Captivate 2.

Captivate 2, CD-ROM, 2006, Adobe Systems Incorporated, $599.

Jan's department is responsible for training users who have purchased her company's applications. The application is updated regularly and all training, including quarterly updates, occurs at Jan's facility at company headquarters. Customers have been increasingly vocal about the training not being timely enough and the expense of sending people to the training center, even though they appreciate how responsive the company has been in making changes to the application based on user feedback.

Jan's boss asked her to research how her department could use the Internet to better meet customer training needs and reduce the need for travel. After learning about the company's needs, users, and constraints, my Learning Peaks team suggested a number of technology options. One thing we recommended for Jan's team was Captivate to populate a library of "Show me" task-based demos and "Let me practice" task-based simulations.

There was a time, not too long ago, when training folks were pretty clearly divided into two camps: the technology-based instruction as evil spawn of Godzilla camp and the technology is the answer to all of the planet's problems camp. I hung out in the middle and am gratified that this approach has weathered the test of time. The hyperbole surrounding technology seems to have subsided. It's no longer either/or, but when and how.

Rapid authoring allows anyone with time, inclination, software and hardware, and content to develop technology-based instructional materials fairly quickly. It is becoming popular and many of the tools are really quite good. (I could not have imagined myself making this statement a few years ago.)

We have used Captivate, formerly RoboDemo, for a long while. Our design team has built many applications demos, practice sessions, and tests with this tool. As much as we liked it, we were frustrated by its limitations. They weren't obvious until you wanted to build in higher levels of interactivity, like different text or audio feedback based on how many times the learner had attempted the interaction.

I was excited to review this new version. My review is from the perspective of an instructional designer (which is what I am) so my main consideration during the review was whether Tomas trainer, Constance content expert, Frances faculty member, or Inez instructional designer could build instructionally sound applications and scenario simulations without extreme frustration and in short order.

If you're the kind of person who says "Gimme the headlines," here's the headline: Captivate 2 is great. I liked it before and like it more now. I can recommend it as one of the tools (you almost always need more than one tool ... but that's a different article) to consider purchasing for your authoring toolbox if you need to build not-too-complex applications or scenario simulations.

What's It Good For?

The purpose of a learning simulation, online or otherwise, is to place the learner into a realistic model of a (people or technical) system in order to allow them to experience how the system operates, practice using the system (without worry about failure, safety, and embarrassment), receive realistic feedback, and attain mastery. Really well designed classroom and online learning almost always attempts to simulate the use of the content in the real world in this way.

Captivate has many uses but here are the main ones, in my opinion. Captivate can build

* applications training that allows learners to see how the application works (demo mode) or interact with it in a simplified, simulated manner (practice mode).

* a library of task-based application demos or practice simulations from which learners can select based upon their needs.

* branched and not-too-complex scenario-based simulations--sometimes called "soft-skills," but that term irks me.

Why do I keep repeating the words "not too complex"? Captivate will allow you to built robust simulations, but there are limitations to the level of complexity you can build in. If you don't need to duplicate every aspect of an application, want to allow users to see how major features work, want to show what has changed since the last version, or provide quick tutorials for the most frequently asked questions, Captivate is a good choice. I haven't used Captivate to build scenario simulations yet but intend to do so soon.

For mission critical software applications that require extreme precision, replicating the software to the nth degree may be important. There are other authoring tools that let you duplicate all the functionality of a software application. A few of the products in this category are RapidBuilder and Firefly.

Simwriter, Flash, or Director are tools of choice for building almost-like-being there scenario simulations. Immersive simulations, where you actually feel as if you are inside the simulation, are needed for critical skills where realistic practice is critically important, like how to handle a hazardous waste spill or how to land an airplane when one of the engines has died.

Out of the Box

Installation was pretty typical. I used earlier versions of this tool so the interface, although changed a bit, was familiar enough that I could get going pretty quickly. The Captivate 2 interface is, in my estimation, fairly non-intimidating as authoring tools go.

If you're new to the tool, you'll want to spend a little bit of time "playing" so you get the lay of the land. The installed program contains eight "Getting started tutorials," available from the help menu. Each tutorial is developed with Captivate, so you can see how the program works while seeing it work. I really wanted job aids for these eight topics, and since Captivate allows you to publish to Microsoft Word (VERY handy, if you're into job aids as much as I am), I wish they had taken these tutorials a step further. But I'm only whining a little, because the tutorials are good.

