QUICK USER GUIDE TO CREATING ENGAGING ELEARNING WITH ADOBE SPARK
Gone are the days when an Instructional Designer was only meant to write storyboards and the onus would then shift to the Graphic Designer and Animation Artist to bring the storyboard to life. With the increasing use of tools like Storyline and Captivate, for an ID to stay relevant in today’s competitive job-market, the ID should be able to use any one of these tools to create eLearning courseware. It may sound a steep ask and the ever-continuing argument between ‘roles’ in terms of writing content and designing visuals rages on. The fact of the matter remains that whatever be the task or job-role, one is expected to multi-task today. In today’s blog post, we will learn how you can use Adobe Spark to create engaging eLearning content.
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What is Adobe Spark?
Adobe Spark was launched in May 2016 and has steadily won a fan following among users. Created as an integrated app that facilitates storytelling, Adobe Spark comprises three design apps: Spark Page, Spark Post, and Spark Video. Available both as web and mobile apps, Adobe Spark was declared by Apple to be the Best App on the App Store in 2016. Adobe Spark sits within Adobe’s Creative Cloud framework and the three integrated apps are synchronized with the Adobe Spark web app.
Getting Started
Visit the Adobe Spark web page and sign up for a new Adobe ID using your email. We would recommend that you do this instead of signing in with your Gmail or social media accounts. Once you sign into your Adobe Spark account, this page will greet you.
See the focus on the messaging — “Tell your story by creating a Spark.” Adobe Spark is pitched to the modern learner and creator as a dedicated medium to narrate stories. At the center, the interface gives users the option to ‘Create a new — Post, Page, or Video’. With an easy to understand interface, the on-screen instructions will allow users to create a digital media asset of their choice. Most of the major features are free and users will be required to pay a fee to remove the Adobe branding in the final output.
Spark Post
If you select the Spark Post option, you can either start with your own design template from scratch or choose from numerous existing templates that are classified like — Business, Craft, Food, School Projects, etc. You can use this feature to create images for your social feeds or to create a print brochure or flyer. Here I have chosen a sample template available in Spark. This is how the interface looks like:
You can change the layout, design, add text, or new images all from the comfort of the app or web app itself. Once you are happy with all the changes that you have made, give your file an appropriate name and share/download the final file.
Spark Page
If you are looking to create a webpage for your website, Spark Page is the perfect solution for your needs. This is how the interface looks like:
You can choose from the available themes and add elements that you desire to feature in your webpage and preview and share the final output.
Spark Video
From an eLearning Design perspective, the Spark Post app can help you in creating images of your choice. The Spark Video app will let you integrate and edit existing video content in a coherent format and help you build brief learning nuggets that you can use to design bite-sized learning content.
You can choose from existing story templates or create your own:
There’s a helpful video-tutorial built within the Spark Video App that guides you through the process of creating your own video project.
Follow the tutorial and create a media-rich video that you can download and use. Remember that Spark Video is not a tool to capture or shoot videos, you can use existing videos, music, content, and other visual elements to create an engaging video.
Our Take
We have been steadily observing the growth in the use of video-nuggets and bite-sized learning in workplace learning. In addition to primary eLearning authoring and design tools like Lectora, Storyline, and Captivate; Adobe Spark seems to be an excellent choice for creating bite-sized learning content. Organizations working on a tight training budget or individual learning practitioners looking to create eLearning training content can benefit from Adobe Spark.
Are you looking for a dependable and reputed eLearning solutions provider for your organization? At Origin, we help some of the world’s best-known brands meet their eLearning content and learning technology requirements. Write to us at info@originlearning.com to help us craft your eLearning success story.
