Delivering e-Learning Assets in PDF Format Webinar

Two weeks ago I delivered a presentation at the DevLearn 09 Conference on: Delivering e-Learning Assets in PDF Format which focused on how one can deliver a range of content using the ubiquitous PDF format. During my session I showed my participants how I am using Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended, Adobe Captivate 4, Camtasia Studio, and Adobe Presenter to create rich and engaging eLearning assets. Using a combination of these tools it is possible to create some interesting materials that can be shared with the Adobe Acrobat Reader. One of the real take aways from the presentation is that it is now possible to embed video in your PDF's which your users can view with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.

The presentation was well received and it occurred to me that there may be others out there who may benefit from this presentation who were not able to attend the DevLearn 09 Conference. I am in the process of putting together a 1 hour long webinar to show you how to make the most of the tools you have at your disposal. There will be a nominal fee of $19.99 to attend the webinar but your return on investment will be huge. You can pay and register for the webinar by clicking on this link.

In the webinar you will learn how to:

• Create interactive handouts in PDF format with Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro
  
• Embed a SWF and FLV File into a PDF
• Create PDF Portfolios with a range of rich media
• Create Flash based eLearning assets with Adobe Presenter
• Upload a Captivate SWF file to BlackBoard as a zip package
• Embed Adobe Captivate SWF files into your projects
• Output your Adobe Captivate projects in PDF format
  

The Delivering e-Learning Assets in PDF Format Webinar is scheduled for January 11, 2010 at 1:00 pm EST. To Register click here. Plan now to attend!

Acrobat.com Now Integrates Tables & Presentation

I have been following Acroabt.com since its inception and today Adobe has finally integrated their suite of services under one roof. Acrobat.com is an essential service for Adobe since it is tightly integrated into Acrobat 9 line of products. If you have a copy of Acrobat 9 you can easily upload your PDF files to Acrobat.com come and share them with others by providing them with a URL that is generated. Acrobat.com can also be used when distributing PDF Forms and becomes the repository for the information that gets submitted.

The Acrobat.com Suite now includes Buzzword, a collaborative word processor, Tables, a database tool, and Presentation, a slide deck presentation tool. All of your files are accessible to you when connected to the web and you can invite others to collaborate on your documents if you wish. All of the applications have the very aesthetically please Flash look to them and are very inviting to use. Additionally you can use your Acrobat.com account to connect and share your computer with up to two other people, which makes is easy to collaborate and do small trainings or webinars. While the feature set looks to me to have stayed the same having all of the tools under one roof really helps to solidify this offering. I still have my free Acrobat.com account but if you feel that you need more storage or would like to host larger meetings you can upgrade to one of their Premium accounts. Take a look at Acrobat.com and let me know your comments.

DevLearn 09 Follow-up

After nearly a week out of the office attending the Adobe Summit and DevLearn 09 Conference I'm back in my office catching up. I met some really wonderful people and really enjoyed the conversations we had about the state of eLearning. It was very exciting to meet up with professionals in this area who I have only interacted with online for the past couple of years. To say the least, we are living through some really interesting and exciting times when it comes to learning and how to capitalize on the power of the web for eLearning.

I had over 50 participants at my session Delivering e-Learning Assets in PDF Format and focused on how one can deliver a range of content using the ubiquitous PDF format. During my session I showed how I am using Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended, Adobe Captivate 4, and Adobe Presenter to create rich and engaging eLearning assets. Using a combination of these tools it is possible to create some interesting materials that can be shared with the Adobe Acrobat Reader. One of the real take aways from the presentation is that it is now possible to embed video in your PDF's which your users can view with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader 9. During my demonstration I showed how you can embed SWF files into a Word document and create an interactive handout which can be saved as a PDF file. In fact this is the way I recently created my ebook Technology Supports for Writing. There a lots of ways to use PDF's to create handouts and eLearning materials using Adobe Acrobat Portfolios. You can take a look at this video that I created to give you some ideas of how you might use the Portfolio feature in the work that you do. To get a copy of my handouts from the conference you can download them from the DevLearn 09 Web site.

Creating Interactive Handouts with Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended

Earlier this week I spoke about how you could easily create printed handouts from your Captivate 4 projects. While this is certainly an added benefit and a good approach when you are doing workshops-wouldn't it be even better if you could show your participants how to accomplish the skill in an interactive handout. Why not take the printed handout an add a video demonstration to it to make it even more engaging for your learners. If you have Adobe Acrobat Pro9 Extended it is easy to add a video to your Microsoft Word document and then convert it to a PDF file and distribute it electronically.

