2. About CourseLab
CourseLab is a powerful, yet easy-to-use, e-learning
authoring system that offers a programming-free
environment for creating high-quality interactive e-
learning courses which can be published on the
Internet, Learning Management Systems (LMS), CD-
ROMS and other devices.
3. Key features of CourseLab:
A WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) environment for creating and
managing high-quality interactive e-learning content.
No HTML or other programming skills required.
Object-oriented Model allowing the construction of e-Learning content of
almost any complexity - as easy as putting together building blocks.
Scenario feature enables building complex multi-Object interactions with one
mouse click.
Interface is based on an Open Object Model and enables you to easily extend
and enhance existing libraries of Objects and templates, including those
created by the user.
Built-in test creation capabilities.
Embedded mechanisms for animating Objects.
4. Key features of CourseLab:
Insert rich-media content like Macromedia® Flash®, Shockwave®, Java®,
and video in different formats.
Easy insertion and synchronization of sound files.
Import PowerPoint® presentations into the learning material (requires
optional PowerPoint Import Pack).
Screen capture mechanism enables emulating the functionality of different
software (requires optional Screen Capture Pack).
Simple intuitive Action description language.
Access to additional functionality of the Course Player for advanced users via
JavaScript.
No Java® required for Course Player.
5. What is an e-Learning Course?
An E-Learning Course comprises structured, thematically self-contained
learning material which can be distributed to the learner through the Internet
or from memory devices such as hard drives, CDs and Flash cards.
Powerful multimedia content − graphics, animation and other rich media
material (audio and video in different formats, Flash-movies, Java applications
and others).
Interaction – navigation through the learning material can depend on Actions
taken by the user.
Different options for assessing and evaluating gathered knowledge (tests,
exercises). Incorporation of an e-Learning Course into a Learning
Management System and communication between them which enables
efficient management of the overall learning process.
6. E-Learning Course Structure:
An E-Learning Course comprises structured, thematically self-contained learning
material which can be distributed to the learner through the Internet or from
memory devices such as hard drives, CDs and Flash cards. Typically, an e-
Learning Course contains self-learning material but, unlike books or manuals, also
provides the following:
Powerful multimedia content − graphics, animation and other richmedia
material (audio and video in different formats, Flash-movies, Java applications and
others).
Interaction – navigation through the learning material can depend on Actions
taken by the user.
Different options for assessing and evaluating gathered knowledge (tests,
exercises). Incorporation of an e-Learning Course into a Learning Management
System and communication between them which enables efficient management of
the overall learning process.
8. Learning Module Structure: Slide,
Frame
Slide
The Slide (interactive webpage) is the main building block of the Learning
Module.
Slides are used by the author to contain the learning material, tests, and
exercises. The sequence and navigation of Slides is predefined by the author.
A Slide consists of Frames.
Frame
A Frame is a component of a Slide. Every piece of content is placed inside its
own Frame – so the Frames on a Slide could contain graphics, a button, text or a
video.
9. Special Slides: Title-Slide, Master-Slide
Title-Slide
The Title-Slide is the introductory page of the Learning Module and appears
on the computer screen as the Learning Module launches. The system
preloads the main part of the Module and loads the introductory page in the
background, which makes it faster for the user.
Important! Only text, pictures, special Objects, the “Start Module” button
and the “Title-Slide Popup” window can be placed and edited on the Title-
Slide.
3.4.2. Master-Slide
All Slides in the Learning Module are created on top of the Master-Slide.
The Master Slide is a Slide that contains various elements that are common to all,
or several, Slides. The Master Slide could contain logos, navigation Objects
(Next / Previous), Help buttons, etc.
10. Creating a New Learning Course
Start CourseLab.
On the “Start Page” screen, select “Create New Course” (if CourseLab is already
running, go to menu File – New – Course, or select the “New Course” icon, or use
the Ctrl-Shift-N key combination). A new Course Wizard will open.
Click the “Next” button to start creating new Course.
