iPad iOS 6 – Courseware
Mac Basics – Courseware
PC Basics – Web Based Training

Current clients can log in to their LMS account to access these courses. Stay tuned for online learning for iPad Basics and Mac Basics!

For more information, please email us at info@customguide.com, or call us at 888.903.2432.

• Visit us at Booth 407. Look over our products, and tell us about your training needs.
• Attend our session, “Enriching Training with After-class Resources” at the Technology Enriched Training Stage at 12 p.m. on Wednesday.
• Look for the people in blue shirts! We’re excited to attend the phenomenal sessions at DevLearn.

See you soon!

Of course, the purpose of Presentation Day isn’t only social. It’s really an opportunity to assess how our company is doing as a whole. Each department gives a presentation that reviews the past year and looks ahead to the future. It’s also a time where we try to forecast what the next year will bring, and the goals we need to set in order to make them happen.

While each department has its own set of responsibilities, skills, and goals, here are some of the company-wide initiatives we’ve been working on:

Mobile is a necessity: Making our training material available on mobile devices is something that’s been on our radar for a long time.

What we’ve done: We’ve made a lot of preparations for mobile, such as converting our existing Flash WBT tutorials to mobile-compatible video, and adapting Captivate instead of Flash as our WBT development tool.
On the horizon: We are in the process of making our materials available as iBooks on the iPad, and continue to look for an HTML 5 solution that provides the interactivity we need in the future.

People like to customize: While off-the-shelf training materials like ours are great, people like to have custom courses that are specific to the needs of their organization.

What we’ve done: Customization has always been a main feature of our materials. Whether training is used in print or online, our clients are encouraged to use only the tutorials they need for their courses.
On the horizon: We are working on a new product that allows users to create and manage their own courses online. Look for more information in 2013.

People like great content: Last but not least, content has always been the foundation of CustomGuide. It’s why people keep coming back to us.

What we’ve done: We’ve continued to make new courses available over the last year, in conjunction with making big changes in our development process and tackling new products.
On the horizon: Look for web-based training for the iPad and more business skills titles on the way. As always, we are closely watching release dates and betas on Microsoft Office 2013 and Windows 8 as well.

So as we share in our Presentation Day tomorrow, we invite you to share with us. What are some of the training goals and needs that you have for 2013? How can we help you meet these goals and needs?

Follow these tips for an appealing, easy-to-read, and easy-to-use document.

• Sans serif is easier to read on a screen and is good for headings. Serif is better for printed documents and body text: Sans serif fonts are good for short bits of text, like headings and subtitles. Serif fonts are better for large chunks of text and printed documents.
  

  Characters with and without serifs from Wikipedia

• Use one or two fonts per document: It’s okay to use one font throughout the document, varying size and appearance for headings as necessary. If you choose to use two fonts, use one font for headings and subheads, the other for blocks of text. Instead of using a third font, use color, bold, or italics for emphasis.
• Use 12 pt font size: As a rule, use font sizes that are easy to read. Anything under 8 pt is too small. Ideally, use at least 12 pt for body text and a larger size for headings.
• Paragraph spacing creates white space: Avoid using empty paragraph marks to provide spacing between paragraphs. Use paragraph spacing instead.
• Encourage continuity by keeping lines together: Keep headings with the paragraphs that follow them. Use “Keep with next” paragraph formatting so that the headings and lines remain together.

Newspapers certainly aren’t new; they’ve been around for over 400 years. But clearly they are doing something right. They have evolved over the years to remain appealing to people from across generations, income levels, and backgrounds. They’ve done this by updating their writing style and layout for mass appeal.

The inverted pyramid structure places the most important information at the top, followed by details in decreasing importance.

Training has a few similarities to newspapers. Trainers also have to cater to a diverse audience, and they have to create and lay out the content so it’s appealing to that audience. Given the success of the newspaper, why not take some cues for your own training?

Grab attention with informative lesson names
When you read the paper, you scan its headlines for an overview of the day’s news. “Man sentenced to 12 years for Ponzi scheme,” or “City Council approves property tax hike for 2013”. Sometimes the news from the headline is enough and you don’t need to read any further. Other times, you might want to read more to find out how the news happened. Headlines present lots of information in a way that’s easy to digest.

Lesson or tutorial names should be equally informative. When people take training, they want to know the purpose of the lesson before they take it. They want to know how the lesson is going to solve their problems or answer their questions. For example, instead of naming the feature highlighted in the lesson, such as “Using the Mouse,” highlight the outcome of the feature: “Pointing, Clicking and Dragging Items on Your Computer.” Sharing the purpose of the lesson, instead of just naming the feature covered, gives people a reason to be interested.

Putting first things first: Article structure
The structure of a newspaper article is also something from which trainers can borrow. The first sentence is always the lead, which summarizes the most important facts of the article. The rest of the article explains these facts in greater detail, in order of decreasing importance.

Lessons and tutorials can be structured the same way. Begin with an introduction that provides context and meaning; explain the purpose and objective of the lesson. What will people get from this? Why should it matter to them? Then go on and flesh out those objectives for the remainder of the lesson. This guides people as they learn, letting the lesson unfold in a way that’s easy to follow.

So next time you’re looking for ideas to rejuvenate your approach, try putting on your reporter’s hat. You might find that it’s a great way to up the mass appeal of your lessons.

The exciting thing is that this is only the beginning; the social movement will continue to evolve. It has to, because there is a lot to improve on. Real life is still leaps and bounds better than the social options available now.