In this example I created my video demonstration using Captivate 4 and embedded the SWF file directly into Microsoft Word handout from the Adobe Acrobat Tab within Microsoft Word. Once I have slected the SWF file I can set the Poster view for the video that the user will see when they open up the handout. Because I am creating a PDF file I can be confident that the end user will be able to view the contents of the PDF with nothing else but the free version of Adobe Reader 9.1. Using this technique is a great way to explain and demonstrate to your participants how to accomplish a task on the computer. You now have the best of both worlds- you can print out your handouts or electronically distribute them with embedded videos. Either way I'm sure your workshop participants will appreciate your efforts, having the various level of supports available to them during and after your workshop. If you need a place to host your PDF you should take a look at Acrobat.com a free way to upload your PDF and share them. So go ahead and download my handout and sit back and watch the video demonstration on page 1. Just a tip if you Right click on the video when it is running you can view the video in Full screen view.

Speaking at the DevLearn 2009 Conference

I am really excited to have my presentation accepted this year at the DevLearn 2009 Conference which will be held in San Jose, CA from November 10-13, 2009. This is a great opportunity for me to share how I have been using eLearning in the work that I do teaching graduate courses in educational and assistive technology. I will be speaking on the topic of: Delivering e-Learning Assets in PDF Format. It is also an opportunity for me to meet some of the renowned leaders in the field of eLearing and learn the latest from some of the best in the field. While I'm out in San Jose, I will also have a chance to spend Monday at the Adobe Learning Summit 2009, an all day conference focusing on learning more about the Adobe products and how to best use them to put together innovative eLearning materials.

Here is a synopsis of my presentation for the DevLearn 2009 Conference:

Using the ubiquitous PDF format, it is now easier than ever to deliver your digital assets for your students to view with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader 9. Today you can also take advantage of screencasting software (Adobe Captivate and Camatasia Studio) that can be integrated into a PDF Portfolio. These technologies now let you incorporate rich media into your courses, and deliver them as a PDF.

In this session, participants will learn how to create PDF Portfolios that can contain Word documents, graphics, Excel spreadsheets, and video, and deliver your final document in one PDF file. You will learn how to use Adobe Acrobat Extended Pro with Adobe Presenter to create e Learning materials from your PowerPoint slides that you can publish as a PDF. You will also view a recently completed eBook project called Technology Support for Writing that incorporates SWF videos.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to create a PDF Portfolio using a variety of file formats


• How to create e-Learning materials from your PowerPoint slides using Adobe Presenter


• How to integrate SWF videos from Camtasia Studio and Adobe Captivate into your PDF Portfolios


• How to deliver your PDF Portfolio with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader


• How to add SWF videos to Microsoft Word and PowerPoint

If you you are interested in eLearning this is one conference you will not want to miss. Hope to see you there.

The Many Faces of Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional

I have written extensively about the new features in Adobe Acrobat 9 over the past several months and continue to be very excited with all of the possibilities. In fact recently I have done several presentations with a focus on using Adobe Acrobat 9 for digital asset distribution. As a faculty member, I have found the ability to create PDF Portfolio's indispensable for the work that I do. Now that I am able to embed videos, SWF files, Word documents and deliver it as one unified PDF file it has made my life that much easier for posting materials onto BlackBoard.

As much as Adobe Acrobat 9Professional has helped me, I have found Acrobat to be extremely important in the work that I do with students with motor impairments. For the past several years I have relied on Adobe Acrobat to allow me to create accessible worksheets and documents for students that have difficulty using pencil and paper. Whether, if I am converting a worksheet that was created from Microsoft Word or scanning a worksheet into Acroba,t having the rich feature set in Acrobat has allowed the students that I work with to complete the worksheets on the computer as their peers would. With Acrobat's Form Recognition feature I am able to quickly set up the worksheet without too much touching up. The Form Recognition feature automatically looks for underlines and will place field boxes so that the student can type into the worksheet. This feature alone has saved teachers an incredible amount of time as they set up the worksheet. Teachers can also manually add form fields as well as create dropdown boxes, radio buttons and checkbox buttons for students to respond with. Using the tabbing function the student can move from one field to another quite easily. And lets not forget that Acrobat 9 also supports text to speech which can be enabled within the document which can be turned on from the View menu. Adobe Acrobat 9 also makes it easy for students to zoom into an area without any degradation in the clarity of the fonts. Likewise, students can use the various annotation features built into Adobe Acrobat to markup the document. I have had students use the arrows to complete worksheets that have involved telling time as well as some who have used the stamp feature to respond on the worksheet. All told Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional can provide students with a way to access a worksheet or page on the computer that can be filled out. With the release of Adobe Acrobat 9 it is now possible to have the teacher set up the document and email it home so that the student can access it with the Adobe Acrobat Reader 9. It is important to note that if the teacher wants the student to have access to the annotation features, then when the PDF file is created you must select Extend Features in Adobe Reader.. from the Advanced menu.

