Build a Lesson: Quick Start
Building a Skyllful Lesson runs in a set order, from capturing the screens your Learners work in to publishing a finished version, and this quick start walks new Content Developers and Instructional Designers through the whole path and names the article that covers each stage in full.
What is a Lesson made of?
A Lesson is a series of steps. Each step is one screen the Learner sees, plus the action the Learner takes on that screen. The screens are Replicas, so they look exactly like the application your Learners use on the job. Learners complete the finished Lesson in Skyllful Simulator, on a mobile device or in a desktop browser.
What do you need before you start?
- Skyllful Studio access, with permission to create Lessons in the Learning Program you are working in.
- A Learning Program, a Course, and a Module. A Lesson is filed inside a Module, and a Module is filed inside a Course, so all three have to exist before you create the Lesson. See Create a New Learning Program and Create a Course or Module.
- The screens your Learners work in: a recording of the workflow, a webpage you can capture, or screenshots of the application.
What are the stages of building a Lesson?
Stage |
What you do |
Where it is covered in full |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Capture the screens | Record the workflow on the same type of device your Learners use and upload the video to the Source Videos tab of the Video Library, or capture a webpage as HTML, or upload screenshots straight into the Screen Library. | Record a Workflow, Upload Workflows into Skyllful Studio, Capture a Webpage Using HTML |
| 2. Turn the captures into Replicas | Capture the frames you need from the video in Replica Video Capture, then convert your screenshots into Replicas from the Screen Library. Conversion creates the background that makes the screen look like the real application, and the buttons and text become elements on top of it. | Convert Videos into Screenshots, Convert Screenshots into Screen Replicas |
| 3. Refine the Replicas | Name and adjust the elements, add the buttons and text fields the Learner will act on, and clear any sensitive data if Local Data Masking is on for your Learning Program. | Navigate the Replica Maker Screen, Add Buttons to a Replica, Local Data Masking Overview |
| 4. Build the Lesson | Create the Lesson in Lesson Builder and add one step per screen, in the order the Learner works through them. The step table below covers this stage. | Create a Lesson in Lesson Builder, Modify Lesson Steps |
| 5. Set up the modes | Write each step on its General tab first, then open an individual mode tab only where that mode needs to say something different. | Lesson Mode Overview |
| 6. Check the Lesson | Run the quality checklist, preview the Lesson the way a Learner sees it, gather comments from your reviewers, and approve the steps. | Check a Lesson Before You Publish, Preview and Review Lessons, Approve Lesson Steps Before Publishing |
| 7. Publish the version | Publish from the bottom bar in Lesson Builder. Every publish points at one numbered version, and Lesson Builder always shows you which version is live. | Publish a Lesson |
Note: Publishing is not the last thing standing between your Lesson and a Learner. A Learner reaches a Lesson only when it is published and included in an active assignment. Publishing makes the Lesson eligible; the assignment decides who sees it and when. Setting that up is covered in Create an Assignment.
How do you build the Lesson in Lesson Builder?
Step |
Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Open your Learning Program, then select the Course you want to work in. The Courses Overview screen opens. |
| 2 | In the Modules panel, choose your Module. The Lessons panel fills in and its [+] becomes available. |
| 3 | Click the [+] in the Lessons panel header. Lesson Builder opens as an empty Lesson. There is no separate new Lesson prompt. |
| 4 | Enter a Lesson Title. This field is required. |
| 5 | Add a Description. This is what Learners read before they start the Lesson. |
| 6 | Set the thumbnail. Hover the thumbnail well and click the upload arrow, then drop in a new file or select an image already in your Learning Program. An image cannot exceed 5 MB. To have Skyllful produce one for you instead, click Generate Thumbnail. |
| 7 | Build the first step. Add a screen to it from the Screen Library or upload one, enter the step Name, then add the control the Learner will act on. A new step arrives holding no-action-required, which is a real value for a step where the Learner only reads and taps to continue. |
| 8 | Click Create. The Lesson does not exist until you do, and Preview, Distribute, and the publishing controls stay unavailable until then. |
| 9 | Add the rest of the steps using the [+] between steps, one step per screen, in the order the Learner works through the task. |
| 10 | Click Preview to open the Lesson as a Learner sees it. Use the caret beside Preview to choose a mode; each mode opens in a new browser tab. |
| 11 | When the Lesson is ready for Learners, click Publish Version in the bottom bar. |
Note: The step's General tab is the foundation of every mode. One description written there feeds the Talkthrough narration, the Walkthrough prompt, and the Practice hint, and rewording a mode's own copy never changes the General tab. Build General first, then open a mode tab only where that mode needs different wording.
Note: Give every Lesson a thumbnail. It is what Learners see for the Lesson in Simulator, so a Lesson without one is missing the thing Learners recognize it by. Studio will let you create a Lesson without a thumbnail, which is exactly why it is worth making a habit.
What can go wrong on your first Lesson?
Symptom |
What to do |
|---|---|
| The [+] in the Lessons panel is greyed out | Either nothing is selected yet or you do not have permission. Check that you have chosen both a Course and a Module. If you have and it is still greyed out, your account does not have permission to create Lessons in this Learning Program. |
| Create does nothing | Check that the Lesson Title is filled in and that the first step has a Name and something in Selected Controls. All three are required. |
| You cannot select screenshots to convert | In the Screen Library, click Select in the toolbar first, then hold Ctrl and select each screen. A selected screen shows a green outline. |
| Your captures from a video disappeared | Unreviewed captures are lost when you leave Replica Video Capture. Capture again, then review the screens before you leave the screen. |
| The editing controls on a screen are unavailable | The screen is used in a published Lesson. Screens cannot be edited until the Lesson is unpublished. The Lesson itself can be edited while published, which creates a new version. |
| Learners cannot see the Lesson you published | Publishing makes the Lesson eligible, not visible. Check that the Lesson is included in an active assignment. |
If you need help, start with your manager, then your Local Administrator. If additional assistance is needed, your Local Administrator can submit a support ticket to Skyllful.
FAQ
Do you have to build every Lesson mode? No. A step takes its content from the General tab, so writing General builds the step. Open an individual mode tab only when that mode needs to say something different.
Does every step need its own screen? Yes. Every step in a Skyllful Lesson is built on a screen, pulled in from the Screen Library or uploaded to the step.
Can you edit a Lesson after you publish it? Yes, and you do not need to unpublish it first. Editing a published Lesson creates a new version, and the version that is live stays live until you publish the new one.
Does publishing a Lesson give Learners access to it? No. A Learner reaches a Lesson only when it is published and included in an active assignment.
Where do Learners complete the Lesson? In Skyllful Simulator, on a mobile device or in a desktop browser.
Skyllful Knowledge Base | Content Developers, Instructional Designers