Here’s an example: It was Wednesday morning at the Learning Solutions Conference in Orlando, and my co-workers and I entered the hotel’s breakfast buffet. It was very quiet, with only 2 or 3 of us milling about. A cheerful voice said, “Good morning! Would you like an omelet and a waffle?” We turned to see a woman with radiant smile standing at the griddle. Of course we all said yes. It was a great start to the day, and we were all heartened by her hospitality.

The waffles were even Mickey Mouse shaped. Who could say no?

I saw this same scenario play out with each person that came into the buffet. Even the morning’s keynote speaker, John Maeda, strolled out of the buffet with waffle and omelet in hand.

Later on, as Mr. Maeda gave an excellent keynote presentation, he recalled this breakfast experience. He said that the woman at the counter went out of her way to make him feel welcome in a place that often feels intimidating. As a result he had a waffle and omelet breakfast, a rarity for him. Everyone in the audience could sense how much he appreciated her hospitality and enjoyed his breakfast that day.

The next morning, breakfast was completely changed. The buffet was a busy hive of people getting their breakfast, and a line several people deep waited for omelets and waffles. But the real draw was the woman’s hospitality. She took it all in stride, sharing her radiant smile and friendly welcome with everyone.

Was it coincidence? I don’t think so. Mr. Maeda’s respected opinion influenced many people to get an awesome breakfast. They were convinced by his enthusiasm, and were already making the plans for waffles and omelets the next day. It was a real-life example of the power of word of mouth.

I couldn’t help but wonder, what if Mr. Maeda had shared his experience on Facebook or Twitter instead of talking about it during his presentation? Would the response have been nearly as robust? Perhaps it would have reached some in the audience, but probably not as many. And even so, would they have felt his sincerity and excitement? Would they have been as persuaded to try it out for themselves?

To be sure, we are on a path of no return; social is here to stay, and I think that’s good. But it’s exciting to think of the possibilities for its evolution in the future; the possibility that one day a tweet really will be as good as word of mouth.

But for Jon and his family, it was more than a family vacation. It was a chance to continue the relationship CustomGuide started two years ago with AMILAT (Asociación Amigos para Latinoamerica), a non-profit organization that operates an orphanage and school in El Salvador.

Jon High with his own kids, and children at AMILAT

In late 2009, CustomGuide’s founders, brothers Dan and Jon High, were doing their end of the year bookkeeping when they realized that they had a decent profit. Having grown up in a household where giving and helping others was valued and practiced, they decided to donate a significant portion of their profits–$30,000– to someone in need.

They didn’t have to think long before they knew where they wanted to send it. Their mother, Carol High, was a frequent volunteer at AMILAT, which ran a school and orphanage in El Salvador. Having heard her stories about the school and orphanage, they felt their donation would have a positive impact on the students and orphans living there.

“We didn’t really know what would happen with our donation, we just figured it would go for whatever was most needed,” Dan High said. When they were told that the funds went to creating a computer lab, they were pleased.

“Computers and technology are a way for these kids to have more opportunities and a better future,” Jon High said. As for the naming of the lab? “We didn’t expect to be recognized like that, but it’s very flattering,” he said.

The the most valuable lesson is the one taught by the students in their gratitude and appreciation for the opportunity to use these new tools. You can see it in PowerPoint presentation the children made with the help of their instructor. Hard not to love the eager smiles and bright shining eyes from these kids.

CustomGuide’s founders, Jon and Dan High, decided to give the donation because they felt their gift could make an immediate impact. This early exposure to computers is giving the students a better future with new opportunities, according to President Jon High.

“We saw this as a great opportunity to make a difference, and it’s been more rewarding than we ever imagined,” High said.

CustomGuide has a connection to the organization that goes back several years. The extended family of CustomGuide’s founders has long volunteered at the orphanage, and High has also volunteered there.

CustomGuide has a history of charity work, having provided free online training to qualified non-profits in the past. High said that the company hopes to continue its charity efforts in the future.

About CustomGuide
CustomGuide provides Interactive Online Learning, Skills Assessments, and Customizable Courseware for Microsoft Office, Windows, Mac, iOS, and many more software applications. CustomGuide’s courses are available as a hosted SaaS solution or through SCORM for use on your external LMS.

Lion, the seventh version of Mac OS X, was released last July and has arguably become Apple’s most successful operating system. By November of 2011, some sources estimated that roughly 30 percent of all Mac users were already using Lion.

Lion introduces several new features to Mac OS X, such as:

• Launchpad: Launchpad lets you access and manage all of your Mac’s applications, as you would on an iPad, iPod Touch, or iPhone. Simply click the Launchpad icon on the Dock to access Launchpad.
• Mission Control: Mission Control is the new hub of your Mac, which combines earlier versions of Mac OS X’s Dashboard, Exposé, and Spaces features. With just a single click or swipe on the trackpad, you can conveniently view everything on your Desktop.
• Full-Screen Applications: You can now view your applications in full-screen view, so that they take up the entire screen.

We also bid farewell to our existing web based training format with this new release. We feel that we saved the best for last in releasing Mac OS X Lion as the final title of our existing web based training format, as the title delivers the most interactive and detailed web based training ever produced for Mac OS X. Thanks to all of our clients who have helped make our online training such a success.

As a salute to the web based training we’ve produced over the past decade, we’ve included a special Easter egg in the lesson, “What’s New in Mac OS X Lion.” Need a hint? Explore the end of the lesson to reveal the Easter egg.