Description
Course Overview
Creating effective e-learning requires more than putting text, images, and videos onto slides. Instructional designers need to understand learner engagement, interaction design, navigation, assessment, and the technical tools used to turn a learning concept into a finished online course.
Let’s Create a Course in Articulate Storyline 3 / 360 by Thor Melicher takes a practical, learn-by-doing approach to Articulate Storyline. Instead of teaching isolated software features through disconnected exercises, the course guides students through the creation of an e-learning course from beginning to end.
What Will You Learn?
The course covers a practical collection of Articulate Storyline skills, including:
- Navigating Storyline
- Creating slides
- Working with scenes
- Adding text
- Designing course layouts
- Importing PowerPoint content
- Applying design themes
- Creating triggers
- Working with variables
- Using states
- Creating layers
- Adding buttons
- Creating interactions
- Adding characters
- Creating quizzes
- Using drag-and-drop interactions
- Designing the Storyline Player
- Publishing courses
- LMS tracking
- Making instructional design decisions
The course also introduces Action Mapping, an instructional design approach focused on performance outcomes.
Learn by Building a Complete Course
The central strength of this course is its project-based structure.
Instead of learning Storyline through a series of unrelated demonstrations, students follow the instructor while developing an actual course.
This creates a more realistic learning environment because the software features appear when they are needed.
For example, instead of learning triggers simply as a theoretical feature, learners use them to control navigation and interaction within the course.
This approach helps connect individual Storyline features to practical e-learning development.
Introduction to Action Mapping
Before getting deeply into Storyline, the course introduces Action Mapping.
This is a valuable addition because software skills alone do not make someone a good instructional designer.
Action Mapping encourages designers to focus on:
- Desired performance
- Learner behavior
- Real-world actions
- Business outcomes
- Relevant practice
This helps establish an important principle: the purpose of an e-learning course should be more than simply presenting information.
Getting Around Articulate Storyline
The course provides an introduction to the Storyline interface and navigation.
Students become familiar with the development environment before beginning the main project.
This includes understanding:
- Slides
- Scenes
- Timeline
- Story view
- Navigation
- Project organization
For beginners, this orientation can reduce the initial learning curve associated with opening Storyline for the first time.
Experienced Storyline users can also skip the introductory navigation lesson and move directly into the project.
Creating Slides and Adding Text
The course quickly moves into practical development.
Students learn how to:
- Create slides
- Add text
- Format text
- Position content
- Organize text blocks
- Preview slides
The instructor also introduces small challenges that encourage students to make design decisions instead of simply copying every action.
This is useful because Storyline development involves both technical execution and visual communication.
Understanding Triggers
Triggers are one of the fundamental mechanisms in Articulate Storyline.
They allow designers to control what happens when a learner interacts with an object or when certain conditions are met.
Examples include:
- Jumping to another slide
- Showing a layer
- Changing an object
- Playing media
- Running an action
- Controlling navigation
The course introduces triggers early and then builds on them as the project becomes more interactive.
Working with Variables
Variables allow Storyline courses to store and use information.
The course introduces variables through practical examples rather than presenting them purely as technical concepts.
This is important because variables can be used to create more personalized and dynamic learning experiences.
They can support functionality such as:
- Tracking learner input
- Displaying customized information
- Controlling conditions
- Managing interactions
- Creating branching behavior
Importing PowerPoint Content
A particularly practical section focuses on importing PowerPoint presentations into Storyline.
This is highly relevant to professional instructional designers because organizations frequently have existing training materials in PowerPoint format.
Instead of rebuilding an entire presentation manually, designers can import existing content and then enhance it.
The course discusses potential issues that can arise during PowerPoint import and demonstrates how to work with imported material.
Applying Storyline Design Themes
The course also demonstrates how built-in Storyline design themes can be applied.
Themes can help establish consistency across:
- Fonts
- Colors
- Visual elements
- Slide designs
However, the course also discusses troubleshooting situations where a theme does not behave exactly as expected.
