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I've spent 23 years making learning work - for the people who have to sit through it and…
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Articles by Traci
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The LMS Task Nobody Wants to Do — And How I Automated It
The LMS Task Nobody Wants to Do — And How I Automated It
You know that moment when a training program wraps up and a group of learners needs to come off courses they no longer…
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Every great tool starts with someone saying 'there HAS to be a better way.'
Every great tool starts with someone saying 'there HAS to be a better way.'
When you manage a learning platform, small updates aren't small. 200 courses.
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Born Leaders or Made Managers? Unraveling the Truth Behind Effective Leadership
Born Leaders or Made Managers? Unraveling the Truth Behind Effective Leadership
It's been just over a year since I fully left corporate work to run my own business full time developing eLearning and…
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2K followers
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Traci Synatschk shared thisThis week has flown. Started out Monday with another urgent repetitive task to solve on my to-do list. This time I did the math, because while I like building tools to solve problems for clients, I also want to make sure an automated solution is worth the time spent building to save a manual task. And this time it definitely was. 2,600 clicks. For one task. That nobody wanted to do. That's what the client was up against on a weekly basis. If you manage an LMS, you know the unenrollment grind. We've all been there. Someone lands in the wrong learning path. A program wraps up and the catalog needs cleaning. A team needs their enrollments cleared before a new curriculum goes live. So you click. And click. And click. 3 clicks per course. Per user. 10 users. 87 courses each. It's got to get done, but honestly not one anyone really wants to do. Repetitive tasks like this are exactly what the Genie Suite was built to solve. Every tool I add exists because someone, somewhere, is spending hours on something that should take seconds. ✨ Unenrollment Genie is the newest addition to the Genie Suite. It's a Google Sheets add-on that talks directly to your LMS API. Enter your users, click lookup, select what to remove, and one click processes everything. No code. No developer. No 2,600 clicks. I put a full walkthrough in this week's issue of Automation Tools for LMS Pros 👇 Drop a ✨ or comment if you've got a repetitive LMS task you'd love to hand off — I'm always looking for the next problem to solve.The LMS Task Nobody Wants to Do — And How I Automated ItThe LMS Task Nobody Wants to Do — And How I Automated It
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Traci Synatschk shared thisAnother amazing free skill building webinar from Kizer Learning for anyone managing employees!Traci Synatschk shared thisAn employee tells you something uncomfortable. You want to stay open but it's hard in the moment. That's exactly what we're working on. Free, 30 minutes, register to get the recording if you can't join live.
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Traci Synatschk shared thisLearned something new today... You can create a bookmarklet in your bookmarks bar that runs a quick #javascript function. 🤯 I had no idea that was possible, but right out of the gate this morning I was hit with another repetitive task driving me crazy. I'm migrating a client from one LMS to another and the client use colored fonts throughout their text to call attention to key elements, but the new LMS doesn't let me save that color in a custom palette and the source LMS doesn't let you grab source code. All my usual tricks weren't working. I was having to enter the HEXcode every time I needed to highlight even a single word. I was 2 lessons into a 150 course/400 lesson migration so I knew this wasn't going to cut it. A quick check with #Claude and a bit of time fine tuning the prompts and half an hour later we had a workable solution. Copy the text in the source LMS, click on my new "Copy HTML" bookmarklet, and paste into the source code in the new LMS. It grabs formatting, colors, and styles. A year ago I would have been stuck yelling at the computer, knowing there was probably a better solution but not having the time to dive down the rabbit hole of google searches to find it. Today a 15 min side quest had me back on track. I still haven't figured out a fix for fast tracking the manual copy and paste, but in the mean time I'll keep chipping away fixing one repetitive LMS task at a time! #LMSAdmin #TheAutomationLayer #SheCanCode #WorkSmarter #eLearning #EdTech
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Traci Synatschk shared thisI've been working for a while on polishing up tools I use daily in my LMS Admin work to make them better. Claude code has been a game changer in helping me creating better UIs and reducing the confusing parts I had just gotten used to dealing with. Slowly but surely, they are turning into tools I can hand off for other people to take advantage of. I'm tracking the changes, launches, and new tool creations in a LinkedIn newsletter as I add them to LMS Genie Suite. This might just be an easy way for me to organize them on LinkedIn, or it might be a great way for others to follow along...honestly I have no idea, but the new newsletter is live so feel free to follow along if caffeine fueled, L&D problem solving interests you. This first post is about the moment that started everything. 200 courses. One due date change. No bulk edit. Just me, my mouse, and a lot of coffee. If you've ever done manual LMS work, you already know exactly what that feels like (endless, it feels endless and there is no spotify playlist that makes it better). But it's what drove me to find a better way. It's what got me into learning about the power of APIs, had me downloading VS Code, and creating the solutions I was looking for. ✨ It's what drove me to create a front end UI that let's people leverage the power of an API without having to learn what it even is. Check out the BTS video in the newsletter post!Every great tool starts with someone saying 'there HAS to be a better way.'Every great tool starts with someone saying 'there HAS to be a better way.'
