Discover how to learn Adobe Captivate, an eLearning authoring tool most commonly used by Training Developers, Marketers, and Graphic Designers. Find out the array of career options wherein Adobe Captivate is applied, and how learning this tool can enhance your skills and career prospects.
Adobe Captivate is an eLearning authoring tool most commonly used by Training Developers, Marketers, and Graphic Designers. If you’ve always wanted to learn Adobe Captivate but can’t figure out how to get started, this guide is for you. Here, you’ll learn more about the various ways to learn Adobe Captivate, free resources to take advantage of, and the types of careers that commonly use Adobe Captivate.
Adobe Captivate is software for creating eLearning content such as videos, slide shows, presentations, and software simulations. As a productivity tool, Adobe Captivate allows users to quickly turn out demonstrations and simulations. The program even allows easy conversion of PowerPoint presentations into eLearning formats.
Managers, Human Resources personnel, Educators, and other professionals involved in training use Adobe Captivate to create learning materials easily. Adobe Captivate presentations include responsive design to fit any device. Including desktop, web, tablet, and mobile. Users can easily create interactive videos, virtual reality walkthroughs, screencasts, multi-module courses, and quizzes.
Read more about what Adobe Captivate is and why you should learn it.
Adobe Captivate is a powerful tool for creating eLearning materials in various mediums. Adobe Captivate supports the creation of interactive videos, virtual reality walkthroughs, screencasts, multi-module courses, and quizzes. These tools are ideal for training specialists needing to create onboarding tools for new employees, along with virtual skill or safety demonstrations.
Adobe Captivate is also extremely useful for creating online courses. Virtual walkthroughs can demonstrate practical skills, and screencasting can simulate software use. Multi-model branches allow courses to organize lessons and follow each training session with interactive quizzes. This makes Adobe Captivate ideal for any business wanting to create and sell online courses.
Lastly, anyone can use Adobe Captivate to make creative videos and presentations. Adobe Captivate's responsive design features ensure finished videos and projects are compatible with any device, including desktop, web, and mobile, ensuring viewability from anywhere. Virtual tours, screen captures, and interactive slideshows can make for dynamic visual media for usage in meetings or as marketing products.
Adobe Captivate is used across industries by professionals requiring the ability to create multimedia projects. Marketers, for instance, can create a variety of videos with interactive elements to appeal to consumers on multiple platforms, from web to mobile and television. Graphic Designers can also take advantage of Adobe Captivate’s multimedia features for creating visually appealing videos and web elements.
Since Adobe Captivate mainly involves the creation of interactive videos, Video Editors can gain a lot of flexibility from the program’s features. Adobe Captivate allows Video Editors to add a variety of interactive elements to their projects, which can increase the audience engagement and retention of their videos. Similarly, Real Estate agents can use Adobe Captivate to upscale their property videos, allowing potential clients to virtually tour a home more engagingly than a flat video.
Adobe Captivate shines as a tool for Training Specialists, Instructional Designers, and eLearning Developers. These professions revolve around developing training materials, which allows them to take full advantage of Adobe Captivate’s many interactive tools, including creating multi-model branched courses and quizzes. Adobe Captivate’s templates and asset library allows eLearning solutions to be built quickly and easily.
Adobe Captivate is a must if you’re in any profession requiring training or learning materials. The program is versatile, allowing users to create any eLearning material, from interactive videos to multi-module courses. Adobe Captivate’s various templates allow beginners and program experts to develop training materials easily and quickly.
Nearly any profession requires the creation of presentations for managers and stakeholders. Even if your job doesn’t involve the creation of training materials, you can still benefit from Adobe Captivate. Adobe Captivate has more features than Microsoft PowerPoint, allowing users to create more dynamic and interactive presentations.
If you’re interested in learning other Adobe programs, Adobe Captivate can be a good place to start. Its templates make the program easy for beginners, and its various features serve as a great example of everything achievable through Adobe programs.
Read more about why you should learn Adobe Captivate.
There are a number of ways to learn Adobe programs. The most popular option includes live classes, which can be in-person or live online. Live classes offer engagement with an instructor that will answer a student’s questions in real time. However, in-person class options are often limited to locations nearest a student. Live online courses can be taken from anywhere with an internet connection and do their best to replicate the feel of in-person classrooms. They also don’t feature a commute, which can be time-consuming and costly.
A second option includes on-demand, asynchronous, or self-paced learning. This type of learning is best for students who prefer to learn at their own pace or have work or family obligations that prevent them from attending regularly scheduled classes. Students have more freedom to learn as they wish, but they lack an instructor or guidance, and self-motivation is required to progress through the material.
Finally, students can learn through free seminars, online tutorials, guides, blog posts, or videos. These options are great for individuals wanting to learn the basics of Adobe Creative Suite. However, like other learning options, they don’t feature a proper instructor and will likely not be enough for someone wanting to learn Adobe Creative Cloud to advance their career. Free tutorials can also be outdated.
Read the full guide on how to learn Adobe.