This is useful for learners who want to understand both the convenience and limitations of built-in design features.
Making E-Learning More Engaging
A major focus of the course is moving beyond passive information delivery.
Students explore ways to turn a simple “tell” experience into something more interactive.
Techniques include:
- User input
- Interactive buttons
- Questions
- Characters
- Layers
- States
- Drag-and-drop activities
This helps learners understand how Storyline can be used to create experiences rather than simply digital presentations.
Quiz Questions and Assessment
The course demonstrates how to add quiz questions to an e-learning project.
Assessment can be used not only to measure whether learners remember information but also to influence the flow of the learning experience.
A well-designed question can:
- Test understanding
- Encourage reflection
- Provide feedback
- Introduce a scenario
- Move learners through a course
The course incorporates quiz functionality into the larger project rather than treating quizzes as an isolated feature.
Characters and States
Characters are another feature covered in the course.
Students learn how to add characters to their course and work with different character states.
States can be used to alter how an object appears depending on learner interaction.
For example, an object can have different visual states for:
- Normal
- Hover
- Selected
- Visited
- Disabled
Understanding states is important for creating responsive interactions in Storyline.
Layers
Layers provide another powerful mechanism for building interactive experiences.
The course introduces layers as one of the three major Storyline interaction mechanisms alongside triggers and states.
Layers can be used to display additional information without navigating away from the current slide.
This makes them useful for:
- Pop-up information
- Feedback
- Dialogues
- Instructions
- Additional content
- Interactive scenarios
Creating Buttons
Buttons provide a straightforward way to let learners control an interaction.
The course demonstrates how to create buttons and connect them to triggers.
This allows learners to actively navigate or interact with course content instead of simply clicking a standard Next button throughout the experience.
Drag-and-Drop Interactions
The course also includes a practical drag-and-drop interaction.
Drag-and-drop activities can be useful for:
- Categorization
- Matching
- Sorting
- Sequencing
- Decision-making
- Knowledge checks
The course demonstrates how to build this type of interaction and deal with practical development challenges.
Making the Course More Interactive
One of the more substantial sections focuses on moving the project beyond simple information presentation.
The course introduces multiple interaction techniques and shows how they can be combined.
Learners work with:
- Buttons
- Layers
- States
- Triggers
- Input fields
- Characters
- Drag-and-drop functionality
The objective is not simply to add interaction for the sake of interaction, but to use Storyline’s capabilities to make the learning experience more engaging.
Mini-Challenges
The course uses mini-challenges as part of its teaching approach.
Rather than having students watch every demonstration passively, the instructor presents practical problems and encourages learners to attempt solutions.
A possible solution is then demonstrated.
This is one of the most effective aspects of the course because instructional design rarely involves following an exact sequence of instructions.
In real projects, developers frequently encounter situations where there are multiple possible ways to accomplish the same objective.
Customizing the Storyline Player
The Storyline Player surrounds the actual course content and controls how learners interact with the published course.
The course dedicates a substantial lesson to customizing the player.
Students explore options related to:
- Navigation
- Appearance
- Controls
- Course presentation
- Player configuration
This is useful because the player can have a significant impact on how professional the final e-learning course feels.
Publishing the Course
Creating an e-learning project is only part of the workflow.
The course also explains how to publish the finished project.
Students learn about publishing settings and how the final course can be prepared for deployment.
This provides a complete workflow:
Design → Develop → Test → Publish → Deploy
LMS Tracking
The course also covers tracking settings for Learning Management Systems.
This is important for professional e-learning because organizations often need to track:
- Course completion
- Learner progress
- Assessment results
- Course status
The publishing section helps learners understand how Storyline output can be configured for LMS deployment.
Practical Learning Approach
The course’s learning methodology can be summarized as:
Watch → Try → Solve → Compare → Improve
This is considerably more effective for software training than simply watching a long sequence of demonstrations.
