The intention with Capensys e-learning is to create effective e-learning rather than a perfect simulation.
Capensys courseware consists of "Nuggets," each 3-4 slides, which are combined into "Topics," each 14-15 slides, then presented as a "Course" such as Outlook 2007 - Managing a Busy Mailbox. Courses are task-oriented rather than application-oriented.
The "Nuggets" are also used in the Capensys ONLINE Floor Support tool. If a user points the mouse at the Page Break button in Word 2007, for example, they will see a list of related nuggets, such as:
Inserting a page break
Associating a page break with a paragraph
Inserting a 'next page' section break
Click here to see how this is organized. Courseware Structure
Capensys assumes that most users do not need a lot of detail to learn a procedure, that once given the overall direction, they can find the details themselves. So topics are limited to 14-15 slides, and some of the information is included as tips–if the user points the mouse at the "Tip" symbol, a text explanation appears.
We aim for consistent, high quality. A template and step-by-step procedures are provided to make this easier to achieve, but careful testing, proofreading and quality control is still required as part of the development process.
A detailed outline, with a screenshot of the application screen, is the first step, and must be approved before the module is developed.
If the module is intended to be part of a full course, it is created in three versions–interactive, demo and exercise (test). Voice-over audio is created for the interactive version, which is then edited for the demo version, and removed altogether for the exercise. A music loop is added for the opening and closing slides, and throughout for the exercise. (The user can mute the audio.)