Mobilemind

It has been 18 years since I first saw Authorware (then Course of Action) in grad school and 15 years since I first drew a paycheck from using it. Once again I am deep into Authorware development. I'm updating some projects to make better use of Javascript and XML technology as well as improvements to Authorware itself. Here are 3 "must-have" resources:

• Click Craft Find & Fix Command- A multitasking necktop known as Ron Lubensky offers an incredible, scriptable, automated way to find and fix virtually anything in an Authorware file. A nice intuitive UI lets you select properties to find/change, including content of Calculation icons or even the ability to paste in new models. If you use Authorware, go buy this. It is the best $36 USD you can spend if you already own Authorware.
• Javascript for Authorware- A must have resource with examples and gotchas for those who must bounce between Authorware Scripting Language and Javascript. Check out the online Table of Contents for a better idea. A veryhandy reference by Joe Ganci and Chris Swenson of DazzleTech. (if you have trouble finding it on their site, follow this path: Products > Digital books > Javascript for Authorware). It costs $50 USD.
• JavaScript Quick Reference for Authorware 7.0- Again, Ron comes from down under and goes over the top. A free Javascript-Authorware reference that integrates with Authorware 7, including "snippet integration" with the Calculation icon. Most excellent!

I bought/downloaded all of these myself last week and am quite happy. There's nothing in it for me to recommend these resources, other than sharing good authoring karma. While I'm at it, be sure to check out Andrew Lucking's blog. I've seen Andrew on Authorware forums and around the net, and I finally had a chance to meet him at the AICC meetings in January 2006. His blog has good stuff on elearning, Authorware, web development, video encoding Flash and more. Moreover, I actually find the occasional flyer about boat construction to be quite interesting.
Add to or view the (3) comments    external links to this post

I had a great time at the Questionmark User Conference last week in San Francisco. Thanks again to all the Questionmarkers who made it such a wonderful experience.

My presentation was on Monday, with Robby Robson from IEEE LTSC and Eduworks, and Chuck Allen from the HR-XML Consortium. You can download a copy of the presentation here: 2006 Elearning Standards Panel (562K, PDF).

Eric Shepherd of Questionmark acted as the moderator did a great job of introducing standards and the panel, and explaining how Questionmark supports standards. Robby Robson addressed the rationale for elearning standards, and provided a sort of "state of standards" overview. I gave my take on ADL and AICC, and an overview of the elearning PENS specification (Package Exchange Notification Services). Chuck Allen explained how HR-XML works to allow "arms-length" partners and intermediaries to interact using web services. A very practical use of web services and XML gateways to enable secure transactions for HR, like resume extraction, background checks, assessments and more. Take a look at the presentation if you're interested in any of this.

I went to a few other sessions and overall, I'd highly recommend this conference to everyone who uses Questionmark. Fantastic uses cases and best practices from other customers, friendly & helpful folks everywhere, focused technical sessions with their tech teams, a chance to steer product directions, and great keynote speakers like Elliott Masie and Allison Rossett.

Labels: events

Add to or view the (0) comments    external links to this post

I just checked the Macromedia area of Rapid Intake website and saw that CourseBuilder for Dreamweaver 8 is now available for download.

As a reader observed in my earlier post about the CourseBuilder beta, this release makes CourseBuilder compatible with Dreamweaver 8, but does not offer new functionality (yet?).
Add to or view the (0) comments    external links to this post

I don't know quite what to call them, but they are growing in popularity. They are web-based applications that create "LMS-ready" elearning, supporting SCORM and/or AICC standards. A year or two ago, this seemed to be more of an in-house tactic with 1-2 commercial products along these lines. Now it seems like there are half a dozen commercial products with web-based authoring of Flash-based output.

In some cases they even offer their own LMS, in other cases they partner with LMS providers or professional services companies. Some of the systems focus more on SME-authoring, others on extensibility/customization, and still others on project management. Here are a few I've come across:

• SmartBuilder- This was probably the first one I remember seeing, back in 2000 or 2001. At that time they relied on Generator, but it has been updated many times since. It has several marquee clients in the Fortune 500.
• CourseAvenue- I first saw this in 2004, though it may have been around slightly earlier than that. It also has several customers that are household names. It was featured in the July 2005 Macromedia Edge newsletter.
• QMIND- This may be the newest of the bunch, but I like their product positioning which emphasizes the instructional design workflow and project/production management. They also have an interesting pricing model based on the modules used and roles.
• Mohive Toolbox- Mohive is based in Oslo, and seems to have garnered quite a few customers in Europe. I'm not sure how long the product has been around.

Are there some commercial products like these that I am missing? Let me know.
Add to or view the (1) comments    external links to this post

Here is an interesting article by Kraig Mentor on using SCORM with Director, SCORM SCO Presentation Engine. I like how this technique can greatly reduce the HTML page clutter that can build-up in manifests that use simple OBJECT tags. I like how much of the content can be externalized. It seems like a very similar technique could be used with Flash. I do have some hesitations about what this means for bookmarking, obscuring the programming for experts, and securing the content (DRM or otherwise).

I recall a cross-product/platform strategy like this from Wicat that was referred to as "Nemesis". The idea was that a database (or in the S2PE case, XML) contains the guts of a the elearning presentation. Then an "engine" reads that data and renders the elearning.

In the Wicat case, this provided flexibility to deliver training in a customer's preferred format-- they could write an engine in Authorware, IconAuthor, ToolBook, or virtually anything that coul "play" the presentation database.

The challenge with a presentation engine approach is that you lose many of the benefits of the host system or language-- Director Lingo or ActionScript idioms and optimizations are often lost in the database representation, and an individual developer's proficiency becomes less valuable. Conversely, that de-valuing of AS or Lingo expertise, can make it much easier to do automation, mass production, or farm things out to non-experts. Ironically, it can also make things much harder for a host system expert who comes in to a project later; their hands are tied to the data structures in what seems like unexpected ways.

Labels: SCORM

Add to or view the (2) comments    external links to this post