Adobe has a Captivate developer center with lots of additional information. There's a Tips and Tricks section for more experienced developers with good information. For example, there's an article on updating screen captures, an almost universal issue when building training for always-seem-to-be-changing applications.

There are lots of other articles in the developer center and most are geared towards people with a fair amount of authoring or programming experience. I also perused the Captivate Forums, an online discussion area where you can ask questions and get answers, and it looks like a good place to get help.

Tip for newbies: Always look for the answer to your question in the help files and existing forum postings before asking a question. Experts are much more willing to help someone who has genuinely attempted to help themselves.

The embedded help files include some links to Captivate movies and I took advantage of them. Another place to get answers is the knowledge base (http://www.adobe.com/support/captivate/). Technical Support can also be purchased by the incident or for unlimited incidents.

Interface

The interface (see below) is simple and that's a huge plus. On the left side of the interface there are three tabs, as the callout below shows. The Storyboard tab provides access to each slide of your movie. You can copy or delete slides and do other tasks here.

Double-click on a specific slide and the Edit tab will open so you can change the slide timings, add in interactivity, etc. The Branching tab helps you build branched scenarios with multiple paths. (I'll explain branching in more depth later.) Most of the tools' functionalities can be accessed through the toolbar, menus, or by right clicking on an object that you want to edit.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The screen captures shown in this review come from the two sample projects that come with Captivate 2.

Ease of Use

Captivate is intuitive and easy to use. The learning curve is lower than many other authoring tools, in my opinion. If you are building an application demo, for example, it lets you capture the application in use, including on-screen activity such as mouse clicks and typing. So, for example, if you wanted to train learners to send attachments using Outlook, the tool can automatically capture the steps you take in attaching a file to an email as you perform those steps. Captivate

captures all of your mouse movements, clicks, and screens along the way.

Adding in additional captures after the fact was easy--a big plus because, as I was editing, it became clear that I needed a few more screens here and there. Adding interactivity (click spots, text input, rollover text, feedback, etc.) to all screens was quite easy.

I was prepared to deal with frustrations but had few. (Yahoo!) The one issue that I had in previous versions and still have is with moving the cursor around. When adding slides, you need to synch the cursor in those slides with the ones before and after. I had some problems aligning the cursor movements even though there are specific commands for doing just this.

How It Works

Starting a project is easy. First select what type of simulation you want to build. The choices include software simulation, scenario simulation, and other, as the graphic below shows. If you select "Software Simulation," for example, you then select additional options, including recording a specific application window or your entire desktop. If you select scenario simulation, a project wizard can help you fill in the needed slides.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

So, for example, if you wanted to build a demo on how to attach files to an email using Outlook, you would select "Software Simulation," then select "Application," and select "Outlook" from the list of applications that are open on your desktop. Then start performing the steps you want to capture and Captivate captures what you are doing. Sweet.

It's a really good idea to plan your project before capturing. Once you have planned and performed your captures, preview the project as a whole to see how it looks. Take notes about what needs to be added, edited, fixed, and so on. Then start editing and testing the edits.

Planning before starting to capture can save much time and frustration. I know this because I tend to be a jump-right-in and don't-bother-with-the-documentation kind of gal and regularly pay the price in terms of frustration and wasted time. I'm hoping my bad habits will induce you to have better ones.

One of the things I did to get up to speed with the new version was to make duplicate copies of the two examples that come with the application. Then I practiced on those duplicates without worrying about messing anything up. Worked well!

Neat Stuff 

Captivate 2 has some features I really appreciate, including the timeline, auto captions, branching, the project library, zooming, grayout, and quizzes. I'll describe each of these.

Timeline

The timeline, shown in the screenshot below, lets you control the timing of objects (audio, callouts, text captions, etc.) on each slide. For example, you may want a text caption to appear at a certain time or a callout to appear after the learner performs a specific action. Or you may want audio to be timed with the appearance of other objects. This functionality is enormously useful and is one of Captivate's best new features.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Auto captions

One of the handiest features, in my opinion, is automatic text captions. When using this feature, Captivate automatically builds text captions describing your actions, as shown in the below. So, for example, if you are selecting an item in a menu, Captivate can automatically build a caption that says, "From the Laugh menu, select Chuckle." After the text captions are automatically created, you can edit the text or change the formatting.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

This feature can be a HUGE time saver. And you can always add additional text captions manually, as needed. If you need to publish a project that contains text captions in multiple languages, you can export and import text captions to make the process more efficient (great for localization).