Students are encouraged to make decisions and solve problems throughout the development process.
That makes the course particularly suitable for people who learn best by doing.
Who Should Take This Course?
Instructional Designers
Instructional designers who want to add Articulate Storyline development to their skill set are the primary audience.
The course combines instructional design concepts with practical software development.
E-Learning Developers
Professionals who create digital learning materials can use the course to strengthen their Storyline skills.
Course Creators
Online course creators who want more interactive experiences than traditional video courses can benefit from learning Storyline.
Corporate Trainers
Corporate training professionals can use Storyline to build interactive compliance, onboarding, product, and skills-training modules.
Beginners in Storyline
If you have never worked with Storyline before, the course provides a structured introduction through a complete project.
Who Should Skip This Course?
The course may not be the best choice for experienced Storyline developers who are looking for advanced techniques.
For example, professionals seeking deep coverage of advanced variables, complex conditional triggers, JavaScript integration, sophisticated accessibility workflows, advanced quizzing, or complex branching systems may need a more advanced course.
It is also not primarily a general instructional design course. It focuses heavily on using Articulate Storyline to develop an e-learning project.
Course Requirements
The listed requirements are straightforward.
Students need:
- Articulate Storyline 3 or Storyline 360
- Basic understanding of instructional design
- A willingness to learn Storyline
A trial version of the software is mentioned as an option in the course requirements.
The course does not assume that learners already have extensive Storyline experience.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Practical, project-based learning
- Short and focused course
- Covers Storyline from start to finish
- Introduces Action Mapping
- Teaches triggers, states, and layers
- Includes PowerPoint import
- Covers quizzes and interactions
- Includes drag-and-drop activities
- Covers characters and variables
- Explains Storyline Player customization
- Covers publishing and LMS tracking
- Uses realistic mini-challenges
- Suitable for instructional designers and e-learning developers
Cons
- Last updated in 2019
- Uses an older version-focused course structure
- Relatively short at approximately three hours
- Not a comprehensive advanced Storyline course
- Does not cover the full range of modern e-learning development practices
- Learners seeking advanced Storyline 360 features may need additional resources
Is Let’s Create a Course in Articulate Storyline 3 / 360 Worth It?
Yes, with some qualifications.
If you are new to Articulate Storyline and want a short, practical course that teaches the fundamentals by building an actual e-learning project, this course is a good option.
Its strongest feature is its learn-by-doing methodology. You aren’t simply presented with a list of Storyline features. Instead, you encounter features as they become useful while building the course.
The course also has strong learner feedback, with a 4.5/5 rating from more than 2,200 ratings and more than 8,000 enrolled students.
However, the 2019 update date is the most important limitation. Storyline 360 has continued to evolve, and newer versions may include features and workflows that are not covered in this course.
Therefore, the course is best viewed as a foundational Storyline learning resource, not a complete guide to every current Storyline 360 capability.
Career Benefits
Articulate Storyline is a useful skill for professionals working in:
- Instructional Design
- E-Learning Development
- Corporate Learning and Development
- Digital Training
- Employee Onboarding
- Compliance Training
- Product Training
- Educational Technology
Adding Storyline development skills to an instructional design portfolio can demonstrate that you can move from a learning concept to a functioning interactive course.
However, software knowledge alone is not enough. Strong instructional design principles, assessment design, accessibility, visual communication, and learning evaluation are equally important.
Summary
Let’s Create a Course in Articulate Storyline 3 / 360 by Thor Melicher is a focused, practical course for anyone who wants to learn the fundamentals of Articulate Storyline through hands-on development.
Its biggest advantage is that it teaches Storyline in the context of building a complete e-learning course. Students work with triggers, states, layers, variables, characters, quizzes, drag-and-drop interactions, PowerPoint imports, player customization, publishing, and LMS tracking rather than learning these features in isolation.
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