Category: Elearning

TinCan API Sparks: Matters of Authority

Posted on December 25, 2012November 21, 2013 by ellen

One thing a Learning Management System does very well is convey an implicit, if perhaps unearned, sense of authority to the learning activities it contains. To those of us who tend to do our learning informally, it may seem a bit quaint, but in the TinCan era, as the corporate LMS becomes a side-show to the main act of “all that other content out there,” issues surrounding authoritativeness and quality will have to be addressed.

In the healthcare domain I work in, worries about quality of information, compliance, risk, consistency, and up-to-date-ness are very real. They don’t prevent anyone from searching the web for whatever they need, but they may be barriers to the spread of good ideas, perhaps using some type of chain or cascade of authoritative approval. Whose judgement do you trust, and whose judgement do they trust, and what are they using? And is there any data anywhere that supports it?

TinCan API sparks: Bite-sized Learning

Posted on December 1, 2012November 21, 2013 by ellen

Like many corporate learning departments, ours spends a substantial amount of effort creating and delivering mandatory learning programs. Fire Safety, Infection Control, and Corporate Compliance are just a few of the required activities taken by thousands of people every year. Because they affect so many people, it would be nice if they were as relevant, interesting and responsive to changing institutional priorities as they are ubiquitous.

One idea that came up in a recent brainstorming session on the problem, was to allow learners to choose between a variety of new methods of taking their yearly requirements, methods that TinCan might make possible.

Thoughts on the TinCan API after a week with hands-on.

Posted on November 17, 2012December 3, 2013 by ellen

The Tin Can API (Experience API ) is the next generation evolution of the SCORM elearning standard, but it does far more than simply improve SCORM.

Although the immediate benefit for the health care organization I work for will come from the elimination of some of the technical limitations of SCORM, the main point is the thoroughly transformative nature of Tin Can. It will take years to demonstrate how deep the rabbit hole goes. But I can tell you the direction it is heading right now:

We’re out of the learning management business and into the big-data business.

The infrastructure for figuring out “what really works” is now here. The infrastructure for relating actions to outcomes is here. Assuming, of course, infinite access to all possible sources of data everywhere, we could now ask questions like:

Getting and setting data from Captivate 6 for custom integrations

Posted on November 11, 2012January 2, 2014 by ellen

We use Captivate with our LMS both as standalone SCORM modules that communicate directly with the LMS, and as embedded quizzes inside custom learning modules. Communication of the Captivate score back to the learning module was done using a trick suggested by Adobe’s Andrew Chemey which involved redefining the built-in sendMail function Captivate used to send an email report of the quiz results.

Captivate 6 removed the built-in email functions, so we’re now using the very powerful Captivate API to do the same thing. The new API is very powerful and makes it much easier to get and set variables from outside the Captivate, using javascript.

Here’s how to get started:

Friction

Posted on October 23, 2012January 3, 2014 by ellen

Something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately, since we have been looking at learning systems, is the idea of friction. My definition of friction is anything that either lowers our expectations of the results we can get from a particular tool or process to the point that we either change our expectations of the results or abandon them altogether.

Examples of friction include: bad usability, frustration, unexpected results, bad user experience, steep learning curves, cognitive overload, lack of critical mass of the right participants, hardware problems (slowness, breakdowns, etc.) – in short just about any sort of obstacle. It is anything that gets in our way enough to make us change what we hope to get out of the process we are engaged in, even if only slightly. Friction plays a part in how we choose to use devices, apps, and services and even what route we choose on the way home.

Integrating the Rustici SCORM Engine with our LMS: part 2

Posted on October 10, 2012December 3, 2013 by ellen

<< Back to Part 1, Determining Scope, Course Import

A phased approach was used to integrate our aging LMS and the SCORM Engine. Starting with a “bare-bones integration” we assessed the user workflow and determined next steps.

Course Delivery

When users log in to our LMS, they are presented with a Learning Plan screen which lists required learning and current enrollments.

Learning Plan

Integrating the Rustici SCORM Engine with our LMS: part 1

Posted on October 8, 2012December 3, 2013 by ellen

Our aging Docent learning management system is scheduled to be replaced over the next couple of years, but last year it became clear that we chould not wait until then to replace the SCORM elements of the system.

We were nearing a sort of “technical cliff” if you will, where most home computers would have enormous security surrounding Java applets, and the circa 1992 factory-original Java-based SCORM adaptor would pretty much be out of business in modern browsers. The applet-based SCORM adaptor was also completely incompatible with a new authentication and VPN system that was coming online. To stay in the game, we needed to modernize this part of the system, and in the process we took the opportunity to add new capabilities and improve the user experience. We chose the Rustici SCORM Engine because of the depth of knowledge they have surrounding SCORM, and also because they are on the cutting edge of the new standards.

The integration project gave our LMS quite a face-lift, and added some exciting new capabilities like the ability to use TinCan to track learning. But as with all projects, there were some learning experiences that we didn’t expect, as well as some shareable solutions.

Adobe Presenter and Captivate: Hyperlinks don’t work after importing Powerpoint

Posted on May 16, 2012November 21, 2013 by ellenm1

Symptom: hyperlinks that worked in a Powerpoint file no longer work in the published Presenter or Powerpoint presentation based on that Powerpoint.

This is because Flash Security treats local content differently than the content on the internet.

The solution is to put the published files onto a web server and access it using the URL (like: http://yoursite.com/yourpresentation.htm).

Captivate: settings that don’t seem to “take”

Posted on November 20, 2011November 21, 2013 by ellen

There have been several times when I’ve discovered that settings changes I make in Captivate Preferences or Properties are not being honored – my changes can be seen in the Preferences or Properties panels after closing and reopening the Preferences or properties, but they are not being used.

Captivate: Change background images on imported Powerpoint slides to repositionable Captivate images

Posted on November 15, 2011 by ellen

Captivate allows you to import a Powerpoint file to use as the starting point for your learning activity. It’s often easier for people to “think” in Powerpoint, so many users prefer to rough out a project in Powerpoint, then import it and continue working in Captivate.

When a Powerpoint file is imported this way, its images become part of the Background element of the slide in Captivate. Backgrounds are not easily repositionable, or croppable, but it’s not hard to bring the background image up onto the slide as a regular image element that can be moved around, edited, and included in actions.