I have been tinkering around with Adapt for nearly two years and I wanted to share my experiences.
Like most eLearning practitioners, I’m always keen to test new authoring tools and have had a few favourites over the years. I initially loved working in Captivate, then I fell in love with Storyline as it had so much flexibility. Now Adapt is my go to Authoring tool.
I remember when the Open Source Adapt Framework was first released; bribing the Dev team at work with sweets to help me set it up on my computer (it was all a bit too techy, even for me). I felt so accomplished when I customised my first course, but ended up getting stuck and I totally gave up.
My interest sparked again when I watched a webinar showcasing the Open Source Adapt Builder. As soon as it was launched, I bought more lollies and got the Open Source Adapt Builder set-up…it felt like Christmas!
I went searching for tutorials and found Learning Pool’s Adapt Masterclass YouTube videos; they really helped me familiarise myself with what Adapt had to offer. I realised that Learning Pool had added additional functionality to their subscription based Adapt Builder. I spent some time trying to achieve results similar to those Learning Pool were showcasing, but my courses just didn’t seem to have the same polish.
Since then, I subscribed to Learning Pool’s Adapt Builder and the courses I have been able to create are stunning. Here are some of my favourite features from Learning Pool’s Adapt Builder:
- Custom Themes and Menus – This allows me to give my stakeholders options when designing courses for them. My favourite part of working with themes is that I can save them, so I don’t need to apply all my colours each time I want a new course. It really saves me so much time.
- CSS Styling – Being able to customise courses beyond the theming option really allows me to take courses to the next level. It is great when I have a specific theme which I need to match for my stakeholders.
- Branching – The first time I saw the branching feature, it blew my mind. I think that Learning Pool’s Adapt Builder is worth getting for this function alone.
- One page modules – I love that I can create a one-page module. They are great for bite size learning or just-in-time training.
- Responsive HTML output – I don’t even call Adapt eLearning anymore, I call it an App and my stakeholders love it. By calling it an App, it allows them to think outside the box. I have created lots of ‘just-in-time’ training which learners love having access to through their phone.
I’m really excited to see what new features or updates Learning Pool release every month.
Some things on my wish list are:
- Google Cardboard Integration – I would love to give my learners the option to put their phones into Google Cardboard if they wish to immerse themselves in a 360° video.
- Gamification – I would love to issue digital badges or points from within the course.
- Saving Page Layouts and Elements – I would love to see an option where I can save page layouts and elements to use anywhere else in a course without restyling them.
…but of course, I will just have to wait and see what goodies Learning Pool have in store in the future.
If you haven’t already tried Adapt, I recommend you give it a go. Learning Pool offer a free trial period and have a great support system (forums, videos, help desk, webinars, courses) which will allow you to hit the ground running.
