Rapid E-learning and Consultancy - Kineo - Captivate 2

Captivate 2 - E-learning Tool

Mark Harrison looks at how the updated Captivate 2 shapes up as an all-round simulation development tool.

Captivate is the daddy of the current e-learning development tools and is, by far, the most popular way of creating software simulations. Recently, the latest version of the tool was released and we've been using it extensively for many clients over the last months, so have a pretty good idea of what it offers the interactive learning designer.

It's a bit different from the old Captivate, a few more features and a slightly more complex interface. But is it much better? This is what we thought of it….

General view:

Captivate is getting easier to use. It is a very robust tool (which can't be said for some others in this space) and makes it very easy to capture screen interactions. We suggest you do a little bit more to polish your end product rather than leave it to the standard capture modes but you can do anything you want if you simply capture screens in the 'Demonstration' mode.

So, it's reliable and easy to use so it's got a lot going for it. But let's see what rating it gets and why.

Kineo Rating: Recommended

Even if you have pots of money, you will be hard pressed to find a more effective tool for capturing and presenting interactive software walkthroughs. It struggles to get out of that particular space, even though Adobe are pushing the idea that it is a powerful general simulations tool. You can create 'consequences'-based scenarios quite easily but the overall presentation is still a little basic.

It is definitely not going to make you throw away your copy of Articulate (or your server-based authoring tools). But it is definitely getting more fully featured and so you can contemplate using it as a single authoring tool especially if your main requirement is software simulations.

Criteria	Rating	Comments
Ease of use	Excellent	Really easy to use
Instructional design flexibility	Good	A little simple once outside its core screen capture functionality
Ability to incorporate existing content	Good	Would be even better if it kept the embedded animations in Powerpoint if you import the content (but few tools do this to be honest)
Ability to handle variety of topics	Average	Could be used for basic programmes on most topics but you really have to say that its forte is mainly systems training
Ability to incorporate graphics and media	Excellent	Handles Flash files, video and audio.
Ability to publish SCORM/AICC compliant courses	Excellent	Also integrates directly with some key LMSs
Technical support available	Average	Difficult to get real support but it is such a popular tool you can find guides in major bookshops

Read on for a full review of the product. You can see all of our e-learning authoring tool reviews here.

Captivate 2: The Full Road Test

Ease of use: Excellent
The timeline-based approach is easy to play with and it is really easy to start capturing and polishing your Captivate movies. The only bugbear (as in the old Captivate) is the inability to copy and re-use any question slides that you create; it becomes a bit of a pain creating them form scratch each time. But, in most cases, if you are trying test knowledge on a computer system it's better to get the learner to try and do a task - and so multiple choice questions are not the best way of doing that.

Instructional design flexibility: Good
You don't get the same range of presentational screens as you get with other tools like Articulate but they don't do systems training - so it is not fair to be too critical here as it is a bit like comparing apples and pears. It does all you need to create really interactive systems simulations so you have to give it a 'Good' rating overall.

Ability to incorporate existing content: Good
It is very easy to import PowerPoint slides, and import audio and flash files including video. You can cut and paste text in the normal way. Like tools we have worked with, the only frustration is that it does not keep all those natty animated builds that you previously created within Powerpoint - one of the big plusses with Articulate.

Ability to handle variety of topics: Average

It's the King of systems capture tools - it's just a little too basic for other areas. But that said, with a bit of fiddling (and the turning off of the time-line navigation mode), you can create interactive programmes on a whole host of subjects.

Ability to incorporate graphics/media: Excellent
All very easy.

Ability to publish SCORM/AICC compliant courses: Excellent
Captivate 2 generates content that will run in all the main LMS tools.

Conclusion:

If you have any systems training to be created as e-learning solutions, Captivate 2 has got to be on your shortlist of tools. You can also have a go for a month for free so you can be sure it's what you need before you buy it. It's not that expensive either.

You can buy Captivate 2 here.

Use Captivate? Agree or disagree with this review? Let us know.

Got an authoring tool, and need get some help in making the most of it? Kineo’s Rapid E-learning Design Team can help. Contact us.

Kineo has accepted no payment or reward of any form from any tools company for this independent review.

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