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Traci Synatschk shared thisSomedays I feel like the most used word in my client conversations is...workaround. The LMS doesn't do that...let me find a workaround. The SME wants it to show what?... Let me find a workaround. We need to migrate that how fast?... Let me find a workaround. But I'm a problem solver at heart so I dive into building, crafting, weaving together a workaround that solves the issue any way I can. Over the years I've built quite the stockpile of tricks to solve the never ending gaps in LMSs and authoring tools. This week, I migrated a client from #Lessonly to #LearnUpon. Overall they love their new LMS home, but Lessonly had flip cards and all their content relied heavily on those simple flipcards to break up text and reinforce key points. LearnUpon doesn't have flipcards in it's native course builder and doesn't always play nicely with some of the embeddable solutions. So I took a minute or two to clean up the html I use to convert and rebuild iframe codes into a clean format that LearnUpon will use and turned it into a tool my clients can use anytime moving forward. It's the first of the LMS Genie Suite to officially launch and for this client it's given them back the ability to bring flipcards and inline interactivity into the native LearnUpon course builder. The client's happy, I'm happy, and support is probably happy to quit hearing from me this week. Sometimes it's the simplest things that can make the biggest difference in a tool you use everyday!
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Traci Synatschk shared thisWhat happens when you get full creative freedom on a project? You go a little overboard...in the best way. I'm currently halfway through building a Design Thinking course series (for the dream kind of client that gives you all the content and turns you loose with creative control) and this project has me genuinely excited. Going back through the courses I've already completed for the series reminded me exactly how make or break good visual design can be to e-learning content. **Shout out to Maestro and their #artschool program - it was truly game changing for me. The focus on how to use space, padding, and visual hierarchy has changed my design process in so many amazing ways! This course series is built around a fantastic book called *Design Thinking for Training and Development* that says the quiet part out loud: You can build the most beautiful, well-crafted training in the world, but if the organization isn't bought in... if the culture, resources, and leadership don't support what you're asking learners to DO with that training... It's not set up to succeed. I lived that truth in corporate L&D for years. So getting to build a course series that addresses it head-on... Chef's kiss. 🤌 And because this design project gave me real creative freedom, I've been able to go all in: ✦ Custom branding that really reflects the content ✦ Fun, unexpected interactions and gamification ✦ Custom coded elements to practice what you're learning (I am living for engaging interactions these days...no more boring courses!) ✦ Design choices that make the content feel alive and immersive This is the kind of project that reminds me why I do this work. AI can quickly generate endless content, but crafting courses with great design and visual hierarchy to guide your learner's attention really is an art. Building immersive interactions that give real world context to the content is essential. This course has a "in the lab" portion that we circle back to over and over throughout the courses to give real world scenarios with tangible practice opportunities. For me , this is where AI shines. It lets me bring ideas to life with custom coded interactions that enhance content, not replace it. Have you read *Design Thinking for Training and Development*? Drop a 📖 or your thoughts if it's on your list or your bookshelf. It quickly became a favorite L&D book of mine! —— #eLearning #InstructionalDesign #BehindTheBuild #ArticulateRise #EdTech #LMS #WorkSmarter #designthinking #vibecoding