If you’re interested in Adobe Captivate but aren’t ready to dive into a full course, you can start learning Adobe Captivate for free online. Free online courses are ideal for beginner learners to start their journey as they often feature overviews of a program. You can find such free courses through skill-sharing websites such as Youtube, Coursera, or Udemy. In these courses, you’ll find overviews of Adobe Captivate as well as task-specific videos, such as how to add interactive elements, work with fluid boxes, and integrate PowerPoint slides.
However, many of these courses teach older versions of Adobe Captivate. While most of Adobe Captivate’s features are consistent through subsequent iterations, newer versions may possess previously unseen features or place features in different locations. It can also be impossible to verify whether these courses' information is quality or correct. While these free online classes can be valuable and cost-effective for beginners, they aren’t ideal for professionals looking to learn comprehensive Adobe Captivate skills to advance their careers.
Read about more free Adobe Captivate videos and online tutorials.
Some consider Adobe programs challenging to learn as their interfaces and tools could be more intuitive. However, most people successfully use free resources to teach themselves the basics. Prerequisites for learning Adobe Captivate only include basic computer comprehension skills. Thus, beginners wishing to learn the program can do so through online tutorials with minimal cost.
Learning the advanced features of Adobe Captivate usually takes professional training. The program includes features and tools hidden in menus, making it easier to utilize them with training. It’s recommended those wishing to become experts in the program to advance their careers attend professional classes. Professional courses in Adobe programs usually range from hundreds to nearly a thousand dollars. Courses can last anywhere from one day to a couple of weeks, depending on the level of mastery you wish to achieve with the program.
Read about how difficult it is to learn Adobe Captivate.
Users often compare Adobe Captivate to Microsoft PowerPoint and Articulate Storyline. Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation software. It features audio, animations, images, videos, and many other design features to make presentations visually appealing. Many people like working with Microsoft PowerPoint because its menus and interface are intuitive. It’s also cheaper. While a subscription to Adobe Creative Suite costs $54.99 a month, a subscription to Microsoft 365 costs $6.99 a month.
However, PowerPoint isn’t as powerful as Adobe Captivate. While PointPoint functions for creating presentations, it isn’t ideal for eLearning. For one, interactive elements tend to get lost when converting PowerPoint slideshows into easily shareable videos. PowerPoint presentations also aren’t adaptable to various screen sizes like Adobe Captivate. Since Adobe Captivate operates for eLearning purposes, it contains extra features and tools PowerPoint doesn’t possess. There’s even a feature for importing PowerPoint presentations into Adobe Captivate so users can utilize these advanced features. While PowerPoint might be cheaper and easier to create presentations, Adobe Captivate is the better program for developing interactive eLearning materials.
Articulate Storyline is an eLearning software similar to Adobe Captivate. Storyline is often praised for its initiative interface and robust user community. Like Captivate, Storyline supports interactive features and importing PowerPoint slides. While Storyline may work well for simple eLearning projects, Captive contains more robust features, such as virtual reality simulations, widgets, and responsive screen design. Adobe Captivate is a must for more technically advanced projects.
The best way to learn Adobe Captivate will vary greatly on your individual training needs and why you wish to learn the program. Do you consider yourself a beginner learner? Are you hoping not to spend money on your training? Are you looking for a simple overview of Adobe Captivate? If you answered yes to these questions, free introductory courses would be best for you. However, these courses are often outdated and don't feature the comprehensive learning necessary to advance a career. They also lack an instructor, so you'll troubleshoot independently and rely on self-motivation to progress.
If you want to learn Adobe Captivate to advance your career, professional Adobe Captivate training or a bootcamp contains a comprehensive curriculum. These courses feature an experienced instructor and deep dive into Adobe Captivate features. You'll be guided from beginner to mastery skills and learn expert techniques and tips. Some of these courses also offer job search assistance, one-on-one mentorship, or portfolio workshops. Professional training courses and bootcamps are available online and in person and vary in cost depending on the provider and curriculum.
If you're looking to pivot to a new career or industry, you’re likely looking to demonstrate mastery of Adobe programs. In this case, you'll want to look for a certificate program. Certification in Adobe Creative Suite or any of its individual programs shows employers your dedication to training and advancing your career. These programs are just like regular professional training courses and bootcamps but also include exam preparation for gaining certification. Certification exams have a separate cost from training courses.
If you’re interested in getting started with Adobe Captivate, Noble Desktop offers an Intro to Adobe Captivate course that covers the fundamentals of the program. This course is ideal for beginners wanting to become comfortable with using and creating training materials from the program.
Like other Adobe programs, Captivate integrates with other Adobe software such as Photoshop and Illustrator. While Adobe Captivate is a powerful program on its own, its capabilities expand when used with other Adobe products. Noble Desktop’s Adobe Creative Cloud Bootcamp teaches many Adobe programs, including InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Adobe XD. Noble Desktop also offers bootcamps in individual Adobe programs. These courses are ideal if you want to master only one Adobe product rather than learn the whole suite.
A Graphic Design Certificate is also available that teaches Adobe programs along with graphic design principles. Even if your chosen profession isn’t in the graphic design field, knowing basic graphic design principles can elevate the projects you create with Adobe Captivate and other Adobe programs to another level.