How to Troubleshoot ID Tech
As an instructional designer, sometimes it feels like tech is out to get me. I have all this momentum which then comes to a screeching halt because I can’t get software to work the way I want it to.
Troubleshooting is a very important skill to have for instructional designers. You have to be able to problem solve and get to the root of the issue. You are the expert in the authoring tool or LMS for your organization. Get good at googling very specific questions like “why is Workday LMS sending course evaluation request on the wrong date”?
Here are some real world examples of when tech did not go my way, how I tried and failed to fix the problem, and what ultimately worked:
Notes tab disappeared on my Storyline slide view. I restarted my computer, and then reinstalled Storyline. Nope. After send a quick message to my team of IDs to see if they’ve had this issues, someone recommended going to View > Redock All Windows. Problem solved!
xAPI data not being received by LRS. Switched from viewing data in SCORM Cloud to SCORM Cloud (sandbox), and tried a different browser. Nope. Went back and looked at source code and realized I forgot to switch out the Activity Key and Secret in the JavaScript from the template I was using. Problem solved!
Small blue box appearing on all slides in Captivate. I checked the slide master but nope. After much googling and reading discussions in the Adobe Support Community, I discovered it was a timing setting on the shape: “Display for Rest of Project.” Problem solved!
Every 1-2 minute video in a Storyline project had two minutes of blank space at the end. I manually adjusted the timeline on each slide but then got annoyed because that was addressing the symptom, not the root cause. Tracing the project back to the beginning, I found a small callout box at the four minute marker in the Camtasia template I made. Oops. Problem solved!
If I can’t solve my problem independently, my next step is always to ask my team, and then submit a ticket with the authoring tool company. Eventually I always work it out. You are never alone with a tech issue.
