Launching from the Flash Platform

Adobe Flash has evolved considerably since Macromedia Flash was used to create animations and develop and run interactive Web-based content. According to the current developers, the Adobe Flash Platform is

an integrated set of technologies surrounded by an established ecosystem of support programs, business partners, and enthusiastic user communities. Together, they provide everything you need to create and deliver the most compelling applications, content, and video to the widest possible audience.

The Flash Platform combines tools, an open source framework, ubiquitous clients, and scalable servers (see Table 1).

Table 1 Components of the Flash Platform

Application Type	Technology
Runtime Environment	Flash Player
	Flash Professional
Authoring Tools	Flex
	Flash Catalyst
	Flash Media Server
Flash Server	BlazeDS
	LiveCycle DS

The environment enables content developers create applications and content from prototype to deployment in an integrated framework (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 The Flash Platform

In the context of Flash-based authoring tools like Adobe Captivate, the platform enables e-learning content authors to rapidly and efficiently design, develop and implement Web-based learning applications including:

• Screen recording and demos
• Software simulations
• Scenario-based training
• Presentations
• Quizzes
• Podcasts
• Screencasts

I have written about the pros and cons of Captivate in previous blog articles so I don’t intend to go over the same old ground again, but you can find out more by clicking here.

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References:

Adobe Website: http://www.adobe.com

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Adobe eLearning Suite Review on BDLD

Donald Clark has very comprehensively reviewed the new Adobe eLearning Suite (eLS) on his always interesting and informative Big Dog, Little Dog blog.

As you may recall, I posted on eLS when the suite was released, and while welcoming this addition the e-learning practitioners’ content development toolkit, I tempered my enthusiasm as follows:

Where I think Adobe missed a trick is that they should have released this package at least five years ago. While we can say that in the early 2000’s, the e-learning industry wasn’t as large a market segment as it is today, it was substantial enough. Certainly enough of a market segment to be a valuable revenue-generating stream for the company. Unlike DTP, graphical design, and video post-production (which were digitized evolutions of existing industries) e-learning was a whole new industry, a real-life child of the World Wide Web.

I’ll give with one hand and take away with the other: well done Adobe, great to see you’ve finally committed to e-learning; equally, an e-learning suite of tools is such an obvious addition to your product range that you should have done this years ago.

The suite consists of the following apps:

	Tool	Adobe's Description
	Adobe Captivate® 4	Create and deliver rich interactive content
	Adobe Dreamweaver® CS4 with CourseBuilder Extension	Design, develop, and maintain standards-based websites and applications
	Adobe Flash® CS4 Professional with Learning Interactions	Create and deliver rich interactive content
	Adobe Photoshop® CS4 Extended	Discover new dimensions in digital imaging
	Adobe Presenter 7	Rapidly create high-impact Adobe Flash presentations and eLearning courses from PowerPoint
	Adobe Soundbooth® CS4	Create and edit audio with ease
	Adobe Acrobat® 9 Pro	Protect documents and accelerate information exchange with PDF

Very full-featured indeed: if I was starting work today as a learning and development professional and I was handed this set of applications as my courseware production platform, I would be very happy with it.

But don’t just take my word for it: here’s (a very highly abridged version of) what Donald Clark has to say:

It is a complete and tightly integrated solution for authoring rich learning content. …All-in-all the Adobe eLearning suite is a great product for designers, being that it is the first elearning suite.

His review describes the applications and functionality of the Suite in very good detail, and Donald uses his own experience of using the platform to throw further light on how the applications integrate to enable e-learning designers (“instructional designers, developers, and other learning specialists”) to create high-quality courseware.

Donald concludes his article by discussing what he’d like to see in version next of the Suite and his overall impression of the package. Click here to read the review in full.

Note: Adobe have published and are maintaining a useful blog for Captivate users. Click here for more.

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E-Learning Tools List - Top 10 for 2009

Every year Jane Hart – owner and proprietor of the estimable Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies website asks learning professionals to submit their Top 10 E-Learning Tools for the previous twelve months.

So without further ado, here is my Second Annual Top 10 E-Learning Tools, in alphabetical order (‘cos every one of them is a winner!):

Adobe Acrobat Connect Enterprise - I could have picked any from the range of Adobe Flash-based content development tools, but I chose this application because of its multi-functionality, and because it manifests what Flash, Presenter, Dreamweaver etc can do. Enables collaboration, content storage, management, distribution, and (a certain degree of) tracking. A powerful content delivery platform to enable learning professionals and organizations distribute informational and training content effectively.

Audacity - I recommend this open source tool to Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who wish to create podcasts and/or software demos when using a Rapid E-Learning approach. It's an easy-to-use non-destructive audio recording and editing tool, comes with a range of impressive plug-ins including Normalize and Noise Reduction (NR), as well as pretty good graphical equalizer (EQ). Audacity enables SMEs and training professionals create high quality audio quickly and efficiently.

Techsmith Camtasia- A SERIOUS rapid e-learning authoring tool for demonstrations, simulations, evaluation, and scenario-based learning. Would be Number 1 Tool on this list if I went for a merit-based rather than alphabetical format.