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Traci Synatschk shared thisIt was the year of "wrapped" tools. I saw that Spotify wrapped was powered by Rive. Then ChatGPT dropped their "Your Year with ChatGPT", Loom did a Loom Rewind and it peaked my interest. What could an L&D wrapped look like. I thought it would be a fun start of the year project to see how challenging it would be to create a custom wrapped application. This was a creative brain break from the massive number of migrations I've been doing lately. I decided to build using Replit, limited myself to spending less than 2 hours, and then used most of that on trying to configure the questions to represent the breadth of what we do in L&D and provide custom questions/scenarios based upon inputs. Definitely a fun way to look back and celebrate last year's successes. As always, here's a link to try it out and I'd love to see how. your year went! ➡️ https://lnkd.in/grrjE5zW
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Traci Synatschk shared thisThis month was packed, and an eLearning challenge definitely wasn’t on the schedule… but I couldn’t resist trying out a few ideas in the Maestro Mighty Plugin for Articulate Rise. 🤔 Tim Slade’s eLearning Academy Monthly Challenge gave me the push I needed to finally build what had been stuck in my head. I shared bits in my #WOL posts, but this one came together in such a fun way I wanted to break down the stack and process. 👇 Try it out -> The Hiker Prep Pass - https://lnkd.in/g--G8XKz 🧰 #TechStack Figma FigJam – Planning and visual flow Canva – Graphics + GIFs Replit Replit – Custom HUD generator Visual Studio Code – Packaging code for HTML blocks Claude / ChatGPT – Gamified scenario logic Mighty Plugin – Extending Rise Articulate 360 Rise – Authoring tool 🗺️ 1 – Choose Your Own Adventure Vibes My 11-year-old hiking buddy lobbied hard for a choose-your-own-adventure build with hidden learning in scenario games. That shaped the tone for the whole thing, but 11 year old SMEs are no joke - DEMANDING! 😂 🛠️ 2 – Reusable HUD I built the HUD in Replit so I could reuse it. It has themes like Desert, Ocean, Mountains, and a custom palette. Already repurposed it for a disaster prep course. Games were built in named Claude/ChatGPT chats and stored in VS Code for easy updates. Shoutout to Melissa Milloway—your work sparked this! 🎮 3 – Gamified Interactions I skipped knowledge checks and tied points/badges to interactive HTML blocks. This meant: Expanding the HUD Adding event listeners Making themes swappable without rework Lots of trial and error, but it paid off. 🌵 4 – Hidden Easter Eggs Custom Canva GIFs with desert critters and swaying cactuses layered throughout the course in Mighty. Subtle movement, but they made me smile. 🤠 I built this nights-and-weekends after freelance work—and honestly? Totally worth it! #elearning #Rise360 #MightyPlugin #gamification #InstructionalDesign #LMS #freelancelife #WorkOutLoud #upskill #vibecoding
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Traci Synatschk shared thisA little work out loud #WOL moment for today. I've been carving out an hour or so a day to work on this month's eLearning Challenge project with Tim Slade and Mighty. My goals were to really push my creativity, incorporate some of the skills I learned in Mighty's #ArtSchool, and see how far I could go with Rise to incorporate gamification, interactions and a take on Melissa Milloway HUD tracker. Today I finalized the Desert Hydration Game lesson in the course I’m creating. I wanted a choose your own adventure feel and to ensure a learner left with a good idea of how much water to pack depending on weather and the trail. Here’s a quick look at the lesson and a close up of the challenge game. Next I’ll tie completion of this block to the Trail Tracker HUD. Tech stack - - Prototyped in Canva Code - Finalized the code and design in Claude - Packaged in Visual Code Studio - Deployed with Mighty’s Interactive HTML
Traci Synatschk replied to a comment
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Heidi Kirby, PhD I just feel like the general message lately has been that it can create FOR you instead of being a tool to work WITH you and I feel like that’s entirely the wrong message. 🤦🏽♀️
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I want to pull my hair out every time I hear it! Every AI course creator starts their pitch that way. I'm all for a course creator but stop undermining the work that goes into well designed, instructionally sound, engaging courses.
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Love this! I found one of the more challenging parts of using Claude for this was pausing to plan up front where I wanted to integrate these types of simulated interactions into the content plan. It was so fun to build I had to purposely step back and be intentional about the design. Loving this era of possibilites!
