Creating a Interactive
Learning Tutorial on a Budget
Megan A. Davis & Kee-Young Moon
What you need
Overview
•Hardware : Librarians (technical knowledge
helpful)
•Software : Adobe Captivate (main),
Macromedia Flash (optional)
To address different learning styles and to meet the needs of our distance
education learners, Information and Library Services at UMUC created Secrets
of My Research Success, a self-paced interactive tutorial with game-like
qualities to teach students information literacy concepts. This tutorial, a crossteam initiative created entirely in-house, models the research process via a
story.
•Starting Your Research (02:52)
•Background Reading (03:42)
•Forming a Search Statement (04:27)
•Database Selection (01:26)
•Database Searching (04:00)
•Article Selection (01:36)
•Article Access and Evaluation (04:10)
•Internet Resources and Evaluation (01:32)
•Citation and Plagiarism (02:00)
•Conclusion (02:39)
Phase 1: Writing a Script
• Develop a topic
• Discuss what to write
• Create Learning Objectives
• Begin writing script
Phase 2: Developing a Product
• Create slides while the script is being
revised
Using Adobe Captivate and Flash, clipart graphics, and library staff members to
“voice” the characters, the story unfolds as Quentin works with “Mike,” the
librarian, moving through the research process. Learning is reinforced through
interactive learning activities and a final assessment quiz based on the learning
outcomes is also included. Course instructors who insert this tutorial into their
WebTycho online classrooms can have the final assessment quiz scores
automatically emailed to them.
• Pre-made images save time and money.
Images for the tutorial included:
•Microsoft Office Clipart
•Clipart acquired via University licensing
Watch the tutorial at
agreements
http://www.umuc.edu/library/tutorials/RPT/rpt.shtml
• Text was added to highlight the concept
being taught.
•Utilize other scripting languages such
•Utilize library liaisons to get your tutorial
• Create games (we used Macromedia Flash as Perl and Java, if you can do it.
“out” .(We were able to get the quiz
as it is licensed by the University)
Otherwise, games and quizzes can also embedded in several online classrooms,
be created using Adobe Captivate.
including the entry level graduate
•Recruit actors and record script
management classes.)
•Continue revising script
•Make it visible on the website.
Writing a Script
Tutorial
Module1
Module Element
Quiz Engine
Game1
Module2
…
Game Element
Game2
• Insert games between modules to make
the learning process engaging.
• Include an assessment device (A quiz
with 15 questions, randomly generated
from a pool of 40 questions, is presented
at the end of the tutorial)
Review
Integration / Approval
Completion and Roll-out
Phase 3: Testing and Receiving
Feedback
• Present tutorial and solicit feedback
(our groups included library staff and
the School of Undergraduate Studies)
• Resolve any issues, such as
production mistakes, timing and
explanation of the concepts.
• Test functionality of the games and
the quiz.
•Work out technology bugs (Technology
details had to be worked out to ensure
all the students took the tutorial before
leaving UMUC and their scores were
sent to their instructors to get credit.)
Conclusion
Quiz
Lessons Learned
• Be Flexible, especially with the timeline,
the script, staff change and the
technology. There are always
alternatives.
• Be Selective – It is impossible to create
a product that everyone likes.
• Be Patient – Some steps may take
longer than other, particularly when you
need to involve other departments.
• Plan for maintenance – it will be
ongoing and time consuming, chiefly
when using database screenshots and
searches
• Make sure you work with the “right”
departments. At our university, web
materials policies and standards are
more important than instructional
design.
University of Maryland University College, Information and Library Services www.umuc.edu/library