Branching

Branching means providing different paths to the learner, based on their interactions. Each branch, or route that a learner takes, can be based on correct or incorrect answers, options the learner selects, text entered into a field, or other criteria.

The feature I most wanted in previous versions that is now available was branching based on multiple attempts. For example, after an initial wrong answer, the message "That's incorrect. Try again." might appear. A second wrong answer might branch to another slide that provides remediation and perhaps a URL to go to for more information. Critical feature, instructionally, in my opinion.

Well-designed branching can add a lot of instructional value. You might give the learner the choice of which path to take. So, for example, a learner could click on a click box with text that says, "I want to know more," to go to slides with more in-depth information or a URL or one that says, "That's enough for now," to skip ahead to the next topic.

Library

The project Library, shown in Edit mode in the screenshot below, lists the images, audio, and other media in a project so you can easily reuse them, as desired, by dragging them onto other slides. New items are added to the Library as you bring media items into the project. Added items remain available for reuse even if the original slide where the item appeared is deleted.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Who's zooming who? (Sorry, couldn't resist ...)

Zooming can be very useful for drawing attention to detail in a specific portion of the slide. I remember viewing an application training DVD a while back that zoomed in on various aspects of the application and I wondered how that was done because it was so effective and I wanted to replicate it. It looks like I can replicate this effect in Captivate. (I spent a small amount of time working with this feature with little success, but I'm going to play some more because I want this to work.)

Gray out

It looks like you can highlight certain areas on the screen and gray out the rest of the screen so learners focus on the desired area. This would be especially useful for training users on complex applications where you don't want learners to feel overwhelmed by the complex interface.

One of the ways I've seen designers handle this problem is to only show the area of the screen under consideration. I don't like that approach because it forces the learner to deal with a small portion of the screen out of context with the rest. This gray out approach seems more useful to me.

Quizzes and capturing data from interactions

Captivate 2 contains multiple quiz question types (multiple choice, fill in the blank, matching, short answer, and more). Quizzes can be timed or untimed, set as required or optional, and set to allow one or more than one attempt. Results can be integrated with learning management systems.

I'm also intrigued by the ability to capture scoring data from various elements, including click boxes, text-entry boxes, and quizzes.

Publishing and Integration

After a project is completed, it can easily published it in a variety of file formats including:

* executable (EXE)

* Flash (SWF)

* Print (MS Word)

Flash demos and simulations that are created can be viewed on a CD-ROM or the web if the user has the Adobe Flash player, version 6.0 or later. Flash produces small file sizes (in many, but not all cases) so the published SWF file can often be sent via email, too.

Adobe Captivate 2 can create content that is compliant with e-learning standards such as AICC, SCORM, and PENS. It also contains features for developing accessible content. For example, you can add a transcript of the dialogue included in an audio file for hearing-impaired users. I didn't try any of these out for this review.

Published Captivate content can be easily integrated with many other web authoring tools and web development environments. General web authoring tools and general instructional authoring tools commonly allow importing Flash movies. Presentation tools like PowerPoint and Adobe Connect also allow importing of Flash movies. So publishing to Flash makes the content usable in many environments.

Value

Captivate 2 is one of the easier tools to learn, especially considering how powerful it is. It's also affordably priced. So that makes it a potentially valuable addition to an instructional developer's tool arsenal, in my view.

Recommendation

If you need to build not-too-complex application demos and simulations or scenario simulations, Captivate is an excellent choice. It plays well with other industry standard tools such as Flash, Dreamweaver, and Microsoft PowerPoint. Since the selection of simulation and export-to-Flash tools is rapidly growing, you might consider downloading free trials of those that match up with your requirements and taking them for a test drive.

You might think that Captivate is only for folks who develop instructional materials, but its potential use is actually broader. Tech support folks can quickly build and email short "how-to" movies to users. Marketing folks can provide visual demonstrations of how their product works. Tech writers can link short demos to documentation files (as Adobe has done with their Captivate help files).

You can make a Captivate movie about how to make that amazing recipe that everyone always wants to know how to make. Your kids can build movies to show the grandparents how to use their email application! See what happens when you get me started ...

Review by Patti Shank 

Product Ratings

Captivate 2

Overall rating  *** 1/2