Insert a new course name and specify the folder where the course files will be
located (if it does not exist, it will be created automatically) and press “Next”.
NOTE: Unlike “Naming the Course”, where any symbols can be used, when naming
a Course Folder, do not use the special characters (@, #, $, ^, %, &, *, and
quotation marks).
11.
12. Editing a Module
The Editing Module Design Settings
You are able to change each new Module’s width and height, change the
font for every text insertion, change a Module’s color palette, and change
the prefixes of identifiers for Slides, frames and other Objects as necessary.
Select from the menu, Module – Design Settings or use the Alt-F7 key
combination.
13. Editing a Title-Slide
To turn on the Title-Slide editing mode, choose the View – Title sub-menu
or the corresponding quick switching button in the Slide’s Panel.
14. Editing a Master-Slide
To turn on the Master-Slide’s editing mode, use the View
– Master sub-menu or the quick- switching button in the Slide’s panel.
15. Editing a Slide
To turn on the regular Slide’s editing mode use the View – Normal sub-
menu or the quick switching button in the Slide’s Panel.
16. Naming a Slide
By default, the newly created Slide is titled “Untitled”. To change the name
of a Slide, rightclick the Slide icon in Slides panel and choose Rename from
Context menu. There are no limitations for naming a Slide.
17. Slide ID
The Slide ID is used for internal programming purposes only (establishing
relationship among the Slides, enabling process of Slide transition, etc.). By
default, CourseLab sets a Slide ID automatically for every new Slide and
usually there’s no need to change it.
18. Selecting the Master-Slide for the Slide
As previously mentioned, a Learning Module may contain several Master-
Slides.
The Master-Slide is the background for associated Slides and can be modified
while in editing mode: right click on the Slide from the Slide Panel and select
Master from the context menu. In the popup window select the desired
Master-Slide.
By default, when a Module is created, the first Slide created is linked to the first
Master-Slide from the list of the Module’s Master-Slides, regardless of the
number of Master-Slides for that Module.
After that, every newly created Slide is based on the Master-Slide that is
associated with the previous Slide. For example, the foundation for new Slide
11 will be the Master-Slide of Slide 10.
19. Create and remove Slides. Change the
order of Slides
When a Module is created, it already contains one Slide. To add a new
Slide, go to the Insert menu and select New Slide (or use Ctrl–M shortcut
keys), otherwise, right click on the Slide Panel and select New Slide from
the context menu. Note, that the new Slide will be placed right after the
currently selected Slide vs. being placed last position on the list of Slides.
To delete a Slide, select the Slide you want to delete and press the Del
key. Alternatively, on the Edit menu, select Delete Slide or use Delete Slide
from the Slide’s context menu.
20. Module and Slide Preview
While editing, it is always possible to preview what the Learning Module
will look like in a Web Browser. For viewing of the entire Module select
Module – View Module (or press the F5 key, or press the corresponding
button on toolbar). The Module will be loaded into the separate browser
window, which will be limited by the configured width and height of the
Learning Module.
21. Inserting Text Box
You can add a Text Box to a Frame as follows:
Click the “Insert” menu option and select “Text Box”, or choose the “Text
Box” icon from the toolbar.
An area of text appears on the Slide with the “Enter Text” instruction on it.
Alternatively, copy the desired text to the Clipboard (CTRL-C) and paste it
right into the Frame (CTRL-V). This insertion Method will more convenient
in many cases.
22. Editing Text. Editing Modes
Double click Text Box or use the “Edit text” option from the context menu
to open a text editing window.
24. Insert a Picture into a Text Box
You can also insert a picture right inside the text. While in editing mode,
click the “Insert Picture” button and locate the picture file.
25. Balloons
Balloon Objects are used for opening various text instructions on the Slide.
In general, the amount of text in a Balloon instruction is relatively small
26. Change the Size of Picture
Once picture is inserted, you may format it within CourseLab using the
“Size” tab on the “Format Picture” dialog window.