Blogs - The platform doesn't matter – I use both the Blogger and WordPress platforms - but the concept of providing a means to create, share, and deliver content is the basis for a new way of learning. My e-learning blog, the E-Learning Curve Blog (unashamed plug) provides commentary and news on the domain of professional learning and development, as well as a handy personal knowledgebase.

Del.icio.us - Personal bookmarking at its best. If, like me you work on a number of machines in a number of locations, it is useful to access stored links and documents from a browser regardless of where you happen to be, once you have an internet connection.

MindJet Mind Manager Pro - Mind-mapping - using diagrams used to represent words, ideas, tasks, and concepts linked to and arranged around a central topic (and used to generate, visualize, structure ideas), is central to the way I work, research, organize, solve problems, and make decisions. I built the framework for my MSc. in Education thesis in Mind Manager. It is powerful intermediary in developing ideas, concepts, and course design.

Moodle - An institution in institutions! Martin Dougiamas' erstwhile thesis project continues to meet the learning management requirements of any number and type of organization. Social Constructivist? Virtual Learning Environment? Easy-to-use? Great Platform.

Sony Vegas Video - Easier to use than Premiere, more powerful than MovieMaker; Vegas is my post-production "weapon of choice" for 90% of the video elements that appears in courseware developed in my organization. Whether you're just "topping and tailing" a piece of video or creating the elements for a sophisticated soft skills course, Vegas is a must.

StatCounter - every learning professional knows that “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” This mantra has an extra resonance in the online learning world. StatCounter is a Web and blog analysis tool that enables me to understand the requirements of learners who use my courseware, as well as how visitors interact with my blog.

TextPad - I would have chosen pen and paper, but decided to keep this list digital; TextPad is an advanced text editor that enables users to create and edit text documents, XML, JavaScript and other interpreted content without the extraneous "bloat" of word-processing applications. I find it useful to develop content in this stripped-down environment before transferring to Word, PowerPoint, Blogger or some other application for final enhancement and publishing (this list was created in TextPad, for example).

What are your Top 10 E-Learning Tools?

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Adobe (finally) release eLearning Suite

We’ve all been using Adobe products for years. Even the most non-techie “I-can’t-find-the-Any-key” computer user almost certainly has the Flash Player installed in their browser; if you’re an learning professional of my vintage (30’s) you’ve probably encountered Authorware, Director, and Flash at some point in your career. More recently (as discussed on The E-Learning Curve Blog last week) Adobe have contributed significantly to the adoption of Rapid E-Learning through the ongoing development of easy-to-use tools like Captivate (currently on version 4) to enable learning and development pros create content without having to be a competent or proficient coder or media expert.

Finally, Adobe have recognized that like graphics, DTP, and digital / video media production, e-learning is a significant market vertical for their applications, and have released the Adobe eLearning Suite (eLS). According to their website, eLearning Suite

…software integrates best-of-breed tools for rapid eLearning, courseware authoring, simulations, and media editing. Create rich, interactive learning experiences that engage audiences with video, audio, and powerful visuals. Work productively with rapid authoring tools that deliver smart collaboration features as well as tight integration with asset-creation tools. And deliver content to the web, the desktop, mobile devices, and Learning Management Systems.

The suite consists of the following apps:

	Tool	Adobe's Description
	Adobe Captivate® 4	Create and deliver rich interactive content
	Adobe Dreamweaver® CS4 with CourseBuilder Extension	Design, develop, and maintain standards-based websites and applications
	Adobe Flash® CS4 Professional with Learning Interactions	Create and deliver rich interactive content
	Adobe Photoshop® CS4 Extended	Discover new dimensions in digital imaging
	Adobe Presenter 7	Rapidly create high-impact Adobe Flash presentations and eLearning courses from PowerPoint
	Adobe Soundbooth® CS4	Create and edit audio with ease
	Adobe Acrobat® 9 Pro	Protect documents and accelerate information exchange with PDF

Quite impressive – if I was starting work today and I was handed this set of applications as my content development toolkit, I would be very happy indeed. Similarly, as you can see from Figure 1 (below) the Suite’s workflow plays to the strengths of the individual applications. I would assert that this workflow is industry-standard practice, as already implemented by most e-learning developers worth their fee, so no surprises there.

Figure 1. eLS workflow

However, where I think Adobe missed a trick is that they should have released this (or a similar) package at least five years ago. While we can say that in the early 2000’s , the e-learning industry wasn’t as large a market segment as it is today, it was substantial enough. Certainly enough of a market segment to be a valuable revenue-generating stream for the company. Unlike DTP, graphical design, and video post-production (which were digitized evolutions of existing industries) e-learning was a whole new industry, a real-life child of the World Wide Web.

Think of the opportunity they had to build a loyal and growing customer- and user base if they had released this suite in 2002, and you’ll realize what they let slip through their corporate fingers. As it stands, learning professionals in the past had to build their own toolkits: at this stage I’m not going to change from SoundForge to Soundbooth, for example, or from DocBookXML and XXE to Acrobat Pro - but I will of course keep using Captivate, Flash and Dreamweaver.

So I’ll give with one hand and take away with the other: well done Adobe, great to see you’ve finally committed to e-learning; equally, an e-learning suite of tools is such an obvious addition to your product range that you should have done this years ago.

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