While I'm sure the folks at Adobe did not intend to develop an assistive technology tool- Adobe Acrobat 9 has proven to be an incredible tool to provide students with a way to make worksheets accessible on the computer. To view a quick Jing screencast on using the Form Recognition feature in Adobe Acrobat click here.

Adding Mindjet Player PDF's to a Acrobat Portfolio

This has been a very exciting week as I explore some of the new features in Mindjet MindManager 8. As I have shared with you, one of the most exciting features from my perspective is the Export to Mindjet Player, which allows you to create shareable maps with anyone who has Adobe Acrobat Reader 9, on their computer. This feature allows you to open and close topics and subtopics and maintains live links to the web. Being one who likes to experiment with software, I wondered what would happen if I placed a Mindjet Player PDF into one of my Adobe Acrobat Portfolio's that I have created. At the present time the Mindjet Player does not support attachments so one of the ways around this if you own a copy of Adobe Acrobat 9 is to create a Portfolio and add the files you would like to the portfolio. Inserting the Mindjet Player file into my portfolio was very easy and worked right out of the box. Double clicking on the Mindjet Player opened the map and from there I was ready to go. Now I can have my MindManager 8 maps displayed and add whatever additional files I need right within the portfolio. You will find as I have, that creating Acrobat portfolios is a great way to package files for training and consulting.

You may have noticed that I have placed a new widget on my blog recently to have you sign for free premium assets and information. This will allow me to target my readership and provide you with timely information which may include video's, newsletter, and or articles. For those of you that sign up now I will email you a link to Portfolio so that you can see just how easy it is to package your maps and attachments. So if you have a moment, please subscribe for the free services at the top of the blog by entering your name and email address- thanks Brian

Go Green with Forms with Adobe Acrobat 9

In my previous post I wrote about the new Portfolio feature in Adobe Acrobat that is bound to change the way you think about sending PDF files. In this blog installment I want to talk to you about how both business and school organizations can cut down on their use of paper and reduce their carbon footprint by using the Forms feature in Adobe Acrobat 9. If you work in any organization you know that there is a form for just about everything and anything that takes place in your office. Forms for travel Expenses, Sick Days, Vacation Requisitions, Tuition Reimbursement and the list goes on and on. I'm sure you know the drill- get the paper form fill it out and send it via inter-office mail. Or in some instances the form may be posted on your organization's website but you still need to print it out and fill it in and send it to the appropriate office. That seems like a lot of work, and if you multiply that by how many employees are in your organization that sure is a lot time and paper that is being used in the process.

Using the Forms feature in Adobe Acrobat 9 will not only make your organizations form flow more efficient-but can significantly reduce the amount of paper and time that it takes to complete and route forms. If you haven't looked at the Forms feature in Adobe Acrobat 9, I suggest that you do. You will find it very easy to create forms from your existing paper based forms, electronic forms that you may have in Word, or from a Acrobat PDF template. If your existing form is paper based you can scan it into Adobe Acrobat 9 and have Acrobat convert it to a fill in blank form for completing with Acrobat Reader. The process is very quick and within minutes you will have an electronic form ready to be filled in. If you are not familiar with the process you can use the Forms Wizard to walk you through the process for creating your form. Within minutes you will have your form ready to go. Once your form is complete the next decision you need to make is how are you planning to distribute the form? You have several options-you can distribute it on Acrobat.com, as an email, and to an internal server. Using the free Acrobat.com website makes it a cinch to distribute forms and all of the heavy lifting for distributing the forms is done within Adobe Acrobat 9. You can get a free Acrobat.com account and use it to distribute your forms-however, bear in mind that if you are dealing with information of a confidential nature you should consider hosting the form on your internal server. Once the form is distributed you can email it to select individuals or have it available on your website for completing on line with Acrobat Reader 9. The real beauty of using Adobe Acrobat 9 Extended is the ability to use the Track Forms feature to view the Responses. When you initiate this feature Adobe Acrobat 9 will go out to your server or to Acrobat.com and pull in all the completed forms. If you have never used this feature it is a very fast and efficient way to collect your information without the need to print out forms on paper. This can quickly change your entire work flow and help your organization move towards moving forms in a paper-less fashion. Now imagine the cost saving and just how good you will feel that you are doing something good for the environment!. If you want to try it out you can certainly download Acrobat 9 Trial version from the Adobe web site.

