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Student Stories
Articulate Storyline for Beginners: Kim’s Live Labs Experience
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Kim Farkasch was new to Articulate Storyline. Previously from a media design background and relatively new to Learning and Development. She had learned Storyline on the job in a trainee e-learning role, but without a solid foundation, even small edits could derail an entire course.
She joined DLI’s Articulate Storyline Live Labs (Essentials) to build confidence, learn best-practice workflows, and avoid common pitfalls before progressing to advanced-level development.
Hear from Kim directly below!
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Explore Storyline Live Labs
Why Kim Enrolled in Storyline Live Labs
Kim’s first year using Storyline was a classic “learn by doing” experience. It helped, but it also exposed gaps.
“I had little to no experience with using authoring tools beforehand… and there were situations where I wanted to change one little thing and I ended up breaking the entire course.”
At times, a minor tweak could cause major issues, from broken interactions to quiz scoring problems and slide master chaos.
“It really showed me that I did not have any foundation about the program and that it wasn’t as intuitive as I had hoped.”
Kim enrolled because she wanted a foundation she could rely on as she grows in the L&D field, and to ensure she had the essentials in place before moving into more advanced work.
The Problem Kim Wanted to Solve: Confidence and Control in Storyline
Before the Live Labs, Kim felt she had reached a “moderate” level. She could complete tasks at work and wasn’t breaking quizzes anymore, but she knew she hadn’t unlocked her full capability.
“I feel I had not unlocked my full potential just yet.”
What she wanted was clarity and control: knowing why things worked, how to troubleshoot, and how to build projects more efficiently and professionally.
What Changed After the Course
After completing Essentials, Kim describes a major shift in confidence and capability.
“Now after the course, I really feel comfortable using the program. I learned about many features that I did not know previously.”
She also gained practical insight into workflow processes she’ll apply in future projects, helping her work faster and avoid the common mistakes that cause Storyline projects to break.
A Favorite Feature: Screen Recording for Job Aids and Click Dummies
One of Kim’s biggest discoveries was Storyline’s screen recording tool, which she hadn’t known existed.
“My favorite tool was the screen recording option… I had no idea that Storyline could even do this.”
What surprised her most was that Storyline doesn’t just produce a video file. It can also generate step-by-step slides from the recording, detecting key changes (like opening windows or cursor actions) and turning them into clickable slides.
“I think this is very useful for job aids… if somebody would tell me, ‘can you do a click dummy for this program,’ I probably would have done a lot of screenshots… but now Storyline does half the work for me.”
For Kim, this is the kind of feature that turns Storyline into a more efficient tool for performance support, software demos, and workflow learning.
The Live Labs Experience: Hands-On Practice and Real Feedback
Kim highlights the practical, applied structure of the Life Labs. Each session included practice files and guided tasks.
““Our instructor would show us a function based on a task or on a problem to solve and then we would reproduce what he just showed us.”
A major turning point was the independent assignment to build a mini course on a topic of her choosing.
“We once had the assignment to build like a mini course… I think this assignment really brought everything together.”
She found it valuable not just to build independently, but to review everyone’s work as a group.
“Not only could I see how my peers approached that topic, we also talked a lot about different methodologies.”
Kim says she still returns to those exercises and discussions today as she develops new work.
“Even today… when I’m building something… I think back to the things we discussed there because it was very valid and good information.”
Supportive Instruction for Beginners
Kim also appreciated that the course was designed for beginners, with a clear progression and no skipped steps.
“Our instructor was very mindful of the fact that we were still beginners… exercises followed a logical progression.”
She also valued learning from someone with real industry experience.
“He shared many anecdotes and talked a lot about the industry at large.”
Supportive Instruction for Beginners
Kim recommends the Live Labs for beginners, but also for people with some experience who want to strengthen their foundations.
“I would recommend the Live Labs to those who have either little to no experience with Articulate Storyline, but even with some experience, I think you can still learn a lot.”
She notes that Storyline can look intuitive at first, but a structured foundation makes a big difference, especially if you’re building your portfolio, transitioning into L&D, or completing project work as a DLI student.
👉 Want to build your confidence in Articulate Storyline?
Explore the Digital Learning Institute’s Live Labs and join a global community of learning professionals.
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