/uploads/ 
doctrain_ux.pdf

Adobe Captivate
Speaker: Neil Perlin    Time: 8AM - 12PM  21 April 2007
Track: Workshops

For years, software training was largely text-based… paste screen  
shots into a document, add some text with descriptions and  
instructions, and voila!  The result worked, but how much more  
effective might it be if “someone” actually “walked you through the  
steps” on the screen?  That’s where Captivate comes in, letting you  
create that “someone”.

Captivate’s primary use is to help capture what’s on the screen as  
you perform a software-based task, such as using a feature in Word.   
That series of screen shots is effectively a set of frames, which  
users can play back as a movie to show them how to perform the task.   
To make the movie more useful, you can add explanations and  
instructions in text or audio form, special effects, even  
interactivity features that let simulate real software operations.   
With these features, Captivate lets you create demonstrations, sales  
training simulations, marketing presentations, tutorials, even fairly  
sophisticated eLearning.  With a few tweaks, you can even use  
Captivate as an ad hoc usability test recorder.

Adding to Captivate’s power is the fact that the movies are based on  
Flash, but you don’t have to know Flash or touch a line of code.   
Better still, Captivate is quick and easy to learn compared to  
traditional CBT authoring tools – two days to get up and running, and  
cheap – US$600.

This workshop provides a very quick overview of Captivate’s basic  
features in order to provide an overview of the tool as a whole.  In  
a busy four hours, you’ll:

     * Look at uses for Captivate.
     * Design and plan a movie.
     * Record a movie to be used as a demonstration.
     * Enhance a movie with text captions and other frame  
“annotation” features.
     * Publish the finished movie.
     * Look at some advanced features.


Learning Objectives

     * Define potential uses for Captivate in your company.
     * Understand major planning and design issues involved in  
creating a movie.
     * Record a new movie.
     * Use various features to explain and expand upon the contents  
of your frames.
     * Publish the movie in SWF (Flash) and Word output.

The only prerequisites are a basic knowledge of Windows, Internet  
Explorer, and PC skills in general.

Skills - A basic knowledge of Windows, Internet Explorer, and PC  
skills in general.

Laptop required.

Equipment – The workshop is hands-on so attendees must bring a laptop  
as follows:

     * Hardware:
     * Pentium III 600 MHz or (preferably) higher.
     * 256 Mb RAM, preferably 512 Mb or more, and 100 Mb hard disk  
space or more.
     * Screen resolution of at least 800 x 600, preferably 1024 x 768.
     * A sound card and speakers.
     * A CD drive or USB drive.

Software:

     * Windows 2000 or XP.
     * A Flash-enabled browser, IE 5+ for the course.
     * Flash Player – any version from 6.0 through 9.0
     * PowerPoint, alone or as a part of Microsoft Office.
     * Captivate 2 – either a licensed copy or a 30-day trial.


For the trial copy, go to http://www.adobe.com/products/captivate/,  
click the Download A Free Trial link, and follow the instructions on  
the screen.  WARNING – If you need to download a trial copy, do so  
within two weeks of the class.



Scott


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DOCUMENTATION & TRAINING: THE USER EXPERIENCE
APR 18-21, 2007 ~ Vancouver BC
Learn more: http://www.doctrain.com

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