To see what it is like to fill out the form, you can complete this Contact Form and send it to me with the Adobe Acrobat Reader. To download the Contact Form click on the Menu in the Thumbnail below and download the form. After filling in the Form just click on the Submit Form button which is located on the top of the Acrobat Reader.

Creating PDF Portfolios in Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended

I have been a long time user of Adobe Acrobat and use it extensively in the work that I do as a professor and technology consultant. While many of us are used to using Adobe Acrobat Reader- you don't really understand the power and utility of Adobe Acrobat until you start working with with the Standard, Pro or Pro Extended versions. When Adobe announced that they had just released version 9 of Adobe Acrobat, I knew that I had to take a look at it and see what new features it offered. I once again would like to thank Roman from A & R Edelman for providing me with a review copy of Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended. There are currently four different versions in the Adobe 9 product line which include: Reader, Standard, Pro, and Pro Extended. Each version has a different set of features which are delineated on this matrix provided by Adobe. For the purpose of this review I am going to be speaking about Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended version which has the most advanced feature rich set.

In this post, I will highlight two very exciting features which I know will change the way we think about PDF's (Portable Document Format) and how we use them. On the top of my list is the introduction of portfolio's and the ability to play Flash assets within a PDF which takes this version to a whole new level. Let me start off by talking about the Portfolio feature which I know will make us all rethink how we create and distribute information that we produce. I'm sure that if you are like me, you often get emails with several PDF attachments. When the email is delivered into your inbox you have no idea which one to open first and once they are opened you then have to save them to a folder and organize them in some way so that they are useful to you. Well all of that has changed with the concept of creating a PDF Portfolio with Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended (Portfolio's can be created with the Standard and Pro editions of Acrobat).

Now imagine that you can now take your existing PDF files, SWF files, Word files, Excel documents, and picture files and create one unitary portfolio which stores all of your documents. When you are ready to share your documents via an email attachment there is only one file to attach. While this is certainly an improvement over the way we used to do it, now imagine that you have the ability to craft the portfolio so that it has the look and feel that you hope to achieve for your communication. Once you begin to create your portfolio you can choose a layout, add a welcome and header, select a color scheme, specify file details, and publish the portfolio. I found it very easy to create the look an feel that I wanted and I was able to add my picture to personalize my portfolio. I choose to use the Revolve layout which gave me a sort of cover flow effect that you might find on your iPod. To add the files to my portfolio- it was as simple as dragging them into the portfolio from my desktop where they were stored. You should note that my PDF Portfolio contains several different types of files, just to show you the power of this new feature. I included a Word document, a Captivate SWF movies, and several PDF files. Acrobat allowed me to use the nice blue color schemes from a large palette of colors. One of the really impressive features is the ability to present your documents in the order you desire when the recipient receives them. By creating an Order field within Acrobat, I was able to place a number from 1 to 6 into the field and then sort the documents so that they appear in the order that I want. As you create your PDF Portfolio there are lots of features that you can change to insure that it looks and behaves as you wish. Before publishing your PDF Portfolio there are lots of ways that Acrobat allows you secure your PDF portfolio. Click here to watch how I created a PDF Portfolio in Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended

What really got me excited is the way Adobe Acrobat 9 handles files within the portfolio. You will see if you download my PDF Portfolio that Acrobat will allow you preview your Word and Excel files right within the portfolio. You will also note that I placed a Captivate 3 swf demonstration video within the PDF file that plays right within Adobe Acrobat Reader 9, without the need of any additional players. This feature alone is huge. Imagine being able to great technical and training guides complete with Flash videos embedded right within the PDF. With Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended you can easily embed Flash video within your Word and PowerPoint presentations. Once you install Adobe Acrobat 9 Extended you will now have a new Acrobat menu embedded within Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. By simply using the Embed Video drop down you can insert Flash and FLV videos right within your documents that are automatically converted to Flash when you publish your PDF's. This is truly an awesome feature and one that will change the way we think about how we use PDF's for training and distributing information. Remember you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader 9 to view the Portfolio.

As part of Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended you also get the added bonus of Adobe Presenter 7 which is an add-in to PowerPoint. I must say a very powerful add-in to say the least. I have highlighted the use of Adobe Presenter in a previous post- so if you missed it here is the link.