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Traci Synatschk liked thisTraci Synatschk liked thisRecently I wrote about how most courses have a layout problem. Today I want to go further. I'm ready to take one real course and show publicly — step by step — how I bring it up to standard. The Storyline file, visuals, interactions, content. All of it. For one company, this will be free. In exchange for permission to document the process and publish it here. What kind of course fits: — existing, not a new project — there's a feeling it's outdated or "works but I'd be embarrassed to show it" — the company is open to the process being public If this sounds like you, message me. Or tag a colleague who needs this. PS. Compliance, soft skills, product training, onboarding, leadership, the topic doesn't matter. What matters is: it's built in Storyline, and somewhere along the way that source file has already caused you trouble. #elearning #storyline #instructionaldesign #learninganddevelopment #coursedesign Illustration by @milkyprint. Loved this visual.
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Traci Synatschk liked thisTraci Synatschk liked thisWe don’t need more boring training—we need experiences! That’s where gamification really shines ✨ The real value isn’t just engagement—it’s application. When learners can make decisions and immediately see the outcome, it transforms passive content into active learning: ➡️ Make the right call? See the impact. ➡️ Miss something? Understand why it matters. It’s real-world cause and effect—without real-world risk. At Upperline Health, I’ve been focused on building learning experiences that simulate real clinical and operational decisions—giving teams the opportunity to practice, adjust, and build confidence before it impacts real patients and real workflows. And that immediate feedback loop? That’s what builds confidence, strengthens decision-making, and actually drives performance. That’s not just engaging…that’s learning that sticks. 🎯
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Traci Synatschk liked thisTraci Synatschk liked thisWell, after a long weekend, she's finally off to the printer for the first proof! #eLearning #InstructionalDesign #LearningAndDevelopment
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Traci Synatschk reacted on thisIt's been two years of working on Mighty with this incredible team and community! Head over to John Pinkster's post and comment your favorite Mighty experience and/or feature 👇 Is it... joining us on Mighty Meetups? your Find & Replace dreams coming true? or the feeling you had when you used your very first code snippet? We want to hear about it!! Bonus points if you share John's post to spread Mighty to more people! Cheers to many more Mighty years.Traci Synatschk reacted on thisCan you believe Mighty hit it's 2 year anniversary this month!? 🤯 Internal project turns into a full fledged product 💪 Yes, we started as a wild idea internally to see how we could push our Articulate Rise designs to a whole new level .. then that VERY quickly spiraled into this incredible community, hundreds of new features and seen by over 10k+ users across 3,500+ companies. 🎉📈 I never would have imagined this taking off as fast as it did. I love being a part of such a fun Learning community who are ready to push the boundary and figure out the best user experiences for their learners without settling! Curios, what would you like to see next come out with Mighty? #LearningAndDevelopment #eLearning #InstructionalDesign #LearningDesign #ArticulateRise
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Traci Synatschk liked thisTraci Synatschk liked thisRise 360's native quiz blocks work fine for simple assessments. But what if you need mixed question types in one quiz? Or animated transitions? Or the ability to resume where learners left off? I built a custom Rise 360 quiz block that does all of that. One code block. Paste it in. Done. What makes it different: • Multiple choice, true/false, AND fill-in-the-blank in the same quiz • GSAP-powered animations between questions • localStorage saves progress automatically • Full WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility (ARIA announcements, keyboard navigation, reduced motion support) • Screen readers hear every state change The accessibility isn't an afterthought, it's woven into every interaction. Focus indicators, semantic HTML, proper heading hierarchy, color-independent feedback. Learners close their browser mid-quiz? They get a "Welcome Back" screen offering to resume or start over. The quiz data lives in a simple JavaScript array. Swap questions without touching the logic. Add new question types by extending one function. Full tutorial + complete code on the blog: https://lnkd.in/esG4MaAK #Rise360 #ArticulateRise #ELearning #JavaScript #Accessibility #WCAG #InstructionalDesign #LearningAndDevelopment
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Traci Synatschk liked thisTraci Synatschk liked this🚀 Kickstart your online course creation process! Download FREE 18 online course outlines from the most popular course types. Get inspired by the most outstanding academies built on LearnWorlds, the top eLearning platform.
Experience & Education
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MentoringU - eLearning Design
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Licenses & Certifications
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Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT
Vanderbilt University
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Courses
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Accelerate with Google
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Articulate Interactions Training
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Instructional Design and Technology: Learning Theories
LTD100x
Languages
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Spanish
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