This week, my project development felt less linear than I expected, but I also think it helped me understand the assignment more clearly. Earlier, I had made some progress in Rise 360 because it was simpler to navigate and easier for me to use quickly. I was able to organize content and create a clean introductory lesson without too much technical stress. However, after receiving instructor feedback, I had to return to Storyline because it is the more advanced tool and the better fit for the type of interactive timeline I originally proposed. That shift was frustrating at first, especially because I had also already dealt with problems accessing the Articulate trial. I thought I was signed in correctly, but the desktop app kept telling me I had no subscription. After several attempts, I finally resolved that issue, only to find that installing Storyline itself was also very slow and stressful.
Even though Rise felt easier, I can now see why Storyline is more appropriate for my project. My timeline idea needs more customized interaction, and Storyline offers stronger control through layers, triggers, and navigation. At the same time, this week’s readings reminded me that complexity in the tool should not lead to complexity in the learner experience. Chapter 13 explains that learners benefit when complex material is segmented into manageable parts and when key concepts are introduced before the main content (Clark & Mayer, 2023, Chapter 13). That directly applies to my project. Rather than trying to show the entire history of English at once, I now want to build it in smaller, clearly organized sections that allow learners to move through the timeline step by step.
Chapter 14 also helped me think more carefully about navigation. At first, I imagined giving learners a lot of freedom to click anywhere, but Clark and Mayer (2023, Chapter 14) suggest that high learner control is not always helpful, especially for novices. Since my audience may not already know much about the history of English, I think it makes more sense to guide them through the content in a structured way while still giving them basic pacing control. I also found Chapter 15 helpful because it emphasizes conversational and polite language as a way to make lessons feel more approachable (Clark & Mayer, 2023, Chapter 15). That is important for my project because historical language content can feel intimidating if the tone is too formal.
My contract has not changed in topic, but it has become clearer in implementation: Storyline remains my primary tool, while Rise served only as an early planning draft.
Reference
Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2023). e-Learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning (5th ed.). Wiley.