Adobe Captivate is a screen capture tool developed by Adobe Corporation. It is the most commonly used screen capture tool in the technical communication industry.

What you need to know about Adobe Captivate:

• Concepts of Screen Capture techniques: Before learning the tool, you should be aware of how a screen capture tool works and the purpose for which it is used. Knowing how to write scripts for e-Learning videos will help you in producing a good quality video.
• Editing a video: Before using Captivate, it will be useful to know how to crop and trim videos. Knowing the basics of video editing will help you work better in understanding the interface of Captivate.

How it is used in the industry:

It is used in the industry to create e-Learning videos.  Documentation team is usually responsible for creating management and training materials for the employees of the organization. Technical Writers often coordinate with the Human Resources team of the organization to develop training materials.

Hence, technical writers usually use Adobe Captivate to only capture instructions and add voiceover to it and convert it into a training or instructional video.

How it is used in the MSTC Program:

Adobe Captivate is taught to students in the MSTC Program who wish to specialize in Technical Writing. Although it is not taught extensively to undergraduate students, it is taught as a part of the Technical Writing and Editing course for graduate students.

Courses in which this tool is used:

This tool is not used in courses in the MSTC Program. But, a similar video editor is taught to students in the ENG 517 course. If students are interested in using the tool, it is available in the CHASS Lab.  

Where can you learn more about Captivate:

If you would like to get a preview on how the tool is used and know about the basics before learning it in the program, you can visit the Adobe Captivate official website here.

If you want to try working on the program and create projects, this software is available to you at all CHASS computer-based classrooms and the CHASS Lab located at Tompkins 113.