Here’s a look at simple software simulation authoring tools.

When I ask my clients and instructional technology students to describe the type of content they want to put online, a common answer is application or software instruction. That’s not surprising, as more than half of the online learning out there’s related to information technology. Nearly every organization needs to provide training to users on software or proprietary applications, and the Web can be an efficient way to do this.

One commonly used method is to load screen shots to a Webpage with text instructions. “Click on the XXX button on the navigation bar (highlighted in the screen shot) to get to the ZZZ screen.” While this technique isn’t useless, it offers far less interaction than the ideal course or tutorial.

To make learning more engaging, some folks use live application sharing and collaboration tools, such as WebEx or NetMeeting. Employing those tools, however, assumes that the instructor and learner can be online at the same time, which isn’t always efficient.

Enter asynchronous, help-on-demand solutions

Just like the real thing. There are some high-end tools that enable developers to create software simulations that duplicate every menu item and function of the actual software. By doing so, a user really feels as if he or she is using a live application--without having to worry about making mistakes on a live system. Some of the well-known products in this category include Global Knowledge OnDemand (kp.globalknowledge.com), X.HLP Designer (www.xhlp-usa.com), and XStream Software RapidBuilder (www.xstreamsoftware.com). These products are expensive and the learning curve for developing full-featured simulations is steep. Still, they make sense if you need to duplicate every function of an application.

Demos and simulations. Consider, though, that you need to reduce help desk calls by providing quick answers to several FAQs. In another example, you may need to offer fast and simple tutorials to get new users up to speed on anew CRM software. Or perhaps your organization has had several software updates that it must explain to existing users. In each of those examples, you don’t need a full-blown simulation. However, you do need a learning approach that’s more robust than screen shots.

The good news is that there are a number of inexpensive and learner-friendly tools that make it easy to produce software demos (watch how it works!) and interactive simulations (try it!).

Here’s a breakdown of a few of the most popular tools for creating simple demos and simulations.

Camtasia is produced by the same company that releases SnagIt, which is my favorite screen capture program. It enables developers to take screen videos of specific activities as they occur live on your monitor. This sort of demo doesn’t offer much interactivity, but it’s a major improvement over screen shots. ViewletBuilder, which performs the same sort functions as Camtasia, allows you to add some interactivity to the demos in the form of pop-up buttons and hyperlinks. Meanwhile, with RoboDemo, developers can incorporate reasonably robust interactions into the simulations, such as click spots, feedback buttons, and scoring. I’ve used each of these tools, and I like them all. Each fits a purposeful niche, but I think RoboDemo is the clear winner in terms of features and functionality.

Are you ready to make some demos or simple simulations of your own? Before you jump right in, let me make a few recommendations.

First, advance planning is critical. For example, I was in a hurry to produce an FTP demo, so I just fired up the applications and started capturing screens. Let me just say that it took me longer to get the desired result than it should have. Caveat: Determine exactly which actions you want to show and the narration, text, or interactions that should accompany them--before capturing.

Also, here are two books to help you get started.

Rapid Intake’s Using Dreamweaver to Create Software Demonstrations (www.rapidintake.com) offers a step-by-step guide on how to produce demos and simulations using the screen capture software SnagIt and layers in Dreamweaver. In my opinion, combining these tools is pretty ingenious. In addition, take a look at their other books on Dreamweaver fundamentals and CourseBuilder while you’re at the Rapid Intake Website. All of the books are geared for e-learning development, which sets these Macromedia-centered books apart from others.

Another book worth your time is IconLogic’s Essentials of RoboDemo (www.iconlogic.com/robodemo3.htm). Kevin Siegel’s manual is written as a tutorial, with clear lessons that walk readers through using RoboDemo to build drills and skills training. The authoring tool is actually easy enough to learn on your own, though, by using its help files. But I still like to have a book in hand to use as a reference tool when I learn new software.

As you can tell, I’m psyched about tools that can help developers build simulations and demos. Be aware that some simulation tools are used to build primarily demos that show learners how an application works without allowing them try it for themselves. These tutorials aren’t exceedingly interactive, but interaction may not be what you need. The type of simulation tool you will need depends on what you’re learning objective.