We make use of them every day, and yet I still did not know how to define "tooltip". Isn't technology funny that way? We know so little about the things we use everyday.
" A tooltip is a message which appears when a cursor is positioned over an icon, image, hyperlink, or other element in a graphical user interface". - Thanks Google.
Ok, first step down. Next, I needed a little inspiration for my second #elhchallenge of the year. I thought, "let me head on over to Dribbble to see what I can drum up".
Voila! Hundreds of designers have shared their tooltip mockups, and now I have a clue about how to design and use them effectively.
But I still needed some design inspiration for the challenge - including how to use them in elearning.
Then it came to me as I was writing an email, and erasing all the instances of "just" that I had inadvertently slipped into the draft:
"I just wanted to let you know that..."
"Just a quick note about..."
"Let's just wait and see if..."
In 2020, I want to write more effective, direct, and concise emails. I want to eliminate filler words and say what I mean without worrying about how I come across.
BINGO!
I created a short scenario interaction on writing effective emails. Try it out here: Writing Effective Emails Micro-learning Interaction
Tooltips help the user navigate the course, and make decisions about what to keep in an effective email.
Resources: I used Youtube Studio for the intro music. I referenced 11 signs of weak email writing from managersorbit.org for the content. I also grabbed a screenshot of a new message box from Gmail, and photos from Unsplash.com
Proud of myself for actually completing two challenges in a row! I almost went off the rails with this one. I was creating complicated branching, building slides and scenes...then I remembered to keep it simple.
I went back to my 1:1:1 rule; 1 slide, 1 interaction, (created in) 1 hour. While the final product has a little more content than that, starting with 1:1:1 helped me map out a simpler route to the final learning objectives. By the end of this interaction, you should be able to identify the signs of weak email writing.
Like I always say, the Articulate E-learning challenges are a great way to:
🍔 Build your portfolio if you are a new designer
🍔 Get your work seen by other industry professionals and receive feedback from them in real-time
🍔 See how other developer/designers interpret content
🍔 Practice your design skills :)
Articulate Storyline is a rapid e-learning development authoring tool with several development solutions including their new cloud-based solution, Articulate Storyline 360.
My name is Nyla Spooner, and I am a Learning Experience Designer. Find out more about me here: Nyla Spooner on LinkedIn